REGULATION
Myanmar says Cryptocurrencies are Banned, but Local Users Disagree
Even though the Myanmar government said earlier this month that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not legal tenders in the country, fanatics continue to interact with the technology.
Pressure Piles Up on BitMEX as Recent Outage Exposes Network Holes
Once branded a “Bitcoin casino," BitMEX has plunged into a series of crises over the last few years. The crypto exchange found itself trending on Twitter in the US recently because of the recent shutdown. BitMEX announced that its trading engine went offline for over an hour because of an incident, which the exchange identified as a “major outage."After some investigation, the exchange later announced that that platform restored its online operations. Such outage of BitMEX’s trading engine is the latest in a series of negative circumstances facing the exchange. Currently, as Bitcoin price hits $10,000, the major outage has prompted warnings that the exchange is becoming increasingly unreliable. The outage left customers unable to access their funds.
New York Times Square Billboard Demands Release of Silk Road Darknet Drug Trafficker
A billboard in Times Square has been hired by the ‘Free Ross’ movement as part of a campaign to release the Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road drug trafficking marketplace on the darknet.
“We Can’t Let China Beat Us,” Document shows US Regulators Want to Pass a National Blockchain Bill
Lawmakers in the US are coaxing the federal government to consider a national blockchain strategy for regulation and growth, citing China’s Blockchain Service Network as an example.
ISIS Millions Could Be Hidden in Cryptocurrency Ready-to-Fund War Chest
There is fear that missing ISIS’s £246 million may have been hidden in cryptocurrency waiting to be used for war chest.
Telegram Abandons TON and Gram Tokens, Durov Critical of US Regulating Whole World
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has announced that they are calling it quits on the Telegram Open Network (TON) and its Gram tokens after a drawn-out battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
HSBC Chief Legal Officer Stuart Levey Gets Appointed as Libra’s New CEO, Expert in Dealing with Regulatory Backlash
The Libra Association appointed its first CEO, Stuart Levey, the Chief Legal Officer at HSBC Holdings. Levey will be overseeing the Libra digital currency and payments system and holds a strong compliance track record and is expected to join Libra in the coming months. However, HSBC has not shown the same upright compliance record. Levey is also expected to “combine technology innovation with robust compliance and regulatory framework.” The Facebook-led project has invited scrutiny from global regulators, with concerns over its threat to national sovereignty with its potential launch. Many of Libra’s original members, including Vodafone, PayPal, and Visa have also chosen to leave the association.
Dutch Central Bank Forces Crypto Firms to Register Within Two Weeks or Face Cease and Desist
The Dutch Central Bank, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) has announced that crypto companies must register with the authority by May 18, or to stop operating immediately. DNB has looking to enforce the Dutch anti-money laundering (AML) laws, which was passed by the Dutch Parliament in April to comply with the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD4) laws. The Dutch AML laws are in compliance with the Financial Action Task Force-recommended AML directives and standards.
European Central Bank Encourages Clear Regulatory Structure for Stablecoins to Reap the Benefits While Minimizing Potential Risks
The European Central Bank (ECB) published an in-depth report on global stablecoins, focusing on highlighting the requirement for clear regulatory parameters for stablecoins, and the risks it may pose to financial stability. The ECB suggests that a “robust regulatory framework” must be established to address risks before its benefits could be explored.
Why Hong Kong is Still Not Ready to Become Asia's Leader in Crypto and Blockchain
During a live webinar, as part of the UK FinTech Week, Clara Chiu, the Head of Fintech Unit & Director of Licensing at the SFC explicitly stated that Hong Kong does not have the mandate to create a large regulatory regime for cryptocurrencies or to attract more investors or players in the crypto field. Rather than promoting the crypto sector, Hong Kong is rather focused on protecting investors and promoting new regulations for the same reason. Is focusing on licensing enough for the city?