Regulatory uncertainty surrounding crypto has created a “fertile environment” for crypto-related litigation and enforcement to grow, according to lawyers from Choate Hall & Stewart LLP. In an analysis piece published on Law360 on Tuesday, lawyers from Choate Hall & Stewart LLP, including Mike Gass, Diana Lloyd and Alex Bevans, noted increasing evidence that “novel applications of existing laws” are being used to litigate against users and investors of cryptocurrency, predicting this trend to only accelerate over time: “High market capitalization, alongside widely discussed regulatory uncertainty, has created fertile ground for litigation and enforcement to grow.” The lawyers cited several cases …

Yuga Labs has finally broken its silence over the conspiracy theory that alleges the team embedded alt-right and Nazi memes/imagery into the artwork and branding behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) nonfungible token (NFT) collection. As Cointelegraph previously reported, the BAYC conspiracy theory was once again brought into the limelight on June 20 after YouTuber Philion published a video exploring the supposed evidence that artist Ryder Ripps initially compiled at the start of this year. In a Medium blog post shared via Twitter on Saturday, Yuga Labs co-founder Gordon Goner said that the team finally decided to clear the …

Singapore’s financial regulator and the central bank have pledged to be “brutal and unrelentingly hard” on any “bad behavior” from the cryptocurrency industry. The comments come from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)’s chief fintech officer Sopnendu Mohanty, explaining in an interview that “if somebody has done a bad thing, we are brutal and unrelentingly hard.” He also hit back at the rhetoric of certain crypto market participants who have criticized the regulator for not being friendly enough to crypto, and instead questioned the legitimacy of the market, saying: “We have been called out by many cryptocurrencies for not being …

A former Chancellor of the United Kingdom has raised concerns the country is slipping behind its rivals in the European Union when it comes to the cryptocurrency regulation. Philip Hammond, who served as the U.K.’s Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2016 to 2019, told Bloomberg that there has been a distinct lack of direction and cohesion when it comes to crypto policy: “Particularly in the area of digital asset trading, I feel that the UK has missed a trick [...] We are getting very close to the point where it will be too late. Other jurisdictions are racing ahead of …

Chainalysis head of international policy Caroline Malcolm expects Australia’s new rules governing crypto advertising, promotion and consumer safeguards to follow a similar path to the United Kingdom when they come into place within the next year: “I think we’re more likely to see something along the lines of the UK model which is really focusing on a crackdown on misleading advertising or advertising which doesn't present the risks alongside the opportunities.” During the Chainalysis Links event in Sydney on Tuesday, Malcolm told Cointelegraph that this meant treating crypto products and services in a similar way to financial products and services …

Bybit announced that it reached a settlement agreement with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) on Thursday, a day after the OSC released a Statement of Allegations against the crypto asset trading platform. The agreement includes several measures to be taken by Bybit as it engages in registration talks with the Canadian regulator. This announcement comes after the OSC issued financial penalties against Bybit and KuCoin, claiming violation of securities laws and operating unregistered crypto-asset trading platforms. According to the Settlement Agreement, Bybit has disgorged revenues totaling approximately $2.47 million and compensated the OSC $7,707 (CA $10,000) for costs. No additional …

United States Securities and Exchange (SEC) commissioner Hester Peirce said the newly released SEC Agency Rule List is full of “hot-button” topics implemented in an unreasonable hurry, while crypto was ignored. Commissioner Peirce, who is sometimes referred to as the Crypto Mom for her strong positive views on cryptocurrency, released a statement concerning the SEC Spring 2022 Regulatory Agenda and the SEC Agency Rule List. Though the SEC list had no entries that made explicit reference to crypto, Pierce noted that one of the proposed rules, Amendments to Exchange Act Rule 3b-16, “might regulate crypto protocols or platforms through an …

The Ontario Securities Commission, or OSC, issued financial penalties against Bybit and KuCoin, claiming violation of securities laws and operating unregistered crypto asset trading platforms. In a Wednesday announcement, the Ontario regulator said it had obtained orders banning KuCoin from participating in the province’s capital markets and fining the exchange for more than $1.6 million. The OSC also announced that, as part of a settlement agreement, Bybit disgorged roughly $2.4 million and paid the regulator $7,724 as part of the costs of its investigation. Both firms allegedly failed to comply with Ontario securities laws, but only Bybit “responded to the …

Gustavo Petro, who recently won the 2022 Colombian presidential election, has previously made statements in favor of cryptocurrencies. Petro will replace Iván Duque Márquez as the president of Colombia on August 7 for four years after winning the second round of a run-off election on Sunday. The president-elect took to social media in December 2017 shortly after a major bull run to speak on the “strength” of Bitcoin (BTC). Petro hinted at the time that cryptocurrencies like BTC could remove power from government and traditional banks and give it back to the people. El bitcoin quita poder de emision a …

Last week, a WeChat post published by the Shanghai Fengxian Court began circulating in crypto circles regarding its recent ruling on a car sale in May 2019 made using digital currency. At the time, the buyer, identified only as Mr. Huang, signed a sales contract to purchase a 2019 Audi AL6 for 409,800 Chinese yuan, or $59.477 at the time of writing, in exchange for the consideration of 1,281 Unihash (UNIH) tokens with an undisclosed car dealership in Shanghai. Per the original contract, the seller was to deliver the car to Huang within three months’ time. According to the Shanghai …

Crypto exchange Binance has courted controversy almost since its 2017 beginnings, and five years later, the dustups continue. On June 6, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission was reported to be investigating whether Binance Holdings broke United States securities rules in launching its digital tokens. Meanwhile, on the same day, Reuters published a scathing 4,700-word “special report” titled “How crypto giant Binance became a hub for hackers, fraudsters and drug traffickers.” Binance almost immediately retorted to Reuters with a blog post of its own, warning about “authors and pundits who cherry pick data, rely on conveniently unverifiable ‘leaks’ from …

The crypto sector may be maturing, but regulatory clarity around the treatment of digital assets continues to remain cumbersome. This was recently highlighted by Commissioner Hester Peirce — also known as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) “crypto mom” — in remarks she made at “The Regulatory Transparency Project Conference on Regulating the New Crypto Ecosystem: Necessary Regulation or Crippling Future Innovation?” Peirce began her speech by emphasizing the importance of “regulating the new crypto ecosystem.” While this may be, Peirce also noted that the crypto industry is still in search of an actual regulator. She said: “A …