The Chinese city of Wuhan had reportedly shelved its aspirational nonfungible tokens (NFTs) plans amid growing regulatory uncertainty around the crypto and Web3 technologies in the country. Wuhan first announced its plans to support metaverse and NFTs in the aftermath of the coronavirus breakout as a measure to boost its economy ruined by the pandemic.
Regulation
Over several years, social media influencers have earned a bad rep among regulators for shilling risky and unvetted tokens to millions of investors. Pursuing the crackdown on such scenarios, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reportedly issued a subpoena to influencers who were found promoting cryptocurrencies such as HEX, PulseChain and PulseX. Swedish researcher
Considering that protocol-level censorship is deterrent to the crypto ecosystem’s goal of highly open and accessible finance, the community has been keeping track of Ethereum’s growing compliance with standards laid down by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Over the last 24 hours, the Ethereum network was found to enforce OFAC compliance on over
The United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, has announced its representatives will be available on a one-to-one basis to discuss financial technology. In a Nov. 3 announcement, the OCC said entities considering fintech products and services, partnerships with banks, or concerns “related to responsible innovation in financial services” have the
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 first week of November proved to be the institutionalization of DeFi markets as major international banks and financial institutions executed and completed their first DeFi transaction. The global
Members of the United Kingdom’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee have opened an inquiry to hear from the public on the potential benefits and risks of nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, and blockchain on the country’s economy. In a Nov. 4 announcement, the DCMS committee said its inquiry was related to the sudden growth of
The 2022 midterm elections will be held in the United States on Nov. 8. Thirty-four senators and all 435 members of the House of Representatives will be running. According to media reports, cryptocurrency lobbyists and political action committees have poured millions of dollars into select campaigns, and extensive polling has shown crypto to be on
Amid Twitter beginning mass layoffs, the company employees are launching a class-action lawsuit against the new Twitter CEO, Elon Musk. According to multiple sources, Musk started massive layoffs at Twitter on Nov. 4, reducing the company’s workforce of 7,500 people. The CEO was speculated to cut as much as 50% of Twitter’s staff, or about
Fintech firm Ripple is garnering more support from the crypto and finance industry in its ongoing battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On Nov. 4, Ripple chief executive Brad Garlinghouse proudly tweeted that the number of companies, developers, exchanges, associations, and investors officially supporting the firm has reached 12. The pile
Crypto exchange Coinbase saw a huge fall in its transaction revenues in the third quarter after activity fell amid a broader market downturn, but managed to cut its losses in half compared to the prior quarter. In its shareholder letter released Nov. 3, the company shared that transaction reven had fallen from $655.2 million in
The Canadian federal government is set to launch a consultation on cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) as revealed in its new mini-budget. The government’s “2022 Fall Economic Statement” released on Nov. 3 by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland works as a fiscal update in conjunction with its main yearly budget. The statement
Multinational banking group Santander has placed a limit on all crypto transactions for its customers in the UK. The group cited cryptocurrency fraud warnings from regulators as the reason behind its decision. According an announcement on Nov. 3, the bank plans to protect its customers from the risks associated with investing in crypto assets, sharing that: “money held
The Digital Agency of Japan, aimed at harmonizing nationwide initiatives related to digital transformation, has launched a research decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, targeting Web3. In a Nov. 2 meeting, the Digital Agency said it had established a DAO in an effort to explore the “functions and roles” of DAOs. The group added it would
Despite the turbulence that broke out in the crypto market this summer, there is an important long-term marker that should be considered in any complex assessment — the combination of adoption and regulation. The latest report by EUBlockchain Observatory, named “EU Blockchain Ecosystem Developments,” tries to measure this combination within the European Union, combining the
The European Union (EU) bill aiming to regulate cryptocurrencies could result in crypto influencers being charged with market manipulation if they fail to disclose potential conflicts of interest. The Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) bill, which has been approved by the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on Oct. 10, is expected to
Australia’s financial services and markets regulator has issued another glaring warning towards issuers of crypto-based financial products, particularly those inappropriately marketing high-risk products. Joe Longo, chair of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) in an opening speech at the ASIC annual forum on Nov. 3 local time said it will use current laws to police
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or FINMA, has announced it will be extending an anti-money laundering ordinance which requires identity checks for reporting certain crypto transactions. In a Nov. 2 notice, the Switzerland financial regulator said it would enforce a threshold of 1,000 Swiss francs — roughly $997 at the time of publication —
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) announced on Nov. 1 that its crypto token regime has come into force in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) special economic zone, with a six-month transition period. The new regime is the DFSA’s second round of regulations, building on the “Regulation of Investment Tokens” introduced at the DIFC
Last month’s proposal from Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of crypto exchange FTX, for regulators to establish a litany of standards for the cryptocurrency industry poses an existential threat to decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms and entrepreneurial spirit. As one of a select few with the capital and clout to move the needle in the discussion surrounding crypto
United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler cited major enforcement actions against crypto firms as part of the “economic realities” of securities regulation. In written remarks for the Practising Law Institute’s Annual Institute on Securities Regulation on Nov. 2, Gensler used examples of SEC enforcement against crypto lending firm BlockFi and a former