American socialite Kim Kardashian will pay $1.26 million in penalties for her involvement in the promotion of a cryptocurrency scheme called EthereumMax (EMAX). The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the charges against Kardashian on Oct. 3 for “touting on social media a crypto asset security offered and sold by EthereumMax” without disclosing the
Regulation
Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Financial Monitoring Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan as a part of its global law enforcement training program. The program, which involves officials from regulatory and law enforcement organizations worldwide, aims to strengthen industry cooperation with national and international law enforcement in
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has submitted an objection to Celsius’ motion to reopen withdrawals for select customers and sell its stablecoin holdings. The DOJ is asserting that the state of Celsius’ financials are lacking transparency, and that key decisions like this should not be considered until the independent examiner report has been filed. The
The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced last month that it had issued desist and refrain orders to 11 entities for violating California securities laws. Some of the highlights included allegations that they offered unqualified securities as well as material misrepresentations and omissions to investors. These violations should remind us that while
United States Senator Bill Hagerty, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, introduced legislation seeking a safe harbor for cryptocurrency exchanges from “certain” Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement actions. The Digital Trading Clarity Act of 2022, introduced by Sen. Hagerty, aims to provide regulatory clarity around two primary concerns plaguing crypto exchange establishments —
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, filed a complaint against Digitex LLC and its founder and CEO Adam Todd for failing to register the cryptocurrency futures exchange and manipulating the price of its DGTX token. According to a Sept. 30 court filing in the Southern District of Florida, Todd allegedly pumped up
A poll of 800 likely midterm voters in four U.S. swing states suggested that the overwhelming majority favored ideas around decentralization, and many were HODLers. According to a Sept. 29 report from venture capital firm Haun Ventures on a survey conducted by business intelligence company Morning Consult, roughly one in five voters polled in New
According to the CEO of blockchain development agency Labrys, Lachan Feeney, approximately 45% of all Ethereum blocks currently being validated run MEV-boost relay flashbots and comply with United States sanctions. Speaking to Cointelegraph in an interview on Sept. 30, Feeney noted that while reports have stated that 25% of all blocks validated since the Merge
State regulators from Texas and Vermont have filed a motion objecting to embattled crypto lender Celsius’ plans to sell off its stablecoin holdings. Separate motions from both regulators filed on Sept. 29 argue that there’s a risk the firm could use the capital to resume operating in violation of state laws. The filings come after a
The Crypto Market Integrity Coalition (CMIC) announced the induction of eight new members, the organization announced on Sept. 29. The organization, which now has 38 members who have all taken a pledge to uphold market integrity and efficiency, describes itself as such: “CMIC […] gives a unified voice to the crypto industry’s commitment to continually
The right to privacy is enshrined in many legal traditions around the world. In the United States, it’s protected by the Fourth Amendment; in the European Union, it falls under Article 8 of the European Convention for Human Rights. While definitions differ between jurisdictions, most of us have a right to a reasonable expectation of
Ripple Labs scored a victory in its continuing legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Sept. 29 as U.S. District Court Judge Analisa Torres ruled to release the documents written by former SEC Corporation Finance Division Director William Hinman. The documents predominantly relate to a speech Hinman delivered at the
Will Peck, the head of digital assets at exchange-traded fund provider WisdomTree said regulators in the United States will “ultimately get there” on approving a Bitcoin spot investment vehicle, but dealing with claims of market manipulation could be a challenge. Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Converge22 conference in San Francisco on Sept. 29, Peck said
North Carolina Representative Patrick McHenry may have used his virtual appearance at a cryptocurrency conference as a soapbox for calling for votes in the 2022 United States midterm elections. In a prerecorded message for the attendees of the Converge22 conference in San Francisco on Sept. 29, McHenry suggested that the goal of a “clear regulatory
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has announced charges against Hydrogen Technology Corporation and its market marker Moonwalkers Trading Limited related to allegedly perpetrating a scheme to manipulate the trading volume and price of Hydro tokens. In a Sept. 28 announcement, the SEC said former Hydrogen CEO Michael Ross Kane hired Moonwalkers
Members of the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) called Ooki DAO have started looking into an appropriate response to the charges filed by the United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). On Sept. 22, the CFTC announced a $250,000 penalty and settlement with bZeroX, the creators of the decentralized lending platform bZx protocol which suffered from
The Caribbean region is in a tough situation for banking. The 35 nations comprising the region face challenges common to many tiny economies, such as dollarization and dependence on foreign trade and remittances. In addition, the increasingly common banking practice called de-risking is taking a heavy toll. So, it is probably no coincidence that the
Despite Russia pushing the idea of using cryptocurrencies for cross-border payments, it still remains unclear what digital asset exactly the government plans to adopt for such transactions. Russian authorities are quite unlikely to approve the use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) for cross-border transactions, according to local lawyers and fintech executives. Bank of Russia needs
Kazakhstan is ready to legalize a mechanism for converting cryptocurrencies to cash if there is demand, said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, per local news agency Informburo on Sept. 28. Speaking at the international forum Digital Bridge 2022, Tokayev emphasized that Kazakhstan aims to become an international leader in the field of digital technology, cryptocurrency ecosystem and
Terraform Labs, the company behind the development of the Terra (LUNA) blockchain said South Korea’s case against its co-founder Do Kwon has become political, alleging prosecutors expanded the definition of a security in response to public pressure. “We believe that this case has become highly politicized, and that the actions of the Korean prosecutors demonstrate