Regulation

In a wide-ranging discussion, a panel of blockchain industry personalities at the World Economic Forum (WEF) concluded that the economy will become increasingly tokenized in the future. Carbon credits, housing, electricity, government bonds, foreign exchange and other real-world assets will be traded on the blockchain, according to the panel’s participants. The event, titled “Tokenized Economies,

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand is working to better protect cryptocurrency investors by introducing new rules for crypto custody services. On Jan. 17, the Thai SEC issued regulations requiring virtual asset service providers (VASP) to establish a digital wallet management system to guarantee efficient custody. The new rules target crypto custodians or VASPs

The finance ministers from the eurozone countries have released a statement on the introduction of the digital euro after a meeting in Brussels. The Eurogroup meets regularly to discuss political dimensions of the potential digital currency, it said. The Jan. 16 statement coincides with the release of a European Central Bank (ECB) “stock taking” document

The Central Bank of Iran is reportedly cooperating with the Russian government to jointly issue a new cryptocurrency backed by gold. Iran is working with Russia to create a “token of the Persian Gulf region” that would serve as a payment method in foreign trade, Russia’s news agency Vedomosti reported on Jan. 15. The token

Bank of Thailand has disclosed plans to allow virtual banks to operate in the country for the first time. Financial firms will be able to provide services by 2025, a Bloomberg report shows.  The “Consultation Paper on Virtual Bank Licensing Framework” published by the central bank says that applications will be available later in 2023

Former FTX US President Brett Harrison has lashed out at Sam Bankman-Fried for manipulating and threatening colleagues who proposed solutions to reorganize FTX US’ management structure.  Harrison shared his experiences with Bankman-Fried and FTX US on Dec. 14, explaining how he was hired “casually over text” in Mar. 2021 after working together at New York-based

Top Stories This Week Sam Bankman-Fried: ‘I didn’t steal funds, and I certainly didn’t stash billions away.’ In a “pre-mortem overview” of FTX’s bankruptcy, Sam Bankman-Fried denied allegations of improper use of customer funds stored with the crypto exchange, attributing responsibility for the company’s dramatic fall to the market crash of 2022 and Binance CEO

Less than 48 hours after a raid on cryptocurrency lender Nexo’s offices in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, prosecutors have reportedly charged four people. According to a Jan. 13 report by Bloomberg, authorities charged four Bulgarian nationals with forming an organized crime group, which may have included activities related to money laundering and unlicensed banking.

Grayscale filed a reply brief in its appeal of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) denial of its application to convert its $12-billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot-based Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF). The brief, filed in the District of Columbia Circuit Court, addressed points made in the SEC reply brief

Hot on the heels of its Bitcoin (BTC) futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Hong Kong, Samsung Asset Management has indicated it’s considering the launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF on the city’s exchange if policies allow for it. In an interview with Bloomberg published on Jan. 13, Hong Kong chief executive for Samsung Asset Management,

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments. Huobi’s disgruntled employees According to local media reports, cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global has terminated all year-end employee bonuses and benefits, as well as axed its entire core development staff located in mainland China. The laid-off staff will be instead switched to

The judge handling FTX’s bankruptcy has reportedly slammed a joint letter from four United States senators calling for an independent examiner in the case. As reported by Cointelegraph, the senators sent a letter on Jan. 9 highlighting concerns about the ties between FTX and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, which as the lead law firm in

The City of London has teamed up with a variety of trade associations to form the UK Forum for Digital Currencies, an alliance that will advocate for “better policies, practice and regulation around digital currencies,” according to a statement released by the five members.  Besides the City of London Corporation, the city’s municipal governing body,

The cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex is the focus of a new probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand for a breach of local rules.  A Bloomberg report revealed that local authorities are looking into activities that they believe may violate business rules for digital asset service providers. This includes its offerings of certain

Fight for the Future, a digital rights advocacy group, has posted an open letter on its website encouraging the new class of United States congresspeople to protect privacy. The letter has attracted dozens of companies and organizations as cosigners. “Increasingly, the incredible creative power of US software developers is being chilled by clumsy, misguided legislative

Terraform Labs (TFL), the firm behind the defunct algorithmic stablecoin TerraUST (USTC), and its co-founder Do Kwon is back in the limelight again for allegedly running a smear campaign and issuing threats against one of their own community members. It all started in the month of May with the genesis airdrop that was planned after

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed suit against self-described digital artist Avraham Eisenberg on Jan. 9, charging him with two counts of market manipulation in connection with an exploit of decentralized finance platform Mango Markets. Eisenberg was arrested on related charges on Dec. 27 and is currently in custody. The CFTC claimed

The Bank of France’s governor has called for more stringent licensing requirements for crypto companies in France, citing the current turmoil in the crypto markets. During a speech in Paris on Jan. 5, Francois Villeroy de Galhau said France shouldn’t wait for upcoming EU crypto laws to enact obligatory licensing for local digital asset service

A crypto lobbying group based in Singapore has voiced its opposition to the proposal from the central bank to prohibit crypto firms from lending crypto tokens. On Oct. 26, Singapore’s central bank issued consultation papers and proposed banning digital payment token service providers from offering “any credit facility” to consumers, including both fiat and cryptocurrencies.

United States prosecutors are investigating hedge funds’ relationships with cryptocurrency exchange Binance for money-laundering violations. According to anonymous sources cited by the Washington Post, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of Washington in Seattle subpoenaed investment firms to provide records of communications with Binance in the past months. The allegedly subpoenas do not