Acting chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, Rostin Behnam has likened the government agency’s enforcement of the digital asset space to a beat cop on duty. At an Oct. 27 hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry to assume his position on a permanent basis, Behnam said to chairperson Debbie Stabenow the CFTC has been “aggressively pursuing enforcement cases” in the crypto space for some time, including its $100 million case against crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX and the $42.5 million in fines it levied against Tether and Bitfinex. However, he asked that the …

The stablecoin market has grown exponentially over the last few months due to the numerous advantages blockchain-based versions of fiat currencies have. But, when Facebook launched its cryptocurrency wallet Novi using Paxos’ stablecoin, some United States senators were quick to oppose it. Are they concerned about user data or monetary sovereignty? The social media giant which, according to its Q2 2021 report, has 2.9 billion monthly active users across all of its platforms, tapped Coinbase and Paxos for its Novi digital wallet project that kicked off its testing phase in the U.S. and Guatemala on Oct. 19. The pilot program …

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is shaping up to be one of the most important sectors within the blockchain industry. In just the last two years, DeFi's total value locked (TVL) — the total value of assets locked into various DeFi platforms — has steadily increased from $21 billion at the start of the year to over $100 billion today. DeFi represents a wide range of financial products and services, including the all too popular decentralized exchanges (DEX). Despite the explosive growth of DeFi's lending and borrowing products, insurance and even decentralized derivatives trading, however, regulation on a global scale still appears …

The Bitcoin Fund (QBTCu.TO), a closed-end investment vehicle based in Canada, has received regulatory approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority. The fund debuted on Nasdaq on June 23, 2021 and became the first listed digital asset fund in the Middle East. The fund's goal is to provide investors in the shares of the fund with exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) and the daily price changes of the U.S. dollar price of Bitcoin, as well as long-term capital appreciation. The fund is a diversified portfolio of digital assets that invests in Bitcoin and U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. A report by …

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has established a regulatory framework for investment tokens as part of its efforts to stimulate the digital financial and technological environment while also meeting market players' demands and requirements. The DFSA is an independent regulatory body in Dubai that is in charge of monitoring and regulating financial services companies wanting to operate there. It also licenses and regulates their products and services. According to a report by Emirates news agency WAM, the DFSA's regulatory framework defines investment tokens as either "a Security Token or Derivative Token." The report notes that the creation of a …

British cryptocurrency services provider Crypterium is the latest crypto firm to secure registration from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Crypterium officially announced on Oct. 25 that it has recently been registered by the FCA to provide cryptocurrency services to local citizens and companies, becoming one of few companies to have passed the registration process. According to data on the FCA’s official website, Crypterium has been registered to operate “certain crypto asset activities” in compliance with the country’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations since Oct. 11. The registration officially authorized Crypterium to continue providing its crypto wallet services, including crypto …

The biggest regulatory story of the week, if not the year, has been the United States Security and Exchange Commission’s lack of opposition to the launch of the first-ever Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds, which took eight long years to materialize. While the first ETFs are tracking CME-traded Bitcoin futures rather than the asset’s spot price, the crypto space is already anticipating a pure-Bitcoin ETF as a logical next step. This bar might prove to be immensely difficult to clear, however, as SEC Chair Gary Gensler seems far less convinced of the stringency of investor protections that such products offer. Below …

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is set to officially introduce the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the eNaira. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has published a document in which it reaffirmed its intention to introduce the eNaira after previously attempting but failing to do so on Oct. 1. According to the design paper for the eNaira, the CBN now considers itself prepared to implement Nigeria’s CBDC. The CBN is working on a global cryptocurrency that will be used as a means of payment and a store of value in addition to replacing cash. The CBN, in its own statement, …

In her monthly Expert Take column, Selva Ozelli, an international tax attorney and CPA, covers the intersection between emerging technologies and sustainability, and provides the latest developments around taxes, AML/CFT regulations and legal issues affecting crypto and blockchain. Lately, news headlines are focused on regulators’ concerns over the lack of investor protections in the cryptocurrency market, which has ballooned to more than $2 trillion, and the possible risks to financial stability. National security agencies across the administration of United States President Joe Biden are grappling with high-profile cases of cryptocurrencies playing a role in ransomware attacks, intellectual property espionage, sanctions …

Hong Kong, one of the most significant and leading financial centers in the world, has played a large role in the development of cryptocurrencies. For instance, the Chinese territory has birthed some of the most established and successful crypto companies to date including the crypto derivatives exchange FTX, along with the digital asset platform Crypto.com. Yet, as trillions of dollars are traded regularly through crypto exchanges founded in Hong Kong, the “Vertical City” also contains an abundance of physical over-the-counter crypto shops as well. Henri Arslanian, PwC crypto lead and former chairman of the Fintech Association of Hong Kong, told …

It seems that everyone — from corporate behemoths like Visa and Anheuser-Busch to socialite Paris Hilton and NBA legends Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant — has recognized the growing importance of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) for the 21st-century economy. World-renowned artists, athletes and musicians have been cashing in on the craze, lending legitimacy to this new use of technology that allows for ownership of a wide array of digital assets. But the true test of this innovation will not be how it helps the wealthy perpetuate their positions of power, but rather how NFTs can promote human rights and other public …

Wally Adeyemo, the Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury, said the department would likely be enforcing more sanctions on companies involved in illicit transactions related to ransomware payments. Speaking at an online event hosted by the Center for a New American Security with former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Ambassador Paula Dobriansky, Adeyemo said the U.S. government would likely be dipping into its toolbox by employing sanctions when criminals threaten national security interests. He specifically mentioned “crypto exchanges or mixers that are fundamentally in the business of furthering cybercriminals” as possible targets. “Our view is that …