The Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) has put the kibosh on financial institutions offering crypto trading only days after two of the country’s largest banks signaled they were opening up to digital assets. On Thursday, the BCRA said the move was to mitigate the risks crypto poses to users and “to the financial system as a whole,” citing crypto’s high volatility, use in money laundering and absence of regulatory safeguards. The news came hot on the heels of an announcement on Monday from two of the country’s largest banks, Banco Galicia and Brubank, that they would allow their customers to …

Kristin Johnson, one of five commissioners currently serving at the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has announced that a CME Group executive director with experience in crypto will be joining her staff. In a Thursday announcement, Johnson said Bruce Fekrat will be her chief counsel at the CFTC starting on June 1. Fekrat worked as an executive director and associate general counsel at the CME Group for more than eight years, where he was lead regulatory counsel for issues including digital assets. During his time at the derivatives marketplace, he regulated cryptocurrency reference rates and helped in …

A new crypto litigation tracker from commercial law firm Morrison Cohen LLP shows details of more than 300 active and settled court cases since 2013. Morrison Cohen is a New York-based firm that caters to large financial institutions, entrepreneurs and early-growth stage companies and specializes in capital markets, business litigation, real estate and bankruptcy, to name a few. The company also has a cryptocurrency litigation team. The Morrison Cohen Cryptocurrency Litigation Tracker was published on Tuesday and contains any case development related to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Department of Justice …

The government of Kazakhstan has laid out new reporting requirements for cryptocurrency mining operators with a keen eye on how the industry’s energy usage affects the local power grid. The order, published by the country’s Minister of Digital Development earlier this week, compels digital mining businesses to provide comprehensive information 30 days before starting operations. The electricity consumption and “technical specifications” for connection to the power grid must be provided before commencing operations. The amount and type of mining equipment used, the customs cargo declarations for that equipment and any investments planned for the next 12 months must also be …

Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, has signed an executive order aimed at harmonizing a regulatory framework for blockchain between the federal government and the U.S. state as well as spurring innovation in the space. In a Wednesday announcement, the California governor’s office said executive order N-9-22 and the California Consumer Financial Protection Law would allow the state to create “a transparent and consistent business environment for companies” in Web3 and the crypto space, including blockchain and financial technology firms. According to the order, the California state government will need to establish a regulatory approach to crypto assets concurrent with …

The Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority, or VARA, has purchased land in the virtual reality world The Sandbox (SAND) as part of its plans to set up a metaverse headquarters. In a Tuesday announcement from Emirates news agency WAM, VARA said the metaverse entry was aimed at facilitating “collaborative engagement” between virtual asset service providers, international regulatory authorities, and industry leaders. In addition, the Dubai regulator said establishing its “MetaHQ” office could help reach “younger licensees” entering the virtual world. "By expanding VARA’s resources to a borderless audience through the Metaverse, Dubai is creating a prototype Decentralised Regulator Model, inviting …

Next to the fears of government overreach that the European Union’s ambitious digital euro project stirred, the main concern of the public is the prospective currency’s privacy framework. It appears that this worry might not be overblown after all, as the European Central Bank’s (ECB) latest presentation hints that user anonymity is not a desirable design option. On Tuesday, crypto venture adviser and European digital asset regulation whistleblower Patrick Hansen drew public attention to the ECB’s presentation titled “Digital Euro Privacy options.” The document is relatively short and contains nine slides that lay out the possible options for user privacy …

Stokely-Van Camp, the beverage company with the original rights to market and produce Gatorade, may be exploring releasing virtual sports drinks in the metaverse. According to records submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, on Wednesday, Stokely-Van Camp filed two applications for the word Gatorade and the sports drink’s “G”-shaped orange, black and white logo to be used in connection with “virtual beverage products” and nonfungible tokens, or NFTs. The filings suggest Gatorade may be preparing to introduce its branded products to the metaverse. Getting dehydrated from a workout in the metaverse? Gatorade will have you …

The Republic of Uzbekistan continues to progress with local cryptocurrency regulations, with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev issuing a new decree regulating the industry. Released on Wednesday, the new decree instructs a reorganization of a major presidential agency known as the National Agency for Project Management (NAPM). The authority has previously promoted crypto trading in Uzbekistan, proposing to allow residents to conduct all types of crypto trades in 2021. According to the decree, the NAPM will be restructured into a new entity called the National Agency for Perspective Projects (NAPP), responsible for a wide range of crypto regulation-related projects with the …

Two committees of the Hawaii State Legislature — Commerce and Consumer Protection (CPN) and Ways and Means (WAM) — unanimously approved the launch of a specialized task force to explore the use and regulation of the crypto ecosystem. In a letter addressed to the President of the Hawaii State Senate, Ron Kouchi, legislative members Donovan Dela Cruz and Roz Baker wrote in support of creating a “Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Task Force” that was first proposed in bill SB2695. SB2695, titled “A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CRYPTOCURRENCY,” sought to establish a task force within the Department of Budget and …

Lawyers for Dfinity Foundation, a Switzerland-based nonprofit behind the Internet Computer blockchain, have filed a lawsuit against Facebook’s parent company Meta for trademark infringement over its infinity logo. In a Friday court filing with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Dfinity’s legal team claimed Meta Platforms was registering the use of its logo, which also uses the mathematical symbol for the concept of infinity, “in some of the same or similar areas in which Dfinity has already obtained registration for its mark.” According to the blockchain firm, Meta filed an application with the U.S. Patent …

Last week, New York dominated crypto media headlines in very different ways. In New York State, the local Assembly voted in favor of the bill that would ban for two years any new mining operations that rely on proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanisms and use fossil fuel-generated energy. A temporary moratorium, which could be extended after the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation provides its assessments of the industry’s carbon footprint, marks the first major legislative attack on PoW mining on environmental grounds in the United States. The push mobilized the community — after digital asset advocacy groups rang the alarm on …