In January, the brother of a former Coinbase product manager was sentenced to 10 months in prison for wire fraud conspiracy in what prosecutors called the first case of insider trading involving cryptocurrencies. In September 2022, Nikhil Wahi entered a guilty plea for executing trades based on private data obtained from his brother, Ishan Wahi,
Regulation
The Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), the regulator in charge of overseeing cryptocurrency laws within Dubai, has issued new guidelines for virtual asset service providers (VASP) operating within the emirate. According to information sent by Irina Heaver, a crypto and blockchain lawyer based in the United Arab Emirates, VARA has issued the “Full Market Product
A former product manager at cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has moved to dismiss charges of alleged insider trading, with his lawyers arguing the tokens he allegedly traded were not securities. Lawyers representing ex-Coinbase employee, Ishan Wahi, and his brother, Nikhil Wahi, filed a motion on Feb. 6 in the United States District Court for the Western
The CEO of crypto miner Layer1 Technologies has filed a lawsuit against the firm’s two other board members — including co-founder Jakov Dolic — for allegedly commandeering Layer1’s operations for their own gain. Chief executive John Harney and DGF Investments Inc — a British Virgin Islands-based investment firm — filed the lawsuit against Dolic and
The Bank of England (BoE) and U.K. Treasury are gearing up plans to create a digital currency that could “provide a new way to pay” without necessarily replacing cash. On Feb. 7, a joint consultation paper on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) is set to drop, with the BoE and Treasury seeking feedback on how,
Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF’s) lawyers have reached an agreement with federal prosecutors concerning his use of messaging apps. According to a Feb. 6 court document, both parties have agreed SBF “shall not use any encrypted or ephemeral call of messaging application, including but not limited to Signal.” However, under the agreement, the former FTX CEO will
The U.K. outline of the future financial services regulatory regime for crypto covers a broad range of topics, from the troubles of algorithmic stablecoins to nonfungible tokens and initial coin offerings. And it’s certainly good news for the industry, as the upcoming regulation doesn’t propose a ban on algorithmic stablecoins or excessive requirements on data
The Bank of Italy is looking for new ways to apply distributed ledger technology (DLT) and is preparing for the advent of Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, bank governor Ignazio Visco told a congress of Assiom Forex, the Italian financial markets association, on Feb. 4. DLT may offer benefits such as cheaper cross-border transactions and
John Ray, who took over as CEO of crypto exchange FTX, has described some of the chaotic experiences at the firm following the company declaring bankruptcy. In testimony for FTX’s case in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Feb. 6, Ray said he and other professionals had “carefully” been conducting
Regulators in Hong Kong are stepping up their game when it comes to monitoring the activities of the crypto industry. According to a Securities and Futures Commission report filed on Feb. 6, it plans to hire four additional staff to “better supervise” the activities of local virtual asset (VA) providers. Moreover, the extra oversight will help
For many countries, the tax season is right around the corner, which means companies in the crypto industry will need to be ready to help their users comply with local regulations. On Feb. 6, crypto exchange Binance announced it is launching a tax reporting tool to help users stay on track of their crypto transactions for
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO), or Interpol, is investigating how it could police crimes in the metaverse. However, a top Interpol executive believes there are issues with defining a metaverse crime. According to BBC, Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock revealed the agency’s intent to oversee criminal activities on the metaverse. Stock highlighted the ability
South Korea established guidance that specifies which types of digital assets will be considered and regulated as securities in the country. In a press release, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) highlighted that digital assets that fit the characteristics laid out in the country’s Capital Markets Act will be treated as securities. This law considers securities
When the financial system or the economy as a whole undergoes a rapid and large decline, it is said to be in a financial crisis. Financial assets like stocks, bonds, and real estate often see a sharp and significant decline in value during financial crises. They can also be identified by a decline in credit
The New Jersey Bureau of Securities has ordered three website operators to stop luring romance-seeking victims into their fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes. The three firms hit with the cease and desist orders were Meta Capitals Limited, Cresttrademining Limited and Forex Market Trade, according to a Feb. 3 press release from New Jersey’s Attorney General Matthew Platkin.
The Bank of England (BoE) and Treasury believes the United Kingdom is likely to need to create a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by 2030, according to a Telegraph report on Feb. 4. The “digital pound” roadmap is set to be introduced next week, a government source told the newspaper. Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe is
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has seized two non-fungible tokens (NFTs) worth more than $100,000 and 86.5 Ether (ETH) from a reported phishing scammer. The alleged scammer in question, Chase Senecal — known as Horror (HZ) online — was initially exposed via a lengthy investigation by independent blockchain sleuth ZachXBT posted back in September.
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. 2023 started on a bullish note for the entire crypto market, including the DeFi ecosystem, with most of the tokens posting double-digit gains in January and recording multi-month highs.
The tZERO Crypto exchange, whose majority owner is Overstock, will shut down on March 6, the company announced via Twitter on Feb. 3. The company says that it will continue to focus on its regulated securities products after the shutdown, as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulators clarify the legal
Rostin Behnam, chair of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has said he will be continuing efforts for the agency to regulate non-security tokens. In remarks released for a Feb. 3 American Bar Association event, Behnam pointed to “bankruptcies, failures, and runs” as part of the justification for Congress to give the