Regulation

The Texas House of Representatives approved a bill that would require crypto exchanges to maintain reserves “in an amount sufficient to fulfill all obligations to customers” on April 20. Should the bill pass the Senate and receive the governor’s signature, it could become law by September 1, 2023.  The bill introduces amendments to the Texan Finance

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments. Three Arrows Capital (3AC), a once bourgeoning Singaporean hedge fund worth an estimated $10 billion at is peak, was utterly obliterated by the bear market last year. However, the carnival it has created since the initial blowup still lives on, and

Binance is under investigation in Brazil by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office and Federal Police, according to a report in Valor Econômico newspaper. The cryptocurrency exchange has allegedly been helping clients evade a stop order on cryptocurrency derivatives investments. According to the newspaper, the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reported to the Attorney General of

A California judge has combined three investor lawsuits against defunct crypto bank Silvergate Bank involving the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. On April 19, United States District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley of the Northern District of California ruled that the three lawsuits would be consolidated. Each accuses Silvergate of helping to facilitate investor fraud by the

Danish startup Januar announced April 19 that it has received a Payment Institution License from the country’s Financial Supervisory Authority (DFSA). The license will allow Januar to conduct business in the 30 European Economic Area markets, whereas it only served Danish companies under its previous limited permission. Januar provides International Bank Account Number (IBAN) business

From working on Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show as an animator to now having more than 1,000 collectors of his NFTs, Bryan Brinkman is an example of how a digital artist can thrive in ways never before possible.  Best described as a digital pop artist with an emphasis on animation, Brinkman’s fans include

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 States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing on stablecoin regulation on April 19. The hearing follows the announcement of a new draft bill in the House to provide a framework for stablecoins regulation. Some of the speakers invited have released advance transcripts of their planned testimony. Stablecoins “look

Patrick McHenry, chair of the United States House Financial Services Committee, jumped right into criticism of the Securities and Exchange Commission and its leadership over digital assets at an oversight hearing.  In an April 18 hearing on oversight of the SEC, Representative McHenry used his opening statement to bring up the commission’s “punishing” of digital

The federal financial regulatory agency of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced that it will start receiving licensing applications for firms that want to provide virtual asset services within the country.  The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) said in a press release that all virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating in the country must

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

Hong Kong’s push to become a crypto hub has opened an opportunity for not just crypto companies but many state-affiliated banks in China as well. The Chinese banks have shown interest in building partnerships and onboarding regulated crypto companies in Hong Kong, despite a blanket bank on crypto-related activities in mainland China. The Hong Kong

More Freedom of Information Act requests seeking information on recently closed crypto-friendly banks have been submitted by cryptocurrency advocacy group the Blockchain Association to two regulators. On April 14, the association said that it had filed Freedom of Information Law requests to the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the New York Department of Financial Services,

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has announced it will be revisiting the proposed redefinition of an “exchange” under the agency’s rules — a move that could include crypto market participants in decentralized finance, or DeFi. In an April 14 open meeting with SEC commissioners and staff, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said the proposed

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