Regulation

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has announced a $1.4-million settlement with former NBA player Paul Pierce for allegedly promoting a token project on social media. In a Feb. 17 announcement, the SEC said Pierce touted EthereumMax (EMAX) tokens through social media channels without disclosing he had received payment for the promotion and made

Japan, a nation where foreign stablecoins like USDT are prohibited, plans to begin its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot in April 2023. It will aim to include private businesses and test an ecosystem.  On Feb. 17 the Bank of Japan (BoJ) released the opening speech of its executive director Shinichi Uchida at the CBDC

Crypto scam revenue was slashed by almost half in 2022 due mainly to falling crypto asset prices, but two scam types managed to stay immune. Crypto scam revenue in 2022, which includes investment scams, NFT scams and romance scams, among others, amounted to $5.9 billion in the year — down 46% from 2021. The data

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

The European Union is famous for its ambivalent relationship with privacy — on the one hand, it was the first place in the world to apply strict data protection regulations. On the other, its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project lacks the anonymity standards of private cryptocurrencies.  Nevertheless, last week EU lawmakers made a vital

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of crypto exchange FTX may no longer be able to play League of Legends and other video games if newly proposed changes to his bail conditions from United States prosecutors are approved. In a Feb. 15 letter to United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams asked the

Judge John Dorsey of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has denied a motion appointing an independent examiner for FTX. In a Feb. 15 hearing, Judge Dorsey said he had some discretion under the law to choose whether to appoint an examiner in the FTX bankruptcy case despite some of the

A bi-partisan Anti-Money Laundering (AML) bill that covers “decentralized entities” such as decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) will soon be reintroduced to Congress, according to United States Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren, a vocal crypto critic, argued at the Feb. 14 Senate Banking Committee’s hearing entitled, “Crypto Crash: Why Financial System Safeguards

USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle has denied rumors that it received a “Wells Notice” over its United States dollar-pegged stablecoin. On Feb. 14, a now-deleted tweet from Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett claimed Circle had been ordered by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to cease the sale of USDC due to the stablecoin being

Prosecutors behind the criminal case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried have requested additional time to consider the legal implications of him using a virtual private network, or VPN. In a Feb. 13 filing with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said the Justice Department

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly planning to propose new rule changes this week that could impact what services crypto firms can offer their clients.  According to a Feb. 14 report from Bloomberg citing “people familiar with the matter,” the securities regulator is working on a draft proposal that would make

New York State’s Department of Financial Services, or NYDFS, reportedly received a complaint from stablecoin issuer Circle regarding Binance’s reserves prior to its crackdown on BUSD. According to a Feb. 13 Bloomberg report, Circle alerted NYDFS in an autumn 2022 complaint that Binance’s reserves were insufficient to support its tokens, seemingly including stablecoin Binance USD

The European Parliament has released a report on a draft bill proposing that banks holding cryptocurrencies set aside a large amount of capital in an effort to address potential risk. In a Feb. 9 notice, EU lawmakers said any framework applied to crypto assets should “adequately mitigate the risks of these instruments for the institutions’

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) is planning to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for cross-border and domestic use as part of the first of its newly-launched financial infrastructure transformation (FIT) program.  In a recent announcement, the CBUAE introduced the FIT program and highlighted its aim to support the country’s financial

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly told stablecoin issuer Paxos Trust Co. it’s planning to sue the firm for violation of investor protection laws in relation to Binance USD (BUSD).  According to a Feb. 12 report in The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter, the SEC issued a

What is monetary policy? Monetary policy refers to the actions taken by a central bank or monetary authority to manage the supply of money and interest rates in an economy, with the aim of promoting economic growth and stability. To affect the price and accessibility of credit, this may entail altering the money supply, setting

A major Brazilian bank is offering a new and convenient option for taxpayers to settle their dues using cryptocurrencies. According to a statement published by Brazilian bank Banco do Brasil on Feb. 11, it is now “possible” for Brazilian taxpayers to pay their tax bill with crypto, in a joint initiative with Brazilian-based crypto firm

The joint provisional liquidators of FTX Digital Markets — the firm’s subsidiary in the Bahamas — have released a report on the company’s physical assets in the island nation. According to an affidavit filed by a PricewaterhouseCoopers partner with the Bahamas’ supreme court on Feb. 8, FTX’s joint provisional liquidators, or JPLs, said the company

Will 2023 finally see an explosion of crypto gaming? The signs are mixed, with former play-to-earn darling Axie Infinity falling out of favor and hemorrhaging players, while mainstream gamers report that Web3 games still have playability issues. The bright spot is that AAA games are finally starting to emerge in Web3, with projects like Illuvium

Kazakhstan, one of the biggest Bitcoin (BTC) mining hubs in the world, announced plans to introduce new crypto regulations aimed at reducing tax fraud and unlawful business operations.  A new law signed by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Feb. 6 reinstated the nation’s stand against the unlawful mining operations and issuance of crypto assets. Out