Earlier this week, United States-regulated crypto derivatives and clearing platform LedgerX was reported to launch the first physically settled Bitcoin futures contracts in the country, therefore stealing a march on Bakkt and ErisX. However, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) soon refuted that information by stating that the exchange has not yet been properly cleared by the agency. Now, a LedgerX official has told Cointelegraph that the media publication that broke the news — CoinDesk — had “misunderstood the scope of the launch,” which in turn led to the confusing publication. Meanwhile, the exchange’s CEO is threatening to sue the …

BitMEX, the second-top crypto exchange by reported trading volume to date, experienced record outflows during the month of July. According to the blockchain data provider TokenAnalyst, the total outflow on the exchange amounted to around $530 million. Historic inflows and outflows on BitMEX. Source: TokenAnalyst BitMEX’s monthly outflow never exceeded $100M before Fellow industry analytics firm Ceteris Paribus commented on the news on Aug. 4, noting that BitMEX had never experienced outflow of more than $100 million in a single month. During the whole 2018, the total outflows accounted for $1.3 billion, the firm stated, adding that there was not …

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced that it is hiring Andrew L. Ridenour as senior counsel to the chairman. Up until recently, Ridenour worked at the major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. CFTC Chairman Tarbert unveiled Ridenour and others as new hires on July 17, commenting that the “counsel and expertise of my team will be essential to our efforts to keep our derivatives markets vibrant and hold wrongdoers accountable.” Who is Andrew Ridenour? According to Ridenour’s LinkedIn profile, he worked at the CFTC for 9 years as special counsel at the Division of Market Oversight and senior …

Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX is reportedly in trouble. Soon after Nouriel Roubini, a New York University professor of economics and anti-cryptocurrency pundit, criticized BitMEX of violating regulations, it was reported on July 19 that United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is opening an investigation into BitMEX on whether it broke the law by allowing U.S. residents to trade on its platform. A day later, an additional finding by London-based blockchain data provider TokenAnalyst revealed that BitMEX has experienced major Bitcoin (BTC) outflows to the tune of $73 million after news of the regulatory investigation surfaced. The Tangle in Taipei …

Bitcoin (BTC) outflows on major crypto exchange BitMEX have notably exceeded the inflows after the firm was reported to be a subject in a regulatory investigation. Bitcoin outflows on BitMEX exceeded inflows by $73 million Over the past 24 hours, BitMEX saw an outflow of $83 million worth of Bitcoin, while only $12 million came in, London-based blockchain data provider TokenAnalyst reported in a tweet on July 19. 24-hour on-chain Bitcoin flows on major exchanges. Courtesy of: TokenAnalyst Twitter While such a discrepancy appears to be abnormal in comparison with other exchanges, such as Binance, which saw a $54 million …

Managing director and quant strategist at Fundstrat Global Advisors Sam Doctor suggested in a Twitter post published on July 19 that Bakkt’s Bitcoin (BTC) futures contracts will launch this quarter. According to the post, which includes a summary of Fundstrat’s takeaways from the Bakkt Digital Asset Summit held on July 18, the firm’s futures will launch in the current quarter. The launch is set to follow tests announced last month, which are scheduled to start next week. The firm believes that the launch will be a catalyst to accelerate entry of traditional institutional investors. The post notes: “There appears to …

United States regulator the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is reportedly investigating derivatives giant BitMEX. CFTC wants to know if Americans using BitMEX According to Bloomberg sources citing people familiar with the matter speaking on July 19, the CFTC suspects that BitMEX allowed U.S. residents to use its platform to trade. Under current law, the U.S. is one of the countries excluded from using BitMEX, which is registered in the Seychelles, and similar crypto-based financial services, but users may have sought to circumvent the geoblock using services such as VPNs. The investigation, details of which have not yet been confirmed …

July 15 will mark the first day in the office for the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) new chairman, Heath Tarbert. As the crypto community is bidding farewell to the regulator’s outgoing head, J. Christopher Giancarlo, his successor’s stance on digital assets remains unknown. Turning to Tarbert’s record as a civil servant and attorney in the financial markets field could shed some light on the direction that the agency might take under his leadership. Giancarlo’s five-year tenure saw the rise of cryptocurrency derivatives as an object of regulatory oversight. Widely regarded as the crypto industry’s ally, “Crypto Dad” …

New York-based financial technology firm trueDigital Holdings LLC is aiming to acquire the registrations of trueEX LLC in a bid to launch a fully-regulated crypto derivatives exchange, according to a press release published on July 12. Per the release, trueDigital has concluded an agreement in principle to acquire the Designated Contract Market (DCM) and Swaps Execution Facility registrations of United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated exchange trueEX LLC. The deal thus is subject to CFTC approval. Upon approval, trueDigital will roll out a crypto derivatives exchange fully-regulated by the CFTC, where it will list physically-deliverable Bitcoin derivatives for institutional …

A Texas Federal Court has ordered two defendants to pay $400,000 for conducting a fraudulent scheme to solicit Bitcoin (BTC) from members of the public, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on July 10. Judge Reed C. O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas filed an Order and Default Judgment on June 28, 2019, alleging that U.S. citizens Morgan Hunt and Kim Hecroft engaged in a fraudulent scheme to solicit Bitcoin from the public to invest in trading products like binary options, diamonds and foreign currency contracts. The defendants allegedly did business …

Chicago-based crypto exchange ErisX has procured a derivatives clearing organization (DCO) license from the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). According to an official blog post on July 1, ErisX is planning to make digital asset futures contracts available for trade on its regulated derivatives market later this year via its new DCO. ErisX also launched its spot market in April, with the promise of eventually rolling out a single digital asset platform for spot and futures trading. At press time, the ErisX spot market exchange includes U.S. dollar trading pairs with bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ether (ETH) …

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved the application of LedgerX LLC for designation as a contract market, according to an announcement published on June 25. LedgerX — a U.S.-based regulated crypto derivatives and clearing platform — can operate as a designated contract market (DCM) as of June 24, 2019. The company’s activities will be registered under Section 5 of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and Part 38 of the CFTC’s regulations. Registration as a DCM will require that LedgerX maintain compliance with all applicable provisions of the CEA and CFTC regulations. “LedgerX has requested that the …