Regulation

Texas lawmakers in the state’s Senate have approved a bill aimed at largely removing incentives for crypto miners operating under the seemingly friendly regulatory environment. In a 30-1 vote on the floor of the Texas State Senate on April 12, lawmakers in the 88th legislative session passed Senate Bill 1751, legislation that would amend sections

According to bankruptcy cryptocurrency exchange FTX, a court in Switzerland has approved a petition allowing the firm to potentially sell its European business. In an April 12 announcement, FTX said a Swiss court granted a petition filed by the board of directors for FTX Europe AG regarding a moratorium proceeding. As part of the legal

The State Tax Administration Agency of the Government of Spain (AEAT) increases its efforts to charge the local holders of crypto assets. The AEAT intends to dispatch 328,000 warning notices to those who should pay their taxes on crypto for the 2022 fiscal year.  As the local newspaper El Mundo reported on Apr. 11, the

Executives at the stablecoin issuer Circle and the bankrupt cryptocurrency lender BlockFi have been questioned by two members of Congress investigating the so-called “mutual backscratching arrangements” alleged to have taken place with the now-failed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). On April 9, letters from Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) were sent to Circle,

The share of global crypto developers based in the United States declined by 26% from 2018 to 2022, according to a report from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z. The report, titled “State of Crypto 2023,” cited data from Electric Capital and SimilarWeb to support its findings. Today, we’re excited to share

Presidential hopefuls Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) and Ron DeSantis are rallying against the Federal Reserve’s FedNow payments system claiming it would pave the way for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). In an April 11 Twitter thread, Democrat RFK Jr. — the nephew of former president John F. Kennedy Jr. — once again

The new R&D law has overly broad language that states “any and all” software development must be amortized over five years if the development took place in the United States, or over 15 years if the work was done overseas. The change doesn’t sound so bad on its surface; some argue it might even create

New York Times’s latest report on Bitcoin (BTC) mining, titled “The Real-World Costs of the Digital Race for Bitcoin,” has irked many BTC proponents. A number of Bitcoin proponents took to Twitter to call out certain aspects of the report calling it “cheery picking data.” The NYT article calls Bitcoin mining a “voracious” appetite and claims

Japan has shown support for OpenAI amid a sea of bans by different countries and uncertainties for the artificial intelligence (AI) company. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno stated on Monday, April 10, that Japan would contemplate incorporating AI technology into government systems, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot, provided privacy and cybersecurity issues are addressed. Following

Japan-based decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) Sushi’s head chef Jared Grey and his counsel stated that as far as they know, no one associated with Sushi has violated U.S. federal security laws, while providing reassurance that he is cooperating with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subpoena. In an April 8 statement, Grey answered the

Two Texas lawmakers have introduced identical bills for creating a state-based digital currency backed by gold, a move that comes despite objections from several United States lawmakers against introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Senator Bryan Hughes introduced Senate Bill 2334 on March 10, with Representative Mark Dorazio introducing House Bill 4903 on the same day,

Swedish crypto tax firm Divly has released a new report that estimates that only 0.53% of crypto investors globally paid tax on their crypto in 2022 — however tax experts have cast doubt on the figures and methodology.  The Divly report published on April 5 came up with the estimate after analyzing the relationship between

A widely shared video of European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde admitting that a Digital Euro will be used in a “limited” way to control the payments people can make was taken from the three week old prank video. The video was highlighted by breaking news account Watcher Guru on April 6 and generated

Crypto-friendly Congressman Tom Emmer has slammed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler for his approach to cryptocurrency regulation, labeling him as a “bad faith regulator.” Great interview by @laurashin with @GOPMajorityWhip! Congress is working in their districts this week and next, but expect a VERY busy last 2 weeks of April for

On March 15, the European Parliament voted 418 to 103 (with 24 abstentions) in favor of negotiating a mandate for talks with the European Union member states about revising the new European Digital Identity (eID) framework and creating the “European Digital Identity Wallet,” also known as EUDI Wallet or EU wallet.  Citizen’s IDs, health cards,

The Pheu Thai Party, a political party in opposition to the current Thailand prime minister’s, has reportedly proposed giving nearly every citizen of the country roughly $300 in digital currency should it win the next election. According to an April 7 report from the Bangkok Post, the Pheu Thai Party announced at an April 5

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) will launch a consultation for its regulation report on crypto assets in Q2 2023. The final recommendations from the organization are planned to be published by the end of 2023.  The dates are scheduled in IOSCO’s work program for 2023–24. Two major workflows are dedicated to decentralized assets

Arguing over the prudence and implications of issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the United States has seemingly become one of Washington’s favorite icebreakers. As Congress considers the question, it is critical that Americans clearly understand and soberly consider the immense power a CBDC could grant governments as well as the unacceptable risk

A new report from the United States Treasury Department analyzing decentralized finance concluded that actors from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as well as other scammers are able to exploit vulnerabilities to facilitate money laundering. In its ‘Illicit Finance Risk Assessment of Decentralized Finance’ report released on April 6, the U.S. Treasury said many

Singapore regulators work together with traditional banks to develop uniform standards for screening potential customers from the crypto industry. The collaboration has been ongoing for the last six months.  According to a Bloomberg report from Apr. 6, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has been working alongside the police forces to help local banks optimize