Regulation

Senator Elizabeth Warren was the lead author of a letter signed by 28 other senators and 76 members of the House of Representatives about the role of cryptocurrency in financing terrorism. Signers came from both parties and included one independent, although Democrats predominate. The letter, dated Oct. 17, was addressed to Treasury Under Secretary for

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury has sanctioned a crypto operator allegedly connected to the terrorist group Hamas. In an Oct. 18 notice, OFAC announced sanctions for Hamas operatives and financial facilitators following the organization’s attack on Israel. The entities added to OFAC’s list of specially

The United Kingdom will be hosting the world’s inaugural international summit on artificial intelligence (AI) safety in November 2023. This event seeks to establish the U.K.’s presence as a mediator between the United States, China and the European Union in the critical field of technology post-Brexit. The summit scheduled for Nov. 1–2 will place significant

The Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) Project Atlas report offers yet another indication that the worlds of crypto and traditional finance may be converging. On the surface, this proof-of-concept project backed by some of Europe’s biggest central banks — like German central bank Deutsche Bundesbank and Dutch central bank De Nederlandsche Bank — seems modest

Ethereum restaking — proposed by middleware protocol EigenLayer — is a controversial innovation over the past year that has some of the brightest minds worried about the potential ramifications. Restaking involves reusing staked or locked-up Ether tokens to earn fees and rewards. The restaked tokens can then help secure and validate other protocols.  Proponents believe

The eighth iteration of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC8) — a cryptocurrency tax reporting rule — was formally adopted by the Council of the European Union on Oct. 17. The regulation will enter into force after publication in the Official Journal of the EU.  The DAC was sanctioned in May 2023 following the enactment

During her opening speech at the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) seminar on financial inclusion in Marrakesh, Morocco, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said digitalization is “the most important way” to scale up financial inclusion.  “It is digital that moves help to people, investment and ability of the economy to accelerate,” Georgieva said, citing digital cash

Major cryptocurrency exchanges and businesses are being lured to a proverbial crypto oasis around the Persian Gulf, according to Binance FZE’s general manager. Alex Chehade, who heads Binance’s local operation in Dubai, tells Cointelegraph reporter Ezra Reguerra that progressive regulatory frameworks in the region are a major drawcard for startups and established industry players: “What

Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) need a comprehensive regulatory framework if they are to make a place in the future of the financial sector, suggests the European Central Bank (ECB) occasional paper (OP). The OP “The future of DAOs in finance – in need of legal status,” authored by Ellen Naudts, Market Infrastructure Expert Payments at

The use of cryptocurrency by Hamas militants to fund recent attacks on Israel may have set back Coinbase’s crypto lobbying efforts in the United States, says a new investment report from Berenberg Capital Markets.  In an Oct. 18 research note, Berenberg lead analyst Mark Palmer said the primary driver of his “cautious stance” towards Coinbase

The European Union’s financial regulatory landscape is in flux with the introduction of multiple Anti-Money Laundering (AML) directives and related laws. These regulations, although designed to protect the financial system, come at a hidden, and sometimes steep, cost to consumers and financial institutions alike. It’s imperative to understand their wider implications, and to question whether

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is preparing regulations to supplement the Virtual Asset Users Protection Act passed earlier this year, according to local reports. New regulations should be ready by January, well ahead of the law entering into force, the FSS head said. The South Korean National Assembly Political Affairs Committee conducted an audit

North Carolina Representative Patrick McHenry, chair of the United States House Financial Services Committee and crypto proponent in Congress, is still temporarily in the third most powerful role in government after one of his Republican colleagues failed to secure enough votes. In a vote conducted with members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct.

The United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released a notice on Oct. 17 expanding the already existing export controls of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China.  The BIS wrote that the newly released rules “reinforce” those put in place back in October 2022, with the goal of restricting China’s ability

Federal Reserve Board governor Michelle Bowman shared her views on financial innovation in a speech at Harvard Law School on Oct. 17. Bowman has spoken several times on the topic, and her position seems to be growing more bearish.  Bowman spoke at length about central bank digital currency (CBDC) and stablecoin. She also considered “unified

Lawyers representing former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Sam Bankman-Fried conducted their cross-examination of Nishad Singh, pressing the former engineering director on events leading to Alameda Research using funds from the crypto exchange. According to reports from the courtroom on Oct. 17, Singh admitted “there was a lot” he didn’t remember from June to July 2022

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released a consultation paper on Oct. 17, proposing to make it compulsory for banks to disclose their crypto exposure. The Basel Committee comprises central banks and financial authorities from 28 jurisdictions and is a forum for regulatory cooperation on banking supervisory matters.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance.US has updated its terms of service, hinting that direct withdrawals in United States dollars are no longer supported on the platform. Binance.US updated its terms of service on Oct. 16, modifying the section about the “BAM Fiat Wallet,” referring to Binance.US services related to U.S. dollar custody. In the updated terms, Binance.US

Russia’s largest telecommunications firm MTS claims that it will launch an advertising service targeting Russian Telegram users, while the social messaging application denies that it has any agreements in place. The company made the announcement on Oct. 17, outlining the launch of advertising services for clients targeting the audience of specific channels, categories, interests and

The Bank of Canada published a staff note on decentralized finance (DeFi) on Oct. 17, assessing the innovations that made it popular and the challenges and risks associated with its use. The staff note described DeFi as a multi-layered structure, with the Ethereum blockchain serving as the bottom layer (or settlement layer). Developers construct a variety