Back in July, the Securities and Exchange Commission alongside the Commodity Futures Trading Commission fined investment app Abra for providing trading on synthetic assets. At the time, that looked like the end of the matter. However, in response to Cointelegraph’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for details in the Abra case, the SEC cited FOIA exemption 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(7)(A) — an exemption that only applies to ongoing investigations. The exemption applies to situations where releasing information could “reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.” The SEC’s response does not provide details into the ongoing investigation, and was careful …

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has charged derivatives exchange BitMEX with operating an unregistered trading platform and violating Anti-Money Laundering regulations. According to a statement released Thursday, the CFTC filed a civil enforcement action in the Southern District of New York against five entities and three individuals who allegedly own and operate the exchange. The individuals charged include Arthur Hayes, publicly known as the CEO of BitMEX, as well as Ben Delo and Samuel Reed. The CFTC alleges that these individuals are owners and operators of BitMEX through a “maze of corporate entities.” The aforementioned corporate …

The Australian government this week unveiled its $574 million Digital Business Plan that includes seven-figure grants for distributed ledger technology initiatives. Announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison ahead of next week’s Federal Government budget, the plan outlines $4.95 million in support for “two blockchain pilots directed at reducing business compliance costs.” Morrison said: “The plan supports Australia’s economic recovery by removing out-dated regulatory barriers, boosting the capability of small businesses, and backs the uptake of technology across the economy.” Piper Alderman partner Michael Bacina told Cointelegraph that these two projects are important “to help demonstrate and unlock the value of …

On Wednesday, the IRS awarded two $625,000 contracts looking for tracing tools for privacy token Monero and Layer 2 protocols. The winners were blockchain analytics firms Chainalysis and Integra FEC. The IRS initially publicized its quest for a privacy-busting analytics solution at the beginning of the month. An IRS representative told Cointelegraph that the agency had selected the two winning firms out of a field of 22 proposals received, though the only rationale the representative gave for the agency’s decision was “comparative analysis was used.” Chainalysis is among the leading firms in crypto analytics and routinely wins such contracts with …

The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, says that the country's government is now looking at diverse cryptocurrencies as a potential way of avoiding sanctions. On Sept. 29, Maduro presented a new bill that intends to help the country overcome the impact of United States sanctions. As part of the bill, Venezuela will study the possibility of using various cryptocurrencies in both domestic and foreign trade. Maduro claimed that the new anti-sanctions bill involves both private and state-backed crypto initiatives like Venezuela’s oil-pegged cryptocurrency, the Petro: "The anti-sanctions bill is the first response [...] to give new strength to the use …

In a pandemic era of unprecedented health data collection and surveillance, Singapore is turning to blockchain technology for the infrastructure that can make it work. Government-owned investment firm SGInnovate and Singaporean startup Accredify have jointly developed a new blockchain-powered digital health passport, according to a report on Sept. 30. Development work on the application, which allows personal medical data to be stored in a blockchain-secured digital wallet, began in May. A successful pilot in July showed that the app was capable of managing and verifying digitized healthcare documents — including COVID-19 discharge memos, swab results, immunity proof, and vaccination records …

The updated Consumer Safety Technology Act, which now includes the Digital Taxonomy Act and the Blockchain Innovation Act, has passed in the House of Representatives and is now headed for the Senate as of Tuesday afternoon. The Digital Taxonomy Act provides definitions for the terms "digital asset" and "digital unit" and would task the Federal Trade Commission with preventing unfair trade practices in both. The Blockchain Innovation Act would require the FTC to put together a report on blockchain's role in consumer protection. Regarding the news, the author of the two bills, Congressman Darren Soto (D-FL), said “As lawmakers, it’s …

Recent figures published by Chinese media outlets show that companies in China have filed for over half of all global blockchain patents. According to a report titled “2020 Blockchain Industry Development”, Chinese companies have applied for 4,435 blockchain patents following Chinese president Xi Jinping’s endorsement of the industry. The study was jointly compiled by Tsinghua University, Peking University, and China Institute of Communications. During a committee session in October 2019, President Xi called for the country to accelerate its adoption of blockchain technologies as a core for innovation. According to the study, tech giant Alibaba Group had applied for the …

New Zealand businesses must now submit information on their clients' digit asset usage to the country's tax regulator, the Inland Revenue Department, or IRD. The governing body said it wants to get a better grasp on the crypto scene in the country and determine an applicable tax framework for the asset class, according to a statement reported by Radio New Zealand, or RNZ. In addition to specifics around crypto usage, the IRD will also request associated client information, RNZ wrote. The IRD is not the only government body dialing in on digital asset taxation. The IRS, the U.S.' tax authority, …

On Monday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed charges against Laino Group for soliciting U.S. investors to trade in futures on commodities including Ether, Litecoin and Bitcoin without registering with the commission. Per the CFTC's complaint the St. Vincent-registered Laino Group, doing business as PaxForex, used a network of U.S.-based affiliates to solicit American retail investors. In doing so, Laino Group violated the Commodity Exchange Act. The CFTC did not specify the extent of Laino Group's activities. The commission's request for relief indeed suggest that they themselves don't know how much the trading platform took in without registering. In addition …

Repeatedly, proponents of disruptive technologies have proven that regulation and innovation have an immense potential to actualize a mutually beneficial existence. The often delicate relationship between innovators and regulators — which may be mired by antagonism — is fundamental to the functioning of the global economy, especially at times as challenging as we are facing now. The fuel that keeps the fire of the important relationship between regulators and businesses alight — like any — is communication and collaboration. This could not be more apt when it comes to the innovators behind distributed ledger technology and the regulators in overseeing …

The basis of any exchange of value is trust. The more two parties trust each other, the more they will feel confident engaging in transactions. Not just engaging in a high volume of transactions, but higher value transactions, too. Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies are certainly accomplishing a lot when it comes to creating a decentralized environment where the ability to trust another party is taken out of the equation by a blockchain. Hardcore enthusiasts who already understand this are the ones most willing to reach into their coffers and pour money into the crypto revolution. The truth is, though, …