A class-action suit was filed against Binance.US and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao on Oct. 2 in the District Court of Northern California alleging various violations of federal and California law on unfair competition for attempting to monopolize the cryptocurrency market by harming its competitor FTX. The suit was brought by Nir Lahav, who is identified…
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United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chair Rostin Behnam highlighted his agency’s activity in the crypto sphere and the need for up-to-date legislation at the Financial Industry Association Expo 2023 event in Chicago. He described the CFTC Enforcement Division’s efforts as a “nonstop drumbeat.” In the text version of his keynote address to the…
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The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) sees the potential for crypto-asset trading platforms (CTPs) to play a larger role in the “real” economy and society at large. It had some blunt observations about CTPs and suggestions for regulators in a paper released Sept. 28. “CTPs should welcome a degree of regulation as a mean[s] to…
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Marco Ruiz Ochoa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the Southern District Court of New York on Sept. 27 in relation to Ponzi scheme perpetrated by the IcomTech company. Ochoa was CEO of IcomTech from its founding in 2018 to 2019. According to a statement from the United States…
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Gary Gensler, chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, told the House Financial Services Committee hearing on Sept. 27 that he enjoys testifying before the committee. He had well over four hours of that pleasure that day, much of which was devoted to criticism of his agency’s policies and actions. Among the long…
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Bitwise Asset Management has filed an amended application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), beefing it up with 40 pages of new text responding to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) objections to the product. It still might not be enough to satisfy regulatory requirements, though, a company executive warned. Bitwise is…
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Architect Financial Technologies, the startup founded by former FTX.US president Brett Harrison, will provide derivatives brokerage services after its Architect Financial Derivatives subsidiary received approval from the National Futures Association (NFA) to operate as an independent introducing broker. The company is eyeing both the cryptocurrency derivatives market and the traditional market, Harrison said. An introducing…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the United Kingdom’s financial markets regulator, has again expressed its concern over the lack of engagement on the part of crypto firms that will soon be subject to new marketing rules. The consequences of noncompliance could be severe, it warned. In a letter dated Sept. 21, the FCA said it…
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The Institute of International Finance (IIF) has published an assessment of the European Commission’s proposed legislation on the digital euro. It gave the bill middling marks. The IIF is a financial industry global advocacy group headquartered in Washington, D.C. with members in 60 countries. It rated the digital euro bill introduced in June and the…
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Debate in the United States House Financial Services Committee during the markup of the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act on Sept. 20 occasionally wandered beyond strictly financial and technical issues. Star Wars and anarchists were mentioned in the discussion at various points, as were crypto bros. Beneath the rhetoric, the value of research, U.S. citizens’ privacy…
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