The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expanded its crackdown on Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), putting “hundreds” of projects at risk, according to a recent joint investigation by Yahoo Finance and Decrypt Media published, Oct. 10. The authors of the report stressed that hundreds of crypto and blockchain startups that conducted token sales have eventually found that they had violated securities laws despite their endeavors to comply with regulations. In response to SEC pressure, dozens of firms have reportedly “quietly agreed” to refund investors’ money and pay fines, rather than attempt to reach a legal compliance. According to Yahoo …

U.S. Reps. Doris Matsui and Brett Guthrie have recently proposed a bill dubbed the "Blockchain Promotional Act 2018" in the House of Representatives, according to an announcement on Matsui’s website Monday, Oct. 1. The release notes that current definitions of blockchain technology in different draft bills differ. For this reason, the bill proposes that the U.S. Department of Commerce creates a working group formed both by federal officials and members of the blockchain industry to form a common definition of blockchain. The working group will also consider recommendations for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Federal Communications Commission …

Ripple will lead a group of crypto startups to lobby lawmakers and financial regulators in D.C. to support crypto and blockchain innovation, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, September 27. According to the report, the coalition of San-Francisco-based crypto firms is planning to pay Klein/Johnson Group, a bipartisan lobby group, to assist the crypto and blockchain community in conveying to regulators that the industry needs support from the government. The new group, called the Securing America’s Internet of Value Coalition, aims to soften the government’s stance in order to encourage innovation and support competition in the ecosystem of global crypto markets. The …

On Sept. 20, the crypto community was rattled by the news that California’s political campaign regulator ruled in favor of an outright ban of any and all cryptocurrency donations. It came across as a surprise for many that the progressive state, which is home to the world’s largest technology hub as well as to a politician whom Bloomberg calls the ‘Crypto Candidate for Congress,’ has suddenly set such a hard-handed regulatory precedent in the run-up to November’s elections. If anything, the signals that emanated from the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) up to this point were largely positive: Just …

U.S. Senate candidate Austin Petersen, who is known for his Bitcoin (BTC) advocacy, lost the Republican primary election Aug. 7. According to unofficial results published by the Missouri Secretary of State, Petersen lost the battle to Attorney General Josh Hawley, who received 58.6 percent of the 663,553 votes. Hawley will go on to face to Democratic Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill in the general election. Petersen tweeted: “Sorry I couldn't pull out a win for us, friends. My faults as a candidate are my own, and not the fault of our activists. I am not a perfect messenger. One day soon …

The chair of the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives may be the first member of Congress to disclose that he owns cryptocurrency, Sludge reports Aug. 6. Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) reported that he owns between $17,000 and $80,000 in digital currency in his annual Financial Disclosure Statement. Goodlatte filed the statement on May 10, a month before the U.S. Ethics Committee issued new rules about disclosing digital currency holdings. Per the new rules, all House Members must disclose their own and their spouse’s crypto holdings valued over $1,000, and report over $1,000 worth of crypto transactions within …

The U.S. Congressional Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade discussed major questions around digital currencies in a hearing today, July 18. The hearing, entitled “The Future of Money: Digital Currency,” considered potential domestic and global implementations of cryptocurrencies. At the hearing, the Subcommittee discussed the deployment of cryptocurrency and its underlying technology, blockchain, by central banks, arguing whether central banks should introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Addressing this point, Rodney Garratt, a professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, claimed that the banks have to decide whether they want “to withdraw completely from providing a …

The US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee has proposed a bill today that would initiate a study on how cryptocurrencies are used in sex trafficking. Should the bill be approved and signed into law, it would require the Comptroller General of the US to research how “virtual currencies and online marketplaces are used to buy, sell, or facilitate the financing of goods or services associated with sex trafficking.” The study would additionally examine the usage of cryptocurrency in the illicit drug trade. The “Fight Illicit Networks and Detect Trafficking” or the “FIND Trafficking Act” was prepared by Representative Juan …

Digital currency lobby group the Chamber of Digital Commerce receives approval from the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt non-profit organization. On September 30, the Chamber of Digital Commerce announced it had received recognition from the U.S tax authority the IRS as a tax-exempt non-profit organization under the IRS Code Section 501 (c)(6) that classifies business leagues, chambers of commerce, real estate boards, boards of trade, and professional football leagues, which are not organized for profit, from paying taxes. In a press release, the Digital Chamber's President and Founder Perianne Boring said the recognition from the IRS was a big …