Current director of the Central Intelligence Agency William Burns said his predecessor at the government agency initiated projects focused on gathering intelligence on cryptocurrency. Fielding a question on crypto at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit on Monday, Burns said the CIA was looking to add expertise in cryptocurrencies and blockchain to its team of intelligence analysts in addition to communicating with industry experts. He said the challenges from the crypto space “could have enormous impact” on the United States given what he has already seen in ransomware attacks. “My predecessor had started this,” said Burns, likely referring to …
Democratic lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Monday that she avoids any and all investments which could potentially represent a conflict of interest, including crypto — and believes her fellow lawmakers should do the same. She explained that as a member of the House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee, she felt it was inappropriate for her to hold Bitcoin (BTC) or other digital assets, because lawmakers have access to “sensitive information and upcoming policy.” "I do not believe members of Congress should hold/trade individual stock and I choose not to hold any so I can remain impartial about policy making," said AOC. …
There’s no denying that the Indian government shares a contentious relationship with cryptocurrencies, as was made clear recently when the government indicated that it plans on banning all private cryptocurrencies — a list that could potentially include just about every digital asset in the market today — after it had previously lifted all such restrictions back in 2019. To elaborate, it is expected that as the government reconvenes for its Winter Session, it will discuss the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021, which as the name suggests, seeks to create a legislative framework wherein all private cryptocurrencies …
The government of Gibraltar, a British territory at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, has started a pilot program aimed at utilizing blockchain technology to store official credentials on its systems. In a Tuesday announcement, Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar said it had partnered with Mexico-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitso and IOVlabs, a startup that develops financial solutions based on the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain, to integrate blockchain technology into its eGov system. The initial phase of the integration will allow users to store state-issued and certified credentials on its servers in an effort for residents and location organizations to have …
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) put crypto in the crosshairs, where Congress and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) hope to scoop up enormous tax dollars. This reporting regime is projected to rake in an astounding $28 billion over the next ten years. No other provision in this massive recently enacted federal law is supposed to produce tax dollars that are even close. If you don’t think that means the IRS is coming for your crypto in a very big way and that Congress is trying hard to facilitate it, think again. The crypto community was outraged when …
Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, one of the ranking members of the Senate Banking Committee, has suggested Congress step in with legislation should the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) be unable to provide sufficient guidance on cryptocurrencies. In a Friday announcement from the Senate Banking Committee, Toomey said he was dissatisfied with the answers SEC chair Gary Gensler had provided on the differences between securities and commodities in regards to token projects and stablecoins. The senator questioned some of the SEC’s seeming disparities in enforcement actions between crypto firms and advisory services companies, including Glass Lewis for similar allegations of providing …
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has officially disapproved asset manager WisdomTree’s spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) after deferring on a decision several times this year. According to a Wednesday filing, the SEC rejected a proposed rule change from the Cboe BZX Exchange to list and trade shares of WisdomTree’s Bitcoin Trust. Specifically, the SEC said any rule change in favor of approving the ETF would not be “‘designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” nor “protect investors and the public interest.” The SEC concluded that BZX had not met the requirements of listing …
Speaking publicly for the last time as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Randal Quarles urged regulators to exercise restraint on stablecoins. In a prepared statement for his speech at the American Enterprise Institute on Dec. 2, Quarles expressed concern that regulations could hamper innovation in the digital asset space, particularly when it comes to stablecoins. According to the Fed governor, some of the approaches on stablecoin regulation from the President's Working Group on Financial Markets’ November report are unnecessary, including “limiting wallet providers' affiliation with commercial entities.” “It is one thing to say …
While some major Chinese cryptocurrency-related publications seem to be shutting down, a number of local news agencies continue running by moving to social media like Twitter. China’s most recent crypto ban would not significantly affect local crypto media sources as there are a number of ways to disseminate industry information, according to an executive at one of the biggest crypto publications in China. The exec, who asked to remain anonymous, told Cointelegraph on Dec. 1 that several local crypto sites have been moving their community to other media channels like Twitter and Telegram after the government enforced a new crypto …
The White House has reportedly begun interviews for possible candidates to fill the empty seats on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in 2022. According to a Wednesday report from Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter, U.S. President Joe Biden is considering qualified candidates including Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic, former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray, and Duke University law professor Sarah Bloom Raskin to take over positions from Fed board members leaving in early 2022. Others under consideration reportedly include a former Treasury Department official under President Barack Obama, Karen …
Maxine Waters, the chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, has announced several chief executive officers at major crypto firms in the United States will speak at a hearing to discuss digital assets and the future of finance. According to a Wednesday announcement, Waters said Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Bitfury CEO Brian Brooks, Paxos CEO Chad Cascarilla, Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon, and Alesia Haas, the CEO of Coinbase Inc. and the CFO of Coinbase Global, will be witnesses at a full House committee hearing held on Dec. 8. The hearing, named Digital Assets …
The United Arab Emirates’ postal operator is issuing nonfungible token (NFT) stamps to commemorate the federation’s 50th National Day, offering further evidence that digital collectibles are gaining mainstream appeal globally. Emirates Post Group, or EPG for short, announced this week that it has become the first postal organization in the Middle East and North Africa to issue digital-collectible stamps. The new stamps, which will be unveiled on the Dec. 2 National Holiday, consist of blockchain-based digital twins that will be sold as digital collectibles linked to their physical counterparts. A total of four stamps, each with a distinct design consisting …