The U.S. Department of State’s Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said El Salvador should ensure Bitcoin is well regulated under its new legal framework. In a Wednesday press conference following a meeting with President Nayib Bukele, Nuland said the United States was taking a “tough look at Bitcoin” following the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline and suggested El Salvador take a similar approach. The country passed a law in June making Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender, legislation that will go into effect on Sept. 7. "I did suggest to the President that whatever Salvador chooses to …

Stock and cryptocurrency trading app Robinhood has filed an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. In a Form S-1 registration statement filed Thursday with the SEC, Robinhood said it intended to move forward with an initial public offering for its Class A common stock. If approved, the company said it plans to trade using the ticker “HOOD” on the Nasdaq and raise $100 million in the debut. Robinhood said it would reserve 20% to 35% of the shares for its users. The IPO announcement comes just one day after the U.S. Financial Industry …

Despite not having a clear regulatory framework on cryptocurrencies, the United States has positioned itself as the “most crypto-ready” nation in the world based on several key metrics, such as Google searches, crypto ATM saturation and legislation. The 2021 Crypto-Ready Index, courtesy of research firm Crypto Head, gave the United States a top score of 7.13 out of 10. “In terms of crypto ATMs, the USA is leading the way with over 17,000 which is by far the most in the world, as the next closest country has around 16,000 less,” the results, which were released on Thursday, showed. “US …

The U.S. House committee on financial services held a hearing Wednesday for legislators and a panel of witnesses to discuss cryptocurrency regulation in the United States. The subcommittee on oversight and investigations invited expert witnesses to testify before congress on the risks and opportunities of blockchain technology. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-MN), a ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, was not keen on the idea of investing in cryptocurrency to save for retirement: “Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, so if one person makes a million dollars and retires at age 45, and nine lose $100,000–– Coinbase makes money, and one …

The U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is penalizing Robinhood to the tune of roughly $70 million based on the results of an investigation into the stock and cryptocurrency trading app. In a Wednesday announcement, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, said it had ordered Robinhood to pay $57 million in fines to the regulatory body as well as provide roughly $12.6 million in restitution to certain customers. FINRA alleged the trading platform caused “widespread and significant harm” to thousands of users and exhibited “systemic supervisory failures” starting as early as September 2016. “The fine imposed in this matter, the …

Institutional investors are looking for ways to participate in the crypto market without going out of the regulated space or mastering the advanced technology behind Bitcoin (BTC), and asset managers are finding alternative solutions to meet the need. Paris-based investment management company Melanion Capital partnered with index platform Bita to launch the Melanion Bitcoin Exposure Index, according to information shared with Cointelegraph. The index tracks a beta-weighted equities basket exhibiting the highest correlation and revenue exposure to BTC to follow the biggest cryptocurrency’s performance in a traditional investment fund format. Melanion Bitcoin Exposure Index is built to provide investors “with …

U.S. Senator and Bitcoin proponent, Cynthia Lummis, would like to see U.S. residents turn to Bitcoin as part of a diversified strategy for their retirement plans. Speaking during the CNBC Financial Advisor Summit on June 29, Senator Lummis stated she would like to see Bitcoin and other crypto-assets become a normal part of diversified asset allocations used for retirement funds in order to protect the from inflation. “I’d also like to see individuals be able to use Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies of their preference that are safe, that have met the hurdles of anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act,” she added. …

Bill Foster, Democratic Representative and co-chair of the Congressional blockchain caucus, has called for a regulatory framework that would enable third parties to reverse fraudulent or criminal transactions. Foster is a physicist and a Democratic Rep for Illinois. The blockchain caucus is co-chaired by Democratic Rep Darren Soto, and Republican Reps Tom Emmer and David Schweikert. Speaking during an online event for news outlet Axios, Foster asserted that unless the Congress or the public can come up with a different solution to ransomware, U.S. regulators need to introduce a legal framework that can “unmask” crypto wallet holders’ identities and reverse …

Bank of France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said that Europe should make crypto regulation a priority or risk digital assets challenging its monetary sovereignty. At a Paris Europlace financial conference today, Villeroy said he believed the European Union only had “one or two years” left in which to establish a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. To not act, according to the central bank governor, would “risk of an erosion of our monetary sovereignty” and potentially weaken the euro. "I must stress here the urgency: we do not have much time left, one or two years," said Villeroy. “On both [digital] …

Authorities behind financial regulation in Mexico have warned against financial institutions handling cryptocurrencies, saying digital assets are still not considered legal tender in the country. In a Monday press conference, representatives from Mexico’s finance ministry, the Bank of Mexico, and the National Banking and Securities Commission issued a joint statement warning investors virtual assets carried inherent risks as a medium of exchange and store of value. They added that any financial institution based in Mexico is “not authorized to carry out and offer to the public operations with virtual assets,” specifically mentioning Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and XRP. The country’s …

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority has issued a crypto custody business license for Coinbase’s Germany arm. In a Monday announcement, Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, also known as BaFin, said it had issued Coinbase the first such license for a crypto exchange related to custodying digital assets in the country. The regulator said due to the lack of precedent, it would be forming an interdisciplinary, cross-divisional and cross-departmental team to handle any issues related to crypto custody. Lawmakers in Germany passed legislation at the end of 2019 which requires that firms wishing to operate as crypto custody businesses receive BaFin …

Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has been ordered to cease all regulated activities in the United Kingdom following a review of its operations by the nation’s Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA. “Binance Markets Limited is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK,” the FCA said in an announcement, adding that no other entity in the Binance Group holds any of the necessary permits to operate in the country. In delivering the rebuke, the FCA also issued a stern warning about investing with unauthorized exchanges: “Most firms advertising and selling investments in cryptoassets are not …