Regulation

A bankruptcy judge overseeing the bankruptcy case for crypto lending platform Celsius Network has approved a settlement plan allowing custody account holders to get back 72.5% of their crypto holdings. In a March 21 hearing, United States Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn signed off on an agreement allowing Celsius custody account holders the right to receive

The self-regulatory trade association CryptoUK has proposed providing a ‘white list’ of registered firms in the United Kingdom to address banks limiting or banning transactions to crypto companies. In separate letters to U.K. Economic Secretary Andrew Griffith and members of the Financial Conduct Authority and Payment Systems Regulator dated March 21, CryptoUK said many banks

United States-based crypto exchange Coinbase decided to communicate proactively on crypto staking, which had recently attracted regulators’ attention. The company’s petition to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) explains why staking can’t be universally labeled as securities. The “Petition for Rulemaking” was published by Coinbase on March 20. In an 18-page document, the firm focused

A central bank digital currency (CBDC) can impact monetary policy by increasing money velocity, disintermediation, volatility of bank reserves, currency substitution and altered capital flows, even when it is not designed to do so, according to a study published by the International Monetary Fund. The unintended impact of a CBDC may be felt particularly acute

Ron DeSantis, the Governor of Florida expected by many to throw his hat into the ring for the 2024 United States presidential race, has called for a ban on a digital dollar. Standing in front of a podium bearing the line “Big Brother’s Digital Dollar” at a March 20 press conference, DeSantis spoke out against the

The Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan (FSC) will become the primary regulator of cryptocurrencies in the island country, according to the head of the authority. FSC chairman Huang Tien-mu has announced that the regulator will assume supervisory authority over the crypto industry in Taiwan, the local United Daily News reported. Huang addressed Taiwan’s parliament, the

Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro has announced the reorganization of the National Superintendency of Crypto Assets, known as Sunacrip in Spanish, according to a decree issued on March 17. A new board will lead the reorganization, headed by Anabel Pereira Fernández, a lawyer who served as president of the Fondo de Garantía de Depositos y Protección

Before crypto exchange FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) got tied down around allegations of misappropriation of users’ funds, SBF was among the most influential crypto entrepreneurs. Long before FTX collapsed, an allegedly leaked email exchange with a top regulator shows SBF’s intent to get the exchange federally regulated. On May 28, 2022, nearly

The recent fall of major banks in the United States and the need for federal intervention reignited discussions to identify the most effective ways to safeguard the crumbling economies. Comparing the episode to the financial crisis of 2008, prominent economist Peter Schiff found that increasing banking regulations contribute to the worsening financial crisis. A deeper

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and Switzerland’s financial regulator reportedly believe that the acquisition of investment bank Credit Suisse by UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, is the “only option” to prevent a “collapse in confidence” in Credit Suisse. According to a March 18 Financial Times report citing three people familiar with the situation, Switzerland is preparing

What is the Howey test? The Howey test is a legal test used in the United States to determine whether a transaction qualifies as an investment contract and, thus, is considered a security under federal law. The test was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in SEC v. W.J. Howey Co. (1946), and it has

Representatives from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Federal Reserve will be testifying before the United States House Financial Services Commission in a newly announced hearing investigating the collapse of two major banks. In a March 17 notice, Representatives Maxine Waters and Patrick McHenry — the ranking member and chair of the committee, respectively —

Institutional cryptocurrency custodian Protego’s conditional national trust banking charter has expired without it receiving permanent approval, according to a March 17 report in Fortune. A spokesperson for the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) told Fortune that the firm did not meet pre-conversion requirements. According to the spokesperson: “[The] pre-conversion requirements

Johan Van Overtveldt, a member of the European Parliament and the former Minister of Finance of Belgium, has called for a “strict ban” on crypto as a result of the current banking crisis. In a March 17 tweet, Overtveldt suggested lawmakers should consider banning cryptocurrencies as a “lesson” from the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank,

College students wishing to intern for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are in luck — the regulator has opened applications for its Scholars Program for Fall 2023. The SEC is looking for “student trainees” for its business and legal programs, with the business program paying between $15.09 and $28.83 per hour for

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments. Chinese billionaire arrested in U.S. for $1B financial fraud  According to an announcement published by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Mar. 15, Chinese billonaire Ho Wan Kwok (aka Miles Guo and more commonly as Guo Wengui), has been arrested

The United States-based crypto advocacy group Blockchain Association called on financial regulators to provide information related to the potential “de-banking of crypto firms” in the wake of the failures of the Signature, Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate banks. In a March 16 notice, the Blockchain Association said it had submitted Freedom of Information Act requests

The United States’ Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has reportedly asked potential rescuers of some failed U.S. banks to not support any crypto services. The FDIC regulators have asked banks interested in acquiring failed U.S. lenders like Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank to submit their bids by March 17, Reuters reported. The authority will

United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has again suggested that proof-of-stake coins may be securities. He expressed his view on March 15 after a commission meeting on cybersecurity issues. Gensler was asked by reporters about his reaction to statements made by Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Rostin Behnam at a Senate Agricultural

At Tel Aviv FinTech Week 2023, Yoav Soffer, the advisor to the deputy governor at the Bank of Israel, touched on the topic of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as an efficient cross-border payment option. The talk comes after the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) concluded its research on international retail and remittance payments via