Crypto Regulation News and Insights

Judge Michael Wiles approved the disclosure statements regarding Binance.US’ plans to acquire Voyager Digital for $1.022B.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice have launched investigations into Digital Currency Group over internal financial transfers between the firm and Genesis.

Martin Glenn, the federal judge presiding over the Celsius bankruptcy case, ruled that the interest-bearing Earn accounts belong to Celsius.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a limited objection to Binance.US’ ongoing discussions with Voyager Digital to purchase its assets for $1.022B.

Coinbase has agreed to pay a $50M penalty to New York regulators. The exchange will invest another $50M in its compliance program over the next two years.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States announced it will evaluate transactions involving purchase, merger, or acquisition of Voyager Digital by foreign companies.

Former FTX executives Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang pleaded guilty to charges of committing fraud as the exchange’s former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, was extradited to the US.

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ordered MyConstant to cease providing crypto-related services to its Californian clients.

Brian Armstrong outlined a blueprint for regulating centralized actors and stablecoin issuers in the wake of FTX’s collapse.

Australia’s government looking to roll out a regulatory framework for the crypto industry in 2023.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission labeled Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether as commodities in its lawsuit against FTX and Alameda Research.

In its latest transparency report, Coinbase reported a significant increase in law enforcement requests between October 2021 and September 2022.

Sam Bankman Fried, the Founder and Ex CEO of FTX, was arrested by the Royal Bahamas Police Force after US lawmakers filed criminal charges against him.

The court has authorized the issuance of subpoenas to 3AC co-founders. Liquidators now have permission to demand documents, communications, financial records, or any information related to the hedge fund since 2012.

FTX Australia acquired the AFSL by purchasing IFS Markets in December 2021. This allowed FTX Australia to operate without undergoing any regulatory tests. 

Teneo seized $35.6M from Three Arrows Capital’s bank accounts in Singapore following a lack of cooperation from its founders.

US Trustee Andrew R. Vara filed a motion with the Delaware Bankruptcy Court to hire an independent examiner to investigate FTX’s collapse.

Ron Wyden, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, sent letters to the CEOs of six crypto exchanges asking them to reveal the measures they use to protect clients' funds.

Alabama Securities Commission is investigating Genesis Global for violation of security laws. The regulator aims to ascertain if Genesis enticed residents to invest without proper registration.‍

James Bromley reported that a large portion of FTX’s assets remain unaccounted for. He claimed that FTX has begun adding measures to safeguard its clients’ assets under the leadership of John J. Ray III.

Binance is on the radar of the Singapore police for a possible breach of local payment services rules. The exchange has been accused of actively soliciting its Singapore users, regardless of not being licensed in the country.

The Supreme Court of Bahamas ordered FTX to pay reimbursement fees to the Securities Commission of the Bahamas for holding the firm’s digital assets since November 11.

The Chair of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy has issued a letter to FTX’s former and current CEOs requesting more details on FTX’s collapse.

The Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB) revealed that the agency instructed FTX to transfer assets to government wallets on November 12.

The FBI is reportedly in talks with Bahamian authorities to extradite Sam Bankman-Fried to the US for interrogation on FTX's downfall.

The Bahamian Supreme Court has approved two insolvency experts from Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) to act as joint provisional liquidators overseeing FTX assets. The Commission continues its investigation and is ready to help the police if needed.

The Bahamas Securities Commission has frozen FTX Digital Markets’ assets following allegations against the crypto exchange. As a result, FDM directors cannot make any transaction without the Commission’s approval.

Do Kwon, and Terra’s founding member, Nicholas Platias, are currently facing a new $57 million lawsuit filed by 359 aggrieved investors in Singapore. This is an addition to the numerous legal battles he is facing.

Singapore wants to ban retail investors from borrowing funds to trade cryptocurrency and generating returns from lending and staking. But it does not seek to prohibit crypto services outrightly.

The House of Commons voted to recognize crypto assets as financial instruments. This will allow the authorities to regulate crypto assets under the Financial Services and Markets Bill.

Sam Bankman Fried releases a controversial "industry guide" that reveals his stance on major issues in the crypto industry.

In his recent speech, Gary Gensler, the SEC Chairman, revealed his opinions on the increasing centralization in the crypto ecosystem.

Hong Kong regulators aim to reconsider their stance on crypto by allowing retail investors to directly invest in crypto assets.

Japanese regulators plan to ease regulations to allow registered crypto exchanges to list digital tokens without undergoing a long screening process.

The European Union seeks to curb the energy consumed by mining operations with its latest draft law. 

SEC and CFTC investigate Three Arrows Capital (3AC) for potentially misleading its investors.

The Texas State Securities Board will launch probes into crypto exchange FTX and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, over violation of the Securities Law.

According to the Finance Minister of India, the nation will focus on creating a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency during its G20 presidency next year.

CFTC's chairman voiced his opinions on FTX's proposal of eliminating the middleman in crypto derivative trading, and claimed it can potentially cause an evolution in the market structure.

Lawmakers in the European Union have voted in favor of the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation Bill (MiCA). This moves the bill ensuring stricter rules for crypto companies one step closer to becoming law.

South Korean Foreign Affairs Ministry ordered Do Kwon and five other Terra staff to return their Korean passports. They might face a passport freeze and new passport denial if they fail to comply within two weeks.

The EU imposed restrictions on all crypto-related services for Russia-based investors as part of its eighth round of sanctions against Russia.

The European Union signed the regulatory framework of MiCA, a bill that seeks to establish licensing requirements for crypto platforms.

A Tennessee Court dismissed the complaint filed against the IRS by a pair of plaintiffs seeking refunds for the income tax on their Tezos tokens.

Hydrogen Technology and Moonwalkers Trading have come under the SEC's hammer for selling tokens using airdrops and bounty programs while funding its project in 2018.

XRP witnessed an uptrend in its pricing after Analisa Torres overruled the SEC's objections in its ongoing case against Ripple Labs.

The Texas and Vermont regulators raised concerns over Celsius' request to sell its $23M worth of stablecoin assets to generate liquidity for its operations.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York has approved the appointment of a third-party examiner to look into Celsius’ finances.

Thailand’s SEC filed civil sanctions against Bitkub and sought fines worth $634K for artificially pumping asset volumes on the exchange.

3313 BTC have been moved from Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) to Kucoin and OKX following the issuance of the arrest warrant for Do Kwon. The prosecutors requested both exchanges freeze the assets.

Regulators from eight states, including California, filed a lawsuit against Nexo for not registering its “Earn Interest Product,” citing that Nexo’s offerings need to be treated as securities. 

Authorities from China’s Hengyang County Public Security arrested members of a major criminal organization as part of the “Hundred-day Action” campaign.

Governor Gavin Newson vetoed a crypto licensing and regulation bill, citing forthcoming federal regulations and findings from ongoing research. This decision has also earned him praise in the community.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) imposed a $250k penalty against bZeroX and its founders Tom Bean and Kyle Kistner over the platform’s illegal operations.

The UK has introduced a new bill to give enforcement agencies greater power to "seize, freeze, and recover" cryptocurrencies. The bill seeks to strengthen anti-money laundering measures and make the UK business-friendly.

Tornado Cash is finally back up on GitHub after its ban by OFAC. While GitHub is yet to make an official statement, many Ethereum developers have lauded this move.

US Judge has ordered Tether to provide financial records on the backing of USDT as part of a bitcoin inflation conspiracy case. The Judge also dismissed Tether’s motion to block the release as the information is vital.

The US House of Representatives drafted a bill that intends to place a temporary 2-year ban on algorithmic stablecoins such as TerraUSD.

The SEC filed charges against Sparkster Ltd, CEO Daya, and crypto influencer, Balina over an unregistered 2018 SPRK ICO. While Sparkster has agreed to pay a total of $35 million, Balina’s charges may take longer.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against crypto promoter Ian Balina over violations of the Federal Securities law.

UK’s FCA says crypto exchange FTX is not authorized to operate in the country. It warns citizens of the risks of investing in unregistered companies.

Ripple Labs Inc. filed the motion for a summary judgment earlier today, with Brad Garlinghouse slamming the SEC by claiming it is only concerned with expanding its jurisdiction beyond securities.

In light of the new crypto regulations by the US Presidency, CZ Binance has shown his support for the policy. Zhao stated the new policy's positive effects would help drastically eliminate illicit activities.

The SEC has been going after bad crypto actors recently. In their recent action, they sued two crypto firms and their owner for using their investors’ funds in Ponzi-like schemes.

The White House has issued a framework for developing and regulating digital assets in the US. This recommendation will address the risks and maximize the potential benefits of crypto assets and their technologies.

Ethereum’s transition to the staking model might draw the SEC’s attention. This is so because SEC expects crypto platforms offering staking services to take the Howey test to determine whether its asset is a security.

Beijing Court has permitted interested Chinese citizens to trade cryptocurrencies only as virtual currencies amidst China’s ban on crypto-related services.

Thai SEC has banned crypto operators from providing or advertising crypto depository services that pay returns to depositors. They claim this move will protect the public from the business risks of these services.

US Treasury Department has blacklisted Bitcoin addresses belonging to Iranian hackers while sanctioning their owners. The hackers have been encrypting their victims' devices, forcing them to pay ransoms in Bitcoin.

Investigation teams from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office issued an arrest warrant against Do Kwon, co-founder, and CEO of Terraform Labs, over violation of the Capital Markets Act.

The Uruguayan Executive Branch introduced a bill that proposes changes to the Securities Market Law and seeks to establish the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU) as a regulatory body for virtual assets.

Brazil’s Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) pressed for changes in the pending cryptocurrency bill to fix a loophole concerning the regulation of digital assets.