Regulation

United States lawmakers discussed the role of stablecoins in a committee hearing, but some experts expressed concern about the country’s regulatory environment. In an April 19 hearing of the U.S. Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, Austin Campbell, an adjunct assistant professor at the Columbia Business School, said areas including Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi,

The European Commission has launched a new research unit that will investigate the impact of the algorithms made and used by prominent online platforms and search engines such as Facebook and Google. The research unit dubbed the European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency (ECAT), launched on April 18 and will help the Commission identify and address any

The United Kingdom could lay out digital asset regulation within 12 months a British lawmaker claimed, saying the country wants to capitalize on the benefits that blockchain can bring to the private sector and economy. In an April 17 CNBC interview, Andrew Griffith, the economic secretary to the U.K. Treasury said the long-term vision is

United States Federal Reserve Board governor Michelle Bowman spoke at Georgetown University on April 18 to “offer a perspective” on central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Fed plays an important role in the conversation about CBDC, Bowman said. Her examination of the problems a CBDC might solve and the design and policy issues it entails

A court in Singapore has extended creditor protection for Babel Finance by another three months, Bloomberg reported on April 18. According to Babel co-founder and former CEO Flex Yang, the moratorium will now last until July 21, enabling the firm to pursue its restructuring plan via a new decentralized finance (DeFi) project known as Hope.

A dozen European Union (EU) politicians have signed a letter calling for the “safe” development of artificial intelligence (AI) as Google’s CEO cautioned against releasing powerful AI tech before society has had a chance to adapt. An April 16 open letter shared on Twitter by EU Parliament member, Dragoș Tudorache, called for a collaborative effort

Last week came in preparation for April 19, when the United States House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on stablecoins. The hearing will include information collected by various federal government agencies over the last year. Among the participants are Jake Chervinsky, the chief political officer at the Blockchain Association, and Dante Disparte, the

The United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex is reportedly facing potential action from the U.S. securities regulators despite preparing to shut down local operations. The enforcement division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is inclined to recommend the agency sue Bittrex over alleged violations related to investor protection, The Wall Street Journal reported on

Recent turmoil in the banking sector has shown that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) can withstand a shaky economy, outperform other asset classes and function like gold, says ARK Invest chief executive Cathie Wood — though one long-time investor still isn’t sold. Wood explained in an April 15 interview that Bitcoin’s resilience throughout the most

A new draft bill providing a framework for stablecoins in the United States was published on the House of Representatives’ document repository, a few days before a hearing on the topic on April 19. The draft puts the Federal Reserve in charge of non-bank stablecoin issuers, such as crypto firms Tether and Circle, respectively issuers

The United States House Committee on Financial Services a.k.a the Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on April 19 to discuss stablecoins’ position as a means of payment and whether or not the ecosystem needs supporting legislation. The Financial Services Committee issued a memorandum to announce an upcoming hearing titled “Understanding Stablecoins’ Role in

The law firm representing victims affected by the FTX collapse have publicly appealed to NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal to show “courtesy and honor” by actually accepting their legal complaint after several unsuccessful attempts. In an April 14 tweet, The Moskowitz Law Firm revealed its team have been standing outside O’Neal’s TNT studios in Atlanta “all

Despite the unprecedented regulatory pressure that crypto has been facing recently in the United States, the fight between the American government and the crypto industry has just started, believes ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees.  According to the entrepreneur, U.S. authorities still don’t see crypto as an existential threat to the fiat system, and their recent crackdown

South Korean prosecutors confirmed that Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon sent 9 billion won ($7 billion) to Kim & Chang — a top South Korean law firm — right before the spectacular collapse of the Terra ecosystem.  Kwon’s decision to send millions to the law firm was flagged by prosecutors as a deliberate move, which allegedly

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has announced the sentencing for an individual who pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges connected to “unlawfully obtained” Bitcoin from the Silk Road marketplace in 2012. In an April 14 announcement, the U.S. Justice Department said James Zhong was sentenced to one year

Rostin Behnam, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), recently spoke out about the allegations levied against Binance, claiming that the beleaguered cryptocurrency exchange’s leadership knowingly operated outside of U.S. laws governing the exchange of commodities and futures.  Speaking at a fireside chat that took place at the DeCenter Spring Conference at Princeton University

Advocacy organizations and safety groups have urged Mark Zuckerberg’s social media giant Meta to halt plans to allow minors into the metaverse. Online safety groups and experts sent a letter to the Meta CEO on April 14, calling out the firm to scrap its plans to invite teenagers and young adults to join its metaverse

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments. Bitcoin’s day of glory on Chinese TikTok On Apr. 10, Douyin, the version of Tiktok exclusive to Chinese users, began publishing price quotes related to Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Ripple (XRP). The move

A federal magistrate judge has signed an order requiring BitBoy Crypto YouTuber Ben Armstrong to appear in Florida as part of a status conference related to a lawsuit involving several crypto influencers. In an April 12 filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Judge Melissa Damian ordered Armstrong and

The bill, seeking to enshrine crypto miners’ rights in Montana, United States, successfully passed the third reading in the state’s House of Representatives. Now, the only thing that is required for it to become law is the Governor’s signature.  Bill number 178, prohibiting local authorities from obstructing the crypto mining operations, was voted in during