Culture & Conduct Risk: The Normalization of Deviance. Many still believe that misconduct can be discovered only after it occurs: a ‘detect and correct’ mindset. Starling’s Stephen Scott says a ‘predict and prevent’ approach is starting to emerge.
Singapore Offers Guidance on Converting Legacy SOR Contracts. Guidance is offered on wholesale markets, corporate loans, derivatives, bonds and retail loans. A public education campaign will start in September 2021.
HKMA Updates Guidance on Bank Remuneration Systems. Banks are expected to review their remuneration systems and adopt all necessary changes by 1 January 2022, the HKMA says.
Independent Report Finds Risk Control Failures at Credit Suisse. The report indicates that the risks were known, but responsible parties in the first and second lines simply failed to act.
Australia: Industry Body Seeks Greater Clarity on Crypto Regulation. Blockchain Australia has asked for safe harbour to be provided to ensure regulatory action will not be taken against crypto businesses where the law is unclear.
China Will Still Allow IPOs in the US, CSRC Tells Brokers. Regulators will continue to allow VIE structures, recognising that they serve as a vital way for companies to attract foreign capital.
ASX to Replace Standard Definitions for Interest Rate Swaps. From 4 October, all OTC interest rate derivatives contracts will be treated as if they incorporated the new 2021 ISDA Definitions.
Korea FSC Expands Open Banking Services to Fintechs. Users will be able to access information about their prepaid deposit accounts from mobile applications of any FI offering open banking.
NZ FMA Issues Cyber Resilience Guidance for Financial Advisers. Under New Zealand’s new financial advice regime, many individuals and entities have not previously been subject to compliance obligations for cybersecurity.
ASIC Files Suit Against AMP Over Superannuation Fees. AMP companies are said to have charged advice fees to more than 1,500 customers despite being notified they were no longer able to access the relevant advice.
Crypto platform Choice and Compass Mining, a marketplace for Bitcoin (BTC) miners, said that their US-based clients can now mine bitcoins directly to their individual retirement accounts (IRAs) “without ever triggering a taxable event.”
Holding company Greenidge Generation Holdings said it will be investing profits from its carbon-neutral Bitcoin mining operation in Upstate New York to expedite the closure of an existing, forty-year-old coal ash landfill in the Finger Lakes region and create a new solar farm at the site.
Trading app Robinhood has announced it has secured a USD 32bn valuation via its initial public offering (IPO) and is set to debut on the Nasdaq exchange today, July 29.
Venture capital company Binance Labs announced a strategic investment in non-fungible token (NFT) creative and production company NFKings.
Play-to-earn metaverse Yield Guild Games has raised USD 12.5m through its token sale, in which the entire allocation was sold in 31 seconds, the team announced.
Decentralized livestreaming platform Livepeer (LPT) has raised USD 20m in a Series B funding round led by investment company DCG, according to VentureBeat.
Crypto exchange platform CoinDCX is in discussions to close a new financing round of USD 100m – USD 120m, The Economic Times reported, citing undisclosed sources.
Animoca Brands said it has acquired 100% of indie game developer Blowfish Studios for an upfront consideration of USD 6.6m plus payments of up to USD 19.2m conditional on certain employment and performance targets.
Crypto platform OKCoin has announced that it has secured “In Principle” approval from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) and formal registration from the Netherlands Central Bank (DNB).
Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) has accused 12 crypto exchanges of operating illegally, El Economista reported.
The cryptoasset exchange app FTX: Blockfolio has announced it has rebranded to FTX, with the name change applying automatically across the board.
Crypto platform BlockFi stated that the New Jersey Bureau of Securities has postponed their order to cease opening new interest-bearing accounts (BIA) until September 2, from its previous deadline of July 22.
Cryptocurrencies should be written into a major Japan-US trade agreement from 2019, by adding a separate annex to the existing agreement, or redefine the interpretation of that agreement to include regulation of cryptocurrency, stated think tank RAND’s senior policy analyst Sale Lilly and senior political scientist Scott Harold.
A South Korean crypto trader was robbed of more than HKD 3m (USD 128,500) in cash at knifepoint when he went to meet a BTC seller in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post reported.
Major Bitcoin miner Genesis Digital Assets has announced a USD 125m round of equity funding to purchase equipment and build new data centers in the United States “and nordic region.”
BTC rewards company Lolli said it has closed a USD 10m Series A financing round led by Acrew Capital.
Fintech product Eco has announced a USD 60m fundraising round led by investment firms Activant Capital and L Catterton and joined by existing investors like a16z Crypto.
Crypto mining firm Stronghold Mining is seeking to raise USD 100m in an initial public offering (IPO), according to regulatory documents.
“Multichain relayer infrastructure network” Biconomy said that it has raised USD 9m in a private funding round led by investment firms DACM and Mechanism Capital.
Trading app Robinhood is working on a new feature that will help protect users from crypto price volatility, Bloomberg reported.
Binance is lowering their daily withdrawal limits from BTC 2 to BTC 0.06 (c. USD 2,000) for accounts that have only passed their Basic account verification, CEO Changpeng Zhao said.
The Malta Office of the Commissioner confirmed it has found the accounts filed by the Binance Blockchain Charity Foundation for the years 2018, 2019, and 2020, originally submitted in September 2020, according to Times of Malta.
Robinhood is facing an investigation over CEO Vlad Tenev’s failure to register with the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), per a regulatory filing.
Nigerian central bank governor said that the country is planning to launch its own digital currency (CBDC), called the “e-naira”, in October, per Reuters.
Eesti Pank, the Estonian central bank, said it carried out a research project into the technical possibilities for a digital euro alongside the European Central Bank and seven other central banks of the euro area.
SEBA Bank, a Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) licenced Swiss Bank, has announced it has appointed Sam Lin as their Asia CEO.
BIS, MAS Set Out Blueprint for Cross-border Payments. BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre and MAS have published a blueprint that could make real-time cross-border payments a reality in the next two to four years.
FRTB May Constrain Growth of Carbon Trading Market. ISDA suggests in a new paper that the risk weight for carbon certificates under FRTB should be reduced and the tenor correlation parameter should be increased.
MAS Ends Dividend Cap for Banks, Finance Companies. Local banks and finance companies should still exercise continued prudence in their discretionary distributions, and prioritise support to customers.
Dealers Shift Default Rate for USD Linear Swaps to SOFR. Market observers reported a sharp increase in SOFR swaps transacted, a trend said to be “clear and pronounced”.
FSC Finds VASP Deposit Accounts Linked to Fraudulent Activity. Crypto exchanges in Korea are required to use bank accounts under their real names. Third party bank accounts are not allowed.
BOJ to Pursue ‘Learning-by-doing’ Approach to Climate Risk. The BOJ will offer zero-interest funds to FIs making loans and investments to tackle climate change, study the programme’s impacts, and make adjustments when necessary.
Australia: Mutual Banks Face “Avalanche” of Regulatory Change. A new benchmarking report from GRC Solutions highlights the challenges incoming regulatory requirements are presenting to the mutual banking sector.
RBI Opens RTGS, NEFT to Non-bank Payment System Providers. Prepaid payment instruments, white label ATM operators and card networks can now connect to the RTGS and NEFT systems.
CSRC Approves China Telecom Shanghai IPO Following US Ban. China’s flow of IPOs to the US is expected to ease, with companies instead choosing to list in Shanghai, Shenzhen, or Hong Kong.
ASIC Faces Pushback for Higher Financial Advice Levies. The FPA says the formula ASIC uses to estimate the industry funding levy for financial planners is not equitable or sustainable and must be reviewed immediately.
Centralised Valuation Engine: An Uplift to Compliance & Decision Making. The benefits of a centralised valuation engine for derivatives portfolios have become more apparent for banks amid the pandemic and as the final Basel requirements loom.
UK FCA Finalises Rule Changes for SPAC Listings. The FCA will remove the presumption of suspension at the point when an acquisition target is identified, for SPACs that meet certain criteria.
MAS to Review Liability Framework for Card Scams by Year-end. There were 89 reports of fraudulent card transactions performed with SMS OTPs between September 2020 and February 2021.
Australia Jails Sydney Man for Breaching North Korea Sanctions. The AFP uncovered evidence that the man was generating income for North Korea’s government by facilitating the transfer of various commodities to and from the country.
Singapore’s CTX to Debut Cross-border Trading of China Carbon Credits. Cyberdyne Tech Exchange said its carbon neutrality tokens, or CNTs, would pave the way for carbon credits to be transferred across international borders.
UBS Becomes First Foreign Bank to Offer Family Trust in China. UBS (China) Ltd will provide advisory services to high-net-worth households and offer family trust solutions that integrate wealth preservation and transfer.
Sumitomo Mitsui Seeks Approval to Launch China Brokerage. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and SMBC Nikko Securities filed a joint application with the CSRC on Tuesday.
Eftpos Explores Better Access to Electronic Payments by Fintechs. A new committee has been formed with FinTech Australia to facilitate discussion on enhancing fintech firms’ access to the eftpos network.
ASIC Appeals Dismissal of Cigno, BHF Solutions Case. ASIC’s appeal seeks judicial clarification on the operation of key obligations under the National Credit Act and National Credit Code.
SEBI Requires Segregation, Monitoring of Collateral at Client Level. The framework seeks to address previous instances of brokers defaulting and misusing clients’ securities and funds.
Binance wants to set up regional headquarters and be recognized by local regulators as a financial institution, as the exchange would be breaking from its earlier decentralized model.
Heavily-backed, yet-to-be-launched crypto exchange Bullish has announced a 7-week, private pilot program with simulated crypto assets and paper money that will enable them to seek feedback and streamline their user experience before launch.
The operators of crypto exchanges Huobi and OKCoin are closing their respective subsidiaries in Beijing amid China’s crypto crackdown, according to the South China Morning Post.
Monero (XMR) developers warned that “A rather significant bug has been spotted in Monero’s decoy selection algorithm that may impact your transaction’s privacy.”
Mastercard launched a new Start Path global startup engagement program dedicated to supporting fast-growing digital assets, blockchain and cryptocurrency companies.
Digital cash project Dash (DASH) has announced the launch of DashDirect, a retail app that allows DASH to be spent at a variety of chains with over 155,000 merchant in-store locations and more than 125 online retailers within the United States.
AS Roma (ASR), an Italian professional football club, and Zytara Labs, a subsidiary of fintech Zytara Inc., said they have signed a USD 42m, three-year exclusive product partnership agreement, with support from the DigitalBits Foundation.
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) said it led a USD 20m Series A investment round in Valora, a mobile-first crypto wallet.
Harvey Finkelstein, the president of e-commerce platform Shopify, announced that his company is now allowing merchants on its platform to sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) directly to their customers.
The Russian Hermitage museum will sell virtual copies of five of its most famous masterpieces in August on the Binance NFT marketplace, the exchange said.
Yahoo Japan has announced a partnership with telecommunications company LINE Corporation through its LVC Corporation subsidiary to launch a line of NFTs, based on LINE’s proprietary blockchain.
Splinterlands, an NFT-based trading card game, said it has completed a private sale for the upcoming Splintershards (SPS) token, netting USD 3.6m.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) aggregator Yearn Finance (YFI)’s founder, Andre Cronje, has introduced the concept of Fixed Forex, a way to bring foreign exchange mechanisms to the sector.
SFC Calls on Industry to Report Suspected Ramp-and-dump Activity. Ramp-and-dump scams now account for about half of the market manipulation cases being investigated by the SFC. Overseas investors also being targeted.
GFXC Updates FX Global Code to Promote PvP Settlement. The changes place greater importance on the use of PvP settlement where available, and provide guidance on risk reduction where PvP settlement is not in use.
IOSCO Proposes Recommendations for ESG Ratings, Data Providers. IOSCO proposes recommendations to address the risks and challenges associated with products and services from ESG ratings and data providers.
Singapore: “Several” DPT Licences in Final Stages of Review. Of around 170 digital payment token service providers who applied for a licence, 30 applications have been withdrawn after engagement with MAS and two have been rejected.
New Body Formed to Promote Open Standards for Capital Markets. The GLML Foundation is developing general-purpose legal markup language as an open data standard for capital markets.
HKMA Issues Guide for Regtech Adoption in Customer Monitoring. The Guide will help banks assess whether they have the appropriate governance, controls, skills, infrastructure and underlying data to adopt Regtech solutions in ongoing monitoring of customers.
RBNZ, FMA Consult on Implementation of FMI Act. The consultation seeks views on how financial market infrastructures will be identified as systemically important and the proposed approach to developing standards.
Thailand SEC Consults on Securities Law Revisions. The amended Securities and Exchange Act will promote cooperation between financial market regulators including the SEC, BOT and OIC.
RBNZ Drafts Interim Solvency Standard to Account for IFRS 17. The inclusion of risk adjustments in insurance liabilities is expected to increase capital requirements for life insurers.
Australia Consults on Expansion of CDR to Telecom Sector. Telecommunications will be the third sector to be considered for designation after banking and energy, which were designated in 2019 and 2020.
Vlad Tenev, CEO of the popular trading app Robinhood, said that crypto is vital to the app’s future and that a wallet may be in the works, according to the Business Insider.
43% of surveyed Singaporeans said they own some type of cryptocurrency, according to a report by Independent Reserve, an Australia and New Zealand-focused crypto exchange.
6% of surveyed US investors, defined as adults with USD 10,000 or more invested in stocks, bonds or mutual funds, said they own BTC, which is up from 2% in 2018, according to global analytics and advice firm Gallup.
Digital asset investment products saw outflows for the third consecutive week, reaching USD 28m, per Coinshares data.
100x Ventures, the ventures arm of crypto exchange BitMEX and 100x Group (the holding group for HDR Global Trading Limited, owner of BitMEX), has announced “a significant investment” in Cryptense, the company behind crypto trading automation platform Kryll.io.
Crypto asset platform BlockFi is facing scrutiny from regulators in Vermont, making that the fourth state to look into the platform’s business model, according to their website.
The top South Korean financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has claimed it has completed consultations with all of the nation’s leading crypto exchanges – a process that it claims will “expedite the process” of platforms applying for operating permits.
Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Bit Digital and bitcoin-mining-focused blockchain technology company Digihost Technology have entered into a second strategic co-mining agreement.
Crypto yield-earning platform Celsius (CEL) has confirmed its USD 54m investment in carbon-neutral Bitcoin mining company Core Scientific.
The New Jersey pension fund has invested in crypto mining firms in the last quarter: namely, USD 3.66m in Riot Blockchain and USD 3.39m in Marathon Digital Holdings, according to disclosure documents.
Crypto trading platform Bybit said it has made a USD 19.3m contribution to the decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO)-managed treasury BitDAO.
The Brazillian police have seized BRL 172m (USD 33m) amid an investigation into money laundering carried out through crypto exchanges, according to an official statement.
China Names First Targets of Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law. China has sanctioned former US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, 5 other individuals, and a nonprofit organisation.
ISDA to Implement Fallbacks for GBP & USD LIBOR ICE Swap Rates. A consultation on whether ISDA should implement fallbacks for GBP and USD LIBOR ICE Swap Rates received support from a “significant majority” of respondents.
BOJ Sets Out Strategy to Address Climate Change. A measure will be introduced enabling FIs to receive funds from the BOJ against investments or loans made in support of efforts to address climate change.
Shanghai to Test Yuan in Cross-border Financial Products. Shanghai’s Pudong New Area will be able to freely use the yuan in cross-border financial products in a new pilot programme.
Hong Kong Introduces Bill to Boost FRC’s Regulatory Powers. Under the proposed regime, regulatory powers currently vested with the HKICPA will be transferred to the Financial Reporting Council.
SGX Expands Into FX OTC Space with Another Acquisition. SGX is acquiring FX trading platform MaxxTrader, paving the way for it to build an integrated and scalable FX OTC marketplace anchored in Singapore.
Taiwan FSC Fines Taishin Int’l Bank for Oversight Failures. A Taishin customer relationship manager stole TWD 347 million from nine customers over more than a decade by asking them to sign blank transfer forms.
Shenzhen Court Ruling Paves Way for China Bankruptcy Law. A Shenzhen court has reportedly approved a restructuring plan for a businessman requiring him to repay the principal of his loans to creditors.
RBI Working Towards Phased Implementation of CBDC. Like other central banks, the RBI has been exploring a CBDC and is now examining use cases which could be implemented with little or no disruption.
Jack Dorsey confirmed to investors that Bitcoin (BTC) will be a “big part” of the company’s future, as he sees opportunities to integrate the cryptocurrency into existing Twitter products and services.
Bitcoin Depot announced a partnership with Canadian convenience store Circle K in both Canada and the US.
Scott+Scott announced that it has filed a securities class-action lawsuit against the crypto platform Coinbase Global, some of their directors and officers, and each of the venture capital firms that benefited from Coinbase’s April 2021 direct offering, alleging violations of the US Securities Act.
Damien Hirst’s experimental non-fungible token (NFTs) auction has been oversubscribed by more than six times, per art services business Heni.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that it will launch the pilot scheme of its digital currency by October 1, 2021, according to People’s Gazette.
Acala has announced the launch of Karura Swap, their new decentralized exchange (DEX).
Bitmain has announced a partnership with data center operator ENEGIX to host Antminer S19 Pro in their 180MW facility.
Massena wants to impose a 90-day moratorium on new cryptocurrency mining operations to make sure local roadsides are not cluttered with trailers and shipping containers loaded with computers to make the place “presentable,” according to WWNYTV.
The Central Bank of Colombia, IDB Group, and Banco Davivienda said that they have launched the pilot of Colombia’s first blockchain bond.
The top South Korean financial regulator has effectively blocked overseas crypto exchanges from operating in the nation if it can be proved they are actively targeting users based on South Korean soil.
More state regulators are beginning to follow suit with New Jersey after the state Attorney General last week was reported to have served BlockFi, a leading American crypto lending firm, with a cease and desist order: Alabama and Texas have dished out similar orders.
Japan Banks to Deploy Shared System for AML/CFT Monitoring. The FSA’s Hiroshi Ozaki said the banking sector is planning to deploy a shared transaction monitoring and screening system for AML/CFT across the industry.
European Commission Presents Package of AML/CFT Reforms. A new EU-level AML authority will coordinate national authorities to ensure the private sector correctly and consistently applies EU rules.
ARRC Endorses Shift to RFRs for Cross-currency Basis Swaps. From 21 September, interdealer trading in cross-currency basis swaps between USD, JPY, GBP and CHF would reference each currency’s RFR.
Taiwan Launches Two New Trading Boards for Startups. Only qualified investors can trade on the new boards, including individuals that meet a net worth or annual income requirement.
HKMA Launches Commercial Data Interchange Innovation Hub. The Hub will further facilitate the development and adoption of the CDI by helping to match potential data providers and data users.
ASIC Publishes Reference Checking Protocol & Guidance. The protocol and guidance will help financial advisers and mortgage brokers comply with new reference checking and information sharing obligations.
ISDA Launches Microsite to Facilitate Understanding of IBOR Fallbacks. The microsite provides information about adoption rates for the ISDA 2020 IBOR Fallbacks Protocol and graphs comparing LIBOR and fallback rates.
ASIC to Update Guidance on Anti-hawking Regime. The updated guidance reflects the reforms which consolidate three existing hawking prohibitions into a ban covering all financial products.
KoFIU Notifies Foreign VASPs of Their Obligation to Register. Foreign VASPs that continue to target Korean customers after 24 September without registering with KoFIU will be subject to penalties in Korea.
Singapore: Three Individuals Charged for Insider Trading. The former CFO of SGX-listed Broadway Industrial Group communicated insider information to two other individuals.
New Jersey regulators are giving crypto lender BlockFi an extra week before its ban on the creation of new interest-bearing accounts will take effect, Zac Prince, the BlockFi founder and CEO, confirmed.
Meanwhile, Alabama Securities Commission (ASC) Director Joseph Borg announced that the ASC has issued a Show Cause Order to BlockFi, which will give them 28 days to show cause why they should not be directed to cease and desist from selling unregistered securities in Alabama.
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank said it expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present or lower levels until it sees inflation reaching 2% well ahead of the end of its projection horizon and durably for the rest of the projection horizon.
Funding for blockchain startups reached USD 4.38bn for the first time in the second quarter, compared with USD 2.89bn in the first quarter, analytics firm CB Insights said.
Fund manager Global X Digital Assets has filed for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the US SEC.
Venture studio Thesis said it has completed a USD 21m Series A fundraise from investors such as ParaFi Capital, Nascent, Fenbushi Capital, Polychain Capital, and Draper Associates, among others.
Ethereum (ETH)-focused Stateful Works said they are issuing EIP-1559 NFTs [non-fungible tokens] “as an experiment in providing cultural prestige & economic upside to EIP-1559 Contributors.”
The Reserve Bank of India is considering a “phased introduction” of a central bank digital currency as it will need legal changes to be made in the nation’s foreign-exchange rules and information-technology laws.
An audit for Tether (USDT) may be months away, the company’s general counsel Stuart Hoegner told CNBC.
Paxos (PAX) has unveiled their reserves backing the stablecoin, showing that 96% of their reserves are held in cash and cash equivalents, while 4% are in US Treasury bills.
Joseph O’Connor, a British man, was arrested in Spain on suspicion of hacking the Twitter accounts of Apple, US president Joe Biden, former president Barack Obama, and billionaires Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, and Bill Gates, among others, to promote a BTC scam.
Coinbase Commerce, the exchange’s e-commerce platform, said it has added dogecoin (DOGE) as an accepted form of payment.
Blockchain technology company Blockstream has announced Greenlight, their newest Lightning Network service.
Fiat-to-crypto and payment infrastructure company Wyre has partnered with Polygon (MATIC).
Layer-2 scaling solution Celer Network (CELR) has announced that its multi-chain network, cBridge v1.0, is now live on the mainnet.
Solidus Labs, a crypto-native risk monitoring, market surveillance, and fraud-prevention specialist, said it has appointed Kathy Kraninger, former Director of the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as their new Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.
HKMA Targets Effectiveness in Addressing AML, Fraud risk. HKMA Executive Director Carmen Chu highlights the need for transformation and collaboration to combat new AML and fraud challenges in the digital era.
CPMI, IOSCO Identify Shortcomings in FMI Business Continuity Plans. Some FMIs do not fully meet expectations with respect to recovery from operational incidents, such as natural disasters or IT systems outage.
IIF Publishes Guidance for Scenario-based Climate Risk Measurement. The IIF has developed a set of reference approaches to be used by supervisors and banks as blueprints when designing their SCRM approaches.
Japan FSA Consults on Draft Guidelines for Social Bonds. The guidelines are aimed at promoting the issuance of social bonds by the private sector and preventing ‘social washing’.
APRA Issues Update on Policy Settings for Bank Capital Reforms. APRA says some requirements associated with unquestionably strong benchmarks will be revised and simplified. A quantitative impact study is being conducted.
Bursa Malaysia Proposes Rule Changes to Enhance Board Quality. Bursa Malaysia proposes to limit the tenure of independent directors and require listed issues to have in place a fit and proper policy.
ASIC Publishes Data Definitions for New Complaints Handling Regime. New dispute resolution standards will commence on 5 October this year. ASIC has released a data dictionary and data glossary to support pilot testing.
SET Seeks to Allow Derivative Warrants to Use Foreign Stocks. The SET will ask the Thai SEC to amend regulations to allow derivative warrants to use foreign stocks as their underlying assets.
China Banking Body Mulls Certification for Fintech Professionals. The China Banking Association plans to launch a government-approved certification programme for fintech professionals.
These platforms — whether in the decentralized or centralized finance space — are implicated by the securities laws and must work within our securities regime,” Gary Gensler, Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
US-based Bitcoin (BTC) mining operator Core Scientific said it is listing on the Nasdaq through a merger with Power & Digital Infrastructure Acquisition Corp.
Another mining company, Argo Blockchain announced that it had submitted a draft Registration Statement with the SEC relating to a proposed dual-listing and initial public offering of American Depositary Shares (ADSs) representing its ordinary shares.
Major manufacturer of Bitcoin mining equipment Canaan announced it’s now working closely with customers to deploy sustainable energy to power their A1246 Avalon Miner mining machines, “putting the company at the forefront of sustainable crypto mining initiatives.”
Compass Mining and North American digital currency mining expert Navier announced the launch of HashTest, a solution for providing a third-party verification of an individual Bitcoin miners’ advertised hashrate.
The Bank of Canada‘s new study suggested that a Canadian central bank digital currency (CBDC) could provide a number of innovations, including the elimination of transaction fees from debit and credit cards.
The central Bank of Korea (BOK) has selected a bid from the chat app giant Kakao’s Ground X blockchain and crypto subsidiary to pilot its prototype digital won.
Upgrade launched a new version of the Upgrade Card today that allows cardholders to earn bitcoin rewards on every purchase they make, Business Insider reported.
Crypto payments solution MoonPay said that it now globally supports Polygon (MATIC), a platform for building and connecting Ethereum (ETH)-compatible blockchain networks, to establish the first US fiat onramp to the Polygon ecosystem.
TaxBit, a maker of crypto tax and accounting software, is in talks to raise new funding at a valuation of USD 1bn or more, Bloomberg reported.
Virtually Human Studio, the startup behind digital horse racing service Zed Run, has raised USD 20m in financing.
Vincent, an alternative asset aggregation hub, has just closed a USD 6m Series A financing round led by LAUNCH.
Major Spanish football club Valencia is set to promote their own fan token, VCF, on their playing shirts next season as part of a new partnership with Chiliz (CHZ).
Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith has been taken into custody after a federal judge found he had violated the terms of his bail, Inner City Press reported.
DraftKings, a US-based digital sports entertainment and gaming company, said it plans to launch DraftKings Marketplace.
The first Chinese blockchain-powered carbon-neutral certificates have been released in the country, reported ENorth.
The South Korean conglomerate SK has enjoyed a bumper year in its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) business drive.
BCBS to Amend Process for Reviewing G-SIB Methodology. The BCBS plans to replace the existing three-year review cycle of the assessment methodology with a process of ongoing monitoring and review.
HKMA Issues Draft Guideline for Banks on Climate Risk Management. The guideline includes expectations on governance, strategy, risk management and disclosure. The HKMA plans to allow a 12-month period for implementation.
Singapore Reviewing Carbon Price Trajectory, says MAS Chief. The government is reviewing its targets for the price of carbon to ensure it helps Singapore meet its climate commitments.
Australia Consults on Compensation Scheme of Last Resort. The CSLR will establish an industry-funded compensation mechanism for individuals who have won decisions against insolvent financial firms.
China Sets Timelines for Fintechs to Complete Restructuring. The affected fintechs have until end-2021 to restructure their financial services businesses, and until end-2022 to clean up their credit reporting businesses.
Australia: Grandfathered Conflicted Remuneration Comes to an End. Only eight product issuers still had grandfathered conflicted remuneration arrangements in place as at 1 January 2021.
Indian Banks Set to Apply for ‘Bad Bank’ Operating Licence. The bad bank will be 51% owned by public sector banks. The remaining shares will be owned by private sector lenders.
Australia Issues Consultation on Retirement Income Covenant. Superannuation trustees will be required to have in place a retirement income strategy as outlined in a new position paper from 1 July 2022.
MakerDAO (MKR) is now completely decentralized, Rune Christensen, CEO of the Maker Foundation, said in a blog post today.
Pillar VC said it has closed USD 192m of capital for Pillar III (USD 169,) and Pillar Select (USD 23m), the firm’s latest venture funds.
Titan, a retail investment platform, said it has closed USD 58m in Series B fundraising led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from existing investors including General Catalyst, BoxGroup, and Ashton Kutcher’s Sound Ventures.
Liquidity management protocol Visor Finance has announced a USD 3.5m funding round led by investment company 1confirmation.
Crypto platform Crypto.com said it has introduced the new testnet of Cronos, their Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chain, which runs in parallel with their existing Crypto.com Chain.
Blockchain platform for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) Enjin (ENJ) said it has joined the United Nations Global Compact, a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it has filed an emergency action and obtained a temporary restraining order and asset freeze to halt an alleged ongoing offering fraud by Las Vegas-based Profit Connect Wealth Services Inc.
South Korean tech giants have lodged three bids to become the first private firms ever to pilot the Bank of Korea (BOK)’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) prototype.
Before the crypto market started its downturn in April this year, around 70% of surveyed global institutional investors planned to buy cryptoassets eventually.
Two-year-old major crypto derivatives exchange FTX was valued almost 20 times more in a recent investment round, one of the largest raises in the crypto industry.
Payments giant Mastercard announced an enhanced card program for cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges that aims to make it easier for partners to convert cryptocurrency to fiat currency.
Powell and the Fed have previously signaled their own willingness to step in with stablecoin-related rules, but a concerted effort could potentially provide faster progress.
The Role of Technology in Managing Fragmentation in Markets. Technology is increasingly serving as a counterbalance to mitigate the impacts of regulatory-driven market fragmentation in APAC, writes Tradeweb’s Jennifer Keser.
Australia Issues Consultation on Financial Accountability Regime. The FAR will not impose civil penalty liability on accountable persons, a shift from the government’s position in a January 2020 consultation.
Japan FSA Launches New Section to Oversee Crypto Regulation. The FSA has reportedly created a new position to head the section, which will also oversee decentralised finance and deepen dialogue with foreign regulators.
APRA Says Loan Deferrals Need Not be Treated as Arrears. Banks will not need to treat the period of deferral being offered by banks to borrowers as a period of arrears or a loan restructuring.
China May Allow Foreign Firms to Invest Offshore Yuan via QFII. Currently the QFII programme only allows foreign investors to use foreign currency, converted into onshore yuan, to invest in mainland markets.
SFC Sanctions Sino-Rich Responsible Officers Over AML Breaches. Sino-Rich Securities & Futures was fined for AML breaches in March. Its CEO and another director have been deemed responsible.
HK Customs Arrests Four for Laundering Funds Using Tether. The four are part of a syndicate that charged criminal clients a commission of 3-5% to launder illicit proceeds from crime.
ACCC Wary of Potential NAB Bid for Citigroup Unit. NAB is in talks about a possible acquisition of Citigroup’s Australian retail banking business. The ACCC says it is paying close attention.
Singapore Man Admits to Laundering Money in SkillsFuture Scam. A former Grab and Uber driver has admitted to playing the role of a “dummy director” of several shell companies involved in the SkillsFuture scam.
SFC Issues Warning on Unregulated Virtual Asset Platforms. Soon after the SFC’s statement, Binance announced that stock tokens will no longer be available for purchase on its website.
“An unprecedented group” of allies and partners – including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and NATO – are joining the United States in exposing and criticizing the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s malicious cyber activities, the US White House said today.
Digital asset investment products saw another quiet week with minimal net inflows totaling USD 2.9m last week, per Coinshares data.
According to the daily holding files from ARK Investment, they have purchased a total of 225,937 shares of payments services company Square.
Grayscale Investments and CoinDesk Indexes announced the launch of investment product Grayscale DeFi Fund and the CoinDesk DeFi Index.
Iris Energy Pty is planning to raise about USD 200m in a new fundraising round before it seeks a direct listing on the Nasdaq exchange, Bloomberg reported.
The Russian Association of Crypto-economics, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain (RACIB), a collective of some 2,000 crypto and AI players, says that it is teaming up working with federal and local bodies and government-run companies as part of a concerted effort to attract crypto miners.
Three Republican Senators urged the US Olympic Committee to forbid American athletes from using China’s new digital currency at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, citing espionage and data-security concerns.
China Merchants Bank has become the latest commercial bank to join the central bank’s pilot program to research and develop the digital yuan, Caixin reported.
South Korea’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has ruled out the possibility of an extension to the September 24 deadline for all crypto exchanges to obtain operating permits from the Financial Intelligence Unit – or face closure.
Binance announced it has completed its 16th quarterly binance coin (BNB) burn, destroying 1,296,728 BNB tokens valued at just under USD 400m at the time.
Huang Heshan will showcase his NEAR Protocol (NEAR)-powered non-fungible token (NFT) at the annual Taobao Maker Festival (TMF) in China, hosted by major e-commerce platform Alibaba this July, NEAR Protocol said in a blog post.
US Government Warns Of Rising Business Risk in Hong Kong. A business advisory from four US government agencies says US firms should be aware of the risks they face if they continue operating in Hong Kong.
Climate Stress Tests Will Inform Supervisory Discussions. Climate stress test exercises will likely become the basis of supervisory discussions regarding bank business models, internal governance and risk management.
WWF Calls for Supervisory Action to Address Biodiversity Loss. Capital requirements should be enhanced when institutions are exposed to sectors detrimental to the environment, says a new WWF report.
China Commences Trading on Newly Launched Carbon Market. Trading commenced on the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange on Friday, covering emissions from over 2000 power companies.
China to Exempt Hong Kong IPOs from Cybersecurity Reviews. Chinese officials have reportedly outlined an exemption from the requirement to undergo a cybersecurity review for companies destined for a Hong Kong IPO.
CFTC Set to Formally Adopt of ‘SOFR First’ Initiative. SOFR First has four phases, starting with the adoption of SOFR instead of LIBOR as the default rate for USD linear swaps from 26 July 2021.
ESMA Outlines Disclosure Expectations for SPACs. The guidance is aimed at enhancing the comprehensibility and comparability of SPAC prospectuses and ensuring investors are adequately protected.
HKMA Publishes Criteria for PE Funds Seeking Tax Concession. A fund should have operating expenditure incurred in Hong Kong for the provision of investment management services amounting to at least H$2mn.
CSRC Proposes New Rules for Subsidiaries of Futures Companies. CNY 300 million in net capital will be required for a futures company to establish a subsidiary. The activities of overseas subsidiaries will be restricted.
Shanghai, Shenzhen Bourses Update Green Bond Guidelines. Carbon neutrality bonds and blue bonds have been added under the green bond chapter. Requirements on the use of proceeds from such issuances are defined.
SB Northstar agreed to invest USD 75m in Bullish, the sponsor of a not-yet-operational crypto exchange, Bloomberg reported, citing documents filed July 9 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Terraform Labs said it has settled a USD 150m fund commitment from major investors to drive the growth and development of projects building on its rapidly growing ecosystem of DeFi applications.
Bank of America has approved bitcoin (BTC) trading futures for some clients.
US Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen announced plans to convene the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG), in addition to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, to discuss interagency work on stablecoins.
Japan is increasing its diplomatic efforts to regulate digital currencies globally as Japan’s Financial Services Agency established a section to oversee digital currency regulation last week.
THORChain (RUNE) has suffered an attack that drained around ETH 2,500 (USD 4.76m) from it, the team confirmed.
Axie Infinity has announced plans to start supporting esports competitions via funding for community-run events and a dedicated server.
Ricardo Da Ros, director of cryptoasset platform Binance’s Brazil arm, has resigned from his position after six months.
Cardano (ADA) has announced they have successfully carried out a testnet upgrade, going from the previous version called Alonzo Blue to the new Alonzo White.
The central People’s Bank of China (PBoC) released a digital yuan, e-CNY, whitepaper, in order to “explain the background, objectives, and visions” and to “seek public comments.”
Ripple may have won an important battle in its protracted legal struggle with the American regulatory Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – after it was granted permission to question a former agency official about its crypto policy deliberations.
Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficulty is set for another notable drop this weekend – this one dragging it down to the June 2020 level.
Hong Kong Stock Exchange Issues Revised Enforcement Policy. Herbert Smith Freehills partners explain the implications of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s updated policy statement on Listing Rule enforcement.
INTERPOL Calls for Global Action to Prevent ‘Ransomware Pandemic’. Criminals made $350mn in 2020 from ransomware payments, representing an increase of 311% in one year.
ECB Launches Multi-year Digital Euro Project. The plan is to allow regulated banks and fintechs to open accounts at the ECB so they can offer digital euro wallets to customers.
ISDA Publishes First Digital Definitional Book for Interest Rate Derivatives. The digital format will create efficiencies in how firms use and interact with the definitions, reducing complexity and the potential for error, ISDA says.
Hong Kong Launches Centre for Green and Sustainable Finance. The Centre will serve as a cross-sector platform to coordinate the transition efforts and serve as a repository for resources, data and analytics.
MAS to Refine Financial Advisory Remuneration Rules. MAS proposes to refine the tier structure requirements and clarify the types of remuneration that can be paid as overriding benefits.
SGX Pledges to Reduce Emissions, Support Steel Decarbonisation. As part of efforts to help the commodities ecosystem progress to a more sustainable future, SGX plans to introduce greener contracts in scrap and battery metals next year.
HKMA Announces Final Extension for Trade Loan Deferrals. Corporate customers can further extend their trade facilities for another 90 days until the end of October, when the scheme will expire.
Bursa Allows Investors to Subscribe for Rights Issues Electronically. A new eRights service has been introduced on the Bursa Anywhere mobile app, allowing investors to apply and make payment for rights issues electronically.
Sri Lanka to Launch New OTC Platform for Repo Trading. Firms seeking to carry out repo transactions on debt securities are invited to apply for trading membership.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has created a GBP 11m (USD 15.3m) digital marketing campaign to warn its younger citizens about the risks associated with crypto investments.
The companies of the Binance Group are not authorized to provide investment services and activities in Italy, not even through the website binance.com whose sections called “derivatives” and “Stock Token,” Italy’s financial regulator, Consob, said today.
Blocknative said it has raised USD 12m in a new Series A funding round, led by Rho Capital.
Revolut has raised USD 800m in a funding round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund and Tiger Global Management.
J.C. Flowers has agreed to buy 30% of LMAX Group for USD 300m in cash.
C.R.E.A.M. Finance’s Iron Bank said it has facilitated “the first-ever” DAO-to-DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) loan as well as the first “high-end NFT-collateralized” lending transaction.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has pushed its decision on WisdomTree’s bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) until this autumn.
Sorare is expected to raise up to USD 532m in funding at a valuation of at least USD 3.8bn.
The US government is planning to use crypto tracing as a counter to ransomware attacks that ask for payment in cryptocurrencies.
ApeRocket confirmed that it has suffered two flashloan attacks on its BSC platform and its Polygon network this week.
Meanwhile, Bondly Finance (BONDLY) said it was compromised by an unknown part on July 14.
The US Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward of up to USD 10m for information leading to the identification or location of any person who, while acting at the direction or under the control of a foreign government, participates in malicious cyber activities against US critical infrastructure.
Hong Kong authorities have arrested four men for a suspected money-laundering syndicate involving HKD 1.2bn (USD 155m) with cryptocurrency.
Japan FSA, BOJ to Assess AML, Anti-fraud Measures at FIs. The FSA and BOJ are reportedly looking to better understand whether AML, anti-fraud, and cybersecurity measures at FIs are adequate.
European Commission Seeks Establishment of New AML Authority. The new authority would be able to directly oversee the financial firms operating across multiple member states and issue penalties for AMLviolations.
New Governance Body to Unify Global Carbon Markets. A new governance body will be formed to standardise operations of voluntary carbon markets and unify them behind a consistent set of values and standards.
TAIFEX to Launch Central Clearing for OTC Derivatives in June 2022. FSC chairman Huang Tien-mu said it is “imperative” to establish central clearing for OTC derivative as soon as possible.
APRA Proposes Banks Maintain Higher Self-securitised Assets. APRA proposes that banks maintain at least 30 percent of their LCR Net Cash Outflows in self-securitised assets, separate from that used as collateral for the CLF.
RBNZ Abruptly Announces End to Quantitative Easing. The bond-buying programme was originally scheduled to run until June 2022. The RBNZ says the programme is no longer necessary for monetary policy purposes.
MAS, ABS Working to Improve Safeguards Against Scams – Reports. A task force has been set up to help Singapore’s financial industry improve safeguards against scams and fraudulent transactions.
RBI Issues Guidelines on Retail Access to Government Securities. Retail investors will be able to open an account directly with the central bank to gain access to primary issuance and secondary trading in government securities.
BOK Unveils Firms Seeking to Participate in CBDC Project. Units of SK Group, Naver and Kakao are the three firms competing to work on a CBDC project which will commence next month.
RBI Imposes Restrictions on Mastercard Over Data Storage. The action may hamper the ability of private banks to issue new cards to customers in the near term due to their exclusive tie-ups with Mastercard.
Oklo announced a 20-year commercial partnership with Compass Mining to introduce advanced nuclear fission to supplement fossil fuels and “promote diversity and sustainability in the energy sources used by miners.”
Energy Harbor said it has entered into a five year partnership with Standard Power to provide electricity from its nuclear fleet to Standard Power’s new bitcoin mining center.
Anhui plans to shut down all crypto mining projects within the next three years due to a power supply shortage.
Foundry Digital has announced they have sold around 2,300 Whatsminer M30S mining machines to bitcoin mining and power generation. company Greenidge.
BIT Mining Limited said it has entered into securities purchase agreements with unnamed institutional and accredited investors to raise USD 50m in a private placement.
ShapeShift said it has begun dissolving its corporate structure, evolving into a community-owned and governed crypto platform.
CryptoSpend will issue Visa cards that will allow their users to spend their BTC trading profits in shops and bars by tapping on existing payment terminals.
Travala said its revenue for Q2 2021 reached USD 9.8m, comprising hotels, flights, activities, and integration fees.
Trezor Suite, a new desktop application from SatoshiLabs, producer of the Trezor, is now live, said the emailed press release.
Some of Madrid’s trendiest restaurants now accept crypto pay.
French regulators proposed that the European Union should oversee stricter rules pertaining to cryptoassets.
South Korean parliamentary committees are set to consider the merits of draft four crypto laws put forward by MPs as private members’ bills.
CertiK announced a USD 37m Series B funding round co-led by Coatue Management and Shunwei Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures.
ClayStack has announced it has raised USD 5.2m in seed funding co-led by CoinFund and ParaFi Capital.
Phantom said it has raised USD 9m in a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
The number of Chinese provinces that have directly invested in blockchain technology through public spending is on the rise, reported Caijing.
FSB Takes Stock of Covid-19 Lessons on Financial Stability. Covid-19 may yet test the resilience of the global financial system, as lenders could still face additional losses as support measures are unwound, the FSB warns.
New Standard Published to Assess Islamic Deposit Insurance Systems. The IADI and IFSB have developed a set of core principles that can be used to develop and assess the effectiveness of Islamic deposit insurance systems.
Covid-19 Forced Companies to Short-cut KYC, Due Diligence. A new Refinitiv report has found that Covid-19 substantially increased customer and third-party risks. Yet it also increased focus on ESG and green crime.
China to Require Cybersecurity Reviews Before Firms List Overseas. Companies that have personal information of more than 1 million users must submit to a cybersecurity review by the Office of Cybersecurity Review.
FSC Korea Designates D-SIBs, Non-holding Financial Groups. The FSC has designated five bank holding companies and five banks as D-SIBs. Six conglomerates were designated as non-holding financial groups.
APRA Wants Banks to Be Ready for Potential Negative Rates. APRA proposes to introduce new expectations for banks requiring them to prepare for scenarios where interest rates fall to zero or turn negative.
HKMA Asks Banks to Bolster Corporate Awareness of LIBOR Cessation. Banks are asked to distribute a leaflet to all corporate customers by 31 July 2021 and to send confirmation to the HKMA after the exercise is complete.
New Zealand to Update AML/CFT Regulations. Reporting entities will have to conduct customer due diligence on nominee directors and nominee general partners of companies, among other changes.
Korea to Require Overseas Crypto Exchanges to Register with KoFIU. Cryptocurrency exchanges based outside Korea will reportedly be required to register with KoFIU if they use the Korean won for settlement.
Malaysia Files Suit Against KPMG Partners Over 1MDB Losses. The Malaysian government and 1MDB filed a $5.64bn lawsuit against 44 current and former KPMG partners over the firm’s audits of 1MDB’s financial statements.
US consumer prices increased by the most in 13 years in June amid supply constraints and a continued rebound in the costs of travel-related services from pandemic-depressed levels as the economic recovery gathered momentum.
The recent regulatory scrutiny on crypto is “very healthy” for the sector, Wu Jihan, Co-founder and Chairman of Matrixport, and former CEO of Bitmain, told CNBC.
Binance has told UK customers that bank withdrawals via the Faster Payments network have been “temporarily suspended” again.
Crypto derivatives volumes surpassed those of spot for the first time this year, with 54% market share, compared to 49% in May.
Crypto derivatives exchange FTX is joining Copper.co’s ClearLoop settlement trading network, which will allow it to gain new access to institutional funds.
S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) announced the launch of its latest cryptocurrency indices, including the new S&P Cryptocurrency Broad Digital Market (BDM) Index, which provides a wide performance snapshot of the cryptocurrency market and includes more than 240 coins at launch.
Gala Games has received funding from the BinanceSmart Chain (BSC)’s USD 100m Accelerator Fund.
Shipyard Software announced it has raised USD 21m for Clipper, a next-generation DEX that caters to retail traders.
As interest in cryptoassets and related services from institutional investors, banks, and key payment system operators is growing, it could increase the interlinkages between cryptoassets and other systemic financial markets and institutions.
Grayscale Investments announced that they have selected investment banking services company BNY Mellon as an asset servicing provider for Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, providing it with fund accounting and administration from October 1st, 2021.
Woori Bank has said that it wants to launch a crypto custody business with the domestic blockchain player Coinplug.
ICICI told customers remitting funds to invest abroad to confirm that the money will not be invested in cryptoassets.
The UAE Central Bank’s priorities for 2023 to 2026 include launching a digital currency, among other things that are all part of their goal to be among the top 10 central banks in the world, according to Gulf News.
Band Protocol has launched BandChain Phase 2, the data oracle network that allows institutions to permissionlessly provide data to the decentralized economy.
AllianceBlock announced the mainnet launch of AllianceBridge, their blockchain-agnostic product for increasing interoperability and usability industry-wide.
Bit Digital announced that they own 32,500 miners as of June 30, 2021, with a maximum total hash rate of 1.92 EH/s.
TikTok has prohibited paid crypto promotions.
Four people have been arrested in Japan over an alleged AI-powered crypto trading “scam.”
International Organisations to Launch Climate Training Alliance. The initiative will see the establishment of a dedicated online portal for global training on climate risks for central banks and supervisors.
Multilateral Collaboration Essential for CBDC Development. A new report from CPMI, BIS Innovation Hub, the IMF and the World Bank highlights the need for multilateral collaboration and interoperability between CBDCs.
MAS Proposes Additional AML/CFT Requirements for FIs. MAS proposes requirements for dealings in precious stones and metals, transactions involving digital payment tokens, and customers that may be considered higher risk shell companies.
PBOC Cuts Reserve Requirement to Boost Bank Lending Capacity. Market participants say that the earlier-than-expected RRR cut reflects policymakers’ concerns that banks may be under stress and facing higher NPLs.
MAS Launches ‘Veritas Challenge’ to Strengthen Trust in AI. MAS invites fintechs, solution providers and FIs to submit innovative solutions to help validate the fairness of AI solutions for selected banking use cases.
Hong Kong Records Drop in Corruption Complaints in 2020: ICAC. Corruption complaints concerning the finance and insurance subsectors registered the highest drop among all subsectors.
Korean Won Futures Set for Launch on Eurex-KRX Link. The listing of USD/KRW Futures on the KRX-Eurex link will allow for continuous trading during Asian, European and North American market hours.
NZ Issues AML/CFT Advisory On Sight Unseen Property Purchases. A new policy document sets out the requirements money services businesses must observe when onboarding corporate customers using non-face-to-face verification processes.
PBOC Directs Banks to Enhance Lending Services for MSMEs. Banks should also increase investment in inclusive fintech including big data, cloud computing and blockchain to improve loan efficiency, the PBOC said.
SEBI Proposes Tweaks to Dual Class Shares Framework. SEBI proposes to allow superior voting rights shares to be issued to trusts and other corporate structures and to tweak other requirements.
Last week was the quietest trading week since October 2020 as digital asset investment products saw minor outflows, totaling USD 4m, and led by bitcoin (BTC), per CoinShares data. “While the inflows remain relatively small in comparison to bitcoin and ethereum (ETH), the data does imply that investors are increasingly looking to diversify their digital asset holdings,” their report said.
Capital International invested more than half a billion dollars into MicroStrategy stock, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Three South Korean banks have decided to extend the nation’s “big four” crypto exchanges’ real-name banking contracts until September 24, the day when the grace period for exchange regulations to be finalized officially ends.
Clear Junction confirmed it will no longer be facilitating payments related to Binance due to Financial Conduct Authority’s recent announcement that the exchange is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK.
The US Federal Court has permanently banned PaxForex from trading, solicitation, and registration, as well as requiring the defendant to pay a civil monetary penalty of USD 374,864, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The Ukrainian central bank has spoken out on its central bank digital currency (CBDC) progress. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) stated that it had completed a survey of stakeholders aimed at determining which CBDC model it should pursue, adding that it was “ahead of most of the rest of the world” in its digital fiat plans.
Maxwell Opoku-Afari has said the central bank is in the advanced stages of piloting a digital currency, and that barring unforeseen circumstances it should be piloted from September this year, according to Modern Ghana.
Woori Financial Group is going to set up a digital asset custody joint venture (JV) with crypto solutions provider Coinplug Inc., according to the Korea Economic Daily.
A gigantic 100-carat diamond was sold for more than USD 12.2m in an unspecified cryptoasset at auction house Sotheby’s, according to the New York Post.
Charles Hoskinson has joined the Board of the ETC Cooperative, the entity tasked with the development and growth of the Ethereum Classic (ETC) protocol.
Meebits was sold on the OpenSea marketplace for ETH 1,000 (USD 2.1m). This made it the most expensive NFT in the Meebits collection.
Giorgio Chiellini has launched an NFT collection, exclusively on Blockasset, Football Italia reported. The NFTs reflect the Italy and Juventus captain’s “gladiatorial spirit,” with the chance to meet him and receive a match-worn shirt of his from UEFA EURO 2020, it said.
Mawson Infrastructure Group said it has increased its ownership in Luna Squares from 50% to 90%, with the remaining 10% subject to performance hurdles.
Police in Vinnytsia, in Western-Central Ukraine, say they have unearthed a large illegal mining operation that made extensive use of gaming consoles.
The Resilience Imperative: Succeeding in Uncertain Times. Strengthening financial institutions’ resilience has never been more important, say Gabriele Vigo and Olivia White at McKinsey.
G20 Endorses Use of Carbon Pricing Mechanisms, Incentives. The use of carbon pricing mechanisms and incentives was included in the G20 communique among the set of tools to facilitate the transition to a more sustainable economy.
‘Noisy’ Stress Tests Can Promote Risky Bank Behaviour. When supervisory stress tests are less accurate, capital surcharges and disclosure of outcomes can amplify risk-taking by banks, says a BIS working paper.
FSC Korea Issues Guidelines on AI-based Financial Services. Financial firms offering services using AI technologies will be required to have controls in place that ensure fairness to prevent consumer discrimination.
Known Applicants for Malaysia Digital Bank Licences. The applicant groups include Grab, Singtel, Axiata Digital, RHB Bank, iFAST Corp, Bangkok Bank, BigPay, Sea Group, AEON Credit Service, Pertama Digital, and others.
MAS, Banque de France Complete m-CBDC Experiment. The experiment showed the potential to reduce the number of correspondent banking parties involved in the payment chain for cross-border transactions.
New Zealand to Establish Consumer Data Right Framework. The government will look to align New Zealand’s CDR system with the Australian model, rolling it out on a sector-by-sector basis.
BNM Allows MSBs to Onboard Corporate Customers Remotely. A new policy document sets out the requirements money services businesses must observe when onboarding corporate customers using non-face-to-face verification processes.
RBI Urges Banks to Stop Using LIBOR, MIFOR. FIs are asked to instead use ‘any widely accepted ARR’. Currently, there is no consensus on a new ARR for India. SOFR is widely expected to be accepted.
Indonesia Launches First Electronic Market for Rupiah Trading. The launch of Refinitiv’s Matching trading system is expected to increase liquidity, efficiency and price transparency.
Bullish said it intends to go public through a merger with the Far Peak Acquisition Corporation.
More than three-quarters of surveyed Salvadorans are skeptical of bitcoin (BTC) being recognized as legal tender in the country, Reuters reported, citing a country-wide survey of 1,233 people.
The central Bank of Thailand is cautioning citizens that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender, and that soliciting payments in digital assets such as bitcoin and ethereum (ETH) as payments for goods and services constitutes barter trade.
Osprey Funds said it aims to register its Osprey Bitcoin Trust as a US Securities and Exchange Commission reporting company.
A Swedish cryptocurrency fraudster was sentenced to 15 years in prison after defrauding thousands of victims of more than USD 16m.
South Korean university Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology designed an eco-friendly toilet called BeeVi, which lets people using it earn a digital currency called Ggool, while the toilet itself connects to a lab that uses excrement to produce biogas and manure.
The Sandbox has partnered with Skybound Entertainment to bring a The Walking Dead experience to The Sandbox metaverse, according to an emailed release.
Topps Company announced that Meltem Demirors will join the Company’s Board of Directors, following the completion of its business combination with blank check company Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation II.
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is set to take a swing at what it perceives as misleading marketing related to cryptoassets, with a major initiative expected to be launched already this month to take down such ads.
South Korean customs officials say they have intercepted and tracked down scores of illegal, undeclared “kimchi premium” traders and transactions that reaped profits worth around USD 4.38m.
The Financial Services Agency (FSA) has published a report on DeFi, blockchain and crypto – with its authors concluding that there may be a need for the nation to develop regulations for the decentralized finance sphere.
In a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, US Senator Elizabeth Warren said she needed answers from Gensler by July 28 on the SEC’s authority to protect consumers investing and trading in cryptocurrencies, and determine what future congressional action was needed.
The European Union will propose a new agency to crack down on money laundering and new transparency rules for transfers of cryptoassets, Reuters reported, citing EU documents.
The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Parliament) has expressed concerns over the use of cryptocurrencies in the subregion with regards to the risk factors involved, according to Leadership.
Bank of America (BofA) created a new team dedicated to researching cryptoassets and technologies tied to digital currencies, Bloomberg reported, citing an internal memo.
Santander Bank confirmed that starting today, they’ll be stopping payments from Santander accounts to Binance “wherever possible.”
Meanwhile, per CNBC, the FCA’s crackdown on Binance has benefited a number of its rivals, including Bitstamp, Kraken, and Gemini.
Eurasian Space Ventures (ESV) company has launched Biteeu, which aims to be the world’s first space crypto exchange, using the space technology of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and in partnership with SpaceChain satellite network, per Astana Times.
Crypto.com has received an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) License from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), allowing it to issue cards and offer bank transfers directly to consumers.
MobileCoin has raised more than USD 75m in venture capital funding at a USD 1bn valuation, The Information reported, citing people familiar with the matter. This valuation is more than 10 times higher than at its last financing in March, they added.
Chintai said it has raised USD 7.5m in seed financing from investors such as Block.one, Cryptology Asset Group, Collective Capital, and others.
Stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT) is looking for a Reputation Manager, according to a job posting.
The movie ‘Zero Contact’, formerly called ’92’, by Enderby Entertainment and starring Anthony Hopkins, will premiere on new non-fungible token (NFT) platform Vuele later this summer, Deadline reported.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand said it will spend the rest of 2021 extensively consulting on issues which are “key to the future of how New Zealanders pay and save.”
Gitcoin has integrated proof-of-stake blockchain Tezos (XTZ), and will kickstart bounties on the platform for development projects including infrastructure, tooling, and applications that support the Tezos ecosystem.
The Free TON network has announced a USD 36m prize pool for validators in a test contest.
A group of Japanese investors is set to sue a South Korean crypto company, with lawyers representing 100 Japan-based clients claiming they cannot withdraw their funds from a “crypto investment” project based across the sea to the West.
FSB Urges Greater Coordination on Climate-related Risks. The interconnected nature of climate-related financial risks and the growing body of work to address them reinforce the need for coordinated action, the FSB says.
China to Tighten Oversight of Overseas Listings. Chinese authorities will step up supervision of companies that list overseas to improve regulation of cross-border data flows and security.
RBNZ to Consult on Potential CBDC Issuance. The RBNZ plans to consult on broad concepts of money and cash stewardship, the potential for a CBDC, and issues arising from crypto assets and stablecoins.
Taiwan FSC Tightens Rules for ESG-themed Funds. Asset managers are required to set one sustainability goal and explain how their investments help achieve that goal.
HKMA Launches Campaign to Raise Awareness of Phishing. HKMA statistics show that phishing frauds in the first six months of 2021 were up 145% from the first half of 2020.
ICAC, SFC Arrest Listed Company Exec in Joint Operation. The ICAC and SFC searched a number of premises, including the offices of the listed company and one of its IPO underwriters.
Australia Commences New Debt Management Licensing Regime. Providers of debt management services including debt negotiation or credit repair services must obtain a credit licence to continue operating.
Vietnam to Launch New Debt Trading Platform in Q3. The platform will be set up and operated by Vietnam Asset Management Company, the government’s debt management arm.
Sri Lanka Seeks Global Partner to Develop Exchange in Port City. The Colombo Port City project is a joint venture between Sri Lanka and China to develop a service-oriented special economic zone.
According to the news agency Tass, criminals are now using cryptoassets “for corruption purposes including bribery,” Krasnov stated. He added that “the criminal use of crypto” had become “a serious challenge” in Russia.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is partnering with Crypto.com for this crypto platform to become UFC’s first-ever global Official Fight Kit Partner.
US Congressman Barry Moore has purchased at least USD 5,000 in crypto from May through June, buying dogecoin (DOGE), ethereum (ETH), and cardano (ADA) worth between USD 1,001 and USD 15,000 each.
UK lender Nationwide is reviewing its stance on customers investing in crypto assets, Financial News reported, citing a spokesperson from the bank.
Shares of Coinbase (COIN), rose 1.8% in premarket trading Wednesday, after Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau said he was a little more bullish on the crypto trading platform, citing expectations of strong second-quarter results.
Sotheby’s said it will accept bitcoin and ethereum as payments for its 100-carat diamond valued at USD 10m – USD 15m at the July 9 auction.
The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts said it has partnered with crypto payment gateway Coindirect to accept cryptocurrencies from any country for hotel bookings and property sales.
A group of Italian and international investors have said that they filed a class-action lawsuit against digital asset platform Binance, claiming that the platform broke its own rules on futures trading.
Controversies are arising over the alleged suicide of the crypto advocate and software magnate John McAfee, who died in his Barcelona prison cell just hours after an extradition order passed last month, obliging him to stand trial in the United States.
The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) will pilot a roll-out of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) in August, Jamaica Observer reported.
CryptoTask said it is going to migrate from Ethereum to the Tezos (XTZ) blockchain.
Bitfinex has upgraded the exchange’s matching engine to better handle spikes in volatility as volumes continue to surge, according to an emailed press release.
Gazprom’s banking arm, the Moscow Stock Exchange and a number of Russian banking and card payment processing firms have revealed the board members of the national payment platform “blockchain operator” they co-created back in April this year.
FSB Calls on Supervisors to Align LIBOR Messaging. Engagement with FIs regarding LIBOR transition planning has not yet started or had only just started in six FSB jurisdictions.
US, Switzerland Announce New Sanctions Against Myanmar. The Treasury has sanctioned 22 more individuals connected to Myanmar’s military, while the Department of Commerce added four companies to its Entity List.
HKEX to Roll Out New IPO Settlement Platform Next Year. HKEX will proceed with the development of FINI for handling all Hong Kong IPOs, initially adopting a T+2 settlement cycle.
Australian Treasury Proposes to Lower Barriers to CDR Participation. Rule amendments include changes to reduce barriers to participate in open banking and increase participation in the CDR by data recipients and consumers.
APRA, ASIC Call on Super Trustees to Police Advice Fees. Trustees should have in place processes and a robust assurance framework to ensure fee deductions from superannuation accounts are appropriate.
JBA Chairman Warns Against Divesting From ‘Brown’ Companies. JBA chairman Makoto Takashima says stopping funding for ‘brown’ companies could choke off investment necessary to achieve carbon neutrality.
SFC Bans Former Mason Securities Representative for 12 Months. The licensed representative falsely declared that he provided risk disclosure statements to six clients when they opened accounts.
Philippine Bourse Seeks to Launch Crypto Business – Report. CEO Ramon Monzon said the PSE should be the exchange platform for crypto assets because it already has the trading infrastructure and investor safeguards in place.
UBS has warned its clients that regulatory crackdowns “could pop bubble-like crypto markets,” making bitcoin (BTC) unsuitable for professional investors, per Business Insider.
The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said that Michele Korver, who led a “distinguished career” at the US Department of Justice, now serves as FinCEN’s first-ever Chief Digital Currency Advisor.
The American CryptoFED DAO received notice from the Wyoming Secretary of State’s office that this newly formed Decentralized Autonomous Organization is the first DAO legally recognized in the United States.
The Indian Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman has disclosed in a recent interview that the cabinet note for the country’s crypto bill is ready.
Meitu said it has no plans to sell its BTC and ethereum (ETH) holdings as “the blockchain industry is still in its early stage and that cryptocurrencies have ample room for appreciation in value over the long-term.”
Nexo (NEXO) said it has contributed to the USD 16m private token sale of decentralized digital asset infrastructure and technology provider Qredo.
BlockFi said that its Rewards Visa® Signature Credit Card has concluded its Beta testing period, and the company has started inviting people from the top of the credit card waitlist to apply for the card and start using it in the real world.
The Banque de France said it has successfully carried out an experiment on the use of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), involving a simulation on a private blockchain of the issuance and settlement of unlisted securities and of the settlement of listed securities.
Bitpanda said it has appointed Irina Scarlat as its first Chief Growth Officer, to be responsible for managing its European expansion plans, as well as business development and marketing teams.
FATF Examines Collaborative Analytics and the Need for Privacy. An AML risk information sharing platform in trial operation in China allows FIs to check whether a customer is labelled high risk by other FIs without any customer data being exchanged.
FATF Urges Faster Implementation of Travel Rule in Crypto Sector. Slow implementation of travel rule requirements is acting as a disincentive to VASPs to invest in the necessary technology and compliance infrastructure.
MAS Consults on Revised Reporting Rules for OTC Derivatives. The amendments aim to facilitate the aggregation of OTC derivatives data through standardisation and harmonisation of data elements by incorporating the CPMI-IOSCO technical guidance.
MAS Further Extends Facility to Support SME Lending. Government risk sharing and lower-cost funding will keep borrowing costs low for local enterprises as they recover and adapt to the new normal, MAS said.
Taiwan: New AML Rules For Crypto Exchanges Take Effect. Crypto exchanges in Taiwan have to report transactions worth more than TWD 500,000 and fulfill KYC requirements.
Taiwan Probe Casts Light on ‘Rampant’ Insider Trading – Report. A probe into a vaccine maker has cast a light on the prevalence of stock manipulation in Taiwan, where regulators do not have jurisdiction over insider trading cases.
Industry Bodies Partner to Adapt CDM for Repo, Bonds. Implementation of the Common Domain Model for repo and bonds is expected to deliver industry wide efficiency gains, ICMA says.
SC Malaysia Warns Unlisted Public Companies on Share Offerings. When offering shares, unlisted public companies need to ensure that the prospective investor they approach is a sophisticated investor.
SFC Fines Yardley Securities CEO for AML/CFT Breaches. The processing and approval of suspicious third party fund transfers were attributable to the CEO’s failures to discharge his duties, the SFC said.
Westpac Identifies Potential Fraud Involving Finance Company. Westpac is said to have provided lease financing to customers only to later discover that it had lent money against office equipment that may not have existed.
For the first time in five weeks digital asset investment products saw inflows, totaling USD 63m last week. while for the first time in nine weeks, inflows were seen across all individual digital assets – implying a turnaround in sentiment amongst investors.
Bitcoin (BTC) saw the most inflows totaling USD 39m, while bitcoin investment product trading turnover was the lowest since November 2020.
Blockstream has proposed a new digital blockchain bond denominated to the USD to the El Salvador government.
Barclays has stopped UK customers from transferring funds to Binance via debit/credit cards, which it said would start immediately and was intended “to help to keep your money safe.”
Coinone has made its listing and delisting criteria public as the controversy over the nation’s altcoin cull continues.
The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) should be the exchange platform for cryptoassets once the regulators have given the green light for crypto trading.
Coinbase said it has invested in their support staff, now having more than 3,000 people dedicated to solving customer issues – which is a more than 5x increase in support staff since January.
Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was scheduled to meet with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong on May 11 for half an hour, according to an entry on the central bank’s calendar.
Monobank has taken to Telegram to claim that it has successfully developed an interface that can be used with crypto exchange.
The IBC Group said they have decided to close down all its Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) mining facilities in China. The group claims it has over 1,500 people employed in more than 40 Chinese cities and plans to move its staff to the UAE, Canada, USA, Kazakhstan, Iceland, and various South American countries.
Marathon Digital Holdings said it generated BTC 265.6 in June, a 17% increase over the previous month, increasing total holdings to approximately BTC 5,784 with a fair market value of c. USD 201.6m.
Greenidge Generation Holdings, Inc. announced its plans to develop its next Bitcoin mining operation in South Carolina. The new Spartanburg facility will be “fully carbon neutral.”
The government of Kazakhstan has announced that it will begin taxing crypto miners from next year.
Japan will have more clarity on what a digital yen would look like in late 2022, said Hideki Murai, a lawmaker overseeing the ruling party’s digital currency plan.
A ransomware attack paralyzed the networks of at least 200 US companies on Friday, and it seems that the REvil gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate, orchestrated it.
Bitcoin seized in a fraud investigation by the US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s Northern District of Ohio was sold for USD 19m.
Mirror Trading International (MTI) was placed in final liquidation last week by the Cape High Court.
Risk Assessments Should Focus on National Priorities: Wolfsberg Group. Most FIs focus their AML/CTF risk assessments on technical compliance rather than government priorities and effectiveness, the Wolfsberg Group says.
FATF Examines Technology Use in AML/CTF Efforts. While the use of innovative AML/CFT technologies can help identify risks and focus compliance efforts, manual review and human input remain “very important”.
Corporate Governance Policy Frameworks Need Strengthening: OECD. The OECD says significantly fewer companies are using public equity markets, but that strengthening corporate governance policies and frameworks can help.
MAS Proposes to Enhance Investigative, Supervision Powers. New powers will allow MAS to issue legally-binding directions to FIs in relation to unregulated business in bitcoin futures and other payment token derivatives traded on overseas exchanges.
Japan to Form Cross-agency AML Team Following FATF Review. A new team being formed under the Cabinet Secretariat may help overcome the current fragmented bureaucracy and enhance cross-agency coordination.
SFC Sets Out Key Priorities in Annual Report. The SFC is implementing a number of projects that seek to leverage new technologies to enhance risk detection and workflow efficiency.
MAS to Advise Banks on Dividend Restrictions ‘Very Shortly’. MAS is conducting stress tests on local banks to assess whether it is necessary to extend existing restrictions on dividend payments.
CSRC Includes Carbon Emissions in Revised Disclosure Rules. Listed companies are required to disclose carbon emissions and environmental impacts, and voluntarily disclose measures to reduce carbon emissions.
FSC Korea Concerned of Embezzlement by Crypto Exchanges. As the 24 September deadline for VASPs to register their businesses approaches, some businesses may close down, presenting risks to customer deposits.
Westpac to Pay Remediation Over Corporate Actions Failures. ASIC says it encourages all advice licensees and platform operators to consider their own corporate action management arrangements.
Grayscale Investments said it has sold some existing constituents of its Digital Large Cap Fund and used the proceeds to buy cardano (ADA).
Two senior analysts at JPMorgan said that Ethereum’s move to staking might generate a USD 40bn industry by 2025,
USD 200m crypto hedge fund by Nickel Digital Asset Management, cycled into a cash position following the crypto market collapse in May.
Bling said it closed an unspecified seed round to grow its team and further develop its platform.
In the US, in May, payrolls increased by 559,000 after a revised 278,000 gain in April.
Huobi Global said it has introduced a 24-hour token withdrawal delay for all over-the-counter (OTC) trades.
Coinbase has started offering institutional customers access to more trading pairs and payments options through fiat currencies.
Bithumb has banned its employees from using internal accounts to trade crypto in a bid to prevent insider trading.
Overseas crypto exchanges that have a customer base in India may have to pay additional tax in the form of goods and services tax (GST), The Economic Times reported.
Ukraine has given the clearest signal yet that it is on course to issue a digital form of its currency, the hryvnia.
An unnamed South Korean regulatory chief has successfully moved to a new post at the crypto exchange Upbit after the regulator’s ethics committee approved their application.
South Korea’s top crypto regulatory chief has insisted that all risks pertaining to crypto exchanges must be absorbed by their partner banks.
HIVE said it has joined the NVIDIA Partner Network Cloud Service Provider program and entered into purchase agreements for NVIDIA GPUs with a total contract value of more than USD 66m.
Criminals are using exchanges with little to no know your customer (KYC) procedures to sell fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine certificates in return for BTC, Coinfirm stated.
FaZe Clan has fired one member and suspended three others due to allegations that they have knowingly promoted a crypto scam.
Bitcoin starts outperforming again as Ethereum and Altcoins drop more.
A group of 130 nations, representing more than 90% of global GDP, has agreed to a global minimum tax (GMT) on corporations (at least 15%), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced today.
2TM Group said that MB has raised USD 200m from the SoftBank Latin America Fund, valuing 2TM Group at USD 2bn.
Animoca Brands said it has closed a second and final tranche of USD 50m in its USD 139m unicorn capital raise, conducted at a pre-money valuation of USD 1bn.
Mintable has announced the completion of its Series A funding round, raising USD 13m from investors including the payments integration platform RippleX, according to an emailed press release.
Calaxy said it has raised USD 7.5m in funding through private investment and grant support.
The rapid growth of stablecoin issuance could, in time, have implications for the functioning of short-term credit markets, Fitch Ratings said.
Arcane Green Data Services said it has entered into a lease agreement for hosting capacity for Bitcoin (BTC) miners of up to 2.5 MW.
Starting today, Wyoming, USA, recognizes decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) as a new type of limited liability company.
Binance announced that it has deployed CipherTrace Traveler. It is described as a commercial solution designed to help Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) achieve compliance with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)’s and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s Travel Rule regulations.
The FinCEN has included cryptocurrencies on its national priorities list as part of the Cybercrime Priority, along with terrorist financing, fraud, transnational criminal organization activity, and others.
StormX said it has become the first crypto jersey patch partner in the NBA, becoming the Exclusive Blockchain Partner of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Bitcoin struggles, Ethereum outperforms and altcoins consolidate.
130 Nations Endorse Global Minimum Corporate Tax Rate. The global minimum corporate income tax is estimated to generate around $150bn in additional global tax revenues annually.
We Are Not Out of the Woods Yet: Agustín Carstens. While economic disaster was averted, the BIS warns that considerable uncertainty remains that will present significant challenges for policymakers.
IOSCO Proposes Sustainability-related Rules for Fund Managers. Recommendations for securities regulators cover asset manager practices, product disclosure, supervision and enforcement, terminology, and investor education.
Consortium Proposes to Create Impact Reporting Rules for Banks. Harvard Business School, Impact Institute, ABN AMRO, Danske Bank, DBS and UBS aim to create new social and environmental impact reporting rules for banks.
HKMA Sets Out ‘Four Actions’ to Realise Regtech 2025 Vision. At the HKMA’s flagship regtech conference, Eddie Yue outlined the initiatives underway to promote regtech adoption, including to explore a corporate version of iAM Smart.
HKEX Asks Participants to Prepare for FRC Transaction Levy. Levies will be payable to the Financial Reporting Council by sellers and purchasers of securities, public interest entities, and PIE auditors from 1 January 2022.
Hong Kong: Deutsche Bank IPO Sponsor Licence to Lapse. Deutsche was meant to replace two departing senior employees and obtain SFC approval for their replacements but a “timing mismatch” occurred.
New Registry for Digital Token Identifiers Goes Live. The launch of the new registry comes ahead of the scheduled publishing of the ISO standard in Q3 2021, to meet urgent industry and regulatory needs.
ASIC Proposes New Guidance for Crypto-asset ETPs. In ASIC’s view, only bitcoin and ether are likely to satisfy proposed criteria for determining whether a crypto-asset is appropriate as an ETP’s underlying asset.
Binance Deploys New AML Solution Amid Regulatory Pressure. Binance has deployed a new AML compliance solution in the face of a ban in the UK and warnings from Japanese and Thai regulators.
The US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) said it has fined Robinhood USD 57m and ordered the firm to pay approximately USD 12.6m in restitution, plus interest, to thousands of harmed customers.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is reportedly open to allowing crypto funds on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and other markets if proper protections are put in place.
Galaxy Interactive has taken a lead investor role in virtual real estate developer Republic Realm.
tZERO said it has partnered with NYCE Group to digitize approximately USD 18m of equity interest in NYCE, once they are issued.
Natwest Group has capped the daily amount its customers can send to crypto exchanges due to concerns over investment scams and fraud.
The Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) has proposed creating a national digital currency. The party’s proposal is committed to “the recovery of money as a public good, more stable and under democratic control.”
The Bank of Russia said it has formed a pilot group made up of 12 banks to complete the development of the digital ruble platform prototype by December and to start testing in January 2022.
Hut 8 Mining said it has executed on a USD 44.4m purchase of 11,090 MicroBT M30S, M30S+ and M31S miners from SuperAcme Technology.
Blockware Mining announced it has raised over USD 25m in a second oversubscribed funding round.
Argo Blockchain said it has secured a GBP 14m (USD 20m) loan agreement with Galaxy Digital LP using BTC as collateral.
Bitmain has announced a signed purchase order with TeraWulf Inc. for 30,000 units of Bitmain’s latest generation miners, the Antminer S19j Pro.
Katy Perry, in collaboration with Theta Network (THETA), announced the launch of Katy Perry NFTs for her fans worldwide.
Ripple has appointed Sendi Young as Managing Director of its European operations, to oversee strategy and champion the expansion of RippleNet, the company’s financial network technology.
Bitcoin and Ethereum hesitate, WAVES and ETC hold gains
FSB Offers Policy Options to Enhance MMF Resilience. Requirements for MMFs could include capital buffers, higher liquidity requirements, or the removal of the stable NAV, among other options.
FATF Issues Report on Racially Motivated Terrorism Financing. Most of the funding obtained by extreme right-wing groups comes from legal sources, such as donations, membership fees, and commercial activities.
UK, Singapore Commit to Deepening Regulatory Cooperation. Officials agreed to explore cross-border financial regulation, carbon market trading linkages, and collaboration opportunities via their BIS Innovation Hub centres.
New Licensing Rules Take Effect for FIs in China. From 1 July, regulators will reissue new licences to banks and insurers, valid for one year, to allow for a transition and exchange period.
MAS Proposes New Safeguards for Vulnerable Customers. MAS proposes additional safeguards for clients receiving financial advice if they are elderly, not proficient in English, or have lower academic qualifications.
ASIC Product Intervention Order Upheld in Full Federal Court. ASIC is entitled to consider not just the characteristics of a relevant financial product, but also the particular circumstances in which it is supplied, the Court said.
FINRA Orders Record Financial Penalties Against Robinhood. Robinhood has been ordered to pay $70mn for systemic supervisory failures and significant harm suffered by millions of customers.
Australia Introduces Bill to Improve Financial Advice. FASEA’s functions will transfer to the Treasury and ASIC. New disciplinary and registration systems for financial advisers will apply from January 2022.
SGX, Platts Partner to Provide Commodities Data, Content. Titan OTC participants can access Platts’ data on commodities including iron ore, coking coal, steel, aluminum, copper, freight and battery metals.
Eftpos Launches Business to Make Digital IDs Interoperable. ConnectID acts as a ‘broker’ between identity providers, securely facilitating identity verification and data exchange, without storing identity data.
