Regulation

The Bahamas will have legal representation in the unfolding FTX case. The Caribbean nation chose Brown Rudnick as counsel “in certain matters of engagement related to the collapse of FTX Digital Markets Ltd.,” alongside Bahamian lawyers and other experts, according to a statement released by the law firm.  FTX Digital Markets is headquartered in the

Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy made headlines ahead of New Year’s Eve as the sale of a portion of its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings drew the attention of industry experts and critics. A regulatory filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Dec. 28 detailed the first time the firm sold some of its

Although having been granted the opportunity to enjoy Christmas and the New Year with his family, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has very few reasons for optimism in 2023. The United States Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the whereabouts of approximately $372 million in missing digital assets from FTX and its U.S.-based

On Dec. 29, 2022, days before the year’s end, Italy’s Senate approved its budget for 2023, which included an increase in taxation for crypto investors — a 26% tax on capital gains on crypto-asset trading over 2,000 euros (approximately $2,13 at time of publication). The approved legislation defines crypto assets as “a digital representation of value

New reports into Sam Bankman-Fried and his collapsed exchanges revealed that Alameda Research, the now-bankrupt crypto trading firm, almost collapsed in 2018, even before FTX was in the picture. A report published in The Wall Street Journal citing former employees revealed that Alameda incurred heavy losses from its trading algorithm. The algorithm was designed to

The year 2022 wasn’t the best one in terms of crypto reputation among regulators and policymakers. However, even amid the market breakdown and repetitive public attacks on the industry, some of the officials found the courage to embrace the innovation. Some of the names are not new, while others showed progress significant enough to include

Proof of reserves (PoR) has gone from a buzzword to a roar in recent weeks as the crypto world tries to recover from the shock and losses of the current crypto winter. After a flurry of discussion and work, criteria and rankings for adequate PoR are beginning to appear, but the fine points of how

Legislators in the United States seem to be reevaluating the crypto industry and its regulatory needs in light of FTX’s collapse. According to the Wall Street Journal, since the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy in November, lawmakers have been under pressure to set a new regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.  Several proposals are in the works

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), currently free on a $250 million bail bond, will reportedly plead not guilty to the alleged FTX and Alameda-related financial frauds in court on Jan. 3. SBF was arrested in the Bahamas at the request of the U.S. government under suspicion of defrauding investors and misappropriation of funds held

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried may not be able to offset the two counts of wire fraud and six counts of conspiracy he faces with the credits to be received if he enters a guilty plea instead of going to trial.  Set to appear in court in the first days of January to enter a

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) has completed the first trial of its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Digital Turkish Lira, and has signaled plans to continue testing throughout 2023.  According to a statement released by the CBRT on Dec. 29, the central bank authority said it successfully executed its “first

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried met with government officials at the White House on at least four separate occasions in 2022, one of which reportedly occurred just two months before the fall of his crypto empire. Most of the meetings were disclosed in visitor logs that are posted by the White House every month, with

Avraham Eisenberg was arrested in Puerto Rico on Dec. 26 on commodities fraud and manipulation charges relating to the $110 million exploit of the decentralized Mango Markets exchange. Eisenberg had self-identified as the actor behind what he called a “highly profitable trading strategy” and insisted that he had taken “legal open market actions, using the

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appealed to the country’s presidency of the G20 group of the world’s largest economies as a pulpit to call for the development of a global regulatory framework for crypto assets. In its latest financial stability report, released Dec. 29, the bank again expressed its concerns about the burgeoning

A newly elected pro-Bitcoin Prime Minister has taken office in the Pacific Islands of Fiji. The new leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, took the Fijian office on Dec. 24.  Lord Fusitu’a, a Tongan noble and a former member of the Tongan parliament, took to Twitter to share the news from his neighboring nation. Fusitu’a stated that he

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has fired off 17 separate warnings over two days against crypto brokers and websites it suspects of being fraudulent. The list includes Tahoe Digital Exchange, TeleTrade Options, Tony Alin Trading Firm, Hekamenltd/Tosal Markets Limited, Trade 1960, Yong Ying Global Investment Company Limited, Unison FX, VoyanX.com, and

With the FTX collapse leaving many users yearning for the return of lost funds, scammers are using the opportunity to take advantage of already injured victims by posing as government officials.  In a press release, the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) warned crypto investors that fake applications and websites put up by scammers are

While the government agencies are queuing to sue the FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried, the group of former customers made an effort to get their money back first. A class lawsuit initiated by four individuals demands priority access to frozen funds of the company for its customers, not investors.  The lawsuit was filed on

The crypto trader behind the $110 million exploit of decentralized exchange Mango Markets has been arrested in Puerto Rico — and charged with market manipulation and fraud. According to a previously sealed complaint filed with the Southern District of New York and made public on Dec. 27, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) pinned Avraham

BlueNoroff, part of the North Korean state-sponsored Lazarus Group, has renewed its targeting of venture capital firms, crypto startups and banks. Cybersecurity lab Kaspersky reported that the group has shown a spike in activity after a lull for most of the year and it is testing new delivery methods for its malware. BlueNoroff has created