Policy & regulation Archives • Bitcoin Feed News

Coindesk / Why the World Economic Forum Is Creating a Blockchain ‘Bill of Rights’

January 20, 2020 / coindesk

Sheila Warren is the Head of Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology at the World Economic Forum. Sumedha Deshmukh is a Project Specialist on the Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology team…

Coindesk / The Prospect of Building a New International Monetary System Is Getting Real

January 17, 2020 / coindesk

This is part of a series of op-eds previewing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. CoinDesk will be on the ground in Davos from Jan. 20–24 chronicling all things crypto at…

Coindesk / Canadian Regulatory Group Targets Crypto Exchanges Holding Users’ Digital Assets

January 17, 2020 / coindesk

Canada‘s top financial watchdog has told crypto exchanges they will be subject to securities law if they act as custodians to users’ digital assets. The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) said…

Coindesk / SEC: Cash-Strapped Telegram Launched 2018 Token Sale to Pay for Servers

January 17, 2020 / coindesk

Telegram launched a 2018 token sale because it was “short on cash” to pay for servers, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said. The claim, made in the regulator’s…

Coindesk / Davos Needs to Wake Up to the Ills of Centralization

January 17, 2020 / coindesk

This is part of a series of op-eds previewing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. CoinDesk will be on the ground in Davos from Jan. 20–24 chronicling all things crypto at…

Coindesk / Currency ‘Cold War’ Takes Center Stage at Pre-Davos Crypto Confab

January 16, 2020 / coindesk

ST. MORITZ — The United States may be entering a second Cold War, according to some investors, who seem mildly curious but otherwise unconcerned about the prospect. “It’s a kind…

Coindesk / US Lawmakers Try Again on Tax Relief for Small Crypto Payments

January 16, 2020 / coindesk

U.S. lawmakers have resurrected a bipartisan push to exempt gains from small cryptocurrency transactions from being taxed. On Thursday, Reps. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.) and…

Coindesk / New Hampshire Lawmakers Vote Down Crypto Tax Bill

January 16, 2020 / coindesk

New Hampshire legislators have scrapped a bill that would have allowed state agencies to accept cryptocurrencies for tax payments. On Jan. 8, the New Hampshire House of Representatives accepted a…

Coindesk / Former CFTC Officials Ramp Up Push for Digital Dollar With Accenture Partnership

January 16, 2020 / coindesk

Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo, former LabCFTC head Daniel Gorfine and Charles Giancarlo want to take the dollar digital – and they’re not waiting for the…

Coindesk / Coinbase-Led Crypto Ratings Council Plans Transparency Boost as New Members Join

January 16, 2020 / coindesk

The Crypto Ratings Council (CRC), the Coinbase-led organization hoping to create a standard for assessing whether different cryptocurrencies are securities under U.S. law, is adding new members. The group announced…

Coindesk / Liquid Exchange Cancels Sale of Telegram’s Gram Tokens

January 16, 2020 / coindesk

Japan-based Liquid exchange has cancelled its sale of Telegram’s not-yet-launched gram tokens. Originally announced last June, the limited sale of tokens sourced from Gram Asia – said to be one…

Coindesk / Bithumb Exchange Fighting Back Against ‘Groundless’ $69M Tax Bill

January 16, 2020 / coindesk

South Korea-based exchange Bithumb is fighting a move by the country’s tax authority to withhold over $69 million in tax on foreign cryptocurrency transactions. Confirmed by the company in December,…

Coindesk / Meet the DC Advocacy Org Helping Put Blockchain on the US Military’s Radar

January 16, 2020 / coindesk

Later this year, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) will give a report to Congress about ways in which blockchain technology might enhance the work of the U.S. military. The…

Coindesk / Why Crypto’s ‘Rogue State’ Narrative Is a Risk to the Industry

January 15, 2020 / coindesk

Crypto tokens weren’t the only thing that saw a major pump yesterday. The total value locked in DeFi ascended to new heights. While part of this can be explained simply…

Coindesk / NJ Counterterrorism Chief Warns US Congress: Crypto Is Funding ‘Domestic Extremism’

January 15, 2020 / coindesk

New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Director Jared Maples predicted Wednesday that domestic terrorists will increasingly turn to bitcoin. Speaking during a U.S. House Financial Services Committee monetary…

Coindesk / Crypto Analytics Firm Elliptic to Tell US Congress Privacy Coins Need Stricter AML Rules

January 15, 2020 / coindesk

A crypto analytics startup will recommend that U.S. Congress call for more stringent anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement around exchanges facilitating the trade of privacy coins during a hearing on how…

Coindesk / UN Warns Against Attending North Korean Crypto Conference Next Month

January 15, 2020 / coindesk

The United Nations is warning about the risks of attending North Korea’s cryptocurrency conference in February. Reuters reports Wednesday that going to the event would probably be a violation of…

Coindesk / Ahead of Davos, What Can Cash Teach Us About Crypto?

January 15, 2020 / coindesk

This is part of a series of op-eds previewing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. CoinDesk will be on the ground in Davos from Jan. 20–24 chronicling all things…

Coindesk / SEC Warns Crypto Investors of Initial Exchange Offerings in New Note

January 14, 2020 / coindesk

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission published a new warning against initial exchange offerings (IEOs) Tuesday. According to the notice, IEOs are similar to initial coin offerings (ICOs), many of…

Coindesk / What It Takes to Get a Crypto-Friendly Bank Charter in Wyoming

January 14, 2020 / coindesk

It’s been more than three months since Wyoming began taking applications to charter a new type of crypto-friendly bank, and no company has announced its application while a handful of…

Coindesk / Regulated Derivatives Will ‘Legitimize’ Crypto, Says CFTC Chair

January 14, 2020 / coindesk

The chairman of the Commodities and Futures Exchange Commission (CFTC) believes regulated derivatives will instill market confidence in cryptocurrencies. Chair Heath Tarbert told Cheddar Monday that his agency is helping…

Coindesk / WisdomTree Mulls New Stablecoin as US Money Manager Drives Toward Crypto

January 14, 2020 / coindesk

WisdomTree, an asset manager specializing in exchange-traded funds, is vying to become one of the first established U.S. financial firms to offer clients digital assets, including a so-called stablecoin whose…

Coindesk / Japan’s Financial Watchdog to Set Low Leverage Cap for Crypto Margin Traders: Report

January 13, 2020 / coindesk

Japan’s top financial regulator plans to reduce the risk to cryptocurrency margin traders by cutting the permitted leverage to two times the deposit. The Financial Services Agency will impose the…

Coindesk / SEC Produces Evidence That Telegram Kept Selling Tokens After $1.7B ICO

January 10, 2020 / coindesk

At least two entities invoiced Telegram for commissions from selling the company’s tokens in the summer of 2018, months after the company’s initial coin offering (ICO), newly released documents show. …

Coindesk / LedgerX Names Former Chief Tech Officer as New CEO

January 10, 2020 / coindesk

LedgerX announced Friday that co-founder and former chief technology officer Zach Dexter has been named the new CEO of the bitcoin derivatives company. The company suspended CEO Paul Chou and…

Coindesk / US Lawmakers Call on Communications Regulator to Tackle SIM-Swapping Crime

January 10, 2020 / coindesk

Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. are demanding are demanding that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) takes action to tackle the rise in SIM swapping attacks. Responding to the groundswell of…

Coindesk / European Crypto Firms Brace for Higher Costs as AMLD5 Takes Effect

January 10, 2020 / coindesk

A strict new regulatory regime is dawning upon European firms handling cryptocurrency. Friday marks the deadline for the European Union’s 28 member nation-states to adopt the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive…

Coindesk / Illinois Legalizes Blockchain Contracts

January 9, 2020 / coindesk

With the new year Illinois became the latest state to recognize smart contracts and other blockchain-based records as legal instruments. The state’s “Blockchain Technology Act,” sponsored by Rep. Keith Wheeler…

Coindesk / ESMA Wants to Create ‘Sound Legal Framework’ for Cryptocurrencies in 2020

January 9, 2020 / coindesk

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) plans to push for more regulation around cryptocurrencies and related products as part of its 2020 focus. ESMA published its 2020-2022 priorities list…

Coindesk / Australians Won’t Use Libra, Believes Central Bank

January 9, 2020 / coindesk

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has expressed doubt over whether cryptocurrencies, including Libra and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), will ever become viable solutions. In a submission (pdf) to…

Coindesk / Ethereum Developer Virgil Griffith Indicted Over North Korea Event Appearance

January 9, 2020 / coindesk

Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith has been indicted over allegations relating to a conference appearance in North Korea last April. In a court document filed in the Southern District of New…

Coindesk / New York Governor Proposes Giving Financial Watchdog More Teeth

January 9, 2020 / coindesk

New York governor Andrew Cuomo wants to give the Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) more powers in regulating certain licensed entities, including cryptocurrency startups. Cuomo presented his 2020 “state of…

Coindesk / ECB’s Lagarde: We Want to Develop Digital Currencies but Won’t Discourage Private Initiatives

January 8, 2020 / coindesk

The European Central Bank is eager to expand its role in developing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), but that doesn’t mean private enterprises can’t join the party, said President Christine…

Coindesk / Former Bakkt CEO to Help Oversee CFTC in Congress

January 8, 2020 / coindesk

The former chief executive of bitcoin derivatives exchanges Bakkt is to join the committee that oversees the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), raising concerns of a possible conflict of interest.…

Coindesk / Why China Is Banning Crypto But Is Bullish on Blockchain

January 8, 2020 / coindesk

This post is part of CoinDesk’s 2019 Year in Review, a collection of 100 op-eds, interviews and takes on the state of blockchain and the world. Flex Yang is co-founder…

Coindesk / SEC Examination Office Gets Specific About Crypto Priorities in 2020

January 7, 2020 / coindesk

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will continue its evaluation of cryptocurrency-based securities for U.S. retail investors. The SEC‘s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) published its list of…

Coindesk / Digital Currencies Won’t Replace US Dollar Any Time Soon: IMF Chief Economist

January 7, 2020 / coindesk

The chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said digital currencies are not about to challenge the U.S. dollar’s pivotal role in global trade. In an op-ed for…

Coindesk / Law Enforcement Data Requests Rose By Almost 50% in 2019, Says Kraken

January 7, 2020 / coindesk

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has said the cost of responding to law enforcement requests for user data is rising sharply year on year. In a tweet on Tuesday, the firm posted…

Coindesk / Gemini’s Head of Risk on How Crypto Beats Traditional Finance

January 7, 2020 / coindesk

This post is part of CoinDesk’s 2019 Year in Review, a collection of 100 op-eds, interviews and takes on the state of blockchain and the world. Blockchain is disrupting traditional…

Coindesk / Telegram Tries to ‘Clarify’ Gram Crypto Project Amid Ongoing SEC Fight

January 6, 2020 / coindesk

Telegram will not integrate a crypto wallet into its messaging app, at least until it gets the green light from U.S. regulators, the company said Monday on its official website.…