Regulation
The UK cannot afford to send mixed messages on crypto
The United Kingdom is paving the road for cryptocurrency services, courting startups and established players alike while leading the way in pioneering regulation on stablecoins and nonfungible tokens. But a lot has changed. After two years of deliberations, European Union lawmakers achieved agreement on the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, marking a pivotal moment for harmonized supervision of the sector on such a scale. This followed United States President Joe Biden’s executive order recommending a whole-of-government approach toward the responsible development of digital assets within the United States. The U.K. has also seen major political shifts during this period, including the resignation of Treasury Minister John Glen, whose April speech supporting the industry represen...
Indian authorities freeze $8.1M in WazirX funds as part of AML investigation
India’s Directorate of Enforcement, or ED, has announced it froze roughly $8.1 million in funds and conducted a search connected to cryptocurrency exchange WazirX as part of an investigation into instant personal loan fraud. In a Friday announcement, the Directorate of Enforcement alleged WazirX facilitated transactions by unnamed fintech firms “to purchase crypto assets and then launder them abroad” as part of a scheme involving Chinese-backed companies circumventing India’s licensing regulations. In its investigation, the ED said it ordered WazirX bank accounts containing 646.7 million Indian rupees — roughly $8.1 million at the time of publication — frozen and conducted a search connected to co-founder Sameer Mhatre. According to the regulator, the investigation was still ongoing. Howev...
2 metrics signal the $1.1T crypto market cap resistance will hold
Cryptocurrencies have failed to break the $1.1 trillion market capitalization resistance, which has been holding strong for the past 54 days. The two leading coins held back the market as Bitcoin (BTC) lost 2.5% and Ether (ETH) retraced 1% over the past seven days, but a handful of altcoins presented a robust rally. Crypto markets’ aggregate capitalization declined 1% to $1.07 trillion between July 29 and Aug. 5. The market was negatively impacted by reports on Aug. 4 that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating every U.S. crypto exchange after the regulator charged a former Coinbase employee with insider trading. Total crypto market cap, USD billions. Source: TradingView While the two leading cryptoassets were unable to print weekly gains, traders’ appetite...
US lawmakers request crypto firms provide info on diversity and inclusion
A group of five lawmakers from the United States House of Representatives has requested data on the diversity and inclusion practices of 20 major firms dealing with cryptocurrencies and Web3. In a Thursday notice, House Financial Services Committee chair Maxine Waters along with Representatives Joyce Beatty, Al Green, Bill Foster and Stephen Lynch penned a letter requesting U.S.-based crypto firms provide information on “how and whether the industry is working toward a more equitable environment for everyone.” The lawmakers sent letters to 20 companies including Aave, Binance.US, Coinbase, Crypto.com, FTX, Kraken, Paxos, Ripple and Tether as well as venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Haun Ventures and Sequoia Capital. “There is a concerning lack of publicly available data to effect...
Crypto firms failed to deliver ‘promised benefits’ from lawmaker-backed incentives, says nonprofit
The Tech Transparency Project, or TTP, a research initiative of the United States-based nonprofit watchdog group Campaign for Accountability, has released a report claiming crypto firms “provided little in return” for state governments offering financial incentives. In a report released Thursday, the TTP said that many crypto firms based in certain U.S. states have “reaped special benefits” for setting up operations while not always delivering jobs, economic growth or tax benefits for residents. According to the group, crypto lobbyists worked on behalf of firms to gain tax breaks and discounted energy prices while state governments have “faced budget shortfalls, surging energy consumption and serious environmental damage.” A new TTP report outlines favorable laws and tax breaks given...
Binance US will delist AMP following SEC claim token is a security
United States-based crypto exchange Binance.US said it will be delisting the AMP token “out of an abundance of caution” of possible enforcement by federal regulators. In a Monday blog post, Binance.US said it will be closing deposits of Amp (AMP) and removing the AMP/USD trading pair on Aug. 15 following the token’s mention in a legal action from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. The federal regulator filed a complaint against a former Coinbase product manager and two individuals in July that claimed that AMP and eight other cryptocurrencies were “crypto asset securities” that fell under the SEC’s purview. “We believe that, in some circumstances, delisting an asset best protects our community from undue risk,” said Binance.US. “We operate in a rapidly evolvin...
New York AG calls for whistleblowers ‘deceived or affected’ by the crypto market crash
New York Attorney General Letitia James has opened the doors for investors who may have witnessed misconduct at a crypto firm amid the extreme market volatility to file a complaint as a whistleblower. In a Monday notice, James called on New York-based crypto users who have been locked out of accounts at exchanges or lending platforms, unable to access funds, or “deceived about their cryptocurrency investments” to contact the Office of the Attorney General. As a whistleblower, an individual filing a complaint with authorities could be kept anonymous — the New York Attorney General’s website already includes the option to submit relevant documents and information through a Tor Browser. “Investors were promised large returns on cryptocurrencies, but instead lost their hard-earned money,” said...
Deposits at non-bank entities, including crypto firms, are not insured — FDIC
The United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, has issued an advisory informing the public it “does not insure assets issued by non-bank entities, such as crypto companies.” In a Friday notice, the FDIC advised banks in the U.S. that they needed to assess and manage risks in third-party relationships with crypto firms. The government agency said that while deposits at insured banks were covered for up to $250,000, no such protections applied “against the default, insolvency, or bankruptcy of any non-bank entity, including crypto custodians, exchanges, brokers, wallet providers, or other entities that appear to mimic banks.” “Some crypto companies have misrepresented to consumers that crypto products are eligible for FDIC deposit insurance coverage or that customers are F...
Final candidates for next UK prime minister have made pro-crypto statements
Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor of the Exchequer, and Liz Truss, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, two of the final candidates to become the next prime minister for the United Kingdom, have both previously expressed pro-crypto views. With Prime Minister Boris Johnson soon to be out of office, Sunak and Truss are competing to be the next leader of the Conservative Party and the country, with their views on digital assets likely to influence financial policy. Under Johnson, Sunak requested that the country’s Royal Mint create a nonfungible token as part of an effort to make the United Kingdom a global crypto hub. A member of Parliament who served as chancellor from 2020 until resigning in July, Sunak previously said the U.K. government would prioritize ...
Bill addressing stablecoins risks in US likely delayed until September: Report
Lawmakers in the United States House of Representatives have reportedly pushed back the timeline for considering a bill addressing the potential risks of stablecoins. According to a Monday report from the Wall Street Journal, people familiar with the matter said House members will likely delay voting on a stablecoin bill until September after being unable to complete a draft in time for a Wednesday committee meeting. The unresolved issues in the bill reportedly included provisions on custodial wallets from the Treasury Department and concerns from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reportedly wanted to coordinate with the Biden administration for her response to the bill. Neither has publicly weighed in on the proposed legislation, but Yellen previously...
SEC listing 9 tokens as securities in insider trading case ‘could have broad implications’ — CFTC
Caroline Pham, one of five commissioners with the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has expressed concerns about the possible implications of a case the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, brought against a former product manager at Coinbase. In a Thursday statement, Pham said the SEC complaint against former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi, his brother Nikhil Wahi and associate Sameer Ramani “could have broad implications” beyond the case, given its labeling nine tokens as “crypto asset securities” falling under regulatory body’s purview. The complaint alleged that the Wahis and Ramani engaged in insider trading by using confidential information Ishan obtained from Coinbase with regard to which tokens would be listed on the exchange, in ord...
‘The market is acting this way because there is no regulation’ says Skale Labs’ Konstantin Kladko
The recent cryptocurrency bear market has uprooted decentralized finance (DeFi) and centralized finance (CeFi) projects in the crypto space. But past performance is not always indicative of future results. For starters, Ethereum’s price has already recovered 48% in the past few days ahead of the looming Merge upgrade. At the annual Ethereum Community Conference in Paris, Cointelegraph spoke to Skale Labs’ co-founder Konstantin Kladko regarding the market crisis. Sklae Labs is a decentralized network of blockchains built on Ethereum. Currently, it’s comprised of 28 blockchains where one can send tokens seamlessly from one chain to another. Here’s what Klado has to say about the recent contagion: “The market is acting this way because there is no regulatio...
