Regulation

Top Stories This Week Ethereum futures ETFs to start trading next week Investment firm Valkyrie will start offering exposure to Ether futures in the coming days. On Sept. 28, the firm told Cointelegraph that its Bitcoin Strategy ETF will allow investors access to Ether and Bitcoin futures “under one wrapper,” making it one of the

Aside from liquidity, what do institutions bring to crypto? What precisely is their value added? This is an instructive question to ponder, because there is little consensus on what deeper institutional participation means for an industry that is riven with contradictions. The long-running wait for Bitcoin ETF approval, giving pensions and funds exposure to BTC,

Venture capital firm Paradigm has criticized the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for bypassing the standard rulemaking procedures in its current legal action against the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. In a statement released on Friday, Sept. 29, Paradigm stated the SEC is attempting to use the allegations in its complaint to alter the law

The United States House of Representatives has rejected a bill passed on by the Senate aimed at funding the government, and Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s proposals have so far failed to gain traction with far-right lawmakers in the House — all actions suggesting that the U.S. government is heading toward at least a partial shutdown starting

European cryptocurrency investment firm CoinShares is optimistic about cryptocurrency regulation in the United States as the firm enters the new market. On Sept. 22, CoinShares officially announced the launch of its new division, CoinShares Hedge Fund Solutions, marking the first time the firm introduce its offerings to qualified U.S. investors. CoinShares’ entrance into the U.S. market

Nvidia, one of the global leaders in artificial intelligence (AI) chip production with headquarters in California, reportedly faced a police raid in its French offices this week. The action came as a part of a general inquiry of French antitrust authorities into the cloud computing sector.  On Sept. 28, the Wall Street Journal reported the raid,

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments. Chinese worker fined $145K over VPN An unnamed individual in China was fined 1.06 million Yuan ($144,907) for using a virtual private network (VPN) to access restricted websites as part of a remote work routine for a foreign employer.  According to

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) will remain in jail at least until the start of his Oct. 3 criminal trial following an order from a federal judge. In a Sept. 28 hearing in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Lewis Kaplan denied a motion from SBF’s legal team

The governor of the Central Bank of Brazil, addressing the Finance and Taxation Commission of the country’s parliament, said the bank has noted a significant surge in crypto adoption in the country and intends to react by tightening the digital assets regulation.  During his speech on Sept. 27, Banco Central do Brasil Governor Roberto Campos Neto

Pull your sats out of Minecraft now Back in our July edition, we announced Satlantis, an independent Minecraft server run by the game’s fans, enabled players to earn Bitcoin by completing in-game quests using play-to-earn functionalities. We noted Minecraft developer Mojang’s previous NFT ban and concluded, “Time will show how this integration fairs against the

Rep. Patrick McHenry, who chairs the United States House Financial Services Committee, has suggested that he may try to subpoena the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over documents related to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF. In a Sept. 27 hearing on oversight of the commission, McHenry claimed chair SEC Gary Gensler had made

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee will hear how the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is changing its oversight and rules to keep pace with technological advancements including cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence. SEC chair Gary Gensler is set to outline how the U.S. securities regulator is updating its rules to align with “technology and business

The customers of bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform BlockFi are one step closer to being paid out after a United States Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey approved its liquidation plan. Bankruptcy Judge Michael A. Kaplan approved BlockFi’s third amended Chapter 11 plan in a Sept. 26 court hearing, a filing on the same day shows. Sept.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury has added a crypto wallet allegedly connected to a major international crime syndicate as part of its list of Specially Designated Nationals. In a Sept. 26 announcement, the U.S. Treasury said it had sanctioned 10 individuals, including many tied to

Hours after the crypto exchange HTX (rebranded from Huobi) reported a hack that resulted in a loss of $8 million, Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao offered the help of the Binance security team in investigating the attack.  Timely intervention is key to tracking down and retrieving stolen cryptocurrencies as hackers attempt to hide their tracks using mixers

The United States government could be shut down in the next 7 days with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy facing political pressure from members of his own party on how to handle spending plans — a decision that could adversely affect how lawmakers move forward with crypto bills awaiting a vote. In July, U.S. lawmakers with

China is looking to build artificial intelligence (AI) chip factories for creating particle accelerators to help bypass sanctions affecting the local industry, according to a report from the South China Morning Post (SCMP).  Using particle accelerators will help create new ways to produce a novel laser source. The SCMP reported that the electron beam of

Hong Kong’s financial regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has vowed to step up its efforts to combat unregulated cryptocurrency trading platforms in its jurisdiction According to a Sept. 25 announcement, the SFC said it will publish a list of all licensed, deemed licensed, closing down and application-pending virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs) to

Dubai-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has announced the suspension of services to the United Kingdom in response to pending rules from the country’s Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA. In a Sept. 22 announcement, Bybit said it will start suspending services to U.K. residents on Oct. 1 by no longer allowing new account applications. This move will

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has secured an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance registration from Spain’s central bank, as part of its ongoing expansion across Europe. According to a Sept. 22 statement, the registration with the Bank of Spain now means that users in Spain will be able to retain custody of their crypto assets on Coinbase, as