Schlagwort: blockchain regulation

• A US federal court ordered William Koo Ichioka to pay $31 million in restitution and $5 million in monetary penalty
• The New York resident was charged and ordered to pay a total of $36 million for defrauding victims in a forex and crypto scheme

A New York man is to pay $36 million for defrauding victims in a scheme involving forex and crypto.

In a press release on September 20, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said William Koo Ichioka, formerly of San Francisco, will pay $31 million in restitution to the victims of his fraudulent scheme and $5 million in civil monetary penalty.

The fine was handed by Judge Vince Chhabria of the US District Court for the Northern District of California in an order given on September 19.

CFTC filed charges against Ichioka in June 2023

The CFTC filed a civil enforcement action against Ichioka in June 2023. The charges involved the fraudulent soliciting and stealing of over $21 million from more than 100 commodity pool participants. Ichioka admitted to the charges and agreed to an order of judgment.

Allegations against Ichioka related to a scheme from 2018 that lied to unsuspecting participants in investment funds.

The individual claimed investors would get a 10% return on their funds every 30 days. However, this did not happen and Ichioka stole funds from victims with his own money, using these funds on personal expenses such as rent, jewelry, and luxury vehicles.

“To conceal his fraudulent activity, Ichioka overstated the value of assets he held by generating false financial documents and presenting false account statements to participants,” CFTC noted in the press release.

Parallel criminal case

Ichioka also pleaded guilty to charges filed by the Department of Justice in June 2023, with the case running parallel to the CFTC complaint. Charges included wire fraud, false tax returns, and commodities fraud. For the five counts, the court sentenced Ichioka to 48 months in prison.

He also received a 5-year supervised release sentence. The court imposed a $5 million fine and $31,330,715.86 in restitution.

On August 14, 2023, the court ordered a permanent injunction and prohibited Ichioka from any future violations. He was also barred from trading in any CFTC-regulated markets or registering with the regulator.

According to the CFTC, that order and the monetary penalty mark the end of CFTC’s enforcement action against the New York resident.

The post New York man to pay $36 million for forex and crypto fraud appeared first on CoinJournal.

• SEC reportedly seeks an extension to February 2025 for it to provide case documents to Coinbase.
• Coinbase, Binance and Kraken all facing SEC lawsuits.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed for an extension from the court, asking for more time as it looks to provide documents related to its case against crypto exchange Coinbase. Cointelegraph reported this on Sept. 19

SEC asks for extension

Court documents filed on Sept. 18 reveal that the SEC wants the court to extend the timeline for them to furnish Coinbase with key material by four months.

The regulator filed its request at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, and if granted, will see it have until February 2025 for the deadline to share over 133,000 documents.

SEC’s court filing comes a month to the end of the initial timeline on Oct. 18, which is when the securities watchdog was to hand over documents as part of the case’s discovery proceedings phase. According to the regulator, an extension will allow it to produce the necessary documents.

SEC has sued several crypto companies

These latest developments in the SEC vs. Coinbase lawsuit adds to several others in recent months and weeks. It includes court filings and verdicts in the regulator’s cases against crypto exchanges Binance and Kraken, which are the other major industry players in a legal battle with the SEC.

Both the courts and US lawmakers have taken issue with the SEC’s use of the term “digital asset securities’. This is part of the main allegations against crypto exchanges, with the regulator alleging securities laws violations by these firms.

The term ‘digital asset security’ does not appear anywhere in any law enacted by Congress or in any rule promulgated by the SEC or in any decision rendered by the Supreme Court. It appears nowhere in the 2 million pages of the Federal Register. If it comes from neither statute… pic.twitter.com/ucSaCzEvOU

— Rep. Ritchie Torres (@RepRitchie) September 19, 2024

In 2020, the agency sued Ripple Labs over the XRP cryptocurrency – a case that dragged for three years before a notable ruling in July 2023 declared XRP not a security. The regulator also reached a $4 billion settlement with Terraform Labs.

A judge denied Kraken’s motion to dismiss the SEC’s lawsuit agaisnt the exchange in August this year.

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• Alberta’s Bill 16 will allow third-party operators in online gambling by 2025
• The province aims to capture grey market bets and boost revenue like Ontario
• Safeguards like self-exclusion and player monitoring will promote responsible gambling

Alberta is on the brink of a significant shift in its online gambling landscape. With the passage of Bill 16, the province aims to open up sports betting, iGaming, and crypto casinos to third-party operators by the end of this year. 

Alberta’s move follows Ontario’s example and is designed to capture the grey market while promoting responsible gambling through updated regulations and safeguards.

Bill 16 a game-changer for Alberta’s gambling industry

In May, the Alberta government passed Bill 16, also known as the Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, marking a monumental shift in the province’s approach to online gambling. 

The bill, which received Royal Assent shortly after, allows the provincial government to oversee and regulate online gaming alongside Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC). This opens the door for private, licensed operators to enter the Alberta market, replacing the government’s previous monopoly on legal online gambling.

Currently, the only legal option in Alberta is PlayAlberta, a platform managed by AGLC that offers casino games and sports betting. However, offshore “grey market” sites like Bet365 and Bodog continue to attract many Albertans, contributing to an unregulated market. 

Ontario implemented a similar model in 2022, which generated $1.48 billion in total gaming revenue during its first year and Alberta’s government hopes to replicate this success by drawing bets away from illicit markets and boosting its own revenues.

Alberta’s expansion plans aim to address the limitations of PlayAlberta and enhance competition. The provincial government is currently in the process of consultations with industry stakeholders to determine the best path forward. 

Though a specific launch date has yet to be set, Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally has emphasized that the government intends to act quickly once a final strategy is determined.

Regulated expansion with a focus on safety

While opening the Canadian sports betting market offers lucrative revenue opportunities, the move is not without its challenges. Alberta is mindful of the potential risks associated with an expanded gambling market, particularly in terms of problem gambling and addiction. 

David Hodgins, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Calgary and research director with the Alberta Gaming Research Institute, expressed concerns about the social impacts of having multiple operators in the province. He emphasized the importance of implementing strong safeguards to minimize harm.

To promote responsible gambling, Alberta is looking to adopt measures like self-exclusion programs that would allow individuals to ban themselves from all gambling sites within the province. Ontario is working toward such a system, and Alberta is keen to follow suit. 

Minister Nally confirmed that he is interested in provincewide self-exclusion tools, as well as monitoring player behaviour to detect sudden shifts in betting patterns—another strategy aimed at curbing problem gambling.

Revenue splits between the government and private operators are also being reviewed. Ontario takes 20% of revenues from regulated gambling websites, a model Alberta is studying closely. A balance must be struck to ensure the tax rate is appealing enough to encourage operators to join Alberta’s market, while also generating significant revenue for the province.

As Alberta moves closer to an open, regulated online gambling market, it seeks to capture the benefits seen in Ontario while ensuring safety and responsible gaming practices.

With consultations nearing completion, and regulatory frameworks being refined, the province could see a new era of sports betting and iGaming by the end of 2024 or early 2025.

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• UK’s new bill recognises Bitcoin and other digital assets as personal property.
• Under the new law, crypto owners will enjoy greater legal protection.

The UK parliament has introduced a new bill that clarifies digital assets ownership by recognizing Bitcoin and other crypto assets as personal property.

The new draft law, the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill, will offer legal protections to crypto holders. It was introduced in the UK parliament on September 11, 2024.

“For the first time in British history, digital holdings including cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens such as digital art, and carbon credits can be considered as personal property under the law,” the Ministry of Justice wrote in a press release published on Wednesday.

The government also shared the news on X.

The UK has passed a new bill that will allow crypto and other digital assets to be recognised as personal property.

That means owners of digital assets will gain legal protection against fraud and scams.

Read more about it here ➡️ https://t.co/IQwPvWJXUk pic.twitter.com/LxhHUws4Qp

— Ministry of Justice (@MoJGovUK) September 11, 2024

Legal protection for BItcoin, crypto holders

The UK government believes this bill puts the country at the forefront of an emerging crypto market. Per the announcement, the goal is to protect Bitcoin and other digital assets holders under the law.

Recognising these assets as personal property means individuals and companies will enjoy protection against fraud and scams. The justice system will also benefit by being able to handle cases arising from disputes on digital holdings, including in divorce cases.

“Our world-leading legal services form a vital part of our economy, helping to drive forward growth and keep Britain at the heart of the international legal industry. It is essential that the law keeps pace with evolving technologies and this legislation will mean that the sector can maintain its position as a global leader in cryptoassets and bring clarity to complex property cases,” UK Justice Minister Heidi Alexander said.

While the UK law recognizes “things in possession” such as gold and money, or “things in action” such as debt or shares, as property, there has been no classification of digital assets in this manner.

As crypto falls into none of the two categories, the new law envisions a third category of “thing.” Crypto will now attract this consideration as asset with personal property rights.

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• Uniswap hit with order by CFTC for illegal trading in digital asset derivatives
• The decentralized exchange will pay $175,000 in civil monetary penalty and is also ordered to cease and desist from the illegal offerings.

Uniswap has settled with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission after the regulator found the decentralized exchange had violated derivatives trading regulations.

CFTC hits Uniswap with $175,000 penalty

According to the CFTC, Uniswap illegally offered access to leveraged or margined trading to retail and institutional users via a digital asset protocol on the Ethereum blockchain. The leveraged tokens on Uniswap offered access to leveraged exposure to digital assets including Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The regulator thus found the platform to have violated the Commodity Exchange Act, and has imposed a $175,000 civil penalty against the exchange.

Commenting on the penalty, CFTC said it is a reflection of the “substantial cooperation” that Uniswap Labs showed amid the regulator’s investigation.

CFTC has, however, issued a cease and desist order against Uniswap Labs.

“Today’s action demonstrates once again the Division of Enforcement will vigorously enforce the CEA as digital asset platforms and DeFi ecosystems evolve” said Director of Enforcement Ian McGinley. “DeFi operators must be vigilant to ensure that transactions comply with the law.”

CFTC’s settlement with Uniswap comes amid a fresh wave of regulatory crackdown by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. While the CFTC has said most cryptocurrencies are not securities, the SEC has taken the opposite view.

In this case, SEC has charged or issued Wells Notices to multiple crypto firms in recent months, including Consensys, Abra, Robinhood and OpenSea.

The regulator also has lawsuits against crypto exchanges Binance, Coinbase and Kraken.

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