Adding to the existing regulatory hurdles for the crypto ecosystems, California Governor Gavin Newsom refused to sign a bill that would establish a licensing and regulatory framework for digital assets. Assembly Bill 2269 sought to allow the issuance of operational licenses for crypto companies in California. On Sept. 1, California State Assembly passed the bill with no opposition from the assembly floor and went on to the governor’s office for approval. Opposing the notion, Newsom recommended a “more flexible approach” that would evolve over time while considering the safety of consumers and related costs, adding: “It is premature to lock …

United States-based crypto lending platform Celsius, which collapsed and stopped the withdrawal option amid the market meltdown in June, pledged its readiness to partially return money to customers. However, there’s a catch, as the motion company has filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court, would only apply to Custody and Withold Accounts and for custody assets worth $7,575 or less in value. The community response to the motion has been mixed, with some creditors happy to get back at least some of the frozen funds, while some industry leaders criticized the platform’s management. BnkToTheFuture.com CEO Simon Dixon drew attention to …

Lawmakers in California State Assembly 71-0 passed the Digital Financial Assets Law, also known as AB 2269, on Tuesday, Aug. 30. The bill is now in the hands of the state’s governor Gavin Newsom, who will either set it into motion or veto it completely. This bill requires digital asset exchanges and crypto companies to have an operating license given by the state of California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Any operations outside of said license will be prohibited. It would come into effect on and after Jan. 1, 2025. If not followed, perpetrators could receive a civil penalty …

The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation of California (DFPI) continues to bring actions against crypto interest account providers, failing to comply with the local law. After commanding BlockFi and Voyager to stop their offerings in the state, the DFPI issued a desist and refrain order to crypto lending firm Celsius. The order simply means that the crypto lending platform, which is undergoing the bankruptcy procedure, should stop all of its further operations on the sale and marketing of securities in the state of California. The order had been published on Aug. 8 and claims that Celsius Network and its …

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has warned consumers to “exercise extreme caution” when dealing with interest-bearing crypto-asset accounts. The DFPI stated that it is investigating multiple crypto interest account providers to determine whether they are “violating laws under the Department’s jurisdiction.” In a Tuesday note, the DFPI emphasized that crypto-interest account providers “are not governed by the same rules and protections as banks and credit unions” and that some platforms are “preventing customers from withdrawing from and transferring between their accounts:” “The Department warns California consumers and investors that many crypto-interest account providers may not have …

A California state regulator may be looking at overturning a ban on cryptocurrency donations to political campaigns which has been in effect since 2018. According to its May 2022 agenda, California’s Fair Political Practices Commission, or FPPC, has scheduled a “pre-notice discussion” on Thursday on the use of cryptocurrencies for campaign contributions in the state, opening the topic to public comment before officially revisiting it. The commission said it will be considering drafting amendments to its regulations requiring that “no contribution may be made or received in cryptocurrency.” In September 2018, the FPPC voted to ban both sending and receiving …

Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, has signed an executive order aimed at harmonizing a regulatory framework for blockchain between the federal government and the U.S. state as well as spurring innovation in the space. In a Wednesday announcement, the California governor’s office said executive order N-9-22 and the California Consumer Financial Protection Law would allow the state to create “a transparent and consistent business environment for companies” in Web3 and the crypto space, including blockchain and financial technology firms. According to the order, the California state government will need to establish a regulatory approach to crypto assets concurrent with …

In terms of policy, Greg Tanaka calls himself a legislator for the digital age and possibly the most pro-crypto person running in this election cycle. A member of the Palo Alto City Council, he has set his sights on the United States House of Representatives seat for California’s 16th, the Silicon Valley district. In an interview with Cointelegraph, the self-described nerd exuded enthusiasm and spoke with an unwavering smile about crypto and the financial system. Legal DAOs and crypto tax holidays “It’s the first form of truly better money,” Tanaka said of crypto. “More benefit goes to the people creating …

The Golden City is losing its shine as one of the largest United States-based cryptocurrency exchanges closes its San Francisco-based headquarters. Kraken CEO, Jesse Powell retweeted that Kraken will close its global headquarters on 548 Market Street, in the center of San Francisco. In the retweet shared by a San Francisco-based political commentator, Richie Greenberg, the decision cites that: “We shut down Kraken’s global headquarters on Market Street in San Francisco after numerous employees were attacked, harassed and robbed on their way to and from the office.” Cointelegraph reached out to the Kraken team for comment and will update if …

California State Senator Sydney Kamlager, representing the 30th Senate District including parts of downtown Los Angeles, has introduced a bill which would amend the state’s code to allow for the acceptance of cryptocurrencies for certain payments. According to Senate Bill 1275 introduced in the California Legislature on Feb. 18, Kamlager proposed authorizing a state agency “to accept cryptocurrency as a method of payment for the provision of government services.” The modification of the current state law, which allows for the establishment of state agencies to provide services to residents which require payments, would add crypto to the list of acceptable …

A new class-action lawsuit demands a jury trial against A-list celebrities and social influencers for their alleged participation in a classic pump and dump scheme relating to SafeMoon tokens. SafeMoon, a Binance Smart Chain-native cryptocurrency, allegedly recruited a number of celebrities to lure investors in with misleading promotions. Some of the prominent names roped in by the class action include musicians such as Nick Carter, Soulja Boy, Lil Yachty and YouTubers Jake Paul and Ben Phillips. According to the lawsuit, SafeMoon and its subsidiaries mimicked real-life Ponzi schemes by misleading investors to purchase SafeMoon tokens under the pretext of unrealistic …

ResearchHub, a scientific research site founded and self-funded by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, is allegedly based on work stolen from its not-launched competitor, a new court filing suggests. Blockchain accelerator MouseBelt Labs filed on Dec. 17 a complaint with the Superior Court of the State of California, alleging that Armstrong’s ResearchHub has something to do with Knowledgr, a research platform in which MouseBelt had invested. The filing alleges that Armstrong was offering investment in Knowledgr while secretly working on his own competing project, ResearchHub, in order to steal some of the resources that MouseBelt put into Knowledgr. According to the …