The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have hit former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX co-founder Gary Wang with fresh fraud charges. The new charges from the SEC and CFTC come as the pair plead guilty to federal fraud charges filed by the U.S.
Regulation
A state-owned electric utility provider in the Canadian province of British Columbia is set to halt all new electricity-connection requests from cryptocurrency miners for a period of 18 months. The British Columbia government made the announcement in a statement on Dec. 21 stating that the pause will allow the government and BC Hydro to develop
The governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Shaktikanta Das, did not mince his words when discussing the crypto sector at a recent conference, asserting that “private” crypto will be behind the next financial crisis. Speaking at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit on Dec. 21, Das argued that private cryptocurrencies — those that are
The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has ordered crypto lending platform MyConstant to cease offering a number of its crypto-related products over alleged state securities law violations. The DFPI stated in a press release on Dec. 21 that it has ordered MyConstant to “desist and refrain” from offering its peer-to-peer loan brokering
Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang have pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges and are cooperating with prosecutors as part of the criminal case against the former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried. United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), Damian Williams made the announcement on Dec.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against Thor Technologies and its cofounder and CEO David Chin in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Dec. 21. The SEC claimed that Thor’s 2018 initial coin offering (ICO) constituted an unregistered securities sale under the Securities Act of 1933. Thor Technologies raised
Crypto exchange Coinbase was granted permission by the Central Bank of Ireland to act as a virtual asset service provider (VASP), according to a Dec. 21 announcement. The company’s operations in the country will be overseen by Cormac Dinan, a former employee of Crypto.com, Deloitte and Citigroup. Under the VASP registration, Coinbase Ireland will be
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who has been in the custody of Bahamian authorities, faces extradition to the United States following a hearing. According to reports, Bankman-Fried appeared in a hearing of The Bahamas Magistrate Court on Dec. 21 — the third since his arrest — where he waived his right to a formal extradition
A Russian legislator who was one of the authors of the bill to legalize cryptocurrency mining in the country has been tied to a local over-the-counter (OTC) exchange known as Bankoff. Russian opposition activist Mikhail Khodorkovsky linked Bankoff OTC to lawmaker Andrei Lugovoi in an article of London-based investigative project Dossier Center on Dec. 19.
Financial regulators in France continue flagging illicit players on the foreign exchange (forex) and cryptocurrency markets, blacklisting a fresh batch of related websites. The French stock markets regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), and the Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR), on Dec. 21, updated a blacklist of websites identified as unauthorized investments in forex
The transactions of “designated crypto assets” entered into from the tax year 2022 to 2023 onwards will be qualified for the Investment Manager Exemption in the United Kingdom. Certain legislation was announced by the U.K. government back in April and is now executed by the Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). On Dec.
From Jan. 1, 2023, the term “virtual currency” will take its place in the money transmission regulations of Alaska. It will oblige the companies dealing with digital currencies to obtain a money transmission license in the state. As reported by the law firm Cooley on Dec. 19, the state of Alaska amended its money transmission
With more regulators eyeing the crypto space as the FTX debacle continues, the $1.5 billion merger of online investing platform Superhero with the Australian crypto exchange Swyftx was shelved. In an email to its customers, Superhero highlighted that it will not be proceeding with its merger with the crypto exchange. According to the company, this
Before its downfall, crypto exchange FTX and its then-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried had been some of the most prolific spenders in the space, bailing out crypto firms and donating to political campaigns and media outlets. With more than 1 million FTX creditors looking to be made whole, what’s happening with these funds? Bankman-Fried said in May
If you saw the returns in my crypto portfolio this year, you would take a pass on my predictions for the direction of the cryptocurrency market. So, I will stick to what I know and share some regulatory predictions for the crypto industry. Few legislative changes A few minor victories will logroll small legislative fixes
More than six months after the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, South Korean authorities continue to investigate and freeze the funds of persons involved in Terra. After seizing 140 billion won ($108 million) from Terra co-founder Shin Hyun-Seong in November, the Seoul Southern District Court has recently ruled to confiscate more assets related to Terra.
Busan, the blockchain city of South Korea, has moved a step closer to forming a local crypto exchange, but it has dropped most of the global centralized exchange partners. The drastic decision comes in the wake of the recent colossal failure of centralized exchanges. The city announced the steering committee comprising 18 local blockchain experts
North Carolina Representative Patrick McHenry, the current ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee and chair starting in January, has reintroduced legislation aimed at creating innovation offices within government agencies dealing with financial services. In a Dec. 19 announcement, McHenry said he had reintroduced the Financial Services Innovation Act, a bill he previously pushed
It would be ideal for the industry for Congress to weigh in on its fate rather than leaving it to unelected regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). To that end, representatives from both sides of the aisle have introduced bills designed to offer “regulatory clarity.” The moderate position seems to favor placing crypto
Staffers at the Bank of Canada released an analytic note on fiat-referenced crypto assets, otherwise known as stablecoins, Dec. 19. In addition to a review of mechanisms for creating and distributing stablecoins and a list of the potential risks and benefits they involve, the note expressed the authors’ support for further regulation of the crypto