Regulation

Johnny Ng, a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, took to social media on Sept. 15 in response to comments made by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin about Hong Kong’s future “friendliness” toward cryptocurrencies.  Ng said he “sincerely invites” Buterin to visit Hong Kong to better understand the region. Additionally he said he would

Lawyer John Deaton, who represents numerous XRP token holders in the Ripple- Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit, has formally submitted his notice of appearance as an Amicus Curiae in the LBRY lawsuit.  According to a document submitted on Sept. 14, 2023, to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, Deaton has officially

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Binance.US of non-cooperation in the ongoing investigation against the crypto exchange, according to a court filing dated Sept. 14. The SEC in its court filing noted that Binance.US’s holding company called BAM has produced only 220 documents during the discovery process. Many of the submitted

Hong Kong was crowned the best-prepared jurisdiction for widespread cryptocurrency adoption in 2023, retaining its crypto-readiness prowess for the second year in a row.  A study factoring in the existence and reach of crypto — via ATMs, businesses, accessibility and legality — revealed stiff competition among the 2022 leaders as Hong Kong, the United States

Cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea-linked hackers is down a whopping 80% from 2022 — but a blockchain forensics firm says it isn’t necessarily a sign of progress. As of Sept. 14, 2023, North Korea-linked hackers have stolen a total of $340.4 million worth of cryptocurrency, down from a record $1.65 billion reported funds stolen in

Two more top executives are leaving Binance.US, one day after the departure of CEO Brian Shroder and the layoff of a third of its staff, The Wall Street Journal reported. Binance.US is the United States offshoot of the international cryptocurrency exchange. Head of legal Krishna Juvvadi and chief risk officer Sidney Majalya were said to

Roni Cohen-Pavon, the former chief revenue officer of cryptocurrency lending firm Celsius, has reportedly pleaded guilty to charges related to fraud and price manipulation. According to a Sept. 13 filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Cohen-Pavon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit price manipulation, securities fraud, manipulation

A chorus of disapproval rang out from the halls of the United States Congress on Sept. 14 as the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee digital assets subcommittee held a hearing on the “digital dollar dilemma.” Five expert witnesses were scheduled to testify at the hearing, and all of them argued against creating a U.S.

Crypto winter continues sparking consolidation among crypto firms. The latest deal in the industry is the acquisition of payments and accounting platform Gilded by one of its competitors, Bitwave. According to a statement shared with Cointelegraph, the acquisition is expected to enhance Bitwave’s enterprise solutions, including crypto payments and invoicing features, as well as tools

European Union president Ursula von der Leyen announced a new initiative to give artificial intelligence (AI) startups expedited access to European supercomputers. The announcement came during the president’s 2023 E.U. State of the Union address on Sep. 13. We have to ensure AI develops in a human-centric, transparent and responsible way. I believe , together

In July, the American state of Wyoming shared an open job position for the head of its Stable Token Commission.  The executive will work alongside Wyoming’s governor, state auditor, state treasurer and four expert appointees to bring the state’s very own stablecoin to life. While Wyoming was the first to pass a law on a

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charging nonfungible token (NFT) project Stoner Cats sparked feedback from commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda, arguing that the project’s activity constitutes fan crowdfunding, which they believe is common for artists.  On Sept. 13, the SEC charged Stoner Cats 2 LLC, the firm behind the animated series

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has expressed his endorsement of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. In a recent social media post, Armstrong urged the DeFi protocols to consider legal proceedings in court to set a precedent, as the legal system has consistently demonstrated its dedication to upholding the rule of law. The current approach is mainly pushing

A Californian lawmaker has introduced a bill to protect actors, artists, and entertainers from artificial intelligence, by mandating employment contracts to include informed consent when it comes to digital replicates. Ash Kalra, an Assembly Member of the State of California — the lawmaker behind the bill — argued that generative AI presents a “real threat”

Mark Karpelès, the former CEO of the collapsed exchange Mt. Gox, seems to have little in the way of sympathy for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who’s been trying to get released from prison to prepare for his upcoming trial, citing poor internet.  “When I was arrested back in 2015, the most computing power I

Alibaba announced that its proprietary large language model, an artificial intelligence system called Tongyi Qianwen, will be available for public and enterprise access throughout China starting Sept. 13.  Tongyi Qianwen is a ChatGPT-like large language model trained on a corpus of English and Chinese text. While its exact specifications aren’t known — early rumors indicated

The Delaware bankruptcy court has approved the sale of FTX digital assets. Judge John Dorsey made the ruling at a hearing on Sept. 13. Major changes were made to the order authorizing the sale on the previous day. FTX will be allowed to sell digital assets excluding Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and “certain insider-affiliated tokens”

Lawmakers in the European Union parliament voted overwhelmingly in support of the eighth iteration of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC8), a cryptocurrency tax reporting rule, in a plenary session on Sep. 13.  Held in Strasbourg, France, the session reportedly saw DAC8 receive overwhelming support in the form of 535 member votes for and just

Stoner Cats 2 LLC (SC2), the company behind the “Stoner Cats” animated series, has agreed to a cease-and-desist order and other measures imposed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission after being charged with conducting an unregistered offering of crypto-asset securities in the form of nonfungible tokens (NFTs).  According to the SEC, SC2 sold

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a controversial marketing move — the firm is rebranding from “Huobi” to “HTX,” echoing the name of the bankrupt exchange FTX. Huobi officially announced its rebranding on Sept. 13, renaming the company to the new global brand, HTX. The new naming stands for the first letters of