Crypto Regulation News and Insights

The latest crypto regulation news and insights to help you become an expert

Latest News

Tennessee Court Renders Crypto Tax Dispute Moot

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.

SEC Sues Another Crypto Project and Its "Market Maker" For Alleged Market Manipulation

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 Price Surges By 11% As Court Overrules SEC's Objections

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

State Regulators Object To Celsius' Plan Of Selling Stablecoin Holdings

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

Court Appoints Shoba Pillay To Examine Celsius’ Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case

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.

Thai SEC Files Lawsuit Against Bitkub Over Wash Trading Allegations

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

South Korea Moves to Freeze Bitcoin Transferred from LFG Amid Search for Do Kwon

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.

U.S. Regulators Sue Nexo For Failing To Register Yield Product

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. 

Chinese Authorities Arrest Criminal Group Suspected Of Laundering $5.6B

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 Newsom Vetoes California "BitLicense" Bill

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.

CFTC Sues bZeroX Over Illegal Trading Of Digital Assets

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.

New UK Bill to Give Law Enforcement Agencies More Power on Crypto-Crime Clampdown

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.

Ethereum Coin Mixer Tornado Cash Is Finally Unbanned On GitHub

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.

Court Orders Stablecoin Issuer Tether To Prove USDT Backing

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.

Draft US Bill Seeks To Ban Algorithmic Stablecoins For 2 Years

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

Sparkster Settles with SEC, Agrees to Compensate Investors with $35 Million

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.

SEC Charges Ian Balina Over Promotion And Sale Of Unregistered ICO

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

FCA Warns Citizens Over FTX’s Lack of Authorization to Operate in the UK

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 CEO Claims SEC Is Not Interested In Applying The Law

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.

CZ Binance Supports Biden’s Regulatory Policy

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.

SEC Sues Crypto Companies for Fund Mismanagement

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.

White House Releases Framework For the Development of Crypto Assets

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 New Staking Model May Draw SEC Attention

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.

Chinese Court Authorizes Crypto Trading But Only as Virtual Assets

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

Thai SEC Prohibits Crypto Operators From Providing Staking and Lending 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 Sanctions Iranian Hackers And Blacklists Their Bitcoin Addresses

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.

South Korean Prosecutors Issue Arrest Warrant Against Terraform Labs CEO

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.

Uruguayan Authorities Submit A Bill To Grant Regulatory Powers To BCU

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.

Brazilian CVM Demands Changes In The Pending Crypto Bill

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.

SEC To Set Up Specialized Offices To Review Crypto Filings

US SEC announced its plans to set up two new offices to support the DRP in matters related to crypto asset filings. 

Crypto Investors File A Lawsuit Against US Treasury Over Tornado Cash Sanctions

Six plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Treasury’s Secretary Jannet Yellen and other officials over the agency’s decision to sanction Tornado Cash and its services.

UK Mandates Crypto Exchanges To Provide Reports Of Suspected Sanction Breaches

The OFSI updated its guidelines to force all “cryptoasset exchange and custodial wallet providers” operating in the UK to report suspected sanction violations to the regulatory firm.

KlimaDAO Partners With Tusk Strategies To Convince Congress To Write DAOs Into Law

KlimaDAO is making strategic moves to persuade the US Congress to create a legal framework for DAOs. The bill, sponsored by Cynthia Lummis and Kristen Gillibrand, aims to redefine DAOs as business entities.

Thailand SEC Mandates Stricter Regulations On Crypto Advertising

Thailand’s SEC issued an amendment to the advertising regulations for crypto firms and businesses. 

Thodex CEO Arrested In Albania

Albania authorities apprehended Thodex CEO Faruk Fatih Özer after he fled Turkey with $2B worth of users’ funds last year.

Iran Approves Using Crypto To Settle Import Transactions

Iranian authorities have approved using cryptocurrencies for import transactions to evade sanctions imposed by the U.S. government.

TerraForm Labs CEO Slapped With Fresh Lawsuits On Counts Of Terra Token’s False Promotion

Do Kwon and other entities are facing new class action suits for their involvement in LUNA promotion. The complainants believe that LUNA was run like a Ponzi scheme, leading to its crash.

Arrested Tornado Cash Developer Accused Of Having Ties With Russia’s FSB

Kharon alleges Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev was a former employee of a security company affiliated with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

Tether Maintains Position On Leaving Tornado Cash Addresses Unfrozen

Many crypto platforms have recently been coming down on Tornado Cash users; however, Tether remains unmoved despite the pressure.

PayPal Joins Coinbase-Led Compliance Solution “TRUST”

Earlier today, Coinbase announced its acceptance of PayPal into "TRUST," marking another milestone in the solution's journey.

XRP Attorney Hints That SEC Chair Could Be Messing With Crypto

CryptoLaw founder John Deaton has written an op-ed criticizing the regulator's overreach in the crypto space.

Top Executives At FTX Respond To FDIC’s Allegations Of ‘False Statements’

Sam Bankman-Fried and Brett Harrison clear the air by pointing out that FTX is not FDIC-insured.

Accused Money Launderer Extradited By U.S. DOJ To Face Criminal Trials

The DOJ’s Office of International Affairs arranges for the extradition of an alleged Russian money launderer from the Netherlands for criminal proceedings in the District of Oregon.

Financial Regulator Issues A Cease-And-Desist Letter To FTX US For "False" Statements

The FDIC recently issued cease and desist letters to five companies, including FTX.US, for false statements.

SEC Reinforces Bid Blocking Ripple From Getting Evidence In XRP Lawsuit

The SEC moves to prevent Ripple from getting hold of a 2018 William Hinman speech, stating that Ethereum is not a security.

Coinbase CEO Says Exchange Will Rather Disable Staking Than Allow On-Chain Censorship

Following the Tornado Cash ban, Coinbase may shut down its staking services than open itself up to protocol-level censorship.

South Korea To Block Unregistered Virtual Asset Service Providers

In a bid to step up crypto regulations, the Korean Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU), a division under the Financial Services Commission (FSC), aims to block foreign cryptocurrency exchanges that lack domestic licenses to carry out their operations.

U.S. Federal Reserve Releases Guidelines For Allowing Crypto Banks Into The Central Banking System

The long wait is finally over as US Fed paves the way for crypto banks to join the central banking system.

SEC Sues Dragonchain Over Sale Of Unregistered Securities

the US Securities and Exchange Commission charges Dragonchain Inc., Dragonchain Foundation, and the Dragon Company by accusing the founder, John Joseph Roets, of raising $16.5M by the illegal sale of unregistered crypto asset securities

Israel Cracks Down On Crypto Laundering Fraud Against French Treasury

Authorities of Israel bust a multi-million dollar crypto laundering scheme that targeted the French treasury for Covid-19 relief.

Crypto Platforms Must Complete New Pre-Registration Filing To Operate In Canada

The Canadian Securities Administrator has mandated crypto platforms to sign an undertaking protecting investors.

FSS Identifies Suspicious Transactions Worth $1B From Undisclosed Crypto Exchange

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service discovers a series of suspicious transfers worth $1B following a recent probe.

Crypto Industry Eyes SEC's Recent Regulatory Actions To Stamp Its Authority

The US SEC has turned up its regulation heat in recent weeks in a bid to curb fraudulent activities in the crypto space.

Polychain Capital Initiates A Legal Battle With Shipyard Software To Get Back Its Investment

Polychain Capital is suing the DEX Maker over unissued shares and is requesting its investment back.

CFTC Charges Ohio-Based Man For Alleged $12 Million Ponzi Scam

An Ohio-based man is in CFTC's crosshairs for complicity in an alleged Ponzi scheme.

Uniswap, Aave and Balancer Ban Users After OFAC Sanctions On Tornado Cash

Wallets linked to Tornado Cash have been banned by Uniswap, Aave, and Balancer, making them unable to interact with the blockchain

India's Enforcement Directorate Clamps Down On Vauld For Money Laundering; Freezes Assets

Vauld is under fire by the Indian Enforcement Directorate as they face money laundering charges and asset seizure.

Email Update Pause In The Bear Market Could Bring Troubles For Coinbase

Coinbase could be facing more legal sanctions if users sue the company for suspending email updates during the market downturn.

Philippines To Close Application Window For New VASP Licenses For Three Years

The Central Bank of the Philippines issued a memorandum to halt the application process for new Virtual Asset Service Provider licenses for three years, starting September 1.

SEC Investigates Coinbase Over Crypto Staking Products

Coinbase reveals that it is under scrutiny by the SEC on suspicion of irregularities in the staking and yield programs.