Cryptocurrency Financial News
In a report published by the Bank for International Settlements, the “bank for central banks” asked that regulators keep banks in mind when they update and create new financial rules as Facebook and other tech companies enter the payments and custody business.
A bipartisan bill introduced today asks that platform’s with more than 100 million monthly users disclose what data is collected, how it is used, and to provide the monetary value of that data once every 90 days.
To comply with the new Financial Action Task Force regulations that take effect today, both cryptocurrency exchanges and specific crypto holders around the world must give up some transaction privacy in the name of anti-money laundering.
France’s central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau has announced the creation of a Group of Seven central bank governors task force, which will work to produce a study outlining how central banks can regulate Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency to keep it in line with anti-money-laundering regulations and consumer protection rules.
Prior to the upcoming G20 Summit, regulators are discussing the Financial Action Task Force’s rule that would see cryptocurrency exchanges verifying $1,000 transactions, focusing on the kind of ramifications too much regulation can have.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has called on the Group of Seven central bank governors to prepare a July report regarding the financial aspects of Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency, as European Parliament members fear the social media platform could become a shadow bank.
How much Facebook is too much Facebook? That’s what financial regulators want to know as they look into Facebook’s data-prying hands, and who the social media platform will pick to own and manage the giant data sets associated with Facebook’s cryptocurrency.
With some broker-dealer applications stuck in regulatory limbo for up to 14 months, firms ready to launch their regulated blockchain products in the US have been forced to wait while the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Securities and Exchange Commission deal with the “complex issues” present in the regulation of digital assets.
Over the course of the past two weeks, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed a wave a blockchain bills meant to help promote the growth of the technology throughout the state.
In nine days, a new Financial Action Task Force rule will require crypto-related businesses in about 200 countries, including the US, to verify the identity of anyone sending or receiving over $1,000 or 1,000 euros. Companies from crypto exchange Coinbase to asset manager Fidelity Investments will be expected to comply.
The Vancouver Police Department recently cited the lack of a central authority, and trouble with money laundering, as reasons the city should abandon its 76 bitcoin ATMs, prompting Mayor Kennedy Stewart to propose a city-wide ban.
After a report suggested that several government departments had backed a complete ban on the “sale, purchase and issuance of all types of cryptocurrency” in India, the RBI issued a statement claiming to have had no involvement in the proposed law.
Dutch billionaire and businessman John de Mol, known for creating the “Big Brother” reality television show, has filed a lawsuit against Facebook, claiming the social media giant allowed fake ads on its platform that used de Mol’s face and name to carry out bitcoin-related fraud.
As more details have emerged regarding the case the US Securities and Exchange Commission has built against Kik and its Kin token ICO, the odds seem stacked in the agency’s favor. A legal win for the SEC could spell trouble for other ICOs that were held around the same time.
In 2017, messaging service Kik raised $100 million during its Kin token ICO. The US Securities and Exchange Commission now claims the ICO constituted an illegal securities offering.
The Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Attorney General’s office for the District of Columbia, the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and the FBI have all begun investigating the events of now-defunct Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX. The Bureau’s own questionnaire specifically targets users who believe they may have been affected by QuadrigaCX’s shutdown.
Christopher Giancarlo, head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is in early talks with Facebook to help the commission better understand the social media giant’s plans for its stablecoin, GlobalCoin.
Speaking at today’s SEC FinTech Forum 2019, Director of Corporate Finance William Hinman said he believes ICO-funded projects could become exempt from securities laws if they become sufficiently decentralized.
Wei Liu’s copyright registration was filed a week after Craig Wright announced his own copyright. Now Wright is ready to take Liu to court to “face a jail term” despite the fact that the maximum punishment for a false copyright claim is a $2,500 fine.
While transaction numbers for traditional cash options still tower over bitcoin usage, the report acknowledges that regulators will have to start considering the market for cryptocurrencies when working on new policies.
