Regulation

As part of a series of amendments to South Africa’s financial laws, crypto-asset service providers will become accountable institutions. A report from the South African treasury announced further crypto regulations “to be finalized during 2022.” In brief, the proposed changes will ensure that “any person providing advice or intermediary services related to crypto assets must

New York state’s efforts to enforce sanctions against Russia have ramped up a gear with the Department of Financial Services, or DFS, expediting the procurement of additional blockchain analytics technology. According to a statement released Wednesday, the department will use the technology to help detect exposure to Russian individuals and entities subject to federal sanctions,

Binance, the world’s leading crypto exchange by trading volume is returning to the Malaysian markets with a strategic stake in the country’s regulated digital asset trading platfrom MX Global. Binance and Cuscapi Berhad acquired a key stake in MX Global, one of the four Recognized Market Operators – Digital Asset Exchange licensed by the Securities Commission (SC)

The Treasury Department and reportedly the White House are warning U.S.-based companies and individuals not to facilitate crypto transactions sent to certain Russian nationals and banks. According to regulations from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control scheduled to go into effect on March 1, U.S. residents may not use digital currencies to benefit

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement director has reportedly said cryptocurrency companies will not receive amnesty for reporting themselves for possible violations of securities laws. According to a Monday report from Reuters, the SEC director of the agency’s division of enforcement, Gurbir Grewal, said the agency may view crypto companies’ conduct “more favorably” if

Major global cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex is finally moving forward with its security token platform (STO) in Kazakhstan, opening the first day of trading. Bitfinex Securities, Bitfinex’s blockchain-based investment platform, is officially starting on Tuesday, the company representatives announced to Cointelegraph. Announced in September 2021, the new STO platform is regulated within Kazakhstan’s national financial hub

South Korea’s crypto market grew to 55 trillion Won ($45.9 billion) by the end of 2021, as per a new study from the country’s chief financial regulator, the Financial Service Commission. South Korea is considered among the strictest crypto markets in terms of regulatory policy implementations and made regular headlines throughout 2021 for its new

A set of 30 crypto wallets from 12 exchange accounts that have been linked to the terrorist group Hamas based in the Gaza Strip were seized on Monday by Israeli authorities. Crypto exchange al-Mutahadun held the wallets where 12 accounts were allegedly being used by Hamas leaders to fund terrorist efforts against Israel. The Times

Experts on crypto policy argue that concerns expressed by high profile politicians about Russia evading economic sanctions using cryptocurrency are “totally unfounded.” They say the crypto market is not nearly large enough nor deep enough to support the volume that Russia needs and that the country’s digital asset infrastructure is minimal. Former U.S. Secretary of

Indicted by the United States Department of Justice in a $2.4 billion Ponzi scheme, BitConnect founder Satish Kumbhani remains untraced following conviction. In a court filing on Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission said that the whereabouts of Kumbhani remains unknown. The SEC noted that Kumbhani’s last known location was in his native country India, but

The parliament of the European Union is delaying a vote on a framework aimed at regulating cryptocurrencies amid concerns over proof-of-work mining. In a Friday Twitter thread, European Parliament economics committee member Stefan Berger said the government body had canceled a vote on the Markets in Crypto Assets, or MiCA, framework scheduled to take place

Crypto is going mainstream, and the world’s younger generation, in particular, is taking note. Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com recently predicted that crypto users worldwide could reach 1 billion by the end of 2022. Further findings show that Millennials — those between the ages of 26 and 41 — are turning to digital asset investment to build

The seizure by the U.S. Department of Justice of $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) lost during the 2016 hack of Bitfinex’s cryptocurrency exchange has all the ingredients of a Hollywood film — eye-popping sums, colorful protagonists and crypto cloak-and-dagger — so much so that Netflix has already commissioned a docuseries.  But, who are the

The founder of the infamous crypto exchange BitConnect, Satish Kumbhani, has been charged for allegedly misleading investors globally and defrauding them of $2.4 billion in the process. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), a San Diego-based federal grand jury specifically charged Kumbhani for orchestrating the alleged Ponzi scheme via BitConnect’s “Lending Program”: “BitConnect operated

Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), has called on lawmakers to approve a regulatory framework on crypto, hinting at potentially preventing Russia from getting around economic sanctions. Speaking to reporters at an informal meeting of economics and finance ministers on Friday, Lagarde said the European Central Bank would be “decisively and rigorously”

BNY Mellon, a major investment bank, is developing a digital asset custody platform that would allow institutional customers to gain crypto exposure. According to a report from City A.M., customers will be able to store the world’s most popular cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), in BNY Mellon crypto wallets which are powered by Fireblocks

The founders of crypto exchange BitMEX have pled guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act after a lengthy litigation process with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). American Arthur Hayes and British Hong Konger Benjamin Delo admitted to “willfully failing to establish, implement, and maintain an anti-money laundering (AML) program” at their crypto derivatives and

The European Commission, in coordination with other authorities, reportedly plans to have its financial watchdog group potentially oversee illicit transactions at crypto firms. According to a Tuesday Bloomberg report, a group of European Union member nations led by Germany and including The Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Italy and Luxembourg plan to include crypto firms under the

Global crypto and stock markets plunged after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on a national broadcast that his army would conduct a “special military operation” in Ukraine.  As the sun began to rise in Ukraine, the Russian army launched missiles around several areas of the country, including the capital of Kiev and the city of

The United Arab Emirates is reportedly getting ready to start issuing federal licenses for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) by the end of the first quarter of 2022. The move is expected to become part of a complex regulatory framework that the Middle Eastern nation is looking to establish on its way to becoming one