Caroline Pham, currently serving as a commissioner at the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has announced a former head of U.S. regulatory policy at investment banking firm Credit Suisse Securities will be joining her staff. In a Friday announcement, Pham said Keaghan Ames will be her counselor and senior policy adviser at the CFTC starting May 23. Ames worked at Credit Suisse for more than two years as vice president and head of U.S. regulatory policy, which included advising executives on digital assets regulation. He will be joining the CFTC from the Institute of International Bankers, where …

The United States Senate has confirmed the nomination of Jerome Powell as the chair of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System until 2026. In an 80–19 landslide vote on the Senate floor on Thursday, U.S. lawmakers confirmed Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, a position he held from February 2018 until February 2022, when he was named chair pro tempore until a confirmation vote could be secured. Powell was one of four Fed nominees awaiting a full Senate vote following weeks of delays due, in part, to partisan obstructionism — Republican lawmakers in the Senate Banking …

The Federal Ministry of Finance (BaFin) published a 24-page document on Tuesday outlining clear income tax rules for cryptocurrency and virtual assets. Tax practitioners, businesses and individual taxpayers now have clear direction on the tax requirements for acquiring, trading and selling cryptocurrencies. The key takeaway is that individuals who sell BTC or ETH more than 12 months after acquisition will not be liable for taxes on the sale if they realize a profit. Parliamentary State Secretary Katja Hessel also addressed questions around the long-term staking of cryptocurrencies: “For private individuals, the sale of purchased Bitcoin and Ether is tax-free after …

According to United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the stablecoin market is not at the scale at which the drop in the price of TerraUSD (UST) and Tether (USDT) below $1 would present a threat to the country’s financial stability. In a Thursday hearing of the House Financial Services Committee on the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s Annual Report to Congress, Yellen hinted that the stablecoin market was not yet at a size in which UST dropping to under $0.40 and USDT — the largest stablecoin by market capitalization — briefly depegging from the dollar to hit $0.96 would create a …

The administration of the newly-elected President of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, wastes no time in his drive to maintain the country’s stature as a center for innovation, as South Korea hopes to roll out comprehensive crypto legislation in 2023 and institutionalize the sector by 2024. On Wednesday, South Korean newspaper Kukmin, citing a leaked governmental document, reported that the administration is looking to introduce the Digital Asset Basic Act (DABA) in the next year and to follow it up with more legislation by 2024. The bill is part of the 110 policy aims that the new president introduced earlier this …

The Central Bank of Chile has delayed its plans for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) saying the issuance of a digital Chilean peso requires a deeper analysis of the benefits and risks, promising a new report toward the end of the year. A report from the bank published on May 11 included a preliminary evaluation of a Chilean CBDC. It explored the country’s current payment system, along with the benefits, risks and principles of issuing a digital peso. The bank stated while the current payment system “works adequately” and has been able to “adapt well to recent challenges,” a …

A group of eight organizations focused on the environment have called on different government agencies under the Biden administration to implement new approaches in response to proof-of-work (PoW) and other crypto mining operations. In a letter to the United States Office of Science and Technology Policy on Monday, the Environmental Working Group, Earthjustice, Greenpeace, the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, the Seneca Lake Guardian and the Milwaukee Riverkeeper urged the White House to enact policies aimed at curbing “the electricity use and climate pollution associated with digital currencies that rely on [PoW].” Specifically, the …

United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen called on U.S. lawmakers to develop a "consistent federal framework” on stablecoins to address risks to financial stability. In a Tuesday hearing of the Senate Banking Committee on the Financial Stability Oversight Council Annual Report to Congress, Yellen reiterated her previous position calling for a regulatory framework on stablecoins, citing a November report from the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets. In addition, the Treasury Secretary commented on TerraUSD (UST), the third-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, dropping to $0.67 in the last 24 hours. “I think [the situation with TerraUSD] simply illustrates …

Bitcoin (BTC) mining has always been a controversial topic. But, Bitcoin’s proof-of-work (PoW) model has reached new levels of concern as senior decision-makers and investors pay closer attention to environmental, social and governance factors. As such, many crypto miners are highlighting environmentally friendly practices by acquiring carbon offsets. Yet, some would argue that this isn’t enough to guarantee green Bitcoin mining. Other risk factors may also be involved with carbon credits. For instance, Kevin O’Leary — the Canadian entrepreneur better known as “Mr. Wonderful” for his role on Shark Tank — told Cointelegraph that he typically indexes public mining companies …

The United States continues to be a global leader in embracing the cryptocurrency industry thanks to the work of Sen. Patrick Toomey, with the White House being at the forefront of crypto regulation. Last year, President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill — and it included some new legislation that would impact the crypto sector. And more recently, the U.S. president announced a “whole-of-government” approach to regulating cryptocurrency in an across-the-board executive order directing multiple government agencies to answer specific questions on cryptocurrencies. The U.S. for the last year has clearly been seeking to help make the …

The Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis told Cointelegraph that the region has a regulatory regime in place that will enable crypto businesses to operate within its jurisdiction. During an interview at SALT’s Crypto Bahamas conference, Davis shared that The Bahamas recently published a white paper framework that will allow crypto businesses to “grow and prosper,” while letting companies understand the region’s expectations. He added: “The policy also takes into account the balance between concerns people have about cryptocurrency and the risks that come along with it. [The] policy is to protect consumers, [the] integrity of the space and at [the] …

Decentralized finance firm Qredo has received approval for registration as a Bitcoin (BTC) service provider in El Salvador. In a Wednesday announcement, Qredo said the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador accepted the crypto firm's registration as a recognized Bitcoin service provider as laid out in the country’s Bitcoin Law. According to the registration website, Qredo was authorized to custody BTC, provide Bitcoin wallets, process payments and act as a digital asset exchange. HOT OFF THE PRESS#ElSalvador's Central Bank has approved Qredo to offer a range of Bitcoin services Qredo is the country's only #dMPC custody provider Such an important …