FATF Issues Guidance on Mitigating Proliferation Financing Risk. The guidance highlights the need for effective onboarding processes, ongoing monitoring, staff training, risk management, sanctions screening, and a strong compliance culture.
SFC Refreshes Disclosure Guidance for ESG Funds. From January, ESG funds will have to disclose how they attain their ESG focus, referencing the ESG criteria, measurement methodologies, and benchmarks used.
Singapore to Continue Electronic Dissemination of Offer Documents. The extension of the temporary measure will allow rights issues and take-over or merger transactions to proceed within prevailing safe management measures.
IOSCO Set to Issue Regulatory Guidance on ESG Ratings. A report due to by published by mid-July will offer guidance to ESG service providers and ratings agencies and recommendations for regulators.
CSRC Approves DBS Acquisition of Stake in Shenzhen Bank. DBS will become the largest shareholder of Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank, paving the way for its expansion in the GBA.
Japan’s Amended Banking Act to Have Limited Impact: Fitch. The amendment is expected to contribute only marginally to addressing Japanese banks’ structural profitability challenges, Fitch Ratings says.
NZ FMA Warns Influencers Against Providing Financial Advice. Social media influencers do not want to find themselves caught offering advice they’re not qualified or authorised to give, warns FMA chief Rob Everett.
Ex-Shanghai Clearing House Chief Expelled from CCP for Corruption. Xu Zhen has been expelled from the CCP for borrowing large sums of money using the SCH’s management services and accepting bribes.
John McAfee’s death last week in a Spanish prison complicates the US government’s intent to recover millions of dollars it says the software tycoon owed in taxes (USD 4.2m) and allegedly ill-gotten gains (USD 23m) from promoting cryptoassets.
Worldcoin raised USD 25m from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, Reid Hoffman, and Day One Ventures, in order to develop “a new global digital currency that will launch by giving a share to every single person on earth.
The Ethereum Classic (ETC) network will undergo a hard fork to implement the Magneto upgrade, scheduled for late July,
Ark Investment Management has filed for a BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), called the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, which would trade under ARKB.
Digital asset investment products saw a fourth consecutive week of outflows totalling USD 44m, according to CoinShares.
Morgan Stanley has purchased 28,289 shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust through its Europe Opportunity Fund.
Nansen has raised USD 12m in a Series A funding round led by investor Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from Skyfall Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, imToken Ventures, and others.
Tracer DAO has raised AUD 5.9m (c. USD 4.5m) in a recent funding round.
IAGON has raised USD 3.4m in seed and private funding, with the round led by LedgerLink Labs.
Coinbase has received a crypto custody business license from Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). This is the first such license issued in the country.
Kraken said it reduced deposit fees for more than 70 supported cryptoassets to zero. The exchange said it “is preparing the ground for one of its long-term ambitions: to provide DeFi products and services from the exchange.”
A growing number of crypto companies are withdrawing their application for regulation with the UK Financial Conduct Authority: 64 have withdrawn theirs now, up from 51 less than a month ago.
Compound Labs has announced its Compound Treasury, a service designed for non-crypto native businesses and financial institutions to access the features of the Compound (COMP) protocol.
Fetch.ai (FET) has announced the launch of its DeFi Agents toolkit.
Bitcoin climbs above USD 35K, Ethereum and Altcoins In green
New FATF Report Sounds Alarm Over Environmental Crime. The report highlights the use of trade-based fraud and shell companies by criminals to launder proceeds from environmental crime.
ISSB Climate Reporting Standard Could be Ready by July 2022. IOSCO publishes indicative timeline for development of global climate reporting standard, sets sights on ESG data and ratings providers.
FSB Launches Review of Corporate Debt Workouts. Feedback is invited from financial institutions, corporates, insolvency practitioners and other stakeholders in relation to out of court debt workouts.
SWIFT’s Enhanced Platform Endorsed by Six Global Banks. Bank of China, BNY Mellon, BNP Paribas, Citi, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered have confirmed their preparations for the enhanced platform ahead of the November 2022 go-live.
MAS Launches Global Challenge for Retail CBDC Solutions. Fintechs, financial institutions and solution providers from around the world are invited to submit innovative solutions that can address 12 problem statements.
AUSTRAC Assesses Risk in Non-bank Lending & Financing Sector. The main threat facing the non-bank lending and financing sector is fraud, particularly loan application fraud, identity fraud and welfare fraud.
New Report Explores Impact of AT/HFT on Hong Kong Equities. Algorithmic trading and high-frequency trading were generally not found to have a deteriorating impact on market liquidity or increase market volatility.
HKEX Names Firms Piloting New Stock Connect Settlement Platform. BNP Paribas, Citibank, CSOP Asset Management, Invesco, Northern Trust, State Street, Standard Chartered, BNY Mellon and HSBC will join the HKEX Synapse pilot.
Chinese Regulators Instruct Banks to Reduce Interbank Payment Fees. Banks have a one-month transition period to implement the fee reduction measures, which focus on intra-city and inter-bank withdrawals from ATMs.
Korea FSC Extends Optimus Suspension for Six More Months. A new fund management company is being set up to take over and manage funds previously operated by Optimus Asset Management.
Huobi has suspended crypto derivatives trading for customers in China.
The Iranian Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade has issued licenses for 30 cryptomining units.
In a recent presentation, Eric Rosengren has listed tether (USDT) among the “financial stability challenges” the US central bank is watching.
Celsius is migrating its main business activity and headquarters from the United Kingdom to the United States and, where applicable, to several other jurisdictions.
CME Group announced that their Micro Bitcoin futures volume surpassed 1 million contracts.
Crypto.com announced its partnership with Circle. Crypto.com users can now transfer USD from their bank accounts and receive USD coin (USDC) at a 1:1 ratio in the Crypto.com App and Exchange.
Mercuryo has announced a new USD 7.5m Series A round led by Target Global.
The Court of Appeal of Paris has upheld the five-year prison term for Russian Alexander Vinnik, convicted in France on money laundering charges through the now-non-existent crypto exchange BTC-e.
Developers on the Ethereum (ETH) network have begun testing the London upgrade on the Ropsten testnet today – but ETH users are being once again encouraged to “adjust expectations.”
Crypto savings rates are 10X greater than High Street. But as far as the crypto banks are concerned, it is unclear what would happen if either there was a sudden and prolonged crash in the crypto market.
Ricardo Salinas Pliego has hit out at Ethereum (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE) – while issuing ringing endorsements of Bitcoin (BTC) and privacy tokens.
Bitcoin and Ethereum correct gains, COMP rallies
A proposal regarding a new fee structure and policy for Dogecoin (DOGE) Core has been released on GitHub, receiving the support of Elon Musk.
FATF Plenary Packs Powerful Punch. The FATF finalised reports on technological innovation, environmental crime, and asset recovery. New guidance on PF risk and a white paper on beneficial ownership were also finalised.
Industry Cooperation is Key to Trade Finance Innovation. R3’s Henry Roxas discusses the prevalence of paper-based methods in trade finance and the need for broader industry efforts to digitise practices.
ASIFMA Spotlights Tokenised Securities in New Paper. The paper calls on regulators to issue more guidance on the classification of tokens and modernise paper-based requirements in securities markets.
MAS Extends Financial Sector Training Support Measures. The extensions will help Singaporeans continue to acquire in-demand skills and encourage FIs and fintechs to retain and upgrade staff capabilities.
Australia: Senate Committee Calls for Submissions in AML Inquiry. The inquiry will explore the adequacy and efficacy of Australia’s AML/CTF regime. The terms of reference have been published.
FSC Korea to End Bank Dividend Cap on 30 June. The FSC arrived at the decision based on economic projections, bank stress tests, higher capital adequacy ratios, and higher loan loss provisions.
HK to Accelerate Plans for Mandatory Climate Disclosures – Report. The HKMA’s Darryl Chan reportedly said mandatory climate disclosure requirements could arrive in Hong Kong as early as next year.
AmCham Offers Taiwan Tips for Improving Financial Sector. AmCham Taipei’s new whitepaper offers recommendations for banking, capital markets, asset management, private equity, insurance, tax, and sustainable development.
Hong Kong: ‘Stay Rules’ to Come into Operation on 27 August. Banks have to adopt provisions in financial contracts binding counterparties to temporary stays on termination rights that may be imposed by the HKMA during a bank resolution.
Australia Passes Bill to Establish Monitoring Body for ASIC, APRA. In its first year, the FRAA will assess ASIC to ensure it is operating in line with expectations and supporting the economic recovery.
FTX will be valued at USD 20bn with the completion of the upcoming funding round, expected in the coming weeks, Nikkei Asia reported, citing Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and CEO of the company.
Citigroup is adding a digital asset group to their offerings for their wealthiest clients.
Robinhood has seen its listing plans slowed in recent weeks as the US Securities and Exchange Commission has been asking the company about its growing crypto-trading related business.
In the US, the May core personal consumption expenditures price index, an important inflation gauge for policymakers, rose 3.4% from a year ago, in line with Wall Street estimates.
Sotheby’s is auctioning and non-fungible token (NFT), based on the album cover of Reasonable Doubt, the debut album of American music megastar Jay-Z, released 25 years ago.
Mike Winkelmann, Beeple, is launching a new NFT venture next month that will seek to transform historic moments into collectible NFTs, with tennis star Andy Murray’s 2013 Wimbledon win as his first project.
Orbis Blockchain Technologies has announced a new partnership with Marvel, which will allow the Orbis app VeVe to use Marvel’s characters in creating future NFTs.
Tanzania’s central bank has said it is working on President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s directive to prepare for cryptocurrencies.
Opera has announced a partnership with Celo (CELO) in order to integrate CELO, Celo Dollar (cUSD), and Celo Euro (cEUR) stablecoins in its crypto wallet.
London’s Metropolitan Police said it has seized GBP 114m (USD 158m) in cryptocurrencies in an anti-money laundering sting.
A new malware dubbed “Crackonosh” is making the rounds and its main target seems to be the installation of the XMRig.
Bitcoin trims gains, Ethereum and Altcoins struggle
NYDIG and Q2 Holdings announced that they will collaborate to provide the more than 18.3m registered the ability to buy, sell and hold BTC.
Unstoppable Domains said it is now integrated with all Blockchain.com products, which include a wallet service, an exchange, and a blockchain explorer.
Bullish is reportedly in talks to merge with Far Peak Acquisition Corp.
Chainalysis said it secured a USD 100m Series E financing led by Coatue, bringing its valuation to USD 4.2bn
While weak flows and price dynamics resulting from last month’s selloff fueled bitcoin’s recent declines, possible sales of shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust upon the expiry of a six-month lockup period could be an additional headwind.
Cryptology Asset Group said it has purchased additional USD 49m worth of Block.one shares in a private transaction.
BTCChina said it has ‘completely exited from bitcoin-related businesses’ amid Beijing’s extensive crackdown on BTC mining.
Gemini said it donated USD 4m in credits to Climate Vault in order to help offset the carbon emissions footprint of BTC it holds in custody.
Bank of China, Bank of New York Mellon, BNP Paribas, Citi, Deutsche Bank, and Standard Chartered have announced their endorsement for SWIFT’s new transaction management platform, which boasts several enhancements.
Crypto.com said that its online payments solution Crypto.com Pay will now accept BTC payments from any wallet.
Brave said it has released the beta version of Brave Search, their new search engine.
Ant Group is trying to draw the line between non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies after selling two NFT-backed app images, which raised concerns over whether the transactions are legal in China.
The Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA) is investigating the possibility of issuing a digital currency.
Circle said it will soon launch its DeFi API that should help businesses to access various DeFi protocols.
Spain’s National Court has approved the extradition of detained John McAfee to the United States, where he is wanted on tax-related criminal charges that carry a prison sentence of up to 30 years, AP reported.
Ark Invest took advantage of the crypto price dip to purchase more than 1 million shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and more than 200,000 shares of Coinbase, CNBC reported.
Huobi Ventures said it has made a strategic investment in Beyond Finance.
Kaiko announced a USD 24m Series A funding round led by Anthemis and Underscore VC, among other investors.
Stronghold Digital Mining said it raised USD 105m from investors such as MG Capital, Greg Beard, the company’s co-chairman and CEO, and family offices.
Coinbase has become the first Western company to obtain an operating permit from the Financial Services Agency (FSA).
FTX Trading Limited and West Realm Shires Services, owners and operators of FTX.COM and FTX.US, and Major League Baseball (MLB) announced a new long-term, global partnership.
Goldman Sachs has joined the blockchain-based network created by JPMorgan for repurchase agreements that use smart contracts and a digitized version of the US dollar, per Bloomberg.
Wyoming Deposit & Transfer (WDT) has been awarded a bank charter by the Wyoming Division of Banking, which allows it to provide commercial banking and custodial services for tokenized assets and digital currencies.
Wirex said it has partnered with FireBlocks, along with launching their X-Accounts feature to allow users to earn up to 16% on their crypto and fiat funds.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed another bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) decision, extending the 45-day window that was due to expire June 26th.
The Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) said there is a need for a legal framework around cryptoassets before they become a suitable form of investment.
Mark Steward says that 111 unregistered cryptoasset firms operating in the Great Britain pose a risk to the broader financial system.
Step Finance has become the first dashboard where users can aggregate and visualize Augmented Reality non-fungible tokens (NFTs), according to an emailed press release.
Enterprise Ireland, Kapronasia Publish APAC Regtech Study. Lengthy procurement processes, cumbersome IT and security approvals, and implementation complexity are hindering APAC regtech adoption.
SFA Forms ‘Club’ to Drive Fintech Community Development. SG FinTech Club will enable fintech professionals to make deeper connections with industry peers, upskill and access growth opportunities.
CBIRC Issues Draft Rules on Related Party Transactions. Banks and insurers are required to put in place mechanisms to prevent the transfer of benefits to shareholders and their related parties.
NZ FMA Unimpressed With Liquidity Practices at Funds. The FMA says liquidity stress tests are not being performed frequently enough and fund managers do not have sufficient liquidity management tools.
Korean Officials Seize Cryptocurrency from Tax Evaders. Investigators had to compare tax evaders’ mobile phone numbers against those registered at crypto exchanges in order to track down their account details.
BSP Unveils Open Finance Framework, Plans Tiered Implementation. The framework promotes consent-driven data portability, interoperability, and collaborative partnerships between FIs and fintech players, the BSP said.
Australia DTA Consults on Digital ID Expansion Plans. The consultation will facilitate the introduction of legislation to expand access to the digital identity system to private sector entities.
Korea to Introduce 40-Year Mortgages from 1 July. Young adults and newly married couples will be eligible to apply for 40-year home mortgage loans under a government-sponsored programme.
CBSL to Require Banks to Maintain Recovery Plans from 2022. Starting in 2022, Sri Lankan banks with assets above LKR 1 trillion must formulate and submit their recovery plans to the CBSL annually.
SEC Thailand Revises Guidelines on Depositary Receipts. The revisions seek to facilitate the introduction of more depositary receipt products in the Thai capital market.
VanEck filed a new draft prospectus for a bitcoin (BTC) futures mutual fund with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
MoonPay said it has acquired a stake in European provider of digital asset business accounts BCB Group, according to an emailed press release.
Criptonite announced its strategic partnership with Wave Financial, addressing the increasing demand from European investors for new, secure and regulated crypto-asset investment products.
Digital Currency Group has authorized the purchase of up to USD 50m worth of shares of Grayscale Ethereum Classic Trust.
BIT Mining announced that it had delivered its first batch of 320 mining machines to Kazakhstan.
Iranian police have seized 7,000 computer miners at an illegal cryptocurrency farm, their largest haul to date.
Brian Nelson said that if he’s confirmed, he will “prioritize implementing [the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020], including new regulations around cryptocurrency.”
Bybit is operating an unlicensed crypto trading platform in Ontario, Canada, the Ontario Securities Commission stated.
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) is calling for any potential digital euro projects to uphold a very high standard of privacy and data protection.
Investors who bought bitcoin and other cryptoassets on exchanges outside of India may have to pay a 2% “equalization levy,” according to a report by The Economic Times.
Bakkt Holdings said it has expanded its offerings with a new virtual Bakkt Visa Debit Card, allowing customers to use their bitcoin and cash balances to purchase everyday goods and services online or in-store.
Sotheby’s said it will let bidders purchase a 101.38-carat diamond, expected to fetch up to USD 15m, for unspecified cryptocurreny.
Hancom has established a new crypto subsidiary, reported Maeil Kyungjae.
Tristan Rattink has been appointed general manager of NFT platform NBA Top Shot by Dapper Labs.
Financial Advice Standards Have Improved, MAS Finds. Financial advisers have enhanced their standards and raised the quality of advice provided to customers, MAS found in a mystery shopping exercise.
GFMA, BCG Publish Principles for Climate Finance Taxonomies. The principles are based on a broader definition of climate finance which goes beyond debt instruments and captures equity financing and working capital.
Korean Cabinet Approves Rules on SIFI Resolution Plans. SIFIs will be required to prepare recovery and resolution plans and submit them to the FSS within three months from being designated.
Australian Senate Approves Landmark Superannuation Reforms. The reforms will enable easier comparison of super funds and block underperforming funds from gaining new members, among other changes.
Shanghai, Shenzhen List First Infrastructure REITs for Trading. All nine REITs opened higher on their first day of trading, highlighting enthusiasm from investors for the new type of equity securities.
PBOC Directs Banks & Alipay to Stamp Out Crypto Activity. Financial institutions are asked to identify the capital accounts of crypto exchanges and OTC dealers, and cut off their payment channels.
HKMA Notifies Banks of Enhanced Competency Framework. Banks are asked to review and assess the impact of the SFC’s revised framework and take action to ensure compliance.
DBS Launches Automated Digital Bond Issuance Platform. FIX Marketplace enables issuers to digitalise their bonds for direct issuance in the market, while allowing for direct interaction with investors.
SEBI Allows Mutual Funds to Trade IRS for Hedging. SEBI says mutual fund schemes may enter into plain vanilla interest rate swaps for hedging purposes.
CME Group to Launch Nature-Based Emissions Offset Futures. The N-GEO futures contract will allow for delivery of eligible voluntary offset credits and will be listed by and subject to the rules of NYMEX.
MicroStrategy said it has purchased an additional BTC 13,005 for around USD 489m in cash at an average price of USD 37,617 per BTC.
The US General Services Administration (GSA) is auctioning off 11 lots of cryptocurrency, totaling BTC 8.93 and LTC 150.2 with a combined market value of more than USD 310,000.
Securitize said it has raised USD 48m in a Series B funding round co-led by Morgan Stanley and Blockchain Capital.
Elliptic’s analysis of US regulatory enforcement actions since the birth of Bitcoin in 2009 shows that USD 2.5bn in penalties have been imposed against firms and individuals dealing in crypto.
South Korean tax officers are investigating the Ground X for possible tax-related infringements connected with its initial coin offering (ICO).
Banco de Portugal said it has licensed two crypto exchanges for the first time since its new crypto trading law took effect.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has “increased considerably” the resources it has allocated to assessing applications to the cryptoasset register due to the time required for this process, economic secretary to the Treasury John Glen stated in response to a written question. The main reason behind the length of the process is that the FCA has had to request additional information from the applicant firm.
The long-anticipated London upgrade is now ready for deployment on the Ethereum (ETH) testnets, the Ethereum Foundation said.
Frank McCourt is spending USD 100m on building a blockchain-based alternative to social networks such as Facebook, according to Bloomberg.
TSB is reportedly looking to forbid customers to buy cryptocurrencies due to concerns that weak security checks at crypto exchanges allow malicious actors to steal customers’ money.
BBVA said it is launching a bitcoin trading service for private banking clients in Switzerland on June 21.
Coin Cloud announced that it is set to install its 2,000th kiosk in a San Antonio-based grocery store, having kiosks across the United States and Brazil.
Banque de France said it has conducted a central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiment with SEBA Bank.
Israel has already conducted a pilot test of a digital shekel, Bank of Israel Deputy Governor Andrew Abir said.
BlackRock is seeking to develop a blockchain strategy for its flagship portfolio management system Aladdin.
Basel Institute on Governance Takes Stock of Illicit Enrichment Laws. While some intricacies regarding illicit enrichment laws are yet to be properly tested in courts, they have “remarkable potential” in the field of asset recovery.
NGFS Paper Sets Out Biodiversity Loss Research Agenda. An NGFS/INSPIRE study group will seek to improve understanding of the link between biodiversity loss and financial stability.
MAS to Migrate MEPS+ to ISO 20022 in June 2022. MAS is adopting a two-phased approach to migrate to ISO 20022, beginning with payments on MEPS+ in June 2022.
CBIRC Issues Draft Rules for Major Bank Shareholders. Major shareholders cannot use borrowed funds to invest in banks, take out loans from the banks they invest in, or have cross-shareholdings with other banks.
Japan Panel Offers Recommendations on Sustainable Finance. The panel says the FSA should introduce a code of conduct for ESG data providers and develop an information platform for ESG-related bonds.
Malaysia, Thailand Establish Cross-border QR Payment Link. The first phase of the project, now complete, allows Thai users to make QR code payments to merchants in Malaysia, including for online e-commerce transactions.
InvestHK Launches 2021 Fintech Fast Track Programme. Selected companies will be showcased prominently at Hong Kong Fintech Week 2021 which takes place from 1 to 5 November.
Australian Police to Establish Ransomware Taskforce. The new taskforce will enable the Australian police to have a more unified approach to pursue ransomware attackers.
SEBI Planning Dedicated Framework For SPACs – Report. To allow SPACs in India, SEBI would have to either introduce a separate law or amend current regulations.
Indian Banks to Develop Blockchain System for LCs. The initiative will eliminate paperwork, reduce transaction processing time and offer a secure environment for processing LCs.
IMF Proposes Introduction of Global Carbon Price Floors. The IMF says limiting global warming to 1.5 to 2 degrees will require a global carbon price of around $75 per ton, compared to only $3 per ton currently.
HKMA Outlines Three Year Roadmap for Suptech Adoption. The HKMA will explore the potential conversion of regulations into machine-executable codes and a system that automatically creates regulatory reports.
HKMA Issues Practice Guide on Cloud-based Regtech Solutions. Guidance is provided on the use of APIs to address barriers to adoption created by legacy systems that are inflexible to change.
HKMA to Conduct Industry Stock-take on Fintech Adoption. All licensed banks with significant operations in Hong Kong must prepare and submit a questionnaire on fintech adoption by 31 December.
New Competency Framework to Take Effect from January: SFC. Raising professional standards is crucial to maintain quality markets, particularly in view of the rapidly evolving financial landscape, says SFC chief Ashley Alder.
‘Tranche 1.5’ AML Reforms Take Effect in Australia. AUSTRAC has issued rules to support the introduction of the reforms, which include measures to streamline customer verification and correspondent banking.
TCFD Scope 3 Review Supports Net-Zero Scrutiny. Comprehensive reporting on all corporate emissions essential for investors, regulators and policymakers working towards low-carbon economy, says GRI.
China Tightens Rules on Commodity Price Index Compilers. The new rules will help to standardise how commodity price indexes are compiled and improve transparency on the release of information.
CBIRC Approves First Fully Foreign Owned Money Broker. Japan’s Ueda Yagi Tanshi will become the first foreign firm to commence currency brokerage business in China under a fully-owned unit.
Korea Extends AML Compliance Deadline for Crypto Sector. The extension is primarily being allowed to ensure regulators can process applications received before the 24 September deadline.
Grayscale Investments has expanded their list of assets that they’re considering for inclusion into their product family, adding 1inch (1INCH), bancor (BNT), curve (CRV), internet computer (ICP), kava (KAVA), kyber network (KNC), loopring (LRC)], near (NEAR), polygon (MATIC), ren (REN), solana (SOL), universal market access (UMA), and 0x (ZRX).
Goldman Sachs has begun trading bitcoin futures with Galaxy Digital.
Decentral Games (DG) has raised USD 5m in its latest funding round that included investors such as Collab+Currency, Metaverse Ventures (Digital Currency Group), and Bitscale Capital among others, according to the emailed announcement.
Danske Bank said it is upholding its bitcoin (BTC) ban in spite of growing interest in this asset. They cite insufficient transparency and only partial regulation, as well as opaque pricing as the key reasons why they’re not lifting the ban yet.
Bitfinex Pay has been integrated into the education and employment marketplace ODEM so that users of the marketplace can purchase programs, as well as verify candidates and place jobs.
HIVE Blockchain Technologies said it has listed its common shares on the Nasdaq’s Capital Markets Exchange.
The McLaren Formula 1 team said it has chosen Tezos (XTZ) as their official blockchain partner to create a series of NFTs across F1, INDYCAR, and esports.
nWay said it launched nWayPlay.com.
News outlet CNN said it is launching its own NFT series called ‘Vault by CNN: Moments That Changed Us’, which will be sold starting late June 2021.
In the UK, the level of understanding of cryptocurrencies is declining, suggesting that some crypto users may not fully understand what they are buying, the UK Financial Conduct Authority said, presenting their research results.
Landon Cassill will be the first NASCAR driver paid entirely in cryptocurrency in a 19-race sponsorship deal with Voyager that begins at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend.
Fireblocks said it has integrated Crypto.com into the Fireblocks Network.
Kraken could go public in 12 to 18 months, CEO Jesse Powell told Bloomberg TV. He said that the firm is “doing all the prep work” to become a public company, though he declined to give a target valuation. He also still predicts that BTC will hit a fresh all-time high this year.
A 30-year-old Japanese YouTuber has been issued a warning from the Financial Services Agency (FSA), for reportedly “promoting” the Bybit exchange.
Audacity Capital LLC is going to invest in cryptocurrency-related startups led by entrepreneurs of Black and African descent.
Coinme said it has raised USD 10m in a funding round from existing investors and it will spend the new capital on product and market expansion, according to an emailed press release.
Yield Guild Games (YGG) has raised USD 4m in a Series A investment led by BITKRAFT Ventures.
Goldfinch has raised USD 11m in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto).
SynFutures has raised USD 14m in a Series A funding round led by Polychain Capital.
TRM Labs said it has closed a USD 14m Series A funding round.
MSCI is looking at launching indexes for crypto assets.
Nornickel is offering blockchain-based tokens along with traditional certificates for their exchange-traded commodities (ETCs) based on their metal.
Bank Indonesia has prohibited Indonesian financial institutions from accommodating cryptocurrency as a means of payment or other financial services tools.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has again delayed the decision on whether to allow a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF).
A survey conducted in South Korea has found that 73% of respondents say they want public officials to be forced to declare their crypto holdings.
Public officials in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan will be obliged to declare their crypto holdings, reported Realnoe Vremya, where a presidential decree has stipulated that all civil servants must make annual declarations on their holdings, as well as those of any dependents, such as spouses and children in their care.
Keep Network and NuCypher said they have agreed to merge in “the first decentralized on-chain network upgrade combining two protocols.
Enjin (ENJ) said it is partnering with Virtual Worlds to produce a limited-edition set of NFTs representing iconic Egyptian monuments like the Pyramids of Giza and Great Sphinx of Egypt.
Stella Artois is issuing a series of NFTs of digital racehorses as part of their 3D racetrack project, where players will be able to bid to own exclusive horses.
BitMEX said it hired Marc Robinson as Head of Custody.
Facing the Next Crisis with Greater Liquidity Certainty More granular deposit modeling and enhanced stress testing approaches will augment liquidity risk management practices, says Gavin Pugh at AxiomSL.
RBNZ Finalises 7-Year Roadmap for Higher Bank Capital The minimum total capital requirement for banks will increase 9% from 1 July 2024. Banks will also be expected to hold a ‘Prudential Capital Buffer’.
ASIC Enhances Capital Rules for Securities, Futures Firms Securities market participants must hold core capital of at least A$500,000, up from A$100,000 currently required. One year is given for compliance.
ASX Completes Corporate Actions Upgrade Project The project enables full straight-through processing for corporate actions, reducing risk for market participants and facilitating more informed decision-making.
Taiwan FSC to Make Environmental Disclosures Mandatory Listed companies will be required to make mandatory disclosures on their carbon emissions, water usage and waste management starting next year.
UK Regulators Support US ‘SOFR First’ Swaps Proposal The FCA and BOE encourage liquidity providers to change USD linear swap trading conventions from USD LIBOR to SOFR on 26 July 2021.
Hong Kong-Thailand Mutual Recognition of Funds Takes Effect Hong Kong’s SFC and Thailand’s SEC say the MRF scheme has taken effect. Both have issued new guidance on obtaining authorisation under the scheme.
RBNZ to Add Debt-to-income Limits to Policy Toolkit DTI limits will reduce the likelihood of mortgage defaults, the RBNZ said, expressing concerns that rising housing prices may present financial stability risks.
NAB Contract Workers Received Little AML Training: Report The revelation comes follows AUSTRAC’s launch of a formal enforcement investigation into NAB earlier this month.
BSP to Issue Strict Regulations On ‘Digital Bank’ Branding. Banks that do not meet specified conditions are prohibited from marketing themselves as digital banks, the BSP said in a circular.
Over 90% of 200 surveyed independent financial advisers (IFAs) in Britain would never recommend cryptocurrencies or so-called meme stocks to their clients, an Opinium poll showed on Wednesday,
Arcane Assets AS said it has signed a Letter of Intent with Exchange-Traded Product (ETP) issuer Valour Structured Products Inc. to explore the issuance and listing of an ETP based on Arcane’s crypto fund.
A digital euro could suck away 8% of eurozone banks’ customer deposits, analysts at Morgan Stanley have estimated.
A group of US House Democrats is forming a task force on financial technology, according to a virtual hearing announced by the chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, Maxine Waters.
GoldConnect said that the company is now accepting cryptocurrency payments through their new LatamConnect platform with BitPay.
Travala.com backed by Binance, is launching Dtravel, a blockchain-based platform for the home-sharing economy that would give homeowners and house guests a stake in the platform.
Bakkt Holdings said it has partnered with Wyndham Rewards, the loyalty program of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
FTX does not have any firm plans on going public, but it’s something they would be “silly not to be doing [their] due diligence on,” the company’s founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, told Bloomberg.
Step Finance, “the front page of Solana,” said it has now aggregated Solana-based decentralized exchanges, including Raydium, SerumDex, and Orca to enable users to trade across the Solana Blockchain with USD 845m dollars of liquidity from the Step dashboard.
Diginex Limited said it is unifying its businesses under the EQONEX brand.
Bento Box Entertainment is increasing their non-fungible tokens (NFTs)-related expansion efforts by launching a USD 100m creator fund through Blockchain Creative Labs.
An NFT with the timestamped documentation of the Internet’s creation by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, called ‘This Changed Everything’, will be put on sale from June 23-30 in an auction, with bidding starting at USD 1,000, according to the Sotheby’s.
Genesis Digital Assets is buying 10,000 Avalon mining machines from Canaan for USD 93.6m, the latter said, adding that it will deliver the machines by June 30 this year.
Burfa said it has concluded a USD 26m deal with Bitmain.
Yieldly announced Yieldly Bridges — a linchpin between the Algorand ecosystem and major chains, including Ethereum (ETH), Polkadot (DOT), and Binance Smart Chain.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it charged three additional individuals for their roles in the USD 30m initial coin offering (ICO) fraud that was spearheaded by convicted criminal Boaz Manor and his associate, Edith Pardo.
Securrency said it has appointed MonaLisa Raas Como as Chief Commercial Officer and Bill Ashlock as Chief Technology Officer.
WEF Offers Framework to Help Prevent Illicit Financial Flows. The “Unifying Framework” published this month sets out five core practices for gatekeepers to use to identify and respond to potential illicit activity.
FATF Framework Can Better Support Financial Inclusion: RUSI. There are insufficient incentives within the framework to ensure the FATF Standards are implemented in a way that supports inclusion.
BIS Innovation Hub Launches Nordic Centre in Stockholm. The Nordic Centre was opened in collaboration with the central banks of Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
Japan: Revised Corporate Governance Code Takes Effect. The new code seeks to enhance board independence, promote board diversity, and increase attention on sustainability and ESG issues.
Banking on API Management to Succeed in the Digital World. AdNovum’s David Chan discusses the need to safeguard APIs as financial institutions increasingly seek to digitalise their services.
China Issues Draft Law Aimed at Improving Audit Practices. The law prohibits the entities being audited from refusing to provide information, delaying such provision, and submitting false information.
Korea Allows Securities Firms to Extend Credit to Overseas Affiliates. Large securities firms will be allowed to extend credit to overseas branches and subsidiaries in which they have at least a 50 percent stake.
AFIN, R3 Partner to Launch CBDC Sandbox on APIX Platform. MAS’ Sopnendu Mohanty says the collaboration will enable the global fintech ecosystem to better understand financial innovations around digital currencies.
CBIRC Issues New Rules for Cash Management Products. Cash management products are prohibited from investing in stocks, convertible bonds, or any financial instrument rated lower than AA+.
PNG’s BSP Financial Group Faces Possible AML Penalties. Australia’s CBA and NAB are reportedly under scrutiny as they provided correspondent banking services to BSP Financial Group.
RUSI Calls On FATF to Devise Financial Inclusion Strategy. Little concrete work has been done by the FATF so far to actively promote financial inclusion as part of its primary integrity mandate.
Hong Kong Needs New Cybersecurity Legislation: FSDC. The FSDC recommends the development of legislation to provide legal certainty and protection, clarity on cross-border data transfers, and a framework for accountability.
OCBC Obtains Approval to Convert LIBOR Bonds to SONIA. OCBC has become the first Singapore bank to obtain approval from bondholders to replace GBP LIBOR with SONIA as the interest rate benchmark.
SGX, Nasdaq Partner to Enhance ESG Visibility of APAC Issuers. The addition of SGX data to Nasdaq’s sustainable bond network will enhance transparency of green, social and sustainability bonds in Asia Pacific.
China Passes Law Establishing Hainan as Free Trade Port. The law states that Hainan will implement a “minimalist” investment approval system and create an “open, transparent, and predictable investment environment”.
More Chinese Provinces Restrict Crypto Mining Activity. Qinghai, Yunnan, and a prefecture in Xinjiang have joined Inner Mongolia in imposing restrictions on cryptocurrency mining.
US Federal Court Sanctions Australian Trader for Spoofing. The Propex Derivatives trader is required to repay $21,000 in disgorgement and cease and desist from violating anti-spoofing and manipulation rules.
MAS Reprimands Four FIs Over Remuneration Practices. Two insurers, two financial advisory firms, and two individuals were reprimanded over breaches related to their risk management arrangements and remuneration practices.
Japan FSA Considers Sanctioning Mizuho for System Glitches. A new report from a third-party committee has attributed the bank’s system failures to poor corporate culture within Mizuho Financial Group.
Hong Kong: Ex-Dah Sing Bank Manager Jailed for Fraud. The former financial planning manager told a client he was required to buy an insurance policy before he could open a corporate bank account.
Bitwise Asset Management said it raised USD 70m in a Series B round, valuing the company at more than USD 500m.
dYdX said it has raised USD 65m in a Series C round, led by Paradigm. Other investors include Three Arrows Capital, a16z, Polychain Capital, and others.
PARSIQ has raised USD 3m in a Series A funding round led by Solana Foundation, with participants including Mindworks VC, Axia8 Ventures, Krypital Group, and others.
Barry Silbert said in a tweet conversation that he finds 99% of cryptoassets to be overpriced. He also warned to be prepared for “the macro fireworks.”
A crypto trader from Hong Kong was sprayed in his eyes with an unknown substance and robbed of HKD 2m (USD 257,646) while he was on his way to buy bitcoin (BTC).
Around a quarter of the 50 surveyed central banks would allow tourists and other non-residents to use their hypothetical central bank digital currencies.
Coinbase has hired Christian Sabella, a former deputy director of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Users of hardware wallet Ledger are now able to swap Ethereum (ETH)-based tokens through an integration with the ParaSwap.
INX Ltd announced the acquisition of the ILS Brokers Ltd (ILSB).
Bakkt Holdings said it enabled its users to send BTC, gift cards, and cash to anyone, including those not currently using the Bakkt App.
A new Japanese picture book for children on the subject of money has been published – and features a section on crypto.
Line is set to launch a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace in Japan via its blockchain and crypto-focused subsidiary LVC.
China Passes Data Security Law, Effective in September. Companies that provide data to foreign judicial or law enforcement agencies without approval can be penalised up to CNY 5 million.
Credit Risk, Shadow Banking Present Ongoing Concerns: CBIRC. Chairman Guo Shuqing has highlighted credit risk, shadow banking, illegal fundraising, and derivatives trading as key sources of financial system risk.
BNM Sets Out New Draft Policy for E-Money Issuers. The exposure draft proposes to impose additional requirements including on capital for e-money issuers that have “substantial market presence”.
SGX Leverages Nikkei Partnership to Launch ESG REIT Derivatives. The new futures contract aims to meet rising demand for integrating ESG considerations into investment portfolios, SGX said.
AUSTRAC Seeks Input to Develop New Reporting Systems. Input is sought as part of a discovery phase of a four-year systems transformation programme to replace ‘AUSTRAC Online’.
KRX to Launch Trade Compression Services This Year. KRX has amended its OTC derivatives clearing and settlement rules to provide the legal basis for the introduction of trade compression services.
Shenzhen to Further Open to Foreign Financial Institutions. Shenzhen’s five-year plan calls for the establishment of foreign-controlled securities firms, investment funds, futures companies and insurers in the city.
UOB Pilots Digital Signing Capability via SingPass. UOB is testing the use of GovTech’s ‘Sign with Singpass’ to allow a set of retail and corporate customers to confirm transactions and product applications.
CSRC Approves Launch of Daiwa Securities Joint Venture. Daiwa Securities (China) Co will be able to provide brokerage and securities underwriting services. Operations will commence soon.
New Zealand FMA Grants Reporting Relief Amid Auditor Shortage. Businesses affected by an auditor shortage in New Zealand will be allowed an additional month to comply with reporting requirements.
MicroStrategy confirmed that it has raised USD 500m in order to buy more bitcoin (BTC).
Goldman Sachs plans to offer options and futures trading in ethereum (ETH) in the coming months.
81% of surveyed investors (3,671 in total) are more bullish than before, following the recent sell-off in crypto markets, according to Voyager Digital’s Q2 2021 Retail Investor Sentiment Survey.
The US SEC released its regulatory agenda for the spring and summer, and it does not include crypto.
The spread of cryptocurrencies without any clear regulation is a cause for concern and could damage the way the market operates, Paolo Savona said today.
The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission has banned digital asset exchanges from trading meme- or fan-based tokens, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and exchange-issued tokens.
The Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA), said it is investigating nine fintech firms over their crypto links. It stated that the firms were suspected of providing customers with “unauthorized financial” services that it says can only be offered in the nation by entities that hold banking licenses.
Block.one has entered into a USD 27.5m settlement to resolve the class action lawsuit launched by the Crypto Assets Opportunity Fund (CAOF) related to the company’s June 2017 – June 2018 token sale, and allegations that the company misled investors and inflated the EOS price.
Bitcoin mining difficulty, or the measure of how hard it is to compete for mining rewards, dropped 5.3% on Sunday during the latest difficulty adjustment.
Mining farms in Kazakhstan might be a subject of the new tax: one tenge (USD 0.0023) per kilowatt per hour of electricity consumed during the mining process.
Hut 8 Mining Corp. said that it has agreed with Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. on a bought deal worth CAD 100m (USD 82.25m) and that it expects its shares to begin trading on the Nasdaq on or about June 15.
Spain’s biggest political party has submitted a bill in parliament that – if passed – would see the country introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Crypto scams are “skyrocketing” in China. Recently released, government-compiled statistics showed that “security incidents in the blockchain sector in 2020” increased by nearly 240% on 2019 figures, with criminals seeking to exploit the fact that most ordinary people have “limited knowledge of cryptoassets.”
IBM said it has contributed code to the enterprise blockchain network Hyperledger, in order to make it easier to develop and deploy blockchain solutions for business.
Regulatory Harmonisation Critical to OTC Derivatives Reporting. The fragmentation of trade reporting rules and the lack of a common data set across jurisdictions hinders transparency and global risk monitoring, writes DTCC’s Priya Kundamal.
G7 Leaders Commit to Acting on Corruption, Shell Companies. The communique highlights a need to tackle the misuse of shell companies and curtail the ability of illicit actors to hide wealth, including in real estate.
China Passes Anti-foreign Sanctions Legislation. Countermeasures can be taken against senior managers and actual controllers of firms included on the anti-sanctions list, as well as their family members.
PBOC Set to Begin Assessing Banks’ Green Finance Performance. The PBOC will begin quarterly assessments of 24 major banks on their green finance performance under a new evaluation system starting 1 July.
HKMA Defers Implementation of Basel III Capital Standards. Banks have more time to implement the revised frameworks on credit risk, operational risk, output floor, leverage ratio, market risk and CVA risk.
CBIRC Issues Final Rules on Resolution Planning for FIs. Deposit-taking institutions, leasing companies, asset managers and insurers with assets exceeding a specified threshold are required to formulate recovery and resolution plans.
ASIC Extends Transitional Relief for Foreign Financial Services Firms. ASIC is extending transitional relief provided under its new regulatory framework for foreign firms pending the outcome of the government’s announced reforms.
CBIRC Finalises Corporate Governance Guidelines for Banks, Insurers. Directors are required to treat shareholders fairly and guarantee their rights, demonstrate high standards of professional ethics, and protect the rights and interests of stakeholders.
BlackRock Wins Approval to Launch China Fund Business. BlackRock is the first foreign asset manager to win approval to launch a wholly-owned mutual fund business in China.
Thailand SEC Streamlines Process for Mutual Fund Approvals. Asset managers can start submitting applications for approval to establish a new mutual fund using a new online system from 1 June.
The question remains whether the designation of bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender by El Salvador has mechanical implications for its treatment in larger economies under tax law, banking and financial regulations, and other areas, analysts at JPMorgan said in a note. El Salvador’s decision to make bitcoin legal tender is an “interesting experiment” with a speculative asset that does not pass the test for being a reliable means of payment, according to Benoit Coeure, head of the Innovation Hub at the Bank for International Settlements.
Jack Dorsey has hinted that it is “only a matter of time” until the social network sees a Lightning Network integration.
Brave Software announced that they are launching a new browser-integrated content stream called Brave.
New York failed to pass a measure that would put a hold on new large-scale Bitcoin mining operations.
The recently announced Bitcoin Mining Council, has been officially launched.
KEPCO will start auditing companies it suspects of illegally using cut-price electricity to mine crypto.
Texas state-chartered banks may provide customers with virtual currency custody services, as long as they are able to manage the risks while complying with the law.
WazirX has received a show cause notice from the Enforcement Directorate for breaching the Foreign Exchange Management Act through crypto transactions worth more than Rs 2,790.74 crore.
Jesse Powell is having second thoughts about their direct listing after seeing how rival exchange Coinbase performed after their listing this past April, he told Fortune.
Copper said it has closed a USD 50m Series B funding round.
Circulor has raised USD 14m in a Series A funding round led by venture fund The Westly Group.
GIC has taken a USD 70m stake in fintech and digital asset company BC Group.
Polygon (MATIC) is partnering with the project behind decentralized exchange (DEX) on the same network, 0x (ZRX).
Boson Protocol said it has signed an unspecified “six-figure” deal to purchase a plot of land in Decentraland (MANA).
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said they might be launching their own digital currency (CBDC) pilot project by the end of 2021.
The regime of the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused the opposition leader of providing gangland leaders with secret crypto funding.
BCBS Consults on Prudential Treatment of Cryptoasset Exposures. Bitcoin and other “Group 2 cryptoassets” will be subject to a 1250% risk weight to avoid exposing bank depositors and creditors to a loss.
French, Swiss Central banks Partner to Test Wholesale CBDC. Project Jura will investigate the potential benefits and challenges of wCBDC in settling cross-border payments.
Update to Green Bond Principles Prioritises Transparency, Impact. The new guidance seeks to boost investor confidence with a focus on increased information flows and external verification.
SGX Invites Feedback on Rule Amendments for ‘GIFT Connect’. The proposed amendments seek to clarify the obligations of SGX-DT trading members when accessing GIFT Connect to trade Nifty derivatives.
WEF Publishes ‘Policy-maker Toolkit’ for Decentralised Finance. The report offers a range of policy actions that can be adopted for DeFi, ranging from the introduction of new licence types and imposing prohibitive measures to doing nothing at all.
SFC Suspends GEO Securities Executive for 7.2 Months. GEO’s breaches were attributable to Lun Sheung Nim’s failure to discharge his duties as a responsible officer and member of the senior management.
Philippine AMLC Amends AML/CTF Guidelines for DNFBPs. The revisions broaden the scope to include newly covered persons and add a new section on the implementation of the targeted financial sanctions, among other changes.
ASIC Files Australia’s First Criminal Charges Related to Auditing. The charges against EC Audit and its director allege that the audits of Halifax Investment Services were not conducted in accordance with the relevant standards.
The US economy’s rebound from the pandemic is driving the biggest surge in inflation in nearly 13 years, with consumer prices rising in May by 5% from a year ago, the Wall Street Journal reported.
State Street Corporation said it has launched the State Street Digital division that will build on State Street’s current digital capabilities and will expand to include crypto, central bank digital currency, blockchain, and tokenization.
BlockFi said it has launched BlockFi Prime, an integrated crypto trading platform for institutional and other sophisticated investors such as asset managers, family offices, high-net-worth individuals, hedge funds, private equity firms, and corporate entities.
Arrington Capital announced it has launched a new USD 100m fund to support initiatives building on Algorand (ALGO).
Luxor Technology Corporation announced that they have raised USD 5m in a Series A funding round led by crypto financial services firm NYDIG.
Ken Moelis has compared bitcoin (BTC) to the gold rush, saying that he’s watching the space for new business opportunities.
Nexo said it has commissioned US accounting firm Armanino LLP to provide real-time attestations over the company’s custodial holdings.
Square said it has allocated the remaining USD 25m of their USD 100m investment in support of minority and underserved communities, including USD 5m in bitcoin as part of their newly launched Bitcoin Endowment focused on financial education and access.
Kraken said it will no longer offer margin trading for US clients who do not meet certain, publicly unspecified requirements. The company promised to email more details directly to clients. “Kraken is making these changes in light of regulatory guidance about leveraged digital asset transactions,” they said.
Bitstamp said it has onboarded Thomas Hook, former vice president of risk and compliance at payment solution BlueSnap, to be their US Chief Compliance Officer.
Luno said it added one million cryptoasset wallets in 12 weeks, reaching the 8 million wallets milestone.
The BIS Innovation Hub, the Bank of France, and the Swiss National Bank announced their intention to experiment with a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) for cross-border settlement in a partnership with consulting company Accenture.
JBS USA Holdings Inc has paid over USD 11m in BTC in a recent ransomware attack that temporarily shut down their meat processing plants, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Hut 8 Mining Corp. said that the company’s common shares have been approved for listing on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “HUT.”
MAS Sets Out Climate Strategy in Inaugural Sustainability Report. Five asset managers have been appointed to manage S$1.8bn of Singapore’s official foreign reserves under new mandates focused on climate change and the environment.
NGFS Updates Climate Scenarios With More Data. If the transition fails, 13% of global GDP would be at risk by the end of the century, even before accounting for severe weather events.
IMF Reaffirms Hong Kong Stability, Identifies Pockets of Risk. The IMF recommends enhancing monitoring of lending to Mainland China, increasing oversight over banking groups, and regulating mortgage lending by non-banks.
HKMA Announces New Fintech Development Strategy. The strategy seeks the comprehensive adoption of technology in the financial sector by 2025 through a focus on five key areas.
Australia to Introduce Regulatory Reforms for FMIs. A new crisis management regime will allow the RBA to manage a failure at a domestic clearing and settlement facility, supported by a AUD 5 billion standing facility.
FSC Korea Grants Toss Bank Final Approval to Operate as Digital Bank. With the final approval, Toss Bank will officially launch as early as September, making it the third internet-only bank in the country.
BSP Issues Two New Digital Bank Licences. The BSP has now granted three digital bank licences to date, two of which are conversions from other types of banking licences.
CSRC Grants Securities License to DBS Joint Venture. DBS Securities China, 51 percent owned by DBS Bank, has official commenced business operations under a new securities licence.
CBIRC Fines Four Banks for Property Lending Breaches. Postal Savings Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, China Guangfa Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank were fined a combined CNY 5.3 million.
Taiwan FSC Fines Mega Bank $10mn for Fake Mortgages. Mega Bank failed to detect over 28 mortgages applications that were made by dummy accounts due to poor internal controls.
Interactive Brokers Group plans to begin offering crypto trading through its brokerage by the end of the summer.
Victory Capital Holdings said that its wholly-owned investment adviser, Victory Capital Management, has established exclusive agreements with both Nasdaq and crypto-focused asset manager Hashdex in advance of plans to enter the cryptocurrency market.
Circle said it has launched Yield product built on USDC, available for select customers via an Early Access Program.
BlockFi is in talks to raise more funds just three months after its previous funding round closed.
Keywords searches for online trading platforms including Binance, OKEx, and Huobi on popular Chinese internet services such as Baidu, Sogo, Zhihu, or Weibo are yielding no results due to possible censorship.
Gemini said it has acquired crypto custody startup Shard X.
Kraken, Bitfinex, and KuCoin are reportedly scouting the Indian crypto market in order to expand there.
“Not only do I think that unlicensed DeFi markets for derivative instruments are a bad idea, I also do not see how they are legal under the [Commodity Exchange Act],” US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Dan Berkovitz said during the Asset Management Derivatives Forum 2021 this week.
Kusama (KSM) announced Parachain Slot Auctions, following the launch of the first parachain Shell two weeks ago, and its update to Statemine last week – equivalent of the Polkadot’s Statemint common-good parachain.
RippleX has proposed introducing Federated Sidechains for the XRP Ledger (XRPL).
PolygonScan has been launched. It is based on the Etherscan explorer for Ethereum.
Enjin (ENJ) said it has partnered with Health Hero, a digital health engagement company, to develop Go! By Health Hero, a new health monitoring and engagement app that introduces the concept of Well-being Non-Fungible Tokens, or W-NFTs, they said in an announcement.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said she has secured a court order that continues a mandated pause on the illegal and fraudulent operations of the crypto trading platform Coinseed and puts in place a receiver to ensure the protection of investors’ money going forward.
More than 800 people were arrested in the “biggest” crypto-related law enforcement operation to date, led by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Dutch National Police (Politie), and the Swedish Police Authority (Polisen), in cooperation with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and 16 other countries.
Culture & Conduct Risk: Singapore Sets the Pace for Peers. Among global peers, Singapore is setting the pace for effective governance of culture and conduct risks, say Starling’s Stephen Scott and Mark Cooke.
BCBS to Consult on Capital Rules for Banks’ Crypto Exposures. The proposed consultation builds on an earlier paper which outlined an approach that would subject direct crypto exposures to full deductions from CET1 capital.
China Steps Closer to Law to Protect Against US Sanctions. A second draft of legislation aimed at countering US sanctions has reportedly been filed and is expected to be voted on soon.
CFTC Subcommittee Proposes Switch to SOFR for Interdealer Swaps. The ARRC said the change, proposed for 26 July, will allow it to formally recommend forward-looking SOFR term rates published by CME Group.
SFC Raises Supervisory Focus on Fund Manager Resilience. The SFC is on the lookout for funds with outsized and concentrated bets to prevent an Archegos-type event in Hong Kong.
APRA Proposes Phased Approach to New Credit Risk Reporting Standard. An interim and simplified reporting standard will apply while ADIs develop their capabilities for delivering the full suite of credit risk data collected by ARS 220.0.
TNFD Framework to Build Capacity for Nature-Related Data. Like the TCFD, the TNFD reporting framework is expected to be incorporated into disclosure standards and written into national law by governments.
HKEX, FRC to Strengthen Collaboration on Financial Reporting Quality. A new MOU establishes a collaborative framework which will ultimately provide better investor protection through high quality financial reporting.
US DOJ Recovers $2.3mn of Ransom Paid to Colonial Pipeline Hackers. Investigators were able to track multiple transfers of bitcoin by reviewing the Bitcoin public ledger, and subsequently seized 63.7 bitcoins.
Philippine FSCC Identifies Leverage as Key Downside Risk. Cross-border effects are creating a layer of risks on top of scars that Covid has already inflicted on the domestic economy, the FSCC says.
“So one of the things we’d like to see out of the G7 is the start of an action plan that covers a number of critical areas,” which includes “how to deal with the cryptocurrency challenge,” which lies “at the core” of how ransomware transactions are played out, Jake Sullivan, US President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor, said during a press briefing yesterday.
The Internal Revenue Service needs more authority from Congress to regulate the cryptocurrency industry and require more reporting on its users, Bloomberg reported, citing Commissioner Charles Rettig.
Bottlepay said that, today, it is rolling out across Europe, allowing users across the continent to make cross-border payments using euros and bitcoin (BTC).
A four-bedroom penthouse on Miami Beach sold for USD 22.5m, paid for entirely in cryptocurrency.
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) claims that KuCoin is “accountable for disregarding Ontario securities law.”
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has announced more research into both retail and wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
MicroStrategy has boosted the size of a junk-bond sale to fund the purchase of more BTC by USD 100m, now targeting USD 500m.
Blockdaemon said it has closed USD 28m in its Series A funding round.
Tim Wu, one of US President Joe Biden’s technology advisers and anti-trust experts, reportedly holds USD 1m – USD 5m in BTC.
Revolut said it has added support for dogecoin (DOGE) to their app, as part of their new crypto launching program called Token Tuesdays.
BlockTower Capital has completed the purchase of rival fund Gamma Point Capital, although the terms remain undisclosed.
A non-fungible token (NFT) campaign launched by Binance will be showcasing 100 creators of the assets from all around the world.
Amazon is looking for a Blockchain Head of Product for their Amazon Managed Blockchain (AMB) service.
Hunter Merghart said he’s leaving this position to join early-stage crypto fund Castle Island Ventures.
G7 Backs – but Looks Beyond – Mandatory Climate Disclosures. TCFD, IASB frameworks endorsed; communique also calls for progress on impact, nature-based and beneficial ownership reporting.
G7 Leaders Pledge to Develop Common Principles for CBDCs. CBDCs should operate within appropriate privacy frameworks and minimise spillovers, the G7 Finance Ministers said in a communique.
Standard-Setters Launch Plan to Improve Global Audit Quality. Implementation of the plan will take three years and result in overall improvements to the international audit-related standard-setting system.
European Commission Proposes European Digital Identity Regulation. To expedite the initiative, the European Commission has issued a recommendation for member states to establish a common toolbox by September 2022.
PBOC Accepts Applications to Establish Financial Holding Companies. China CITIC Limited and China Everbright Group have become the first to apply for approval to establish financial holding companies.
Japan FSA Sets Hard Deadline for Full AML/CFT Compliance. The FSA has directed FIs to formulate a plan that ensures full compliance with its AML/CFT guidelines by March 2024.
AUSTRAC Publishes Guidance on Detecting Cuckoo Smurfing. The guidance offers indicators to help financial services firms identify and report suspicious transactions related to cuckoo smurfing.
AUSTRAC Launches Formal Probe into NAB Over AML Breaches. AUSTRAC said it is not considering civil penalty proceedings at this stage, a decision made based on the work undertaken by NAB to date.
AUSTRAC Launches Fresh Probes into Australian Casinos. AUSTRAC has launched enforcement investigations into Crown Perth, The Star Sydney and SkyCity Adeliade over their dealings with high-risk customers and PEPs.
FSC Korea Meets Crypto Exchanges Over Regulatory Reforms. The meeting focused on the operational difficulties faced by firms as they try to meet new regulatory requirements by a 24 September deadline.
Ruffer Investment Company made more than USD 1.1bn from investing in bitcoin (BTC) in November last year.
Solana (SOL) is reportedly raising USD 300m – USD 450m to scale up their development.
Olympia Trust Company said it has given up on their intention to offer a BTC custody system that was developed by custodian KNØX Industries.
21Shares announced that its Bitcoin ETP (ABTC) will become available on Aquis Exchange this summer.
Fiserv said it will enable its consumers to share data on their cryptoasset holdings with their fintech apps and service providers, “enhancing consumers’ financial management and control as cryptoasset investing reaches the mainstream.”
ForUsAll announced the introduction of the Alt 401(k), its retirement investment platform that allows employers to provide alternative investment options within 401(k) plans.
The Basel Committee said it agreed to hold a public consultation to seek the views of external stakeholders on the design of prudential treatment of banks’ exposures to cryptoassets.
Bitfinex and Hodl Hodl have announced that Bitfinex will invest in the peer-to-peer BTC trading and lending platform.
In May, total crypto derivatives trading volume increased by 40%, to USD 5.5trn, as investors reacted to higher volatility, per CryptoCompare data.
Bitfinex said they have added SOL as collateral on Bitfinex Borrow. Bitfinex customers will be able to obtain loans of up to 70% of the value of their SOL holdings in USD and tether (USDT).
Speaking to Fox, former US President Donald Trump said that “the currency of this world should be the dollar,” while BTC “takes the edge off of the dollar and the importance of the dollar” and BTC “just seems like a scam.”
An open-source, solar-powered Bitcoin mining facility is opening in the US, thanks to a partnership between Blockstream and Square.
Canaan said it has established its first overseas after-sales service center in Kazakhstan.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he has signed a law that will help expand the blockchain industry in this state.
Square is considering developing its own hardware wallet for BTC, the company’s CEO Jack Dorsey said.
The Group of Seven (G7) said they “will work towards common principles” of issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and “publish conclusions later in the year.”
G7 Finance Ministers Agree on 15pc Global Minimum Tax Rate. The global minimum tax will end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation and ensure fairness for the middle class and working people, Janet Yellen said.
US DOJ Forms Ransomware and Digital Extortion Task Force. The task force will be used to coordinate efforts to combat ransomware attacks, which will now be treated with the severity of terrorism threats.
MAS Issues Guidance on Managing Risks of Cloud Services. In a new advisory, MAS highlights the key risks and control measures FIs should consider before adopting public cloud services.
Hong Kong’s Proposed Licensing Regime for VASPs. Dechert partner Michael Wong looks at the potential impact of Hong Kong’s newly proposed licensing regime for virtual asset service providers.
Japan to Remove Firewall Between Banking, Securities Operations. The FSA is reportedly working on rule changes that would allow banks and securities firms within the same group to share customer data.
RBA to Modernise Identity, Access Management Capabilities. The RBA has issued a tender request inviting firms to supply it technology to enhance its identity and access management capabilities.
HKIFA Warns Against Concealing Company Director Information. The government proposal to stop requiring companies to reveal certain information about directors will hinder fund managers’ ability to conduct due diligence.
Hong Kong: Appeals Tribunal Overturns Ban Against UBS Banker. The SFAT concluded that the former UBS banker cannot be held personally responsible for the failings of the China Metal Recycling transaction team.
Five Parties Identified as Seeking Malaysia Digital Bank Licence. A consortium involving Pertama Digital, Crowdo and INFOPRO is applying for a licence. Axiata Group and RHB Bank are jointly applying for another.
APRA Publishes New Guide on Using New Data Collection Platform. The guide provides comprehensive information to assist users in accessing, navigating and using APRA Connect.
TSM is changing its name to TSM FTX — and getting paid USD 210m over 10 years in the process. Popular crypto derivatives exchange FTX, led by Sam Bankman-Fried, will foot the bill.
A new Olympic-themed series of non-fungible tokens (NFT) is launching on June 17, 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced.
In the US, nonfarm payrolls increased by 559,000 jobs last month, Reuters reported, adding that economists polled by this news agency had forecast 650,000 jobs created in May. The unemployment rate fell to 5.8% from 6.1% in April.
India’s central bank is not changing its opinion on cryptocurrencies, stating that they have “major concerns” regarding this asset class.
Some 50 crypto asset companies may be forced to close due to non-compliance with the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) anti-money laundering rules.
Unchained Capital said it has raised USD 25m in a Series A funding round led by financial services firm NYDIG and its parent company Stone Ridge Holdings Group.
Institutional clients will have access to ethereum (ETH)-backed USD loans thanks to a partnership between digital asset platform Anchorage Digital and commercial bank BankProv.
Sphere 3D said it is merging with Bitcoin mining company Gryphon Digital Mining to help further Gryphon’s goal of using 100% renewable energy.
Blockchain.com said it has relocated their headquarters from New York to Miami. The move will let the team tap into the talent pool of the area and hire 100 full-time employees by the end of this year, with another 200 to follow in 2022.
JPMorgan Chace & Co. now has over 70 open blockchain-related job positions in the US, Europe, and Asia. They include product managers, developers, engineers, researchers, payments-related positions, and more.
Cryptology Asset Group has committed USD 100m to invest globally in crypto-related venture funds over the next two years.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez confirmed that he owns both bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH), and is planning to increase his crypto holdings.
ROK Capital and Solana Foundation have launched a USD 20m fund to develop the Solana (SOL) blockchain ecosystem.
Impossible Finance, a developer of a DeFi incubator, launchpad, and swap platform, said it raised over USD 7m from over 125 institutional and angel investors.
Pontem said it has secured a USD 4.5m investment in a private seed funding round led by Mechanism Capital and Kenetic Capital.
bitFlyer said it has opened access to its BTC-to-Japanese yen pair to traders in the United States.
Argo Blockchain said it mined BTC 166 (USD 6.4m) or “Bitcoin Equivalent” in May, compared to BTC 163 in April.
Paxful announced Paxful Pay, an e-commerce solution that allows businesses worldwide to receive BTC.
TipJar is being retired and a total of USD 12m funds are being moved to the ‘EthDev’ main wallet.
The IOTA (MIOTA) platform has launched the IOTA 2.0 DevNet, the first “fully decentralized” IOTA network without the need of a Coordinator (a node run by the IOTA Foundation for network protection and transaction confirmation), together with the new Digital Assets framework.
UK crypto companies now have until March 31, 2022 to register for the Temporary Registrations Regime (TRR) with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), instead of the previous deadline of July 9, 2021.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen are calling for the investigation of Bitfinex’s parent company iFinex, and 14 other international crypto exchanges.
Steve Wozniak lost his lawsuit against YouTube, which alleged that YouTube helped drive traffic to fraudulent BTC giveaways that used his picture.
Sovryn has announced a virtual conference and hackathon called Sovrynthon.
Matcha is becoming the first DeFi platform to accept fiat natively as a result of a partnership with crypto payments solution MoonPay.
Biden Executive Order Amends, Clarifies China Blacklist. The revised EO is clearer, addresses many of the problem areas in the old EO, and is more enforceable, says Nick Turner at Steptoe & Johnson.
Singapore Seeks to Enhance VCC Fund Structure. The enhancements will expand the types of investors that can use the VCC and ease conversion and redomiciliation processes.
China’s SAFE Awards $10.3bn Worth of New QDII Quotas. The new quotas, awarded to 17 institutions, represent the largest approval by SAFE in the history of the QDII scheme.
HKMA Issues Guidance on Counterparty Credit Risk Framework. The guidance is aimed at facilitating consistent interpretation and application of the capital requirements under the BCR as amended in April.
CBIRC Green-lights Ant Group Consumer Finance Unit. Ant will hold a 50% stake in the new unit, which forms a key part of the restructuring that was ordered to resolve regulatory concerns.
Hong Kong Passes Bill to Increase Stamp Duty on Stock Trades. HKEX has asked market participants to prepare their systems in preparation for the 1 August stamp duty increase.
Vietnam’s Data Privacy Decree: the Tip of the Global Compliance Iceberg. Organisations can leverage lessons from implementing GDPR and other international data laws to address Vietnam’s new Personal Data Protection Act, writes John Berven.
FSC Korea Issues Guidance on Investment Suitability Tests. The guidance sets out how investor suitability and appropriateness tests should be carried out during the sales process.
Korea Designates FSS as Agency to Regulate Virtual Assets. The FSS will oversee the crypto industry, including in relation to AML rules imposed by the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information.
DeFi May Be Subject to Licensing Requirement, Warns Thai SEC. The SEC warned that failure to obtain a licence for the issuance of digital tokens on DeFi platforms could be punishable under the Digital Assets Act.
Addressing Sanctions Risk in Maritime Trade. Banks facilitating transactions involving maritime trade must put in place systems and processes to detect illicit activity that could result in a breach of sanctions regulations.
China to Broaden Scope of AML Law, Raise Penalties. The draft law brings into scope non-bank financial institutions as well as property developers, accounting firms and precious metal dealers.
FSB, IOSCO Issue Statements in Support of Smooth LIBOR Transition. The FSB warns against waiting for the development of forward-looking term RFRs. IOSCO urges market participants to stop issuing new LIBOR products.
PBOC Issues Guidance on USD Loans Ahead of LIBOR Cessation. Guidance was issued on the terms that should be included in new and old contracts referencing USD LIBOR as well as in new contracts referencing SOFR.
APRA Sets Out Timeline for Finalisation of Capital Reforms. The final prudential standards will be released in November, the final prudential practice guides in Q2 2022, and the final version of the interim reporting standards in Q3 2022.
SFC, HKMA Instructs Regulated Firms to Promote Vaccinations. The SFC says vaccinations are a critical part of operational risk management. The HKMA is requiring banks to submit a list of unvaccinated staff.
Japan Considers Allowing SPAC Listings – Report. Japan may allow SPAC listings on its markets as part of its growth strategy as early as next year.
IHS Markit Starts Publishing New Credit-sensitive Rates. The new rates are aimed at helping to facilitate the transition away from LIBOR for firms that want a term rate with credit sensitivity.
Australia Considers Additional Rules for Litigation Funders. The government will consider capping fees and the introduction of a minimum rate of return for class action members.
Philippines: 26 Groups Jointly Call for Easing of Bank Secrecy Law. The groups say the Philippines lags the world on bank secrecy and allows politicians and other government officials to hide unexplained wealth.
Beginning August 3, Google advertisers offering crypto exchanges and wallets targeting the United States may advertise those products and services when they meet several requirements and are certified by Google, the company said in its updated policy.
Phillips will accept bitcoin (BTC) or ethereum (ETH) for Banksy’s “Laugh now Panel A,” Asia Chairman Jonathan Crockett told Bloomberg.
Perk Labs has partnered with crypto payment service BitPay to accept cryptocurrencies as payment.
Bio Mercados chain of supermarkets has begun accepting crypto pay in-store nationwide after striking a partnership with the dash (DASH)-token affiliated Dashpay platform and the crypto exchange platform Cryptobuyer, as well as the latter’s crypto pay partner, the Caracas-based MegaSoft.
Standard Chartered has partnered with BC Group to launch a digital asset brokerage and exchange platform for institutional and corporate clients in the UK and Europe.
Panther Protocol said it has raised USD 8m in a private sale in which 140 investors participated.
Valour Structured Products has launched its Polkadot (DOT) exchange-traded product (ETP) on the Nordic Growth Market (NGM) stock exchange.
Borderless Capital is announcing the creation of the USD 25m Borderless.Miami fund, which will use the millions to seed startups using the Algorand (ALGO) blockchain.
Luno might be looking to enter the Southeastern Asian market, potentially through Indonesia.
Kraken is bringing its mobile app to the US (except New York and Washington state) that will help their clients trade more than 50 cryptoassets from their mobile phones.
Consumers and businesses in countries that don’t have their own digital currency could end up being reliant on a small number of dominant payment-service providers, including foreign tech giants, the European Central Bank said in a report today.
Canaan reported a total net revenue of USD 61.5m in the first quarter of this year, slightly lower than the USD 68.3m of Q1 2020, but significantly higher than the USD 38.2m of Q4 2020.
En+ Group said in an email that they have issued a million International Renewable Energy (I-REC) certificates to colocation services provider BitRiver.
US President Joe Biden has launched “a rapid strategic review to address the increased threat of ransomware to include four lines of effort: one, distribution of ransomware infrastructure and actors working closely with the private sector; two, building an international coalition to hold countries who harbor ransom actors accountable; expanding cryptocurrency analysis to find and pursue criminal transaction; and reviewing the USG’s ransomware policies,” Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
The Russian Central Bank has included several crypto players on its updated “illegal activities” blacklist. The 1,820 organization-strong list, the bank claims, is made up of members it suspects of conducting “pyramid scheme”-like and other irregular operations, and includes a number of possible crypto scams.
The Centre for Security Studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in cooperation with the Czech AML Academy, is set to hold the country’s first specialized training on crypto misuse and fraud for the representatives from security and judicial institutions.
Gazprom Neft is set to expand the scope of its blockchain-powered aviation fuel platform.
BNY Mellon is reported to be creating a new Dublin-based unit that will offer digital assets to their clients as part of their Digital Innovation Hub.
Tiger Brokers and Futu intend to expand into crypto trading outside mainland China in order to “make investing more efficient and enjoyable for investors.”
Makara announced the launch of its service and mobile app in the App Store.
WisdomTree has launched its physically-backed bitcoin and ethereum ETPs on Euronext exchanges in Paris and Amsterdam.
Governor of Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, said that cryptoassets are unlikely to dodge regulatory oversight.
Activities related to decentralized finance (DeFi) projects which involve digital coin issuance may require a license from the regulator in the near future, stated the first official announcement on DeFi” by the Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission..
South Korea’s main opposition party has accused the government of fostering “anarchy” in the crypto sector.
Marathon Digital Holdings said that its mining pool, MaraPool, will no longer censor transactions.
Creditors who lost their funds in the Mt Gox crash in 2014 can now vote on the Draft Rehabilitation Plan on the online rehabilitation claim filing system.
Boerse Stuttgart said it has launched a crypto trading app for both iOS and Android systems.
BitMEX has announced they’ve extended the grant for Bitcoin developer Calvin Kim until 2022, giving him a total of USD 150,000 in a partnership with the Human Rights Foundation.
OIO Holdings said it has acquired Asia’s “second-largest” staking business Moonstake.
More “high-yield” alleged crypto scams have been busted in South Korea, with some operators reportedly claiming to offer access to a secret, as-yet-unlisted “Amazon” and “Alibaba” token.
Five Japanese crypto and blockchain firms have formed a non-fungible token (NFT)-themed partnership. The companies – the yen-pegged stablecoin operator JPYC, the NFT and app consultancy SmartApp and the blockchain gaming firms CryptoGames, LiberalChain and double jump.Tokyo – stated they would form a joint initiative that would help Japanese content creators.
Major League Baseball announced a long-term agreement with digital collectible company Candy Digital — headlined by a Lou Gehrig NFT that will be released on July 4.
Why Asia Needs to Know About a German Supply Chain Law. A more evidence-driven approach to supply chain due diligence is needed as human rights and environmental risk come into focus, writes Elke Biechele.
FSB Proposes Global Targets for Enhancing Cross-border Payments. The FSB proposes quantitative targets for improving cost, speed, transparency and access for cross-border wholesale payments, retail payments and remittances.
Interpol Concludes APAC Operation Targeting Online Financial Crime. The six-month operation led to 585 arrests, more than 1,600 bank account freezes, and the interception of USD 83 million in illicit funds.
PBOC Explores New Financial Data Sharing Ecosystem. The so-called “data-sharing hub” will allow data sharing between trusted institutions in a way that ensures that the source data can be used but not seen or moved.
Hong Kong, Shanghai Announce First ETF Cross-Listings. The ETF cross-listing mechanism provides Chinese investors another avenue to access the Hong Kong market besides Stock Connect.
HKMA Considers Regulating Mortgage Lending by Nonbanks. Non-bank institutions such as finance companies and property developers have managed to circumvent the HKMA’s mortgage lending limits.
CSRC Implements ‘Whitelist’ System for Securities Sector. The 29 firms that have entered the “white list” will receive lower levels of supervisory scrutiny and be allowed greater flexibility in their business processes.
ASIC Outlines Expectations on Activist Short Selling. Activist short selling can have a positive impact on market integrity, however it can also unduly distort the price of a target entity’s securities, ASIC says.
DBS Issues First STO on New Digital Exchange. The issuance paves the way for other issuers to access the capital markets through STO issuances as asset tokenisation turns mainstream, DBS says.
2018 Circular Prohibiting Crypto Dealings Not Valid, RBI Clarifies. The RBI has clarified that its 2018 circular prohibiting cryptocurrency dealings is no longer valid, and should not be cited or quoted from.
G7 to Agree Global Corporate Tax at July Meeting – Report. A G7 draft communique said a global minimum corporate tax will be agreed to help alleviate the strain on public finances.
CCP12 Calls for Global Coordination on Basel III Timelines. Divergences of local implementation timelines could have unintended knock-on effects on certain bank and bank-affiliated clearing members.
PBOC Tightens FX Market Liquidity to Curb Speculation. The PBOC has raised the RRR for foreign currency deposits for the first time in 14 years and asked enterprise and FIs not to engage in FX speculation.
MAS Issues Consultation Response on Credit Reporting Regulations. Licensed credit bureaus will be required to establish a Code of Conduct and comply with requirements on technology risk management and cyber security.
APRA Targets Risk Culture in Superannuation Sector. APRA is piloting a risk culture survey with plans to roll it out to a number of superannuation entities in 2022.
HKEX Waives Fees on Fixed Income & Money Market ETFs. Trading tariffs and stock settlement fees have been waived for 29 fixed income and money market ETF trading counters.
DBS, StanChart Execute First SORA Interbank Option Trade. The interbank option trade was executed to manage market risk arising from a SORA interest rate option, which was also an industry first.
Global Banks Form Steel Decarbonisation Working Group. Six banks will define common standards of action for steel sector decarbonisation through a collective climate-aligned finance agreement.
Capital Markets Workforce Capped as Malaysia Enters Lockdown. The banking, insurance, takaful and capital markets sectors will operate at 60 percent capacity during a 2-week lockdown starting 1 June.
RBNZ Publishes Results of Data Breach Review by KPMG. KPMG found that the use of file-sharing app Accellion FTA went beyond the acceptable use specified in the RBNZ’s own guidelines.
The Bitcoin (BTC) Taproot upgrade might lock in on the mainnet in less than two weeks, when the next BTC mining difficulty adjustment is estimated to happen, which would make the Speedy Trial activation method “an overwhelming success.”
Finance ministers from G7 will vow this week to support their economies as they emerge from the pandemic and reach an “ambitious” deal on a minimum global corporate tax in July.
Ripple has won another battle in its war with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as the court has ruled to deny the regulator’s motion to compel Ripple to produce memos discussing XRP sales with the blockchain company’s lawyers.
A lawsuit filed on May 25 by employees of an Israeli venture capital fund alleges that three of Israel’s largest initial coin offerings (ICOs) of 2017 and 2018 were outright scams.
Five individuals who had helped the infamous Bitconnect exchange raise more than USD 2bn through their promotional YouTube videos were sued by the SEC, Bloomberg.
The central Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a memo today stating that, while certain banks and regulated entities have cautioned their customers against dealing in virtual currencies by making a reference to the RBI circular dated April 2018, such references “are not in order as this circular was set aside” by the Supreme Court in 2020, meaning it is “no longer valid from the date of the Supreme Court. judgment, and therefore cannot be cited or quoted from.”
Circle said it has completed a funding round worth USD 440m that will fuel its further expansion.
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is in the process of raising its third crypto fund since 2018 to the tune of USD 2bn.
DBS said it has priced an SGD 15m (USD 11m) digital bond, marking DBS Digital Exchanges first security token offering (STO).
Belt Finance suffered a flash loan attack on Saturday that resulted in a loss of more than USD 6.23m in binance USD (BUSD).
Coincheck said it aims to launch the country’s first initial exchange offering (IEO) this summer.
Bybit has been issued a formal warning letter from the Japan Financial Services Agency.
The Bitcoin sign joined the famous Indianapolis 500 race this past weekend as a part of a sponsorship deal with Ed Carpenter Racing. Ed Carpenter finished fifth, 1.24 seconds behind the winner, according to the race results.
Alex Lim
Alex Lim is a certified IT Technical Support Architect with over 15 years of experience in designing, implementing, and troubleshooting complex IT systems and networks. He has worked for leading IT companies, such as Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco, providing technical support and solutions to clients across various industries and sectors. Alex has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the National University of Singapore and a master’s degree in information security from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also the author of several best-selling books on IT technical support, such as The IT Technical Support Handbook and Troubleshooting IT Systems and Networks. Alex lives in Bandar, Johore, Malaysia with his wife and two chilrdren. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Website | Twitter | Facebook
