While FTX customers worldwide patiently await a conclusion to the FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) litigation, users of FTX Japan have started withdrawing all of their funds. On Nov. 7, 2022, crypto exchange FTX and its subsidiaries slowed fund withdrawals after Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, announced the crypto exchange would liquidate its substantial holdings of
Regulation
The Central Bank of Jordan is closer to its next step toward a retail central bank digital currency (rCBDC) with the completion of an International Monetary Fund technical report on the country’s markets. The IMF conducted a three-month mission last year to assist the bank with preparations for a CBDC feasibility report. The IMF released
Even as the crypto market continues to forge an impressive recovery from the 2022 bear market, the industry continues to attract the wrath of regulators worldwide, especially in the United States. Three U.S. financial watchdogs recently issued stern warnings to individuals looking to invest in retirement funds offering exposure to digital assets. The U.S. Securities
The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has assessed a paper on crypto asset policy published by the fund and expressed its agreement with its proposed policy framework. The paper, titled “Elements of Effective Policies for Crypto Assets,” developed a framework of nine policy principles that addressed macrofinancial, legal and regulatory, and international coordination
Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer has introduced legislation in the United States House of Representatives that could limit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. In a Feb. 22 announcement, Representative Emmer said he had introduced the ‘CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act’ in an apparent effort to protect Americans’ right to financial
The United States Congress needs to take control of crypto legislation and make it a more “open process” where the entire marketplace is looked at “comprehensively,” suggests Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association — a prominent U.S. crypto industry nonprofit. In a Feb. 22 Bloomberg interview, Smith said the industry needs U.S. lawmakers to
Bank of Zambia and the country’s securities regulator are “testing technology” to enable the regulation of cryptocurrencies, said Technology and Science minister Felix Mutati on the ministry’s website. The country’s move aims to “achieve an inclusive digital economy.” Speaking in the city of Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, the minister claimed that “cryptocurrency is the future that
The Capital Market Authority (CMA), Oman’s financial markets regulator, looks to establish a new regulatory framework for the virtual asset industry in the Sultanate. According to a Feb. 14 press release, the new rules would include oversight of virtual asset activities, a licensing process for virtual asset service providers (VASPs), and a framework to identify
The Bank of Russia is preparing to roll out the first consumer pilot for the nation’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) on April 1, 2023. Russia’s central bank is set to soon debut the first real-world digital ruble transactions involving 13 local banks and several merchants, first deputy governor Olga Skorobogatova said. The official noted
Only days after reports of United States regulatory scrutiny of Paxos and Binance USD (BUSD), cryptocurrency exchange Binance has minted nearly $50 million worth of TrueUSD (TUSD). The transaction took place on Feb. 16, according to data from Etherscan, and also comes two days after Binance CEO Chanpeng “CZ” Zhao said in a Feb. 14 Twitter
Debtors for crypto lender Celsius Network have the authority to sell coupons for mining firm Bitmain coupons worth roughly $7.4 million following a ruling from a bankruptcy judge. In a Feb. 16 court filing, United States Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn said it was in the “best interests of the Debtors’ estates, their creditors, and other
Wyoming lawmakers have passed a bill that will prohibit courts in the state from forcing someone to disclose their digital asset private keys, with one minor exception. The bill was passed by a vote of 41-13 in the Wyoming House of Representatives on Feb. 15, a day after passing 31-0 in the Wyoming Senate. If
The world’s largest digital asset exchange, Binance, is preparing to face fines and penalties in order to settle outstanding regulatory and law-enforcement investigations in the United States. According to a Feb. 15 WSJ report citing the firm’s chief strategy officer Patrick Hillmann, Binance has been working with regulators to remedy past compliance issues. Hillmann stated
Lawmakers in the Kansas House of Representatives have introduced a bill proposing to amend the legislature’s rules on political campaign donations. According to the bill, no person would be allowed to make or accept crypto contributions of more than $100 for any political candidate in the state’s primary or general election. For donations under $100,
The official committee of Celsius creditors is proposing to sue Celsius co-founder Alex Mashinsky and other executives for “fraud, recklessness, gross mismanagement and self-interested conduct” that eventually led to the collapse of the crypto lender. In a proposed complaint filed in a New York Bankruptcy Court on Feb. 14, attorneys representing the Official Committee of
Despite attempts to police cryptocurrency through enforcement actions, United States financial regulators “are bound by legal reality” and Congress will ultimately decide crypto regulations, the policy expert for the crypto advocacy group Blockchain Association says. The association’s chief policy officer, Jake Chervinsky, shared his views in an extensive Feb. 14 Twitter thread on the state
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission and its chair Gary Gensler were the targets of many lawmakers and witnesses at a hearing exploring the crash of the crypto market. In a Feb. 14 hearing at the Senate Banking Committee titled ‘Crypto Crash: Why Financial System Safeguards are Needed for Digital Assets’, ranking member Tim
Indian authorities once again demonstrated their tough stance on cryptocurrencies with a preemptive ban on crypto advertising and sponsorships in the local women’s cricket league. As reported by Planet Sport on Feb. 14, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sent a 68-page advisory to the Women’s Premier League teams, specifying the activities
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance plans to continue supporting its Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin despite its issuer Paxos facing a stop order from American regulators. As reported by Cointelegraph, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has ordered blockchain firm Paxos to cease issuing dollar-pegged stablecoin BUSD. Paxos has also received a wells notice from the
Crypto exchange Coinbase’s executives are standing up for its crypto staking services, claiming it cannot be classified as a security, and threatening to bring the matter to the courts in the United States. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on Twitter that the company will “defend this in court if needed.” The move follows the agreement reached