In episode 11 of Hashing It Out, Cointelegraph’s Elisha Owusu Akyaw speaks to Steven McClurg, the chief investment officer of Valkyrie Investments, about the state of Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the way forward. Regulators in the United States have mounted stiff opposition against listing Bitcoin spot ETFs even though Canadian and European regulators
Regulation
The adoption of blockchain is the right direction for Russia to solve its current settlement issues, according to an executive at Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank. Blockchain technology has matured over the past few years to offer new capabilities that potentially enable Russia to create more efficient payment systems, Sberbank first deputy chairman Alexander Vedyakhin said.
Tom Emmer, Majority Whip of the United States House of Representatives, has reiterated concerns that the federal government is “weaponizing” concerns around the banking industry to go after crypto. In a March 15 letter, Emmer called on Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chair Martin Gruenberg to answer questions as to whether the government corporation has specifically
Crypto bank Anchorage Digital has announced it would be letting go of 75 employees, or approximately 20% of its workforce, citing regulatory uncertainty in the United States as a factor in its decision. In a March 14 statement, Anchorage labeled the layoffs “a strategic realignment to better focus our resources,” pointing to “broad macroeconomic challenges and
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase filed an amicus brief in support of a motion to dismiss the case brought by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission against former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi and others for insider trading. Coinbase says it condemns the defendants’ conduct but supports their motion because of the SEC’s assumption that the
The overnight collapse of two major traditional banks — Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank — triggered a series of events that impacted millions of businesses, venture capitalists and bottom-line investors alike. However, United States President Joe Biden assured taxpayers that they would not feel the burn as the federal government takes action to
The Federal Reserve is investigating the factors that led to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank — including how it supervised and regulated the now-collapsed financial institution. In a Mar. 13 announcement, the Federal Reserve outlined that Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr is “leading a review of the supervision and regulation of Silicon Valley
Banks are the lifeblood of a nation’s economic system, and any bank collapse is disturbing. Last week saw two failures. On March 8, Silvergate Capital — the cryptocurrency-focused banking company — entered into voluntary liquidation. On March 10, United States regulators shut down and seized the deposits of tech-oriented Silicon Valley Bank in what was being
The wider cryptocurrency community continues to debate the ongoing fallout following the closure of three major American banks, with calls for neobank services for the industry on the cards. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which has traditionally served startups across a number of innovation sector industries, was shuttered by California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation
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. DeFi has become a prominent choice for investors after multiple centralized finance (CeFi) collapses throughout 2022. Some key interest areas for investors include “NFTfi,” on-chain derivative platforms, decentralized stablecoins
Nigerian President-elect Bola Tinubu has recently released a manifesto that, if implemented, would enable the use of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in the nation’s banking and finance sector. The manifesto suggests reviewing existing Nigerian Security Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations on digital assets to make them more business-friendly. The new regulation provides a framework for regulating
The United States Federal Reserve is set to create a “specialized team of experts” to keep up with developments in the cryptocurrency industry, according to a Fed official, amid concerns from the central bank about “unregulated” stablecoins. Speaking at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington on March 9, Vice Chair for Supervision Michael
United States crypto miners could eventually be subject to a 30% tax on electricity costs under a budget proposal by President Joe Biden aimed to “reduce mining activity.” A Department of the Treasury supplementary budget explainer paper released Mar. 9 said any firm using resources — whether they be owned or rented — would be
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany (BaFin) is not ready to classify nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as securities. The agency suggests classifying the NFTs on a case-by-case basis. On March 8, the BaFin journal published an explanatory note considering NFTs legal classification. At this point, the regulators don’t see how NFTs meet the criteria to
U.S. President Joe Biden’s upcoming budget proposal has a few surprises for crypto traders and investors, including a proposed doubling of capital gains for certain investors and a crackdown on crypto wash sales. The Biden administration is set to release its fiscal 2024 budget plan on March 9, which is reportedly aimed at reducing the
According to United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a new draft of the bipartisan crypto bill pioneered by herself and Senator Cynthia Lummis will be released to the new Congress after being deferred in 2022. In a March 8 Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Senator Gillibrand asked CFTC chair
While there’s nothing new in imposing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards on crypto, it is only now that the Indian government has decided to notify all interested parties of the obligation to comply with the national AML law. On March 7, The Gazette of India published a notification from the Ministry of Finance, subjecting a range
The law firms, investment banks and consulting companies working with FTX on its bankruptcy case billed the crypto exchange a combined $34.18 million in January, court documents reveal. FTX’s chief restructuring officer and new CEO, John J. Ray III, also received a hefty pay package, charging $1,300 an hour to a total of $305,000 in
A group of United States lawmakers is reportedly planning to reintroduce legislation to change the reporting requirements for certain taxpayers involved in crypto transactions. According to a March 7 report from Punchbowl News, Representatives Patrick McHenry and Ritchie Torres plan to reintroduce the Keep Innovation in America Act. McHenry was one of the leading voices
The Chinese government has plans for a governmental overhaul, according to a new announcement. This includes introducing a new national financial regulator. On Tuesday, March 7, the government announced that its current banking and insurance watchdog, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), will be abolished. The responsibilities of this commission will be moved