Regulation

Bitcoin (BTC) miners in the United States can breathe a sigh of relief after a proposed tax on crypto mining did not make it into a bill to raise the U.S. debt ceiling that appears set to pass. The Digital Assets Mining Energy (DAME) excise tax proposal sought to charge crypto miners a tax equal

Demox Labs has debuted a new wallet for the privacy-oriented Aleo blockchain network, according to a June 1 announcement. Called “Leo,” the wallet allows users to generate zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs within their browsers, letting them interact with Aleo’s ZK-based apps. Aleo is in its testnet phase but expects to launch a mainnet later this year.

Lawmakers with the United States House Financial Services Committee and House Agriculture Committee have released a draft discussion offering certain crypto assets a pathway to being labeled digital commodities. According to a discussion draft published on June 2, lawmakers proposed “establishing a functional framework” aimed at providing regulatory clarity for crypto firms in the United

Christy Goldsmith Romero, a commissioner with the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has commented on a proposal amending the government body’s Risk Management Program with respect to digital assets. In a June 1 notice, the CFTC said it would be opening a proposed rule change for amendments to its risk management requirements applicable

Officials in Japan are beginning to tighten their stance towards artificial intelligence (AI) after the country’s local privacy watchdog warned the ChatGPT parent company about its data collection methods.  On June 2, Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission issued a statement, asking OpenAI to minimize the amount of sensitive data it collects for machine learning purposes.

Venture capital firm the Digital Currency Group (DCG) and its CEO Barry Silbert have requested to consolidate two class-action lawsuits over alleged losses during the crypto winter. In a letter sent to United States District Judge Stefan Underhill in Connecticut, the defendants argued that both cases “arise from the same facts, present overlapping legal issues

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has slammed Qatar Central Bank (QCB) for making little effort to enforce its own regulations prohibiting virtual asset service providers. In a report published on May 31, the global money-laundering and terrorist financing watchdog highlighted that Qatar needs to advance its capabilities to effectively combat evolving forms of criminal activity,

As the cryptocurrency industry faces regulatory challenges in the United States, public crypto exchange Coinbase is moving forward with its futures contracts. On June 1, Coinbase revealed its plans to introduce Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) futures contracts on June 5 through its Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated derivatives exchange. The futures contracts will be targeted

The Federal Reserve Board of the United States has issued a consent order to Silvergate Bank and its parent company as part of the institution’s plans to “wind down operations” and liquidate. In a June 1 notice, the Fed said Silvergate Capital Corporation and the bank will have 10 days to submit a self-liquidation plan

Keep your money in an insured account, not on an uninsured payment app, the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) warned Americans in a report released June 1. The increasing popularity and utility of nonbank peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps, including for crypto asset transactions, makes the risk of loss in the event of a

Binance users in Australia now have a narrowed pool of options to purchase cryptocurrencies amid the ongoing global debanking of crypto businesses. Since 5:00 p.m. local time on June 1, fiat on-ramps and off-ramps by bank transfers have been halted in Australia. The suspension includes trading for Australian dollar (AUD) pairs.  The shutdown of deposits

A group of Dogecoin (DOGE) investors has requested leave to amend a class-action lawsuit against soon-to-be former CEO of Twitter Elon Musk, alleging he manipulated the price of the meme token. In a May 31 filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the investors claimed Musk used his

Georgia, a major cryptocurrency-friendly country among Post-Soviet states, is preparing to start monitoring crypto firms to prevent money laundering and comply with sanctions. The National Bank of Georgia plans to launch mandatory supervision of virtual asset service providers (VASP) starting Sept. 1, 2023. NBG’s acting governor Archil Mestvirishvili said that the new regulatory measures will

An Italian senator spoke before members of the Italian parliament with — unbeknownst to parliament members — a speech entirely composed by artificial intelligence (AI). In the parliamentary meeting on May 31, Italian Senator Marco Lombardo pulled the stunt to spark a “serious debate” among his colleagues about what’s at stake and in-store from AI

The Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, Crypto.com, announced on June 1 that it had been granted a major payment institution (MPI) license for digital payment token (DPT) services by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The announcement comes after Crypto.com received its in-principle approval from MAS in June 2022. With the MPI license, Crypto.com is now authorized

Japanese artificial intelligence experts and researchers are urging caution over the use of illegally-obtained information to train AI, which they believe could lead to “a large number of copyright infringement cases,” job losses, false information, and the leaking of confidential information. On May 26, a draft from the government’s AI strategy council was submitted, raising

The Australian government has announced a sudden eight-week consultation that will seek to understand whether any “high-risk” artificial intelligence tools should be banned. Other regions including the United States, the European Union and China have also launched measures to understand and potentially mitigate risks associated with rapid AI development in recent months. On June 1,

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is seeking to subpoena documents from Fenwick & West. That’s the law firm that served as the outside counsel to FTX, Alameda Research and SBF personally from “early in their development” until the FTX bankruptcy. Now SBF’s legal team wants to use the documents in his defense in the 13-count criminal case

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has suggested a link between cryptocurrency payments and companies based in China that provided precursors for the opioid fentanyl. In a May 31 hearing of the United States Senate Banking Committee on China, Warren pointed to a report from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic to suggest a connection between cryptocurrency and “illegal

Officials with the European Union have signed the Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA, bill into law following final approval from finance ministers. On May 31, Sweden’s minister for rural affairs, Peter Kullgren, and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola signed the long-anticipated cryptocurrency regulatory framework into law roughly three years after the European Commission introduced the