Schlagwort: crypto regulation

• Banking Committee chairman Sherrod Brown made the suggestion during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
• He however stated that it would be “very difficult” to ban crypto since they would simply “go offshore.”
• Brown has been calling for imminent and aggressive action to be taken on crypto for the last 18 months.

During a December 18 appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” United States Banking Committee chairman Sherrod Brown proposed that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) should possibly consider a ban on cryptocurrencies.

Brown, who is also the Ohio representative, was responding to a question about Senator Jon Tester who has previously said that cryptocurrencies should be banned. Brown however noted that banning crypto would be difficult since the business would go offshore if it were banned in the US. He said:

“We want them to do what they need to do at the same time, maybe banning it, although banning it is very difficult because it would go offshore, and who knows how that would work.”

Calling for an aggressive action

Over the last 18 months, the Ohio representative has been trying to tell his House colleagues about the dangers of cryptocurrencies and calling for aggressive action to be taken.

Brown said:

“I’ve already gone to the Treasury and the Secretary and asked for a government-wide assessment through all the various regulatory agencies. … The SEC has been particularly aggressive, and we need to move forward that way and legislatively if it comes to that.”

The representative cited the recent FTX collapse saying that is an example of why a ban would be worth considering. He also argued that cryptocurrencies were a threat to national security citing North Korean cybercriminal activity that have largely use crypto. He also cited human trafficking, drug trafficking, and terrorism financing.

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• The Israeli government had blacklisted more than 150 wallets for links to terror groups.
• The Israeli government can now take custody of all the cryptocurrencies in these blacklisted wallets.
• Previously, Israeli authorities could only seize digital assets with direct links to terrorist activity but not all the funds in the same wallets.

A Tel Aviv magistrate court has issued a ruling allowing the government of Israel to seize all cryptocurrencies found in digital wallets blacklisted for allegedly funding terrorist activities. The ruling allows the government to take custody of all the cryptocurrencies found in the over 150 digital wallets that had been previously blacklisted for links to terror groups.

According to a local Israeli media report, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz says that the ruling will allow the authorities to seize a further $33,500 from the digital wallets linked to the Islamist militia group Hamas in addition to the cryptocurrencies they had already seized. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by several countries including Israel, the US, the UK, and the European Union.

Prior to the ruling, the authorities could only seize those cryptocurrencies that were directly linked to terrorism but not all the crypto assets found in the specific wallets.

In December 2021, the Israeli government seized crypto assets worth about $750,000.

Hamas and cryptocurrencies

Hamas started appealing to its supporters to send funds using bitcoin (BTC) in 2019 to try and evade financial isolation and sanctions.

In July 2021, the defence minister signed an order authorizing security forces to take custody of crypto accounts linked to the militant wing of Hamas. At the time, the blacklisted accounts contained Tether (USDT), Ether (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ripple (XRP), Binance Coin (BNB), Zcash (ZEC), and Litecoin (LTC) among other altcoins.

In February this year, another 30 crypto wallets from twelve crypto exchanges with ties to Hamas were seized by the Israeli authorities. The exact value of the crypto assets in these wallets was not made public.

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• New York Department of Financial Services published the new guidelines on 15 December 2022.
• All banking organisations must apply for permission to undertake any crypto activities.
• The regulatory guidelines are effective immediately and come as the spotlight is firmly on crypto following FTX’s implosion.

Amid all the scrutiny on cryptocurrency exchanges after FTX’s collapse, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has announced new guidelines targeting banks.

The NYDFS, the top financial regulator in the Empire State, said in an announcement that all banking institutions in the jurisdiction have to seek prior permission if they wish to get involved in the crypto space.

NYDFS’ new guidelines to banks

The agency specified in its 15 December letter to players within the banking industry that any involvement in virtual currency-related activities must first be addressed to authorities. Only once approved can such an entity go on to engage in the permitted initiative. 

The NYDFS said these demands apply to all New York-based banking organizations.

Also covered are all branches and agencies of foreign banks and other financial providers licensed to operate in the state. Combined, the regulator referred to the targeted entities as “Covered Institutions.”

“A Covered Institution should seek the Department’s prior approval before commencing any new or significantly different virtual currency-related activity,” the NYDFS wrote.

But even with approval to engage with crypto, banks will still need further permission to undertake new activities.

“Prior approval for a Covered Institution to engage in a virtual currency-related activity does not constitute general consent for that institution to engage in other types of virtual currency-related activity, nor does it authorize other Covered Institutions to undertake that same activity,” the letter reads in part.

Crypto in the spotlight

The NYDFS’ latest regulatory action comes amid the fallout of FTX’s implosion, a much more devastating setback to crypto in a year dictated with multiple bankruptcies and massive losses for investors. 

But the agency sees the crypto market as one that continues to evolve and innovate – part of the growth trajectory that has seen several banks seek to offer various crypto products and services.

The guidance is thus part of the thorough assessment for banks before they engage in digital assets-related activity, with the goal of ensuring safety for consumers. 

The requirements are effective immediately, the agency pointed out, and only apply on top of already existing laws and regulations.

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• ASIC is suing Finder Wallet for providing unlicenced financial services.

• ASIC claims the Finder Earn product closely resembled a debenture.

• Finder Wallet stopped providing the service to its customers last month.

ASIC sues Finder Wallet for providing unlicenced services

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) announced on Thursday, December 15th, that it had sued Finder Wallet, a subsidiary of comparison website Finder.com, over a crypto-linked yield product.

The Australian financial watchdog revealed that it sued the platform for alleged unlicensed conduct and inadequate risk disclosure.

ASIC is suing Finder Wallet for providing Finder Earn, a product that was offered between February and Nov. 10, 2022. The product saw Finder Wallet convert user deposits in Australian dollars into an Australian dollar-linked stablecoin called TAUD. Finder proceeds to use the stablecoin as working capital. 

Finder Wallet offered Australian users interest rates on deposits of 4.01% and 6.01%. According to ASIC, Finder Earn resembles a debenture and Finder Wallet should have acquired appropriate licences before providing the product to Australians. 

ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said;

“This is ASIC’s third recent action against a firm offering a crypto-asset-related product that we consider to be a financial product. Our message to the industry is clear — just because an offer involves a crypto-asset-related product does not guarantee it will fall outside the current regulatory regime.” 

ASIC drops the hammer on FTX

ASIC is suing Finder Wallet despite the platform stop offering the product on November 24. Finder Wallet returned all funds to customers after ASIC informed the company of concerns about the product.

This latest cryptocurrency news comes a month after ASIC dropped the hammer on FTX. Last month, ASIC suspended the licence issued to FTX Australia, the Australian arm of the FTX exchange.

The suspension came following the collapse of the parent FTX cryptocurrency exchange. 

The bear market continues to affect the operations of numerous cryptocurrency companies. Earlier this month, Australian crypto exchange Swyft, announced that it had cut 45% of its total workforce as revenue dropped due to the bear market.

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• Brazil Central Bank is planning to launch a CBDC in 2024.
• According to the president of the central bank, digital assets could drive participation.
• Brazil will join the likes of China, the Bahamas, and Nigeria as nations with individual CBDCs.

The president of the Brazil Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto has today revealed in a press conference that the bank is planning to launch a Central Bank Digital Currency in 2024.

Neto also revealed that the bank is planning to conduct a pilot program alongside other financial institutions prior to the full implementation of the CBDC. He also went on to give the benefits of implanting a digital currency issued by the central bank notably driving participation.

Neto said:

“I think that this digitized, paid-in, integrated system, with inclusion, will help a lot in the development and inclusion of people in the financial world.”

He also added:

“Greater inclusion, lower cost, intermediation, competition with reduced barriers to entry, efficiency in risk control, monetization of data, complete tokenization of financial assets and contracts. This is what we see in this digital economy in Brazil.”

It will be noted that today’s development comes about eight months after Brazil announced plans to develop digital currency.

If successful, Brazil will join the likes of China, Nigeria, India and other countries that have already launched their CBDC including plans to launch in the future. In general, there are many countries that are currently researching similar plans for launching CBDCs.

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