Regulations

Michael Sonnenshein, the CEO of Grayscale, revealed his company’s plans for the future, under the assumption that the SEC will not approve a Bitcoin ETF. Grayscale CEO, Michael Sonnenshein, recently spoke about the situation in the financial world of early 2022, during which he also...

Malaysia Refuses to Make Bitcoin Legal Tender Mohd Shahar Abdullah revealed in a parliamentary meeting that Malaysia is not planning on recognizing Bitcoin as a legal tender, according to Bloomberg. The Deputy Finance Minister said that Bitcoin had limitations such as price volatility and "exposure...

Thai SEC Issues Crypto Payment BanIn an official press release, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued new rules that would ban the use of cryptocurrency as a payment method in Thailand, following similar steps already implemented by Turkey and Indonesia. According to the regulator,...

ACCC Takes Facebook to Task Over Fake Crypto AdsIn a press release on Friday (March 18, 2022), the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) alleged that adverts on Facebook which promoted crypto investment ventures, and featured famous Australians, were likely misleading users into believing that...

El Salvador has been frequently making headlines following last year’s move of recognizing Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender. Since then, the country has been working on several crypto-related programs, one of which includes its so-called “volcano bonds.” Previously, El Salvador announced that volcano bonds will...

The United States senator Elizabeth Warren spoke yesterday, March 17th, during a Senate Banking Committee hearing. Senator Warren used the opportunity to introduce new legislation meant to prevent Russia and its companies from relying on the use of cryptocurrency to bypass sanctions. A New Bill...

A Virtual Assets Law to Protect InvestorsSheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, the country's Minister of Defense, and also Dubai's Ruler, announced the approval of the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulation Law. The new law was created...

The Biden administration is expected to release an executive order on cryptocurrencies this week. The order will task federal agencies with reviewing the US digital asset market and evaluate the development of a digital dollar. The order comes as regulatory scrutiny in the crypto sector...

50 Crypto Businesses Under Investigation In a press release published on Thursday (March 3, 2022), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed that the agency received 16,400 inquiries concerning possible scams between April and September 2021. The most common type of scams included boiler rooms, cryptocurrency...

Bitcoin and Stablecoins for Payment of Tax, Goods and Services In a bid to establish itself as a major hub for blockchain in Europe, Lugano is looking to encourage widespread cryptocurrency adoption across the city through an initiative called Plan B. According to a press...

ASA Classifies Floki Inu Campaign as IrresponsibleThe Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) published its ruling on the Floki Inu (FLOKI) ad campaign on Wednesday (March 2, 2022). According to the ASA, the crypto ad was labeled irresponsible for two reasons. One was that the campaign exploited...

After a controversial paragraph in the market regulatory act attracted strong criticism, EU lawmakers decided to remove it. The passage said that no cryptos could be created, sold, or traded in the EU if their consensus mechanisms were not environmentally sustainable. The passage attracted criticism...

In a new attempt to force Russia to reconsider its invasion of Ukraine, the EU Commission decided to isolate the country financially. Leaders of several European countries, as well as the US and Canada, cut Russia off from SWIFT. But with the advent of cryptocurrencies,...

Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, recently announced that he will end the Emergencies Act, which was enacted after trucker-led protests swept through his country. With the Emergencies Act active, protestors' bank accounts were frozen, while their efforts to raise funds through different means such as...

A digital currency regulation bill recently passed a crucial legislative stage in Brazil’s Senate. After a unanimous vote to adopt the proposals set before them, the Senate fulfilled its role in establishing cryptocurrency regulations, sending the bill to the Chamber of Deputies. The Chamber of...

Public Comments for Spot Bitcoin ETF ApplicationIn a tweet thread by Grayscale on Tuesday (February 22, 2022), CEO Michael Sonnenshein announced the launch of an advocacy campaign soliciting investors in the United States to convince the SEC of the importance of having a spot Bitcoin...

Senators Introduce Legislation to Probe El Salvador's Bitcoin Adoption A group of United States Senators recently proposed a bill that requires a report on El Salvador's decision to make Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender. However, the President of the Central American country responded to the legislation...

Bill Accommodates both Bank and Non-bank IssuersRep. Gotthiemer’s bill, called the “Stablecoin Innovation and Protection Act of 2022,” defines stablecoins as “qualified” when they are 100% backed by the United States dollar and can be redeemed on a one-on-one basis. These qualified stablecoins can be...

Current world events are shaping up to test crypto in a big way. What happens next is going to affect the attitudes of people towards crypto in one way or another. Two of the big tests for crypto are the possible Russian invasion of Ukraine...

NFTs Linked to Tax Evasion CaseAccording to the BBC, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) arrested the suspects on suspicions that they were trying to avoid paying value-added tax (VAT) worth £1.4 million ($1.89 million). The suspects allegedly used what the HMRC called "sophisticated methods"...

As countries around the world attempt to regulate digital currencies, Hungary looks to adopt a belligerent stance against cryptocurrencies. The Governor of Hungary’s Central Bank, György Matolcsy, recently urged EU countries to ban cryptocurrencies and crypto-related activities. The reason behind his call for a total...

According to recent reports, the country’s Central Bank has reached an agreement with the government to regulate crypto. The regulations should arrive by February 18th and will recognize crypto as an “analogue of currencies.” A recent report published by a local Russian newspaper, Kommersant, claims...

El Salvador adopted BTC as legal tender in September of 2021. A communique issued by the Executive Board of the IMF contained the suggestion. It follows an annual report on El Salvador prepared by an IMF team that visited the country to conduct bilateral talks...

Crypto Regulation in JapanAs a first-mover in this field, Japan legalized cryptocurrency by amending its Payment Service Act and Fund Settlement Law in 2016. After these landmark moves, the nation recognized digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Dogecoin (DOGE) as property value that can be...

The UK tax agency, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) recently published a new set of rules for the decentralized finance sector. However, the document has already started attracting criticism, as the rules could severely affect innovation in DeFi. Published on Wednesday, February 2nd, the...

Binance CEO Says User Security is PriorityIn a letter to Nigerian Binance users, the company’s CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said that the platform restricted the accounts of several users in the country in compliance with international anti money-laundering rules (AML). The Binance CEO revealed that...

The Biden administration is allegedly preparing to issue an executive order in the coming weeks on the state of the crypto market in the United States. The order will include recommended actions on the regulation of digital assets. According to Barron's, the executive order would...

Nepal’s Banking Body Issues Crypto Ban NoticeAccording to The Himalayan, the Nepal Bankers’ Association recently issued a notice stating that individuals were prohibited from indulging in cryptocurrency activities. The notice covers Nepalis and foreigners living in Nepal, as well as Nepalis living abroad. An excerpt...

IMF Still Not Sold on El Salvador’s Bitcoin AdoptionThe executive board of the IMF published a report on Tuesday (January 25, 2022) following the recently concluded Article IV consultation with El Salvador. While the report noted the country's effective management of the COVID-19 pandemic and...

Kazakhstan Bitcoin Miners Cannot Access ElectricitySince early January, Kazakhstan has been experiencing serious unrest, initially fomented via protests against a hike in gas prices. Since that time, the situation has become worse, leading to the deaths of several protesters. The current climate of unrest in...

South Korea Moving to Stage Two of CBDC PilotIn April 2021, BOK announced its intention to conduct a mock trial of the CBDC. Later in July, the Central Bank chose Ground X, the blockchain subsidiary of the South Korean Internet giant Kakao, to participate in...

US authorities remain indecisive in regards to a centrally managed currency. However, the Bank of America, believes that an American CBDC can not be avoided and that a digital dollar is likely to emerge in the US over the next several years, most likely between...

Pavel Durov thinks that a crypto ban would cause more harm than goodFollowing the publication of the Central Bank’s proposal, the founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, commented on its consequences. On January 22nd, Durov stated that he believes that the proposed ban would “destroy a...

Binance Reportedly Ignored Warnings About Weak KYC Binance often made headlines in 2021–not all of them were positive. Regulators in different countries issued warnings against the cryptocurrency exchange giant and its affiliates, stating that the firm was not licensed to operate in their jurisdictions. From...

Crypto Threatens Financial StabilityAccording to Reuters on Thursday (January 20, 2021), Russia's central bank in a report, has stated that cryptocurrency was highly volatile and is mostly used for fraud and other illegal activities. The apex bank also noted that crypto posed a risk to...

MAS Bans Crypto Services Promotion in PublicAccording to new guidelines published on Monday (January 17, 2022), the MAS said that digital payment token (DPT) providers were prohibited from marketing their services targeting the Singaporean public. The financial regulator stated that cryptocurrency firms should not advertise...

The Central Bank of Malaysia is exploring the possibility of creating a native central bank digital currency and considering its effects on the local economy. The bank wishes to be prepared if a need to launch its own CBDC arises, but it also wants to...

Central Bank Says Crypto is IllegalAccording to local media outlet SAMAA, a report submitted to Pakistan’s provincial court, Sindh High Court (SHC) has called for a ban on cryptocurrency. The 38-page report was submitted by the deputy governor of the SBP, Seema Kamil, to the...

MiCA was introduced in Sep. 2020 by the European Commission as part of the larger Digital Finance strategy. MiCA generally relates to crypto assets that are described as digital demonstrations of value or rights, which may be transmitted and stored electronically, by use of distributed...

Thailand’s government announced recently that it will expand its crypto tax plans in order to provide further clarity for crypto traders and businesses. The country’s central bank, the Bank of Thailand, stated in December that it would draw up new measured for regulating crypto-related activities...

Recently, China clamped down hard on the crypto market, cutting crypto-related transactions from the financial system. The Chinese government also warned investors against speculative trading in 2021. However, this latest development makes it difficult for residents to buy Crypto via various payment means. Miners are...

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are the shiny new, cool high-tech thing that everyone in the crypto world is so excited about because it’s new and cool and high-tech, and it can help fight corruption or something. Forgive me, but that’s the impression I get...

The wallet is available for Android and iOS devices in their respective app stores, as the launch brings the country one step closer to introducing a central bank digital currency. Digital yuan wallet pilot now available throughout ChinaThe report of the wallet’s launch was first...

To this point, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently issued a $1.4 million fine for the crypto predictions company Polymarket, which failed to comply with registration requirements. The firm was also ordered to issue refunds and shut down operations immediately. What Happened?Polymarket is a...

The founding principle behind cryptos is that they are unregulated and decentralized. However, the US government is not too concerned about these principles. The existing Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) do not directly refer to cryptocurrencies. The main accounting question is this: if cryptocurrencies are...

Cryptocurrency BansFollowing China’s cryptocurrency ban, regulatory concerns quickly shot up across the crypto community. But countries with the biggest crypto interest and use were the main focus. India, the second-biggest crypto country in Asia, became the focus of regulatory concerns. The fear of a crypto...

Early on, regulators were happy to let the fringe sector exist in relative obscurity. Bitcoin then took off in 2013 and sparked the first major regulatory action on crypto via the Silk Road Marketplace shutdown. Since then, various jurisdictions have developed their regulations on cryptocurrencies,...

NCUA Says Federal Credit Unions Can Provide Crypto ServicesAccording to Bloomberg on Tuesday (Dec. 21, 2022), the desire for credit unions to get involved in crypto comes shortly after the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the body that regulates federal credit unions in the United...

For decades, Dubai has been on the lookout for any opportunity it might have to attract people and businesses. After monitoring recent developments in the crypto industry with great interest over the last few years, Dubai appears ready to make its move. According to its...

Although the IRS will be tracking crypto trading information via the brokers, all Investors are advised to also keep their records. Every investor should track all his potential taxable transactions and the crypto fair market price throughout these activities. This will help them ensure the...

Due to the recent disruptions in the Parliament, combined with the coming assembly elections in no less than five states, a number of bills have been removed from the schedule of India Parliament’s Winter Session. They included three key financial sector bills that were supposed...

Is crypto taxable? This is one of the questions many crypto users ask, they are yet to understand the logic behind crypto taxes. Yes, just like the traditional money crypto (Bitcoin) is taxable especially when you use them as a medium of exchange. The Internal...

Proposed Regulation to Prohibit Crypto PaymentsAccording to Bloomberg on Tuesday (Dec. 14, 2021), BoT Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput during an interview said that the central bank will issue a consultation paper on "Financial Landscape" by January 2022. The consultation paper is seeking a consensus for what...

Australia Not Ready to Issue Digital Australian DollarAccording to Reuters, RBA governor Philip Lowe while giving a speech on Thursday (Dec. 9, 2021), said that there is yet to be a "strong public policy case" for Australia to develop a retail CBDC, given the country's...

India Not Banning CryptoAccording to local news outlet NDTV on Thursday (Dec. 2, 2021), a cabinet note being circulated by the Indian government as seen by the news outlet revealed that there was a suggestion to regulate private cryptocurrencies rather than ban them. The latest...

Fidelity's Spot Bitcoin ETF Debuts Trading in CanadaFidelity Investments Canada made history as the largest asset manager to launch a bitcoin ETF, as well as a mutual fund. The Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF and the Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF Fund officially launched in Canada on...

Fighting Crypto With CBDCAccording to Bloomberg on Tuesday (Nov. 30, 2021), the assistant governor of the Indonesia central bank Juda Agung, made the statement during a parliamentary hearing. According to Agung: “A CBDC would be one of the tools to fight crypto. We assume that...

Coinbase Looking to Imitate Coinbase's IPO FootstepsCoinDCX co-founder Neeraj Khandelwal made the statement in a Bloomberg TV interview on Monday (Nov. 29, 2021). The exchange did not seem to be in a hurry, with Khandelwal saying that the platform will come up with a "precise...

Circle Cooperating With SEC InvestigationIn a regulatory filing on Monday (October 2, 2021), Circle revealed that it was subpoenaed by the SEC back in July. Meanwhile, the company initially disclosed that it was under investigation by the US regulatory agency in a filing back in...

Crypto Holders Could Improve Thailand's EconomyAccording to the local media outlet,Bangkok Post Srupsrisopa made the statement while speaking at a seminar called Transform Tourism with Cryptourism on November 23. The Bitkub CEO stated that the over $2.8 trillion cryptocurrency market was worth nearly six times...

Crypto Regulations Coming to the EUThe Council of the EU announced the news on its website on Wednesday (Nov. 24, 2021). According to the publication, the two proposals adopted include the Regulation on Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) and the Digital Operational Resilience Act(DORA). Both...

Rest Super Considering Crypto Exposure for MembersAccording to Business Insider Australia, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Rest Super, Andrew Lill, during a general meeting held on Tuesday (Nov. 23, 2021), said that crypto is viewed "as a veryinteresting and important part of our portfolio...

IMF Sounds Another Bitcoin Risk Warning to El SalvadorIn a concluding statement published by the IMF on Monday (Nov. 22, 2021), after its official visit otherwise called mission in El Salvador, the international financial organization said that the adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced the seizure of billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies in 2021. In its latest annual report, the IRS stated that it retrieved $3.5 billion worth of crypto in the 2021 fiscal year. The data showed that out of...

Biden Administration Wants to ‘Protect’ U.S. CitizensAccording to Lisa Monaco, the Deputy Attorney General, their express goal is to step up the fight against ransomware groups. The fight against such misuse of cryptocurrencies aims to boost user confidence on these platforms. Here, the team would...

The UK is working towards launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Bank of England and the HM Treasury have announced that it is taking the next major steps towards launching the digital pound. According to the press release, once the CBDC is launched,...

Former Acting Comptroller of the Currency Leads BitfuryBitfury announced the news of the appointment via a press release on Thursday (Nov. 4, 2021). An excerpt from the announcement reads: "Mr. Brooks will lead the 10-year-old crypto unicorn as it launches a new funding round, increases...

No Crypto Investment for Pension FundsThe draft proposals published in the Government Gazette, seek to amend Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act. According to Enoch Godongwana, the Minister of Finance for South Africa, “a fund may not invest in crypto-assets directly or indirectly.” The...

SEC Prefers Bitcoin ETFs With Un-leveraged ExposureAccording to a report by the Wall Street Journal, an anonymous source revealed that the SEC has asked Valkyrie to discontinue plans to list a leveraged Bitcoin Futures ETF. The SEC action is an indication that the agency would...

Facebook Stablecoin Project Slammed by Five US LawmakersIn an open letter by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown, Brian Schatz, Tina Smith, and Richard Blumenthal, addressed to Facebook’s Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday (October 19, 2021), the U.S. lawmakers asked the social media company...

The announcement issued on October 18 stated that these companies were acting contrary to the guidelines noted on a section of the General Business Law, also known as the "Martin Act." The attorney general further stated that crypto firms that offer lending services generate interest...

For those not in the loop, on September 24, an official notice was signed by 10 leading Chinese government agencies to conform to the Chinese government’s plan to prohibit crypto-to-crypto trading and to persecute those who work for off-shore crypto exchanges while living in China....

Bitcoin Futures ETF could be approved Next WeekThe Bloomberg report cited sources familiar with the matter, who stated that some of the filings whose deadlines are close could get the regulator’s approval. Some of the funds that are most likely to debut trading from next...

This week, the top seven advanced economies held discussions on the matter and concluded that CBDCs should not "do no harm" and that they should meet the required standards. The meeting by finance leaders from the G7 economies was held in Washington on October 13...

This new ETF will provide indirect investments to companies that hold the largest portion of their net assets in the primary cryptocurrency or generate most of their revenues and profits from crypto-related activities such as mining and lending. Some of the companies that will most...

According to a local publication, the legislatures are considering these restrictions for unqualified investors who want to venture into digital assets. Restrictions to Protect InvestorsThe Head of the Duma Committee on the Financial Market, Anatoly Aksakov, was speaking during the International Conference on the Protection...

The relationship between the US SEC and the crypto industry has always been an uneasy one, at best, as for years, the regulator remained skeptical of the crypto industry and unconvinced of its potential. Quite the opposite, in fact, as the SEC has always considered...

However, with the decentralized nature of DEXs, it will be hard for regulators to formulate the right course of action when it comes to regulations. As such, regulations about these exchanges could take time before being enforced. Can DEXs be Regulated?It is required that all...

On January 3, 2009, Bitcoin was officially born, not just as an idea, but as an operation. With the first transaction in its history, transmitted to the blockchain network, Satoshi Nakamoto registered in the genesis block a message that would change forever the future of...

Belarus-based trading platform Currency.com has joined forces with CryptoUK to help achieve the latter’s goal of achieving a favorable regulatory framework for the UK cryptocurrency industry. CryptoUK primarily intends to achieve this by collaborating with companies within the ecosystem to educate government bodies and regulators,...

On August 9th, 2021, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Poloniex LLC would pay $10.4 million to settle charges that they were operating an unlicensed exchange that facilitated the purchasing of digital asset securities. The SEC found that Poloniex failed to register...

Ripple Labs, the company behind the leading cryptocurrency XRP which is regularly touted as the digital currency for banks and other financial institutions has been at the center of controversies lately, largely thanks to its legal tussle with the US financial watchdog, the Securities and...

Why Facebook’s Libra Failed The main reason behind the downfall of Libra was regulatory restraints. The cryptocurrency sought registration and the necessary licensing in Switzerland. However, the country’s finance minister, Ueli Maurer, stated that Libra did not have a chance to succeed in its current...

For an industry that has provided a censorship-resilient and non-government issued system of payment, it is hardly surprising that regulation is one of the biggest concerns in cryptosphere since Satoshi Nakamoto created the foremost distributed ledger, Bitcoin. While cryptocurrencies have undoubtedly lived up to the...

The first half of the year has been a tale of two sides for the largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. After introducing smart contracts through Binance Smart Chain (BSC), the company emerged as a pioneer frontrunner in the DeFi revolution. Shortly after, Binance followed up by...

Stablecoin issuer and the company behind the largest dollar-pegged token, Tether is again at the center of the regulatory attack. Fresh allegations hint that the United States Department of Justice may probe the company executives for bank fraud. Fraud Investigation According to Bloomberg, the subject...

This is not the first signal for the tightening advertising policy in cryptocurrencies. At the end of May 2021, the ASA demanded that the Luno cryptocurrency exchange change the advertising posted on the London transport network, recognizing it as ‘misleading.’ The New ASA Policy, Triggered...

Government Interest in Digital Currencies The main reason why central banks and other financial regulators have a problem with cryptocurrencies is their anonymity, making these assets easy to manipulate and be used for money laundering and terrorism financing. This created a gap for a central...

Monero (XMR), ZCash (ZEC), and DASH have been the leading cryptos offering on-chain privacy to various degrees, meaning users can hide transaction sizes and address balances. Although Bitcoin and Ether work using pseudonyms, otherwise known as addresses, it is reasonably easy to cross-reference IP addresses...

A year after the devastating blow of the coronavirus to America, the country's economy acts like it was no big deal. Incessant printing of money, and stimulation packages one after another. The GDP is growing, people are spending, and the stock market is going all-time-high....

Usually, it revolves around the controversial Craig Wright and his outlandish claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto or when certain currencies think that they are legitimately starting to threaten Bitcoin’s hegemony. We’re looking at you ETH and BCH. Regulatory Problems However, the number one reason to...

There have been countless cases of massive ransomware attacks, as well as smaller ones, many of which demanded to be paid in Bitcoin or some other cryptocurrency. Ransomware in the Senate These days, as digital currencies are rapidly advancing in terms of adoption, the topic...

Binance is not Authorized in Italy According to the regulator, the newly issued warning referred to Binance.com, which crypto investors use to access crypto trading services. The regulator went ahead and urged investors to be cautious when making investments affiliated with Binance. "Consob warns savers...

Regulatory Action For one, SEC – still in the process of approving a number of ETFs – seeks to strengthen control on cryptocurrency exchanges. Financial Action Task Force Treasury dept, in turn, suggests increasing surveillance of the cryptocurrency market, and OFAC is looking for ways...

For those interested in history, the KYC initiative dates back to 9/11, when America issued the Patriot Act – a federal law to prevent such attacks in the future. KYC Today Today KYC and AML compliance is a must for all regulated organizations which work...

Ransomware Attacks Spur Biden to Action According to Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, the Biden administration will be introducing a whole range of initiatives to stem growing cyber fraud. These measures were triggered by several successful hacker attacks on...