Regulation

In the case of stablecoins, unfortunately, the name is so far a misnomer. The fact that stablecoins are pegged to a “real” asset does not equate to stability. Traditional underlying assets are not exempt from market fluctuations, and with the majority of stablecoins pegged to fiat, they can be just as unstable. What the name

U.S.-based NFT marketplace OpenSea has reportedly begun barring Iranian users from its platform, sparking outrage from NFT collectors and raising fresh debate about decentralization in the crypto space.  On Thursday morning, Iranian OpenSea users started posting on Twitter that their accounts were being deactivated or deleted with no prior warning. Iranian NFT artist “Bornosor” vented

Interaction between the cryptocurrency industry and Capitol Hill is becoming ever more intensive as efforts to regulate crypto grow in tandem with its popularity. The surge in crypto industry lobbying last year was given some concrete parameters in February by crypto analytics startup Crypto Head. It released a report showing that the crypto companies that

Recently, Ukraine has called for “sabotage” of everyday Russians’ crypto assets due to an ongoing war between the two countries. Among many, its European allies have also voiced mounting concerns that Russia may use crypto to bypass Western sanctions. But ironically, it appears that one of the greatest proponents of barring everyday Russians and financial institutions

With the concerns of Janet Yellen and Hillary Clinton notwithstanding, there isn’t enough cryptocurrency in the world to bail out Russia from the economic hole which it now finds itself to be settling into. Even if there were a large enough supply, it probably wouldn’t enable the state to escape the scourge of a Western

As the West and America tighten their economic sanctions on Russia, concerns have emerged about how this will affect the cryptocurrency market. The country has been largely cut off from the SWIFT international payment system, and businesses in the United States and other Western nations are banned from doing business or transacting with Russian banks

Data from blockchain-analysis firms show that Russian denominated crypto purchasing and trading on major exchanges have faltered, debunking theories that the country will pivot to digital assets to circumvent sanctions.  When Bitcoin rallied over 15% last week, some industry experts attributed the surge to Russians buying cryptocurrency in the face of increasing economic sanctions. This

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, has announced it has 50 active investigations as part of its efforts to crack down on unregistered crypto businesses. In a Thursday announcement, the FCA said it had opened more than 300 cases on unregistered crypto firms in the last six months “many of which may be

Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent has filed for a virtual concerts patent with the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) according to business data-tracker Qichacha. The application comes as Chinese companies race to secure Metaverse trademarks. Even though the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) took a strong stance against the Metaverse and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in

New York state’s efforts to enforce sanctions against Russia have ramped up a gear with the Department of Financial Services, or DFS, expediting the procurement of additional blockchain analytics technology. According to a statement released Wednesday, the department will use the technology to help detect exposure to Russian individuals and entities subject to federal sanctions,

Economy and finance ministers representing nations in the European Union have said they will address Russia’s potential use of cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions imposed on it following its operations in Ukraine. Speaking to reporters through an interpreter following an informal video conference of EU economy and finance ministers on Wednesday, France’s finance minister, Bruno Le

Cyber Security Industry Advisory Committee, the Australian cybersecurity advisor, highlights various crypto-related opportunities for the government to undertake as it prepares for the global mainstreaming of cryptocurrencies. The study released by Australia’s Department of Home Affairs, titled ‘Exploring Cryptocurrencies’, cites the rise in crypto adoption as the country undergoes a rapid transformation to an advanced

Experts on crypto policy argue that concerns expressed by high profile politicians about Russia evading economic sanctions using cryptocurrency are “totally unfounded.” They say the crypto market is not nearly large enough nor deep enough to support the volume that Russia needs and that the country’s digital asset infrastructure is minimal. Former U.S. Secretary of

Indicted by the United States Department of Justice in a $2.4 billion Ponzi scheme, BitConnect founder Satish Kumbhani remains untraced following conviction. In a court filing on Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission said that the whereabouts of Kumbhani remains unknown. The SEC noted that Kumbhani’s last known location was in his native country India, but

South Korea’s crypto market grew to 55 trillion Won ($45.9 billion) by the end of 2021, as per a new study from the country’s chief financial regulator, the Financial Service Commission. South Korea is considered among the strictest crypto markets in terms of regulatory policy implementations and made regular headlines throughout 2021 for its new

A set of 30 crypto wallets from 12 exchange accounts that have been linked to the terrorist group Hamas based in the Gaza Strip were seized on Monday by Israeli authorities. Crypto exchange al-Mutahadun held the wallets where 12 accounts were allegedly being used by Hamas leaders to fund terrorist efforts against Israel. The Times