Pham Minh Chinh, the prime minister of Vietnam, has reportedly said the country’s government should study crypto regulation in part based on residents continuing to trade digital assets despite their lack of legal recognition. According to an Oct. 24 report from online news outlet VnExpress, Chinh hinted a bill on anti-money laundering, or AML, should recognize an amendment on virtual currencies given that “in fact people still trade” crypto in Vietnam. The prime minister’s comments suggested the Vietnamese government may consider crypto regulation to address its role in financial crimes. "It is necessary to study appropriate sanctions, and assign the …

The detective chief superintendent for the United Kingdom’s National Police Chiefs’ Council has said all police forces in the country have officers trained for investigations involving the enforcement and seizure of cryptocurrencies. In an Oct. 25 parliamentary debate on the U.K. Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, Andy Gould of the NPCC said that the country’s police force had the capability to address economic crimes involving crypto, but not the capacity. He reported that the authorities had used £100 million — roughly $116 million at the time of publication — over the last four years to create “cryptocurrency tactical advisers …

Australia's financial regulator has issued a stark warning to Australian crypto asset providers amid launching civil proceedings against Australian firm BPS Financial Pty Ltd (BPS) over "misleading" representations concerning its Qoin crypto token. In an Oct. 25 announcement, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said it has commenced civil penalty proceedings against BPS Financial for making “false, misleading or deceptive representations” to its 79,000 users about its crypto token Qoin. It alleges the company engaged in “unlicensed conduct” relating to Qoin, a digital currency launched in Oct. 2019 which allows participating merchants to accept as payment for goods and …

Ethereum went through a key network upgrade on Sept. 15, shifting from its proof-of-work (PoW) mining consensus to a proof-of-stake (PoS) one. The key upgrade is dubbed the Merge. The Merge was slated as a critical change for the Ethereum network that would make it more energy efficient, with later improvements to scalability and decentralization to come. A little over a month later, however, some industry observers fear the PoS transition has pushed Ethereum toward more centralization and higher regulatory scrutiny. The Merge replaced the way transactions were verified on the Ethereum network. Instead of miners putting in their computational …

Crypto lending platform Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13, 2022. Although the Celsius case involves digital assets, it remains subject to United States Bankruptcy Code under the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. While this may be, a series of unusual events have ensued since Celsius filed for bankruptcy. For instance, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn — the judge overseeing the Celsius case — stated on Oct. 17 that the court will look abroad for guidance. Glenn specifically mentioned that “Legal principles that are applicable in the United Kingdom are not binding …

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) organized a five-day training course on cryptocurrencies and Dark Web investigation for Uzbekistan's police and prosecution forces. The course is a part of OSCE’s consistent efforts to educate Central Asian law enforcers on the emerging technologies that criminals might abuse in a strategically important region for the global drug trade. As the official press release from Oct. 21 goes, representatives from the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Service attended the training from 17 to 21 Oct. to learn about the main concepts and key …

Self-regulation will be critical in governing the rapidly changing landscape of the cryptocurrency industry in order to preserve its autonomous, decentralized nature. Months after the collapse of the Terra ecosystem that propelled crypto’s market capitalization below $1 trillion, the industry is beginning the long process of rebuilding not only retail trust but also faith in itself. Current market conditions are in part due to structural weaknesses in smart contracts, models and governance processes. This is made evident by the many hacks and exploits that have taken place this year and the ballooning of projects with flawed tokenomics and that are …

Over the years, several cryptocurrency companies have claimed that deposits with them were insured by the United States Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as if they were regular savings accounts. While so far, no crypto firm has been able to offer depositors this type of insurance, some speculate it could be the key to mass adoption. The most notable case is that of bankrupt lender Voyager Digital, which saw regulators instruct it to remove “false and misleading statements” regarding FDIC insurance. Crypto exchange FTX has been a beacon of hope looking to backstop contagion in the …

A new draft of the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA) bill has started to circulate online, with some commentary suggesting it could be positive for decentralized finance (DeFi) and crypto. A prior draft version of the bill drew heavy criticism from industry representative bodies for containing too broad a definition for a “digital commodity platform,” which “could be interpreted as a ban on decentralized finance (DeFi).” In a newly posted 31-page draft bill, shared by Delphi Labs general counsel Gabriel Shapiro, the lawyer said he made the draft bill publicly available as he believes in “transparency and open discussion.” …

Members of a 4,400-strong Discord group called the “UST Restitution Group” (URG) have been attempting to track down the whereabouts of Terra co-founder Do Kwon. Members of the group, seemingly out of frustration at the lack of results from law enforcement agencies, are scouring the internet for clues and sharing them with the group in an attempt to track down Kwon. Members have suggested that he could be residing in places such as Russia, Dubai, Azerbaijan, or even on a yacht. Their continuing efforts come despite authorities in South Korea taking significant steps to bring Kwon to justice, with a …

The Law Commission of England and Wales hopes to establish the United Kingdom as a leading jurisdiction to grapple with legal disputes involving emerging technologies like cryptocurrencies, digital assets and electronic documentation. The project, dubbed "Digital Assets: Which Law, Which Court?" was announced on Oct. 18 with the aim of reviewing international legal challenges involving cryptocurrencies and providing recommendations for legal reform in the United Kingdom. Cointelegraph reached out to Professor Sarah Green, law commissioner for commercial and common law, to unpack the driving force behind the authority's latest law reform project. The U.K.’s legal review body has previously conducted …

The Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association, the governing body that deals with crypto assets in Japan, released documents of plans to further ease crypto laws in the country. According to a Bloomberg report, as early as December of this year, the association wants to implement a looser screening process for already authorized exchanges to list virtual coins. However, this would apply to tokens that are not new to the Japanese market. The regulators could abolish the lengthy pre-screening process altogether, even for coins new to the market, by March 2024. This scenario could also include tokens issued through …