Regulation

A former Deutsche Bank investment banker, who was charged earlier this year in relation to a fraudulent cryptocurrency trading scheme, has pleaded guilty to investment fraud — and could face up to 30 years in prison. According to a Sept. 19 statement from the Department of Justice, 27-year-old Rashawn Russell pleaded guilty to participating in

Cryptocurrency miners have a new voice in Washington with the launch of the Digital Power Network (DPN), a new coalition affiliated with the Chamber of Digital Commerce. The network is off to a promising start, with many of the United States’ biggest miners on board. The DPN is the first affiliate of the Chamber, and

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments. Token 2049, one of the largest crypto conferences of the year, attracted a record 10,000 attendees, 300 speakers and 5,000 companies during the two-day event in Singapore. From Sept. 13–14, attendees entering the majestic Marina Bay Sands Convention Expo and Center

There is a “real risk” that the artificial intelligence industry could develop in a way that could end up with only a few firms dominating the market, while consumers are bombarded with harmful information, according to the United Kingdom’s competition watchdog.  In a report published Sept. 18, the Competition and Markets Authority looked into AI

Hester Peirce, one of five commissioners with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and an outspoken proponent of crypto, has urged lawmakers and regulators for clarity on digital assets. Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Permissionless II conference in Austin, Texas on Sept. 11, Peirce said she wouldn’t have expected the SEC to be

Malta’s Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has begun public consultation over changes in its crypto regulations in order to align with Europe’s Markets in crypto-assets (MICA) regulations set to take effect in December 2024. The public consultation period is open until Sept. 29. The revised rulebook proposes changes to the rules for exchanges, custodians and portfolio

Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange JPEX has slammed regulators and “third-party market makers” for a liquidity crisis that has seen the platform hike withdrawal fees and suspend certain operations.  In a Sept. 17 blog post, JPEX said “unfair treatment” from certain institutions in Hong Kong, along with negative news — caused its third-party market makers to “maliciously” freeze

Trading activity on Binance.US has reached new lows in September, as the crypto exchange faces unprecedented challenges. On Sep. 16, exchange volume stood at $5.09 million on Binance.US, as reported by Amberdata on The Tie Terminal.  The lowest point for the month was on Sep. 9, when trading activity totaled $2.97 million. This is a significant

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the special administrative region’s central bank, has issued a warning to users that crypto businesses presenting themselves as banks and using banking terminology could be violating the region’s banking laws.  In a press release, the HKMA said that the use of certain banking terms may be misleading the public,

Observers should soon get a look at some of the sealed documents in the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) case against Binance. The documents were sealed at the SEC’s request with the agreement of both sides and are being unsealed at the request of the SEC itself. District of Columbia District Court Magistrate

Top Stories This Week Paxos confirms it’s responsible for paying a $500K Bitcoin transaction fee The Bitcoin miner who received 19.8 BTC in fees from blockchain infrastructure firm Paxos has returned the funds following Paxos’ claim that it made a mistake in paying over $500,000 in transfer fees. On Sept. 10, Paxos paid the six-figure

Lawyers representing Gemini Trust have pushed back against a plan proposed by Digital Currency Group (DCG) for creditors of Genesis Global. In a Sept. 15 filing in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, the legal team accused DCG of gaslighting Genesis creditors through “contrived, misleading, and inaccurate assertions” in

Binance Holdings CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has shot down speculation surrounding the departure of Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder, noting that he is “taking a deserved break” after a successful stint at the company.  Binance.US is a subsidiary of Binance Holdings, and the U.S. based exchange has seen a handful of other top executives recently step

On Sept. 15, the United States government responded to questions the defense has suggested posing to potential jurors during their selection for the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, often known as SBF. He faces seven charges of fraud and money laundering in connection with the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange that could land

Crypto exchange JPEX has reportedly increased its withdrawal fee to up to 999 Tether (USDT) after receiving a warning from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). The staff of the exchange has also been reportedly missing from its Token 2049 booth in Singapore.  On Sept. 13, the SFC, Hong Kong’s crypto watchdog, issued a warning

Cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea-linked hackers is down a whopping 80% from 2022 — but a blockchain forensics firm says it isn’t necessarily a sign of progress. As of Sept. 14, 2023, North Korea-linked hackers have stolen a total of $340.4 million worth of cryptocurrency, down from a record $1.65 billion reported funds stolen in

Roni Cohen-Pavon, the former chief revenue officer of cryptocurrency lending firm Celsius, has reportedly pleaded guilty to charges related to fraud and price manipulation. According to a Sept. 13 filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Cohen-Pavon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit price manipulation, securities fraud, manipulation

In July, the American state of Wyoming shared an open job position for the head of its Stable Token Commission.  The executive will work alongside Wyoming’s governor, state auditor, state treasurer and four expert appointees to bring the state’s very own stablecoin to life. While Wyoming was the first to pass a law on a

Mark Karpelès, the former CEO of the collapsed exchange Mt. Gox, seems to have little in the way of sympathy for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who’s been trying to get released from prison to prepare for his upcoming trial, citing poor internet.  “When I was arrested back in 2015, the most computing power I

Alibaba announced that its proprietary large language model, an artificial intelligence system called Tongyi Qianwen, will be available for public and enterprise access throughout China starting Sept. 13.  Tongyi Qianwen is a ChatGPT-like large language model trained on a corpus of English and Chinese text. While its exact specifications aren’t known — early rumors indicated