In an announcement on Wednesday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granted SoFi a conditional license to operate as a national bank in the United States. The OCC is the office of the U.S. Treasury that regulates federal banks throughout the country. SoFi, which stands for Social Finance, is a fintech startup that has historically provided loans and refinancing services. In 2019, the firm launched crypto trading, and last December, the New York Department of Financial Services granted SoFi a coveted BitLicense. This new license will enable the firm to offer a wider range of services. Just …

On Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the departure of William Hinman by the end of this year. Hinman joined the commission in 2017 and is currently the director of the SEC's Division of Corporate Finance. He also spearheaded the SEC's early work with digital assets, in which role he has made critical contributions to the discussion of which cryptocurrencies qualify as securities. The announcement says: "Mr. Hinman led efforts regarding the rapid innovation in digital assets, including by providing a framework that market participants could use to evaluate whether digital assets are offered and sold as securities." …

The IOTA Foundation, a non-profit organization behind the IOTA blockchain, is collaborating with Japan’s government on a project targeting industrial infrastructure. The foundation has partnered on a project initiated by major Japanese maintenance companies, Best Materia and IMC, IOTA representatives announced on Oct. 27. The project is funded by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, a national research and development agency operating under Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. According to an announcement, the initiative intends to implement artificial intelligence and distributed ledger technology to risk-based maintenance systems in power, industrial, petrochemicals and oil refining plants. Dominik …

The co-founder and CEO of major cryptocurrency company Abra is clearly bullish on Bitcoin (BTC). In an Oct. 23 tweet, Bill Barhydt, CEO of peer-to-peer payments platform Abra, claimed that he has significantly increased his Bitcoin holdings a few weeks ago. According to the CEO, Bitcoin now accounts for 50% of his total investment portfolio. Barhydt talked about his holdings on an episode of Money Talks. In an Oct. 23 YouTube live stream, Barhydt reiterated his bullish stance on Bitcoin, claiming that “Bitcoin is the single best investment opportunity in the world right now.” The executive said that Bitcoin’s scarcity …

There has been a hot political debate underway on who should take responsibility for countering North Korean hacks targeting South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges. Recently, South Korea's financial watchdog made it clear that they do not see this issue as any of their business. According to Fn News, the Financial Services Commission, or FSC, has replied to a written inquiry from the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee on October 23. The FSC says that they’re not responsible for the crypto stolen during attacks from hackers sponsored by the Kim Jong-un’s regime, such as Lazarus Group, on crypto exchanges. Per the report, …

A line from immortal comic strip Calvin & Hobbes goes “a good compromise leaves everybody mad.” When it comes to laws governing crypto, authorities are usually asking for pretty major compromises because they are, at their very best-intentioned, trying to work things out. While it’s a fast-developing area of law — honestly a treat to cover — that means it’s fast-developing relative to law, not tech. There is an innate conservatism to anything having to do with how people handle their money. That extends to laws governing how money and investments function. Consequently, everything regulators touch in crypto develops slower …

A Russian official argued that the country should have launched research on a central bank digital currency four years ago in order to claim leadership in the field. However, according to Dmitry Peskov, a special representative of the President of the Russian Federation on digital and technological development, the first-mover advantage also brings a number of risks in terms of financial stability. According to news service RBC on Oct. 23, Peskov said that a fast-second strategy in developing a CBDC could be more efficient than becoming the world’s first issuer, stating: “The financial risk is so great that it seems …

The South Korean telecom giant SK Telecom has announced it will issue its first digital wallet for blockchain-powered digital certificate storage and management with the approval of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security. According to NewsTomato, SK’s Wallet is compatible with the ministry’s own Government24 digital certificate initiative, which promotes the use of electronic certificate issuance and distribution systems in South Korea in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. SK Telecom’s digitalized public certificates include copies of resident registration cards, health insurance qualification certificates, immigration certificates, among other documents previously issued on paper and signed by hand. They will …

Brazil's Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, said during an online event this Tuesday that Brazil "is about to" join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and that the Brazilian government has plans to launch a public offering of shares (IPO) for the newly-created digital bank of Caixa Econômica Federal. Caixa Econômica Federal created a digital bank during the pandemic to help the government send financial aid to around 64 million Brazilians. Guedes’ comments came during the Milken Institute Global Conference, during which he said that the Central Bank is working to attract new investors for the country. One …

Recent comments from Jerome Powell, the chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, show the American government is not especially concerned with speed when it comes to developing a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. In contrast, Morgan Creek Digital co-founder Anthony Pompliano argues that time is of the essence. "They're talking about, like, maybe we'll build one in the next couple of years," Pompliano said of Powell's recent comments on CBDCs. "This is not a next-couple-of-years thing," Pomp said Monday on an episode of his YouTube show Lunch Money. "This is a right-now thing, and if they don't act, …

According to David Birch, fintech guru and author of “The Currency Cold War”, if the U.S. doesn’t ramp up its efforts in the digital currency race, the global dominance of the dollar might soon be under threat. Such a scenario could find central banks around the world (as well as private companies) launching their own digital currencies — Some of which could potentially challenge the dollar in cross border payments and global trade. Birch feels it is unlikely that any of these competitors will replace the dollar as the world’s dominant currency, however. According to his vision, we are more …

Switzerland’s Federal Department of Finance has initiated a consultation process for a blanket ordinance in the blockchain and distributed ledger technology space. The consultation will happen among cantons, parties and other interested groups in this space. It is scheduled to continue for more than three months, ending on Feb. 2, 2021. This is a part of the Swiss government's active interest in promoting blockchain and cryptocurrency. The consultation to create better laws for the blockchain industry comes only a month after the government amended several existing finance and corporate laws to incorporate provisions for blockchain technology and DLT. According to …