ICO market deflates in April
When Bitcoin took flight in late 2017, the ICO movement was also gathering momentum — momentum that continued to run hot early in 2018 but now shows signs of cooling
Could centralized government become obsolete with blockchain?
Blockchain technology could be implemented in government institutions to streamline and remove a lot of bureaucracy, but could it also replace the government as a central institution or is that a sci-fi script too far?
Crypto Market Analysis — Hacks, tax, and forks the biggest drivers of Q1
The first quarter of 2018 was marked with continued protocol layer innovations, with heavy declines in prices across the board. Emerging and recurrent themes included transaction fees, microtransactions, increased fiat on-ramps, and regulatory changes. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the U.S., as well as Japan’s Financial Services Agency(FSA), made sweeping announcements or changes to the cryptocurrency milieu.
China’s waning influence on the global Bitcoin economy
In early 2017 China was the biggest and most influential market for bitcoin worldwide, as the bulk of both mining and trading was conducted in the People's Republic. Since then, much has changed as global bitcoin adoption and changes in regulations - both in China and in neighboring jurisdictions - have led to a shift in China’s influence on the bitcoin ecosystem.
Belarus leads the way with new crypto accountancy laws
Today Belarus officially joined the race to become an international center for blockchain innovation, when its crypto tax and accountancy laws were enacted.
Cryptocurrency complaints to Consumer Protection Agencies way up
Consumer protection agencies around the world have witnessed a big jump in cryptocurrency-related complaints after the price of bitcoin hit all-time-highs towards the end of last year, and then lost over 60 percent of its value early in 2018.
London announces fintech and crypto task force
The UK will set up a new task force that will monitor cryptocurrencies and the fintech industry as a whole, which contributes 7 billion pounds annually to the UK economy.
Cryptocurrency class action lawsuits: A new frontier
ICOs raised approximately $4 billion in 2017 alone, outpacing all venture capital raised in the United States. Because anyone with an idea for a project can gain financial backing without going through the formalities of an IPO, however, there are obvious chances for the public to be scammed, and we likely have only begun to see the beginning of class action lawsuits filed relating to blockchain-related companies or companies that participated in ICOs. Any company planning to conduct a token offering using an ICO should proceed with caution, and anyone looking to invest in a token offering should make sure it is conducted in compliance with applicable state and federal laws.
Britain’s central banker talks crypto with the kids
Cryptocurrencies are “failing” under the definition of money Governor of Bank of England Mark Carney said in speech earlier this month at the University of Edinburgh, and their adoption has been in a “spirit of dystopian fear and libertarian optimism” after the Global Financial Crisis.
Crypto exchanges in SEC cross-hairs
The SEC has continued its guidance relating to all things crypto with a statement in early March regarding the legality of exchanges. While the statement doesn’t name any specific exchanges, it does make it clear the SEC considers many exchanges to be acting contrary to US securities law by trading assets the SEC considers to be securities.
Will regulations help or hurt cryptocurrency valuations in 2018?
If 2017 was the year of the ICO, 2018 will most likely become the year of cryptocurrency regulations. The first moves for a framework that will incorporate cryptocurrencies were made last year after financial regulators worldwide published statements on how they will treat initial coin offerings going forward.
Swiss regulator publishes guidance around ICOs
In guidelines published in February, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) set out how it intends to apply financial market legislation in handling enquiries from ICO organisers. The guidelines also define the information FINMA requires to deal with such enquiries and the principles upon which it will base its responses, creating clarity for market participants.
Regulating the cryptocurrency markets
How do you regulate something that is completely decentralised and has no office? I struggle to find an answer for this. I know that when my exchange is hacked or my hard wallet is lost, I am frustrated and have no authority to report it to or bail me out. What is the answer?
In like a Lion… CAT claws its way to compliance
Late on Tuesday, November 14th, Wall Street history was made when the SEC declined requests from exchanges to delay the implementation of Rule 613 — or the CAT (Consolidated Audit Trail). Originally, the 20 Self-Regulatory Organizations (or SROs) were supposed to go live on November 15, 2017. These would then be followed by large Broker-Dealers in 2018, and smaller B/Ds the next year. Exchanges were required to begin feeding trading data into CAT by November 15th, but many are not completely ready to comply. Word on the Street is that many players are waiting and watching to see if the SEC will come through with a compromise to push back the date for compliance.
ICOs and cryptocurrencies – a ‘rough’ guide to global regulation
Cryptocurrency mania, especially new ICOs, has led to an internationally inconsistent regulatory response. Some authorities have issued total bans on ICOs, whilst others have decided to take a more observational approach to regulating the burgeoning industry. Notably, a number of regulators, have issued warnings to consumers about the lack of investor protection, high risk of fraud, and price volatility which can characterise ICOs and cryptocurrencies in general. This article seeks to provide a brief overview of the approaches taken by a number of regulators and provide readers with an idea of the current regulatory status of cryptocurrencies and ICOs in a number of key FinTech jurisdictions.
When will Bitcoin ETFs get approval?
When will Bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs) be approved? In March this year the Winklevoss Twins Bitcoin ETF application was rejected by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Then both investment management firm VanEck and ETF specialists Rex Shares withdrew filings with the SEC to launch ETFs. The SEC has argued that these firms can not file a Bitcoin ETF until the underlying futures contracts are already in place.
