The 2020 United States presidential election was met with an increase in mail-in ballots due to COVID-19 concerns. Yet while many Americans stayed away from polling stations this year, postal delays, rejected ballots, and other challenges emerged. Unsurprisingly, better ways for casting votes during major elections quickly became a hot topic of discussion. This has also led some in the crypto community advocating with renewed vigor for a blockchain-based voting system to be used in the future presidential elections. While the promises of blockchain include trust, transparency and immutability, a group of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer …

Cryptocurrency exchange and debit card provider Crypto.com has scored major regulatory approvals from the Maltese government. According to a Nov. 24 announcement, the Malta Financial Services Authority, or MFSA, has granted in-principle approval to Crypto.com for two financial licenses: a Financial Institution License and a Class 3 Virtual Financial Assets, or VFA, License. Once Crypto.com meets the official conditions, the Financial Institution License will enable Crypto.com to provide payment services and issue electronic money. A Class 3 VFA License allows Crypto.com to offer investment management services, custody and trading to both professional and nonprofessional investors. According to the announcement, Crypto.com …

Gazprombank Switzerland, a subsidiary of one of the largest banks in Russia, has piloted its Bitcoin (BTC) transaction service following regulatory approval by Swiss regulators. According to a Nov. 19 announcement, Gazprombank will provide its new cryptocurrency solution in collaboration with its long-running partners like fintech firm Avaloq and crypto custody provider Metaco. Gazprombank Switzerland CEO Roman Abdulin said that the new service intends to make crypto transactions “as easy as transactions with traditional assets,” stating: “Digital assets will become increasingly important for our clients and the global economy. We are pleased to work together with leading Swiss-based entities on …

Who could have imagined a year ago how different our lives would be in just 12 months? Without any doubt, last November will remain a significant point in humanity’s history — the time when it all started. Although “patient zero” has not yet been confirmed — if it ever will be at all — we now know that everything began in China back on Nov. 17, 2019, when the first patient reportedly presented symptoms of a novel coronavirus disease named COVID-19, according to the South China Morning Post with references to government data. In January 2020, Wuhan city in central …

In early October, the U.S. Department of Justice revealed its Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework, a report laying bare the government’s vision for emerging threats and enforcement strategies in the cryptocurrency space. The document is an important source of insight into how the laws governing digital finance will be soon implemented on the ground. One of the fundamental principles that the government asserts in the document is its broad extraterritorial jurisdiction over foreign-based actors who use virtual assets in ways that harm U.S. residents or businesses. The guidance sets an extremely low bar for perpetrators of cross-border crime to clear before they …

Editor's note Amid a political news cycle that has been stuck in a nauseating loop, covering crypto is often refreshing. Partisan forces have yet to dig out the trenches. A lot of the current task is just getting working definitions in play. Meanwhile, the technology advances at a mind-boggling rate, and there are still enough outrageous scams, absurd tomfoolery and indeed general skullduggery to keep everything from getting dull. Speaking of skulduggery, I will begin this week with a comment on a challenge to journalism in the crypto industry that has wide-spanning implications. Not many people think about the relationship …

On Friday, the International Monetary Fund published a new working paper on central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, and their legal ramifications. In the paper, researchers including IMF legal counsel Wouter Bossu and Catalina Margulis argue that current frameworks are inadequate for issuing public-facing CBDCs. The researchers are particularly concerned about how existing definitions of money can apply to such a new technology, but, optimistically, suggest the problem is simple enough to fix: "The absence of an explicit and robust legal basis for the issuance of token-and/or account-based CBDC can be relatively easily remedied through targeted central bank law reform." …

Per an announcement on Friday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, is looking for public comments on rule-making that would stop banks from denying services to businesses based on sector. In the words of Comptroller Brian Brooks, “Blanket boycotts of entire industry sectors have to stop.” The OCC’s announcement points to political hot-button issues that banks have systematically denied services to, including oil and gas companies in Alaska as well as Planned Parenthood. Speaking to the media, Brooks noted the bipartisan nature of many of these bans: “These things are not politically partisan, but there are …

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has issued a rare no-action letter in response to a request from a blockchain-backed platform over the issuance of a digital asset. The SEC letter issued on Nov. 19 says that its Division of Corporation Finance would “not recommend enforcement action” against avatar social platform IMVU issuing its VCOIN digital asset under certain conditions. The commission will allow the firm to offer the token without registering it as a security. Crypto firms issuing their own tokens often have to abide by the SEC’s regulatory framework, which has proved contentious. The classification of …

BlockShow has unveiled the speakers for the upcoming cryptocurrency-related event taking place in Singapore in December. As previously announced, the Singapore FinTech Festival, or SFF 2020, is organized in partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the country's major financial regulator and de facto central bank. The hybrid online and physical event will run from Dec. 7–11, 2020. The upcoming conference will broadcast panel discussions on two channels, the so-called “Green Shoots” and the “Global Channel.” As part of the Global Channel, SFF 2020 speakers will discuss a range of topics related to the future of money. The channel will …

Bill Hinman, outgoing director of the Division of Corporation Finance at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chose to focus one of his last speeches on the commission’s achievements in regulating crypto during his tenure. In remarks published on the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, website on Nov. 18, Hinman cited the SEC’s record as being open to technologies like cryptocurrencies and blockchain without the need for overhauling the existing regulatory framework. “Being able to apply the federal securities laws to new and emerging technologies like digital assets without having to create an entirely new regulatory framework — as …

Major players in U.S. crypto lobbying are coming out in defense of noncustodial wallets. On Tuesday, the Blockchain Association released a new report presenting policy options for self-hosted wallets to regulators. On Wednesday, Coin Center published an expert view by Jai Ramaswamy, also defending such wallets. The Blockchain Association is a trade organization for the crypto industry, while Coin Center is a nonprofit focused on defending decentralization before policymakers. Both are based in Washington, D.C. Ramaswamy currently works on compliance for Celo's parent company, C Labs, and was formerly the head of the Department of Justice’s Anti-Money Laundering division. His …