Despite the fact that it still hasn’t made a final decision on the launch of the “digital shekel,” Israel’s central bank reported that the public feedback on the project is mainly positive. According to Reuters, on Monday, The Bank of Israel summarized the results of the public consultation on its central bank digital currency (CBDC)…
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Retirement plans still largely remain at the periphery of both crypto adoption and the regulatory discussion. But last week, a major development emerged in this department. United States Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Tina Smith of Minnesota became concerned about Fidelity’s recent announcement of adding Bitcoin (BTC) to its clients’ 401(k) retirement investment menu.…
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Next to the fears of government overreach that the European Union’s ambitious digital euro project stirred, the main concern of the public is the prospective currency’s privacy framework. It appears that this worry might not be overblown after all: as the European Central Bank’s (ECB) latest presentation hints, user anonymity is not a desirable design…
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Analysts from the European Commission showed an unexpected understanding of how decentralized finances (DeFi) actually function, having defined it as something different from the traditional financial system and acknowledged that it would require rethinking the approach to regulation. On Monday, May 2, a crypto venture advisor at Presight Capital and a long-term expert on European…
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Last week, New York dominated crypto media headlines in very different ways. In New York State, the local Assembly voted in favor of the bill that would ban for two years any new mining operations that rely on proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanisms and use fossil fuel-generated energy. A temporary moratorium, which could be extended after…
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On April 26, the State of New York put itself at the forefront of the regulatory struggle with crypto, as its Assembly voted for a two-year moratorium on crypto mining operations that use energy generated by fossil-fuel power plants. Depending on how one looks at it, this development could either signal a new alarming legislative…
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The capital of Argentina and an agglomeration with more than 12 million citizens, Buenos Aires will make blockchain a vital part of its digitalization drive. Specifically, the city will accept public financial transactions in crypto. As city Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta revealed in his Steve Jobs-styled presentation on April 25, the 12-step development plan titled…
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Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) have submitted their review notes on the forthcoming “crypto bill,” developed by the country’s Finance Ministry. Law enforcement agencies push for requiring crypto firms to share transaction data with investigators and for clarifying the terms on which digital assets can be seized. On April…
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The British overseas territory of Gibraltar introduced a new regulatory package for distributed ledger technology (DLT) service providers. The document elaborates on the responsibilities of crypto businesses in regards to threats of market manipulation and insider trading. On April 27, the government of Gibraltar published the 10th Regulatory Principle of the country’s financial services regulation.…
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The New York state legislature might ban Proof-of-Work (PoW) crypto mining in the state for at least two years, citing environmental concerns. Over the past weekend, on April 23 and 24, several crypto advocacy groups — including the Blockchain Association and Crypto Council for Innovation — rang the alarm over the upcoming vote in the…
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