The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly planning to propose new rule changes this week that could impact what services crypto firms can offer their clients. According to a Feb. 14 report from Bloomberg citing “people familiar with the matter,” the securities regulator is working on a draft proposal that would make
Regulation
The percentage of Ethereum blocks complying with orders set by the United States Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) has now fallen to 47% — the lowest level since Oct. 11. The latest milestone in reversing censorship comes nearly three months after the percentage of OFAC-compliant blocks peaked at 79% on Nov. 21. OFAC-compliant blocks
A New York judge has granted a request from prosecutors to defer civil proceedings against Sam Bankman-Fried from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and the Securities Exchange Commission until after the FTX founder’s criminal trial in October. U.S. District Judge of Manhattan Kevin Castel on Feb. 13 granted the motions to stay the civil proceedings
New York State’s Department of Financial Services, or NYDFS, reportedly received a complaint from stablecoin issuer Circle regarding Binance’s reserves prior to its crackdown on BUSD. According to a Feb. 13 Bloomberg report, Circle alerted NYDFS in an autumn 2022 complaint that Binance’s reserves were insufficient to support its tokens, seemingly including stablecoin Binance USD
Last week, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached an agreement with cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. The latter will stop offering crypto staking services to American customers and pay $30 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties. While the sum of fines could hardly get an entity like Kraken off balance, the future
Cyber criminals used a variety of novel ways to carry out hacks and exploits in 2022, with over $2.8 billion of cryptocurrency stolen last year. According to a report from CoinGecko using data sourced from DeFiYield’s REKT Database, nearly half of the total crypto stolen in 2022 was fleeced using diverse methods. This includes bypassing
The European Parliament has released a report on a draft bill proposing that banks holding cryptocurrencies set aside a large amount of capital in an effort to address potential risk. In a Feb. 9 notice, EU lawmakers said any framework applied to crypto assets should “adequately mitigate the risks of these instruments for the institutions’
Blockchain infrastructure platform Paxos will halt issuance of new BUSD (BUSD) stablecoins amid the ongoing probe by the New York regulators. Paxos officially announced on Feb. 13 that the firm will end its relationship with Binance for the branded USD-pegged stablecoin BUSD. Starting from Feb. 21, Paxos will stop minting new BUSD tokens, in accordance
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance plans to continue supporting its Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin despite its issuer Paxos facing a stop order from American regulators. As reported by Cointelegraph, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has ordered blockchain firm Paxos to cease issuing dollar-pegged stablecoin BUSD. Paxos has also received a wells notice from the
Paxos Trust Company-issued stablecoin Binance USD (BUSD) being in the sights of United States regulators sparked various reactions from the crypto community. On Feb. 13, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a wells notice to Paxos, alleging that BUSD is unregistered security. On the same day, the New York Department of Financial
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) is planning to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for cross-border and domestic use as part of the first of its newly-launched financial infrastructure transformation (FIT) program. In a recent announcement, the CBUAE introduced the FIT program and highlighted its aim to support the country’s financial
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly told stablecoin issuer Paxos Trust Co. it’s planning to sue the firm for violation of investor protection laws in relation to Binance USD (BUSD). According to a Feb. 12 report in The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter, the SEC issued a
Crypto exchange Coinbase’s executives are standing up for its crypto staking services, claiming it cannot be classified as a security, and threatening to bring the matter to the courts in the United States. Brian Armstrong, Coinbase CEO, posted on Twitter that the company will “defend this in court if needed.” The move follows the agreement
What is monetary policy? Monetary policy refers to the actions taken by a central bank or monetary authority to manage the supply of money and interest rates in an economy, with the aim of promoting economic growth and stability. To affect the price and accessibility of credit, this may entail altering the money supply, setting
The Consumer Federation of California (CFC), a nonprofit advocacy organization working for consumer rights, sponsored a bill that seeks to license and regulate the activities of cryptocurrency exchanges. The legislation demanding regulatory oversight of crypto businesses — the Digital Financial Assets Law — was introduced by Assemblymember Timothy Grayson with the aim of protecting Californians
El Salvador has been advised by the global monetary watchdog to exercise caution in expanding government exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) due to the “speculative nature” of crypto markets. A Feb. 10 statement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) emphasized that Bitcoin’s risks to El Salvador have “not materialized” yet due to the country’s “limited” use
Kazakhstan, one of the biggest Bitcoin (BTC) mining hubs in the world, announced plans to introduce new crypto regulations aimed at reducing tax fraud and unlawful business operations. A new law signed by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Feb. 6 reinstated the nation’s stand against the unlawful mining operations and issuance of crypto assets. Out
The parts that make up the cryptocurrency ecosystem are not all equal, United States Federal Reserve Board governor Christopher Waller told a conference audience on Feb. 10. He had clear preferences among the three elements of the ecosystem that he identified. Waller was hosted by the Global Interdependence Center at its “Digital Money, Decentralized Finance,
The joint provisional liquidators of FTX Digital Markets — the firm’s subsidiary in the Bahamas — has released a report on the company’s physical assets in the island nation. According to affidavit filed by a PricewaterhouseCoopers partner with the Bahamas’ supreme court on Feb. 8, FTX’s joint provisional liquidators, or JPLs, said the company had
Rumors of an impending crypto ban came to fruition on Feb. 9 with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement action against Kraken, which resulted in a settlement where the exchange agreed to end its staking services for American users. The action will likely extend to all companies based in the United States. Reactions were predictable