Regulation

Crypto fintech firm Unbanked, which provides crypto custody and payments services, has become the latest firm to close shop while citing a harsh regulatory environment for crypto in the United States.  In a May 26 blog post, Unbanked co-founders Ian Kane and Daniel Gouldman said that when it first opened, it believed that building the company

OpenAI, the parent company of the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, has launched an initiative to bring more democratic input to AI development.  In the official announcement on May 25, the company said it is preparing to award 10 grants worth $100,000 each toward experiments in setting up a “proof-of-concept,” democratic process for determining rules for

The European Union’s financial watchdog has issued a statement reminding investment firms to make sure their clients are aware of the regulatory status of the products they are offering.  In an announcement, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) highlighted crypto assets and reminded companies that while regulation is on the way, crypto will remain unregulated

When most people think of surveillance, they probably think of cameras on street corners, government agencies collecting emails, or smartphones and smart home devices listening to conversations. But there is another form of government and corporate surveillance that gets less attention but is just as prevalent: financial surveillance. On Episode 12 of The Agenda podcast,

Officials in the United States are making efforts to keep tabs on the development of artificial intelligence (AI), as new plans surface to examine workers’ experience with AI surveillance.  According to a Reuters report, officials at the White House said on May 23 that they would be asking workers how their employers use AI for

Crypto exchange Binance denies allegations of mismanagement of customers’ funds. Binance’s denial came in response to a Reuters report that alleged that the crypto exchange comingled customer’s funds with company revenue. The Reuters report alleged that Binance violated United States banking regulations that require client money to be kept separate. The report alleged that the exchange

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) have long been a topic of contested discussion, having often been met with a predominantly negative response in the crypto community. However, despite the skepticism, CBDCs undeniably serve as a significant use case for blockchain technology. BDCs distributed through blockchain technology can provide cheaper, faster and possibly more accessible transactions

Prometheum subsidiary Prometheum Ember Capital has received approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) as a special purpose broker-dealer (SPBD) for digital asset securities. This approval allows Prometheum to custody digital asset securities on behalf of retail and institutional clients. FINRA’s designation of Prometheum Ember Capital as an SPBD makes it a qualified custodian,

A major global securities watchdog, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), is working to help policymakers regulate cryptocurrency more effectively. IOSCO on May 23 released a set of crypto-related regulatory recommendations as part of a consultation report developed by the IOSCO Board’s Fintech Task Force. The report includes 18 policy recommendations to help global

Coinbase has filed a reply in support of its petition for a writ of mandamus to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its latest move seeking rulemaking from the SEC on digital assets. Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal called the mandamus “the tailor-made remedy for the extraordinary facts.” Coinbase filed a

Ethereum’s native Ether (ETH) token may be both a commodity and a security, the former commissioner of the United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission has claimed. Speaking on a May 23 episode of Laura Shin’s Unchained podcast, Dan Berkovitz, who is also the former general counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission, said that it’s

A restructuring plan for bankrupt Bitcoin (BTC) miner Core Scientific could be finalized by September and it expects to exit proceedings with an additional $46 million due to recent favorable market conditions. In a May 22 filing in a Texas Bankruptcy Court, Core Scientific’s lawyers said its liquidity position has improved considerably since it filed

A new bill mandating South Korean lawmakers and high-ranking government officials to declare their cryptocurrency holdings is expected to take effect within the next two months, said the floor leader of the country’s ruling party. On May 23, the Korean publication Yonhap News reported that People Power Party’s Representative Yun Jae-ok said the scheduled date

Lawmakers in Japan have decided to enforce stricter Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures to trace cryptocurrency transactions from June 1. On May 23, the Japanese parliament made the decision to roll out tougher AML procedures from next month, according to a report the same day from local media outlet Kyodo News. The move aims to bring

Just days after announcing that cryptocurrencies will “never be legalized” in the country, Pakistan’s Ministry of IT & Telecom drafted a policy to spur the growth of artificial intelligence (AI).  With the national AI policy, Pakistan aims to evolve into a knowledge-based economy by upskilling human capital on AI and allied technologies among other investments

The crypto community is being urged not to let their guard down despite a significant decline in crypto hacks during the first quarter of 2023 — with one firm warning it is most likely a “temporary reprieve, rather than a long-term trend.” 2022 was the biggest year for crypto hacking in history, with an estimated

United States President Joe Biden expressed opposition to a debt ceiling agreement with Republican leaders that would allegedly benefit crypto traders. Attending the Group of Seven (G7) Summit, Biden reportedly classified Republicans’ proposed terms as “unacceptable” during a press conference. “I’m not going to agree to a deal that protects wealth tax cheats and crypto

A nonfungible token (NFT) influencer has been served with a settlement demand via NFT – which casually dropped the “F bomb” several times – alleging that the influencer engaged in wire fraud “at a minimum,” on a recent $7 million token presale. Lawyer Mike Kanovitz, a partner at Loevy & Loevy, stated in a tweet

Latam Gateway, the payment provider for Binance in Brazil, has been granted a license by the country’s central bank to operate as a payment institution and electronic money issuer on May 19, according to local media reports. Brazil is among Binance’s top global markets, the exchange said in a previous announcement. Latam Gateway helps foreign

The ongoing case of the Securities and Exchange Commission v Ripple Labs could have a significant impact on the future of cryptocurrency regulations.  Ripple first popped up in 2012 with the promise of providing financial institutions and other entities with faster, more affordable clearance of cross-border fund transfers. To that end, Ripple created the XRP