Regulation

The future of Bitcoin mining in the European Union may hinge on today's pivotal vote in the EU Parliament. The EU Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) is voting on the proposed Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation draft. The proposed regulation is taking aim at crypto mining, due to concerns over its impact on the environment. In particular, the latest MiCA draft aims to limit the use of cryptos powered by the Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism. If…

A New York court has declined to drop the Security and Exchange Commission's lawsuit against payments processing company, Ripple. Interestingly, the court also dismissed SEC’s motion against Ripple. Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse has declared the latest development a “huge win”. Judge Denies Execs' Dismissal Motions A New York court turned down the motions of two senior executives at Ripple to dismiss the pending lawsuit against them. The verdict, delivered by Magistrate Analisa Torres, nullified the executives' motions to drop the…

UK's Financial Conduct Authority ordered crypto enterprises in the country to cease ATM services immediately.  This order applies to all 81 crypto ATMs installed in the United Kingdom. The FCA warned that organizations failing to comply with this command promptly would face severe punishment.  According to the FCA, none of these companies have a license to offer on-ramp or off-ramp services. Thus, firms providing these cash-dispensing machines have to register with the FCA first to obtain authorization, they said in…

Elrond will soon be able to issue e-money in European Union, thanks to regulatory approval of its recent acquisition. On Thursday, the blockchain startup won the approval of the Romanian Central bank to acquire a fintech company Twispay. Twispay is a Romanian financial institution that provides payment services and issues electronic money. It also offers payment services for Visa and Mastercard. Twinspay also has the license to operate in the entire European Economic Area. That includes the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein,…

Crypto investors in South Korea are breathing a sigh of relief, as a pro-crypto candidate won the crucial Presidential election. Election results show that the Conservative Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol will become South Korea’s next President. In one of the closest elections in South Korean history, Yoon beat his opponent by less than one percentage point. As a former top prosecutor, Yoon promised to deregulate the crypto industry. His pro-crypto stance might have helped him win the election. Deregulating crypto was…

President Biden’s long-awaited Executive Order on digital asset policy has been released. The order outlines the main objectives with which to approach the space while organizing research and regulatory responsibilities among different federal bodies. Notably, the White House also advocates “urgency” for R&D of a US CBDC, which over 100 countries are already exploring or piloting. Concerns About Illicit Finance As published by the White House, the order acknowledged the growing digital asset industry for presenting a wide array of…

US Senator Elizabeth Warren’s fight against criminal misuse of cryptocurrency presses on. The Democrat is reportedly drafting a bill to prevent sanctioned Russian entities from possibly pivoting to crypto rails for facilitating international trade. A Choice For Exchanges According to NBC News, the bill will threaten secondary sanctions on foreign crypto exchanges that choose to service sanctioned individuals and groups. Should they not comply, they would be refused access to the United States, where one of the most active bases…

US President Joe Biden will soon sign an executive order on cryptocurrency regulation and oversight that’s been in the works since last year. Sorting Out Responsibilities Sources involved in the order’s deliberations – who opted to remain anonymous – offered details on the order to Bloomberg. As reported in October, it will direct federal agencies to examine the “national security” and “economic “impact” of cryptocurrencies. Later in the year, those agencies will have to report their findings. The order should…

Coinbase revealed on Monday that it had blocked more than 25,000 Russian wallets linked with illicit activities.  Coinbase’s action comes after an initial refusal to place a blanket ban on Russian wallets.  Coinbase Acts on Sanctions The major exchange published a detailed official statement of its most recent crackdown on more than 25,000 Coinbase wallets. Coinbase claims that these wallets mostly belonged to Russians linked with several illicit activities. The company came to this conclusion via its own private “proactive…