In remarks given at the American Fintech Council’s 2021 Policy Summit, acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J Hsu called for greater regulation of universal crypto firms. “Large, universal crypto firms—especially issuers of highly-circulated stablecoins—should embrace comprehensive, consolidated supervision. At the same time, federal and state bank regulators should prioritize the development of policies, staff, and supervisory approaches to bring such firms safely into the bank regulatory perimeter. This would clearly differentiate safe and sound crypto firms from those that are regulated only partially and have a history of control lapses, such as Binance and Tether.” The Office of the …

Congressmen Todd Emmer and Darren Soto sent a bipartisan letter to Securities & Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler on Wednesday, strongly questioning why the agency has denied approval for the creation of a Bitcoin spot ETF while allowing Bitcoin Futures ETFs to begin trading. In a spot ETF, the fund holds the actual commodity (in this case bitcoin) whereas in a futures ETF fund holds contracts to buy and sell the commodity at a future date at a specified price. In a press release announcing the letter, Minnesota Republican Emmer said: “The SEC’s approach to cryptocurrency regulation has been unacceptable. …

U.S. Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas submitted a resolution on the Senate floor Monday that would require the acceptance of cryptocurrency payments at all gift shops, restaurants and vending machines located within the Capitol complex. The resolution, titled Adopting Cryptocurrency in Congress as an Exchange of Payment for Transactions, or ACCEPT, also prohibits the Architect of the Capitol — a presidential appointee who oversees the administration of the Capitol Complex — from entering into contracts which preclude the use of cryptocurrency as a form of payment provided that they “are cost-effective and value-centered for patrons.” Cruz said in an …

The Laos government’s pilot project to explore cryptocurrency mining and trading is expected to bring in roughly $194 million towards the country’s total domestic revenue projected for 2022. According to a Nov. 2 report from Malaysian news outlet The Star, the Laotian government’s recent bid to capitalize on China’s crypto mining crackdown may be netting the country 2 trillion kip — roughly $194 million at the time of publication — in revenue from six firms. The companies in the public-private mining pilot program officials approved in September include Wap Data Technology Laos, Phongsubthavy Road and Bridge Construction, Sisaket Construction Company …

Francis Suarez, who has served as the mayor of Miami since 2017, has said he’s going to take the next paycheck in Bitcoin. In a Nov. 2 Twitter post, Suarez said he aimed to be the first U.S. lawmaker at the state or federal level to accept part of his salary in Bitcoin (BTC). Public records show the Miami mayor’s salary was $97,000 annually between 2016 and 2017, meaning he would receive a monthly paycheck of more than $8,000 or 0.13 BTC at a price of $63,404 assuming residents did not vote to increase his compensation for public service. Suarez …

On Monday, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram announced a 700,000 pound ($955,957 USD) investment into blockchain-powered food delivery service Peepl. The software aims to act as a cost-efficient alternative to food delivery giants for local restaurants. Peepl claims that it can save restaurants up to 50% on commissions typically charged by food delivery platforms through its technology and partnerships. In addition, the Peepl platform promises to give consumers back 5% to 10% on each of their order value in the form of Peepl Tokens (PPL). However, they will be locked within the network for at least …

The Securities and Exchange Commission could be emerging victorious in the race to secure the leading role in regulating stablecoins. Additional clarity on the demarcation of regulatory mandates between the SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Treasury Department could come from the President’s Working Group for Financial Markets’ (PWG) report that was expected by the end of October but failed to arrive before the end of last week. The mandate to regulate cryptocurrency in the United States remains dispersed across a host of actors, and a single PWG report will not remedy this once and for all. Still, having …

Crypto and taxes may not be a match made in heaven, but taxes seem inevitable, and the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has made it clear it is going after people who don’t report. With IRS summonses to Coinbase, Kraken, Circle and Poloniex, plus other enforcement efforts, the IRS is on the hunt. The IRS sent 10,000 letters in different versions asking for compliance, but all were nudges to encourage taxpayers to be compliant. The IRS hunt for crypto has often been compared to the IRS hunt for foreign accounts more than a decade ago. Unfortunately, it is not …

U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-VA), who was elected in 2020 to represent Tennessee after a stint as Ambassador to Japan, spoke to newly appointed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra regarding cryptocurrencies in a banking committee hearing, saying “I just want to make certain as you exercise those oversight responsibilities that we don't stifle innovation in this arena.” “Digital ledger technology offers a tremendous amount of promise in terms of financial innovation and inclusion. It’s an industry where I think the United States is leading, has led, and I’d like to see us continue to lead there. Especially when …

The Australia Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has issued its response to public consultation on cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) alongside fresh industry guidance. On Oct. 29, the regulator released a set of regulatory requirements for funds looking to offer crypto ETPs, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and structured products, following months of industry consultation initiated in late June. According to the official guidance, ASIC has so far greenlighted ETPs based on major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) and expects more crypto assets to become a foundation for ETPs in the future: “As at October 2021, Bitcoin and Ether appear …

The Russian cryptocurrency market has grown to hundreds of billions of dollars despite the absence of sufficient cryptocurrency regulation, according to a major industry executive. Sergei Khitrov, founder of the Russian cryptocurrency event Blockchain Life, gave a keynote speech on the state of cryptocurrency regulation in Russia at the VII Blockchain Life Forum in Moscow on Oct. 27. Based on his own industry insights and knowledge of the market, Khitrov estimated the Russian crypto market to be worth as much as 40 trillion rubles, or more than $550 billion. He also claimed that Russian crypto businesses could generate as much …

A report presented to Sri Lankan central bank governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal on Monday detailed the results of a now-completed Know-Your-Customer, or KYC, proof-of-concept project. The project Sri Lanka's central bank, also known as the CBSL, included 3 collaborators who developed the Blockchain-based KYC platform concept. The KYC platform was also tested by the CBSL and 10 regional and international commercial banks, including Amana Bank, Bank of Ceylon, Cargills Bank, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, DFCC Bank, Hatton National Bank, HSBC, National Development Bank, People’s Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. The team initiated the project in July 2019, and completed development …