The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to delay decisions on Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETF), issuing two fresh deadline extension notices. On Dec. 15, the SEC postponed two major Bitcoin exchange-traded offering proposals, including NYSE Arca’s “actual” Bitcoin ETF, named Bitwise Bitcoin ETP Trust, and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s Bitcoin ETF. The SEC
Regulation
Congressional lawmakers confirmed the nomination of Rostin Behnam, a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission who had been serving as acting chairperson, to assume his position on a more permanent basis. In a Wednesday evening voice vote, members of the U.S. Senate approved President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the CFTC. Behnam has served
On Thursday, conflicting reports emerged in Russia on the state of crypto regulatory affairs. First, a report by Reuters indicated that the Central Bank of Russia is seeking a ban on cryptocurrencies, citing risks to financial stability and the exploding volume of transactions. If enacted, the move would align with remarks made by Russian President
Tether, the issuer of the eponymous stablecoin, has praised the decision of Myanmar’s parallel government, The National Unity Government (NGU), to use USDT as an official currency. Myanmar’s NUG is a shadow government run by the supporters of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. As Cointelegraph reported on December 13, NUG announced Tether’s
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators have called on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to clarify the language in the infrastructure bill signed into law by President Joe Biden around the tax reporting requirements on crypto. In a Tuesday letter, Senators Rob Portman, Mike Crapo, Pat Toomey, Mark Warner, Kyrsten Sinema, and Cynthia Lummis urged Yellen to
The Advertising Standards Authority, or ASA, the United Kingdom’s independent advertising regulator, has taken down another batch of cryptocurrency-related ad campaigns promoting several major industry firms. On Dec. 15, the advertising watchdog issued several rulings on ad violations involving six crypto-related firms including Coinbase, Kraken, eToro, Exmo, crypto broker Coinburp and Luno crypto exchange. The
Tokyo-based financial services giant SBI Holdings announced a joint investment in Coinhako, Singapore’s first licensed crypto exchange approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The Coinhako investment was made via a fund jointly set up by SBI and Swiss-based Sygnum Bank, namely, the SBI-Sygnum-Azimut Digital Asset Opportunity (DAO) Fund, according to the notice. Speaking
The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs heard from several expert witnesses with knowledge of stablecoins who urged lawmakers to establish a clear regulatory framework but could not seem to agree on where lines would be drawn. In a Tuesday hearing on “Stablecoins: How do They Work, How Are They Used, and What
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren did not hold back in her criticism of decentralized finance, expressing concern about how a run on stablecoins would affect the average investor. In a Tuesday hearing with the Senate Banking Committee discussing stablecoins, Warren questioned Professor Hilary J. Allen of the American University Washington College of Law as to whether
Hester Peirce, a commissioner for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission known by many in the space as Crypto Mom, is pushing back against the regulatory body’s agenda for not including clarification on digital assets. In a Monday joint statement, Peirce and SEC Commissioner Elad Roisman said they were “disappointed” in the failure of
The biggest regulatory story of the week was a United States House Committee on Financial Services hearing squarely focused on crypto. Even the event’s title — “Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States” — conveyed a different vibe than countless previous Congressional meetings
Just recently, NFT collector CryptoNovo was posing for hundreds of photos, taking meetings with top tech companies and attending scores of invitation-only parties across New York City. Today, the former-schoolteacher-turned-Metaverse-mascot is raking leaves in his suburban Illinois front yard. “Dude,” Novo remarks excitedly as he works, “That just happened.” That would be NFT.NYC, the early
Crypto exchange Binance has withdrawn its license application for pursuing digital payment token (DPT) services in Singapore. Starting today, Binance.sg has stopped onboarding new users and will not allow Singaporeans to deposit cryptocurrencies or fiat on the exchange. By Feb 13, 2022, Binance plans to “wind down” all services that relate to dealing with cryptocurrency
Institutional interest in cryptocurrencies is increasing as the space continues to mature. A survey released on Dec. 8 by European investment manager Nickel Digital Asset Management found that 85% of institutional investors and wealth managers have dedicated teams to review cryptocurrencies and digital assets. The study noted that the investors surveyed manage around $108.4 billion
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has officially proposed the state government to allow businesses to pay state fees with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). The Republican governor announced the idea as part of his 2022–2023 budget proposal, released on Dec. 9. According to the official budget highlights, DeSantis proposed to provide $200,000 to the Department of Financial Services
Each year that we get a little further away from Satoshi Nakomoto’s whitepaper, crypto becomes more popular than ever, breaking more barriers — not just in sheer enthusiasm, but in mainstream acceptance. From nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to the Metaverse, 2021 was the year of crypto, even following a decade where just about every other year