The United Kingdom is host to at least 168 companies accused of running fraudulent crypto or foreign exchange (forex) scams according to an independent analysis. A Jan. 29 joint investigation by media firms the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Observer suggested organized crime groups are using the U.K. as their base due to its “lax regulation.” The actual number of U.K.-based crypto or forex companies involved in scams is likely far greater than 168 as the number was calculated by reviewing lists of suspected shell companies and cross-referencing them with reports of fraudulent activity on various websites. Around half …

Financial regulators in France continue flagging illicit players on the foreign exchange (forex) and cryptocurrency markets, blacklisting a fresh batch of related websites. The French stock markets regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), and the Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR), on Dec. 21, updated a blacklist of websites identified as unauthorized investments in forex and crypto assets. Out of the 15 newly-blacklisted websites, only two sites imply a direct connection with crypto in their name. These websites include 24cryptoforextrading.net and cryptoneyx.io. According to the announcement, the AMF and ACPR have flagged significantly fewer crypto-related websites year-over-year. In 2022, …

The ongoing crypto bear market has proven itself to be a builders market as investments continue to find projects with promise. Onomy, a Cosmos blockchain-based ecosystem, just secured million from investors for the development of its new protocol. The project merges decentralized finance (DeFi) and the foreign exchange market (FX) to bring the latter on-chain. According to the developers, the latest funding round garnered $10 million from big industry players such as Bitfinex, Ava Labs, the Maker Foundation and CMS Holdings among others. Lalo Bazzi, co-founder of Onomy, says the underlying goal of building a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) with …

DBS Bank, a major financial services group in Asia, is applying decentralized finance (DeFi) for a project backed by Singapore’s central bank. DBS has started a trading test of foreign exchange (FX) and government securities using permissioned, or private, DeFi liquidity pools, the firm announced on Nov. 2. The development is part of Project Guardian, a collaborative cross-industry effort pioneered by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Conducted on a public blockchain, the trade included the purchase and sale of tokenized Singapore government securities (SGS), the Singapore dollar (SGD), Japanese government bonds and the Japanese yen (JPY). The project has …

New York-based multi-asset trading services Oanda has launched a new cryptocurrency trading service in the United States. This latest addition developed in partnership with regulated blockchain infrastructure provider Paxos Trust Company is designed to give investors easy access to crypto alongside their existing forex portfolios in a secure environment. The collaboration will enable U.S.-based investors to spot-trade cryptocurrencies on Paxos’s itBit exchange through Oanda’s mobile platform, the broker said. Investors will be able open and fund trading accounts, as well as access major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). According to Oanda, users will benefit from the company’s …

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has added 34 unregistered foreign entities to its Registration Deficient List, including at least six providing crypto-related services. In a Thursday announcement, the CFTC said it had expanded its list of firms that it requires to register with the CFTC for providing services including trading binary options, foreign currency or other products such as cryptocurrencies. The additions to the Registration Deficient List, or RED list, include B.O TradeFinancials, CryptoBO, Bitpay Options, CryptoSphereFX, Direct Cryptos and Prime Crypto FX. Since 2015, the CFTC has placed 202 companies on the RED List, warning …

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) continues taking measures to prevent capital outflows amid martial law by enforcing major restrictions on cryptocurrency purchases. The Ukrainian central bank officially announced Thursday a set of restrictions on cross-border operations, prohibiting individuals from buying cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) with the national fiat currency, the hryvnia (UAH). Ukrainians are now allowed to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies only with foreign currency, with total monthly purchases limited to 100,000 UAH ($3,300). The relevant limit also applies to international peer-to-peer transactions. According to the announcement, the NBU has deemed crypto purchases as “quasi cash transactions” alongside …

There is no doubt that the $129 billion stablecoin market is bubbling, with hundreds of different projects, each with various features and functionality. However, despite the diversity, the stablecoin market is primarily dominated by the top five projects, which make up 94% of the total market capitalization and represent 99% of stablecoin trading volume, most of which are USD-stablecoins. As a matter of fact, most of the stablecoin market revolves around the U.S. dollar, adding currency exchange risks and frictions for users who don't live in the U.S. Yet, non-USD stablecoins can play an essential role in onboarding billions of …

A new project has ambitions to revolutionize synthetic asset trading — delivering a decentralized platform designed to suit the needs of investors in various asset classes. Beyond Finance enables users to gain exposure to an underlying asset’s price without owning the asset itself. As well as forex, commodities and equities, the platform also supports cryptocurrencies and derivatives. It is designed to complement rather than replace existing infrastructure, and open up financial services to all in a trustless, non-custodial and censorship-resistant way. Launching “innovative products” In August, the project unveiled a partnership with Klaytn, an open source public blockchain, in bringing …

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) are getting increasingly popular with Russian investors, apparently displacing traditional investment products, according to a new survey. Russia’s Association of Forex Dealers (AFD), a local self-regulatory organization focused on the foreign exchange market, polled 502 Russian investors to find out the local investor sentiment regarding cryptocurrencies. Released on Tuesday, the survey was conducted from Aug. 4 to Aug. 24, 2021. In the survey, nearly 77% of respondents said that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC) are the “most forward-looking” investment. Only 8.8% of respondents indicated that they view gold as the best investment, …

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued preliminary guidelines for its proposed e-naira digital currency. In a sensitization document sent to commercial banks in the country, the CBN outlined several design features of the central bank digital currency (CBDC). According to the document seen by Cointelegraph, Nigeria’s CBDC is codenamed “Project Giant” and will be pegged to the value of the naira. Thus, the e-naira will offer parity of value but will not be an interest-bearing currency. The e-naira will run alongside the country’s fiat currency, with the CBN responsible for issuing, distributing and redeeming the digital currency among …

Cryptocurrency exchange Waves.Exchange, which supports the price-stable multi-asset Neutrino protocol, is introducing a way for crypto traders to earn passive income through stablecoin staking. According to a Sept. 29 announcement from Waves, the exchange has expanded its tokenized assets ecosystem to include seven different Neutrino stablecoins — synthetic versions of national currencies — through a decentralized foreign exchange market, or 'DeFo'. Holders of the Neutrino US dollar (USDN), euro (EURN), yen (JPYN), yuan (CNYN), ruble (RUBN), Ukrainian Hryvnia (UAHN) and Nigerian Naira (NGNN) can reportedly get up to 15% annual percentage yields (APY) through staking. Users can also receive up …