government
Singapore bank DBS uses DeFi to trade FX and state securities
DBS Bank, a major financial services group in Asia, is applying decentralized finance (DeFi) for a project backed by Singapore’s central bank. DBS has started a trading test of foreign exchange (FX) and government securities using permissioned, or private, DeFi liquidity pools, the firm announced on Nov. 2. The development is part of Project Guardian, a collaborative cross-industry effort pioneered by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Conducted on a public blockchain, the trade included the purchase and sale of tokenized Singapore government securities (SGS), the Singapore dollar (SGD), Japanese government bonds and the Japanese yen (JPY). The project has shown that trading on a private DeFi protocol enables simultaneous operations of instant trading, settlement, clearing and cust...
Chinese agents used Bitcoin transactions through Wasabi to allegedly bribe US government employee
The United States Department of Justice has announced charges against two Chinese intelligence officers who allegedly bribed a double agent with Bitcoin. In an Oct. 24 announcement, the Justice Department said Guochun He and Zheng Wang attempted to obstruct the prosecution of an unnamed global telecommunications company based in China, which allegedly involved paying a U.S. government employee roughly $61,000 in bribes using Bitcoin (BTC). However, the individual was a double agent working on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and did not move against authorities in the Eastern District of New York in the case against the China-based company. According to an analysis by cryptocurrency risk management firm Elliptic, He and Wang used Wasabi Wallet to conceal the BTC transactions a...
Celsius users concerned over personal info revealed in bankruptcy case
Crypto lending platform Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13, 2022. Although the Celsius case involves digital assets, it remains subject to United States Bankruptcy Code under the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. While this may be, a series of unusual events have ensued since Celsius filed for bankruptcy. For instance, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn — the judge overseeing the Celsius case — stated on Oct. 17 that the court will look abroad for guidance. Glenn specifically mentioned that “Legal principles that are applicable in the United Kingdom are not binding on courts in the United States,” yet he noted that these “may be persuasive in addressing legal issues that may arise in this case.” While the treatment of the Celsius c...
Turkey taps blockchain for e-Human project, President Erdoğan announced
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan unveiled new details about the e-Human project powered by blockchain ahead of Turkey’s national blockchain summit. Cointelegraph Turkey reported the e-Human project will be based on blockchain tech to keep all services, data and capabilities used by the system under protection. While it has a sci-fi name, Turkey’s e-Human project acts as a digital service point where the Turkish Presidency can share data related to its services and tools related to career, remote education and talent acquisition. Students, new graduates and public employees can access job and internship opportunities in the public and private sectors, certified training for public employees, career fairs held in Turkey, events and educational content from the e-Human portal. The...
Nasdaq needs clear regulations to launch crypto exchange, says VP
Nasdaq, the American stock exchange, has no immediate plans of launching a crypto exchange until there’s better regulatory clarity from policymakers, said Tal Cohen, the company’s executive vice president. In an interview with Bloomberg, Cohen said that the retail side of the crypto market is fairly saturated and there are enough crypto exchanges catering to the needs of retail investors. He added that his firm would continue its focus on crypto custody services that were launched on Sept. 20. Cohen also shed some light on other crypto-related services that the exchange is working on, namely building execution capabilities on the platform to move and transfer assets. The world’s second-largest stock exchange might be hesitant to launch a crypto exchange in the United States, but the f...
US Treasury recommends lawmakers decide which regulators will oversee crypto spot market
Officials with the United States Financial Stability Oversight Council, or FSOC, have recommended U.S. lawmakers pass legislation to determine which “rulemaking authority” will be responsible for regulating parts of the crypto spot market. In an Oct. 3 meeting of the FSOC, Jonathan Rose, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said the FSOC had released a report in accordance with President Joe Biden’s executive order on crypto, detailing potential financial stability risks of digital assets and regulatory gaps. The report identified regulatory gaps including the spot market for cryptoassets that were not securities subject to “limited direct federal regulatory” — hinting at lawmakers stepping in to prevent possible market manipulation and conflicts of interest. “While s...
California Gov. Newsom vetoes crypto licensing and regulatory framework
Adding to the existing regulatory hurdles for the crypto ecosystems, California Governor Gavin Newsom refused to sign a bill that would establish a licensing and regulatory framework for digital assets. Assembly Bill 2269 sought to allow the issuance of operational licenses for crypto companies in California. On Sept. 1, California State Assembly passed the bill with no opposition from the assembly floor and went on to the governor’s office for approval. Letter of rejection from Gov. Mewsom. Source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov Opposing the notion, Newsom recommended a “more flexible approach” that would evolve over time while considering the safety of consumers and related costs, adding: “It is premature to lock a licensing structure in statute without considering both this work (...
Pentagon contracts with Inca Digital for a security-focused digital asset mapping tool
Digital asset data analytics company Inca Digital will study the implications of digital assets for national security under a year-long contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the company announced on Friday. DARPA is the R&D branch of the United States Department of Defense. Inca Digital will work on a project called “Mapping the Impact of Digital Financial Assets,” which will aim to create a “cryptocurrency ecosystem mapping tool” to provide information to the U.S. government and commercial businesses. Besides looking at possible money laundering and sanctions evasions, the project will contribute to understanding interactions between traditional and digital financial systems, money flows into and out of blockchain systems and other uses...
Framework to ban members of Congress and SCOTUS from trading stocks includes crypto provision
Members of the United States House of Representatives and Senate as well as Supreme Court justices currently trading cryptocurrencies may have to stop HODLing while in office should a bill get enough votes. According to a framework released on Thursday, chair Zoe Lofgren of the Committee on House Administration — responsible for the day-to-day operations of the House — said she had a “meaningful and effective plan to combat financial conflicts of interest” in the U.S. Congress by restricting the financial activities of lawmakers and SCOTUS justices, as well as those of their spouses and children. The bill, if passed according to the framework, would suggest a change in policy following the 2012 passage of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, or STOCK Act, allowing members of Co...
Crypto market bloodbath leads to $432M in liquidation
The crypto market turmoil entered the third week of September as most of the cryptocurrencies started the week on a bearish note. The total crypto market cap dipped below $1 trillion again, with several cryptocurrencies recording a double-digit downfall over the past 24 hours. The ongoing bearish turmoil has led to nearly half a billion in liquidations for the leverage crypto traders over the past 24 hours. Data from Coinglass highlight that 130,087 traders were liquidated with a total liquidations value of $431.51 million. Bitcoin (BTC) leverage traders lost $44.5 million, followed by Ether (ETH) traders with a total liquidation of $8.39 million. Long traders made a significant chunk of losses on majority of the exchanges with the average difference between the amount of long and short li...
UK economic secretary commits to make country a crypto hub under new PM
Richard Fuller, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said the government wants the United Kingdom to be the “dominant global hub for crypto technologies.” In a parliamentary debate on crypto asset regulation in the U.K. on Wednesday, Fuller spoke in favor of “powerful” use cases for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, including using distributed ledger technology for customs and international trade and storing medical records on the blockchain. Alexander Stafford, the parliamentary private secretary to newly elected PM Liz Truss, added the prime minister “reaffirmed” her commitment to providing internet connectivity for U.K. residents, which could allow access to buying, selling, and mining crypto. “As crypto technologies grow in significance, the U.K. Government are seeking ways ...
New finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng leaves crypto policy in the UK unclear
Recently elected Conservative Party Leader and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Liz Truss has appointed Kwasi Kwarteng as the country’s newest chancellor of the exchequer, or chief financial minister. In a Tuesday announcement, Truss’ office named Kwarteng as the next U.K. finance minister, replacing Nadhim Zahawi, who served as chancellor of the exchequer for three months following Rishi Sunak’s resignation in July. Kwarteng was most recently the U.K. government’s secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy in addition to being a Member of Parliament since 2010. The Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP @KwasiKwarteng has been appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer @HMTreasury.#Reshuffle pic.twitter.com/6YQy0YuQPs — UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) September 6, 2022 Queen El...
