A United States financial regulator is looking to gain feedback from the banking industry about how decentralized finance (DeFi) may affect the bureau’s efforts to stop financial crime. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said it is “looking carefully” at DeFi, while the agency’s acting director, Himamauli Das, said the digital asset ecosystem and virtual
Regulation
Crypto lending platform Genesis has informed its customers that its withdrawal freeze is likely to last “additional weeks” amid efforts to stave off a potential bankruptcy filing. In a Dec. 7 letter to its customers shared by Genesis to Cointelegraph, interim CEO Derar Islim — who took the temporary helm of the company in August
The United States House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters said a subpoena is “definitely on the table” for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who has been requested to testify at a Dec. 13 hearing looking into the collapse of FTX. In a Dec. 8 tweet Waters said that “lies are circulating” after a report from
United States Congressman Ritchie Torres has introduced bills in the House of Representatives to prohibit misuse of customer funds by cryptocurrency exchanges and to require exchanges disclose proof of reserves to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The short bills are intended to supplement other legislation that is passed on cryptocurrency, Torres said. Torres introduced
Fabio Panetta, an executive board member of the European Central Bank (ECB), proposed banning crypto assets with a significant environmental impact as part of efforts to address risks. In written remarks for the Insight Summit at the London Business School on Dec. 7, Panetta said harmonizing taxation around crypto between global jurisdictions could address some
An American legislator has asked the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) to look into the performance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the recently failed crypto exchange FTX. Rep. Ritchie Torres wrote to U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro on Dec. 6 requesting that the GAO, the federal legislative watchdog, conduct a review
Cryptocurrency mixing services are a divisive subject in the industry. Some advocate for the privacy-enabling features of these protocols while others maintain that they are mainly used for illicit means. For platforms like Tornado Cash, the mainstream verdict is “guilty as charged.” The infamous decentralized mixing protocol was sanctioned by the United States Office of Foreign
The FTX collapse was bad, but how bad? Almost from the moment that the Bahamas-based exchange suspended cryptocurrency withdrawals in early November — and three days before it filed for bankruptcy — the historic comparisons started flying. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire tweeted on Nov. 8 that FTX was “Lehman’s moment,” referencing the 2008 collapse of
As many countries, entities and even individuals face international sanctions, the crypto industry seeks to find its place among increasing regulations. Digital currencies have often been mentioned as an avenue for those subject to sanctions to divert them, such as in the recent case of Russia. In such instances, exchanges and other industry players need
After passing its landmark legislation on stablecoins in June, Japanese regulators are considering complementing it by restricting the algorithmic backing of stablecoins. The intention comes as a recommendation from the Financial Service Agency (FSA) and was repeated by the country’s Vice Minister for International Affairs, Tomoko Amaya. During his speech on crypto assets at a
While some countries like Nigeria are aggressively pushing the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), a new report summarized why a number of private stakeholders are against the idea of a CBDC. The report dubbed “The State of CBDCs in 2022,” published by blockchain insights firm Blockdata, dove into the most significant CBDC developments
A member of the Iranian parliament has told local media the government plans to impose new punishments on women who do not wear a hijab in public, with individuals who refuse to comply after two warnings possibly having their bank accounts frozen. Hossein Jalali, a member of the Cultural Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly,
The outgoing United States House Representative Madison Cawthorn has been fined over $15,000 by the House Committee on Ethics for his promotion of a cryptocurrency in which he had an undisclosed investment. A report released by the Committee on Dec. 6 after a seven-month-long investigation found Cawthorn “improperly promoted a cryptocurrency in which he had
Most cryptocurrencies are likely to be regulated as securities in the United States according to the CEO of Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE), Jeffrey Sprecher, and Senator Elizabeth Warren. The renewed focus on regulating cryptocurrencies as securities comes in light of FTX’s recent implosion, which wiped countless billions from the market, put consumer funds in limbo
Fir Tree Capital Management has filed a lawsuit against Grayscale Investments demanding information that could be used to force changes to the way it runs its flagship Bitcoin Trust. According to Bloomberg, a Dec. 6 complaint was filed against Grayscale at the Delaware Court of Chancery and seeks to have Grayscale lower its fees, start
Former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried has reportedly hired Mark Cohen, a former federal prosecutor, to act as his defense attorney. According to a Dec. 6 report from Reuters, Bankman-Fried’s spokesperson Mark Botnick said the former FTX CEO has retained Cohen amid a flurry of civil litigation from investors in the crypto exchange and
The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Paraguay’s bicameral legislature, failed to move forward on a bill aimed at promoting crypto mining through the use of surplus electricity following a veto from President Mario Abdo Benítez. In a Dec. 5 session, members of Paraguay’s legislature discussed the pros and cons of incentivizing crypto miners
The international monitoring body Financial Stability Board, or FSB, called for a global framework aimed at regulating and supervising crypto in the wake of FTX’s collapse, also saying it would assess vulnerabilities associated with decentralized finance. In a Dec. 6 meeting in Basel, the FSB said it planned to “enhance its crypto-assets monitoring framework” to
Three members of the United States Senate have reportedly penned a letter to Silvergate Bank requesting information about any relationship with FTX and business entities under former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. According to a Dec. 6 report from NBC News, Senators Elizabeth Warren, John Kennedy, and Roger Marshall sent a letter to Silvergate CEO Alan Lane.
Despite the Conservative Party’s rhetorical embracement of crypto under the new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the upcoming regulatory framework will reportedly tighten scrutiny over the industry. The legislation updates will broaden the powers of the financial regulator and probably limit foreign companies’ operations in the United Kingdom. According to a Financial Times report, the FTX