Regulation

The United States Justice Department is reportedly investigating the collapse of the TerraClassicUSD (USTC) stablecoin which contributed to a $40 billion wipe out in the Terra ecosystem last May. Two agencies within the department — the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Southern District of New York (SDNY) have interrogated former staff at Terraform Labs

On Jan. 25, the Committee on Elections introduced a bill to the Kansas House of Representatives aimed at capping political donations via crypto at $100. Regardless of the success of this legislative initiative, the state of Kanzas won’t be the first jurisdiction to target anonymous donations. From authoritarian nations like Russia or China to electoral

Global banking giant HSBC is coming to rescue the United Kingdom-based branch of the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank with a new acquisition. HSBC officially announced on March 13 that its subsidiary, HSBC UK Bank, is acquiring Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVB UK) for 1 British pound ($1.21). As of March 10, 2023, SVB UK had

United States authorities are working on “material action” over the weekend in an attempt to limit the ripple effect across the country’s banking system after the Silicon Valley Bank abruptly collapsed on March 10. According to a Reuters report citing unnamed sources, officials in the Joe Biden administration assessed the impact of the bank failure

A plan to rescue startups and tech companies affected by the Silicon Valley Bank collapse is underway in the United Kingdom, according to multiple reports on March 12. The emergency plan will include a cash lifeline to a number of businesses.  Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government is working “at pace” to deliver a

Billionaire Bill Ackman has urged the United States government to “guarantee” all deposits held by Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) within the next “48 hours,” or it risks the “destruction” of many financial institutions. In a Mar. 11 tweet, Bill Ackman, CEO of hedge fund management firm Pershing Square, said a “giant sucking sound” will be

On March 10, Blockchain payment tech company and USD Coin (USDC) issuers Circle confirmed that wires initiated on Thursday to remove balances have not yet been processed, leaving $3.3 billion of its $40 billion USDC reserves at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Concerns have been growing over USDC late this week because Circle disclosed in its latest

United States Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden asked the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to hold auditors accountable for failed crypto projects.  The PCAOB — a nonprofit overseeing the audits of public companies and other issuers — recently stated that proof-of-reserves (POR) are not equivalent to audits conducted under PCAOB auditing standards. POR

Almost immediately after USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle revealed it was not able to withdraw $3.3 billion of its $40 billion from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the resultant sell-off caused the price of the stablecoin to fall below its $1 mark. On March 9, Circle had initiated a wire transfer for the removal of its

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered against a rule change to allow investment manager VanEck to create a spot Bitcoin Trust on March 10. Commissioner Mark Uyeda joined his colleague Hester Peirce in releasing a statement that criticized the commission’s decision not to approve the listing and trading of the financial product. 

A federal judge in Florida, United States, is considering dismissing former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal and tennis athlete Naomi Osaka from the FTX lawsuit, pointing out that it’s unclear whether the two had been served.  In a paperless order, U.S. District Judge Kevin Moore instructed the plaintiffs to provide cause on why O’Neal and Osaka shouldn’t

United States crypto miners could eventually be subject to a 30% tax on electricity costs under a budget proposal by President Joe Biden aimed to “reduce mining activity.” A Department of the Treasury supplementary budget explainer paper released March 9 said any firm using resources — whether they be owned or rented — would be

Statements from Republican lawmakers ahead of the inaugural hearing of the United States House of Representatives subcommittee focused on digital assets, financial technology and inclusion suggest partisan divides on crypto regulation. In a March 6 memo, House Financial Services Committee Republicans said the first hearing of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany (BaFin) is not ready to classify nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as securities. The agency suggests classifying the NFTs on a case-by-case basis.  On March 8, the BaFin journal published an explanatory note considering NFTs legal classification. At this point, the regulators don’t see how NFTs meet the criteria to

U.S. President Joe Biden’s upcoming budget proposal has a few surprises for crypto traders and investors, including a proposed doubling of capital gains for certain investors and a crackdown on crypto wash sales.  The Biden administration is set to release its fiscal 2024 budget plan on Mar. 9 which is reportedly aimed at reducing the

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, was a part of discussions on a regulatory framework for digital assets as well as use cases for blockchain technology. In a March 8 meeting of the CFTC’s Market Risk Advisory Committee, commissioners, regulators, and industry representatives were scheduled to discuss “critical policy considerations” as part