A Colombian court recently hosted its first legal trial in the Metaverse, with the court magistrate saying it felt “more real than a video call,” according to a recent report. According to a Reuters report published on Feb. 24, Colombia’s Magdalena Administrative Court held a court case in the Metaverse on Feb. 15, involving participants
Regulation
Top Stories This Week Unsealed superseding indictment against Sam Bankman-Fried includes 12 criminal charges Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was charged on four new criminal counts by a federal judge presiding over his case. According to a superseding indictment, there are now 12 criminal charges against Bankman-Fried, including eight conspiracy charges related to fraud
United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stressed the importance of implementing a strong regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies during a G20 meeting on Feb. 25. Speaking to Reuters, Yellen said that it was “critical to put in place a strong regulatory framework.” She also noted that the United States is not suggesting an “outright banning of
The final vote on the European Union’s much-awaited set of crypto rules, known as the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation, was recently deferred to April 2023. It was not the first delay — previously the European lawmakers rescheduled the procedure from November 2022 to February 2023. The setback, however, was caused solely by technical
In a joint statement released by three United States federal agencies, the banking sector was advised against creating new risk management principles to counter liquidity risks resulting from crypto-asset market vulnerabilities. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
During the first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting under India’s presidency, the members were invited to discuss key financial stability and regulatory priorities, among other policy approaches. India urged member nations to build and understand the macro-financial implications of crypto assets and recommended formulating a coordinated global policy. India’s Finance Minister,
Lawyers representing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in federal court have requested an extension to file a proposal related to his bail conditions. In a Feb. 24 filing with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Mark Cohen of Cohen & Gressler said the legal team wanted until March 3
The World Wide Web, as its name implies, is borderless, and so is crypto. The internet and cryptocurrency’s common ethos is wide-open communication and exchange, unimpeded by national boundaries. On the ground, however, as crypto has become a more significant player in the financial system, nations have begun to consider issues of sovereignty and regulation.
Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you significant developments over the last week. The backlash from the Terra implosion still haunts the crypto world, with the now-shuttered stablecoin yield platform Stablegains being sued for customer losses. The plaintiffs allege that the platform
The Central Bank of Jordan is closer to its next step toward a retail central bank digital currency (rCBDC) with the completion of an International Monetary Fund technical report on the country’s markets. The IMF conducted a three-month mission last year to assist the bank with preparations for a CBDC feasibility report. The IMF released
The Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, reported its delegates had come to an agreement on an action plan “to drive timely global implementation” of global standards on cryptocurrencies. In a Feb. 24 publication, the FATF said the plenary for the financial watchdog — consisting of delegates from more than 200 jurisdictions — met in
Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are digital versions of fiat currencies that are backed and issued by central banks. Here are five ways in which CBDCs could impact the global financial system. Digitalization of payments CBDCs might make payments quicker and more efficient because they would do away with the need for intermediaries. Costs could be
Even as the crypto market continues to forge an impressive recovery from the 2022 bear market, the industry continues to attract the wrath of regulators worldwide, especially in the United States. Three U.S. financial watchdogs recently issued stern warnings to individuals looking to invest in retirement funds offering exposure to digital assets. The U.S. Securities
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently made another anti-crypto move, opposing crypto becoming a legal tender. In response, crypto community members quickly fired back and expressed disagreement on Twitter. The IMF’s executive board recently endorsed a crypto asset policy framework that did not grant crypto assets an official currency or legal tender status. The executives
A United States District Court judge for the Southern District of New York ruled that emojis like the rocket ship, stock chart and money bags mean “a financial return on investment, ” according to a recent court filing. In a tweet, former United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) branch chief Lisa Braganca warned users of
Binance Australia Derivatives sent an abrupt message to a select group of users on Feb. 23, saying it would be immediately closing their accounts due to a false classification of some users as “wholesale clients.” This incident caused a flurry of responses from users on social media, and the next day, the Australian Securities and
Australian residents have been identified as one the primary targets of a sophisticated network of cryptocurrency call-center scammers — which are suspected to be run by Israel-based crime bosses. Evidence uncovered after a full-scale raid of four Serbian call centers and 11 residences by Serbian, German, Bulgarian and Cypriot authorities found that Australians were among the
A cryptocurrency mining rights bill with laws that would prohibit the discrimination of crypto miners is one step closer to fruition after passing the Montana Senate. The proposed laws would enshrine a “right to mine digital assets” and would prohibit “discriminatory” electricity rates being charged to crypto miners, protect mining that occurs “at home” and
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission is not the appropriate agency to regulate stablecoins, according to Circle founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire. In an interview with Bloomberg on Feb. 24, the Circle chief executive aired his views on the SEC and its recent moves to clamp down on the crypto industry, including stablecoin issuer Paxos.
The United States Federal Reserve has denied a request from cryptocurrency bank Custodia Bank to reconsider its membership application to the Federal Reserve System. The Fed announced its denial on Feb. 23 saying the Federal Reserve Board previously decided that Custodia’s application “was inconsistent with the required factors under the law.” @federalreserve announces it has