U.S. Representative Ted Budd (R-NC) has sponsored a new piece of legislation aimed at creating an agency tasked with combating the use of cryptocurrencies in terrorist financing. The bill — H.R. 296 — is co-sponsored by Reps. Warren Davidson (R-OH), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Byron Donalds (R-FL), and Darren Soto (D-FL) and was introduced on Wednesday. Apart from creating the task force, the bill also seeks to: “Provide rewards for information leading to convictions related to terrorist use of digital currencies, to establish a Fintech Leadership in Innovation and Financial Intelligence Program to encourage the development of tools and programs to …

Ripple will be sued by the United States Security and Exchange Commission for allegedly selling unlicensed securities in the form of XRP tokens, according to Fortune. In a move reminiscent of Coinbase's recent front-running of a New York Times expose of its alleged treatment of employees of color, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has taken the unusual step of posting to Twitter to seemingly legislate the issue in the court of public opinion. Today, the SEC voted to attack crypto. Chairman Jay Clayton - in his final act - is picking winners and trying to limit US innovation in the crypto …

The assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province in northwestern Pakistan, has become the first legislative assembly to call for changes in the country’s stance toward cryptocurrencies. As previously reported, Pakistan has, to date, been relatively slow to introduce new frameworks for digital assets and cryptocurrencies. This week’s resolution to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly was reportedly introduced on Dec. 2 by Sumera Shams, a member of the provincial assembly and the centrist political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI. Fellow PTI member Zia Ullah Bangash, who is also Advisor to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Science and Technology and Information …

Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Avanti Financial, is asking crypto users and others to testify in support of a piece of legislation which could help stop SIM swap attacks. In a tweet posted today, Long requested that any of her 70,500 followers who had been the victim of a SIM swap testify for the Wyoming legislature on Dec. 16. According to the Wyoming State Legislature website, the Avanti CEO will join members of the Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology online to discuss the issue of SIM swaps. Also in attendance will be Joel Revill, …

Argentine congressman Ignacio Torres plans to present a bill addressing cryptocurrencies to the Argentine Parliament. Cointelegraph en Español spoke with Efraín Barraza, Operations Manager of Athena Bitcoin in Argentina, and Alberto Vega, CEO of Bithan, who collaborated on the draft and who are looking to discuss a legal framework for crypto in Argentina. Both Barraza and Vega remarked that their interest is to have a conversation and debate about blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in Argentina, so that they do not get left behind, and considering that other countries are already discussing these issues. Efraín Barraza explained: "We understand that the …

In January 2020, the European Union released its Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive to increase transparency while tackling fraud, money laundering and cybercrimes. The 5AMLD extended the scope of customer due diligence checks, introduced domestic and politically exposed persons, extended the creation of central registrars of beneficial ownership, and extended Anti-Money Laundering checks to majority-owned subsidiaries outside the European Union. Related: New EU AML compliance laws could disrupt the crypto industry In December 2020, an updated Anti-Money Laundering Directive, known as the 6AMLD, will come into effect around the world, and any organizations operating within the EU will need to comply …

Two bills introduced last week looked to solidify the roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — respectively the regulators for securities and commodities in the United States. The bills featured many of the usual suspects in legislation touching on crypto but one less familiar face was U.S. Representative Mike Conaway (R-TX). Currently serving as the ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, Conaway has been in Congress since 2005, predating Bitcoin’s whitepaper. His tenure has not been especially crypto-heavy. Nonetheless, he’s behind a bill that could transform how the U.S. handles crypto exchanges, …

Repeatedly, proponents of disruptive technologies have proven that regulation and innovation have an immense potential to actualize a mutually beneficial existence. The often delicate relationship between innovators and regulators — which may be mired by antagonism — is fundamental to the functioning of the global economy, especially at times as challenging as we are facing now. The fuel that keeps the fire of the important relationship between regulators and businesses alight — like any — is communication and collaboration. This could not be more apt when it comes to the innovators behind distributed ledger technology and the regulators in overseeing …

Federal regulators in Germany are looking to modernize the country’s securities with blockchain technology. On Aug. 11, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) and the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) introduced a draft bill on blockchain-based digital securities. In the official statement, the authorities outlined that the adoption of digital securities is one of the core aspects of the federal government's blockchain strategy. According to current legislation in Germany, financial instruments that are classified as securities must be secured in a document. Blockchain technology would thus help guarantee liquidity and compliance by providing a replacement for the …

China, one of the world’s most strict jurisdictions for cryptocurrency trading, has not completely banned Bitcoin (BTC), a local non-profit arbitration organization says. According to a July 30 report published by the Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC), China's prohibition of Bitcoin is more nuanced than some have suggested. Bitcoin does not constitute money in China In the report, the BAC clarified China's legal stance on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and outlined major crypto-related activities that are prohibited by the government. According to the BAC, China prohibits token funding and trading platforms from engaging in exchanges between the legal tender and virtual currency …

The Chinese Supreme Court believes that cryptocurrency property rights should be strengthened. In a document published on July 22, China’s Supreme Court calls for strengthening the protection of property rights pertaining to — among other things — “digital currency, network virtual property, and data.” The official court opinion aims to “promote the improvement of a modern property rights system with clear ownership.” The document also mentions the intention to strike against the “use of public power to infringe private property rights, illegal seizure [...] and freezing of private enterprise property.“ Furthermore, the court’s statement calls for the punishment of all …

Although Rhode Island’s recent Blockchain Act does not explicitly reference cryptocurrencies, the bill aims to provide regulatory clarity for them. “If you look at the legislation, it doesn’t necessarily mention crypto specifically, but when it talks about complex financial instruments and things of that nature, that’s what it’s referring to — it’s referring to cryptocurrency,” Rhode Island state representative David Place told Cointelegraph in an interview. The bill looks like a blockchain-only bill, but also includes crypto Rhode Island state representatives David Place and Blake Filippi sponsored a new bill on March 11, called the Rhode Island Economic Growth Blockchain …