A Russian legislator who was one of the authors of the bill to legalize cryptocurrency mining in the country has been tied to a local over-the-counter (OTC) exchange known as Bankoff. Russian opposition activist Mikhail Khodorkovsky linked Bankoff OTC to lawmaker Andrei Lugovoi in an article of London-based investigative project Dossier Center on Dec. 19. The 6,000-word article was accompanied by a video titled “Crypto-Kremlin: How the authorities launder Bitcoin,” released on Khodorkovksy’s Live YouTube channel. According to Dossier, Bankoff is the most active peer-to-peer trader using Russian rubles on the major global crypto exchange Binance. As previously reported, Binance …

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 transactions of “designated crypto assets” entered into from the tax year 2022 to 2023 onwards will be qualified for the Investment Manager Exemption in the United Kingdom. Certain legislation was announced by the U.K. government back in April and is now executed by the Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). On Dec. 20, the HMRC published its legislation to define ‘designated crypto assets' and include them in the list of investment transactions that qualify for the Investment Manager Exemption. The regulation, coming into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, doesn’t contain a positive definition of “designated crypto assets.” …

From Jan. 1, 2023, the term “virtual currency” will take its place in the money transmission regulations of Alaska. It will oblige the companies dealing with digital currencies to obtain a money transmission license in the state. As reported by the law firm Cooley on Dec. 19, the state of Alaska amended its money transmission regulations to include the definition of “virtual currency.” According to the amendment to the local Administrative Code, adopted by the Division of Banking and Securities (DBS), the virtual currency is: “[A] digital representation of value that is used as a medium of exchange, unit of …

With more regulators eyeing the crypto space as the FTX debacle continues, the $1.5 billion merger of online investing platform Superhero with the Australian crypto exchange Swyftx was shelved. In an email to its customers, Superhero highlighted that it will not be proceeding with its merger with the crypto exchange. According to the company, this is because of heightened regulatory scrutiny within Australia and globally. They wrote: “As a result of the current environment, we have decided that the best thing for our Superhero customers is to unwind the merger and move forward as a separate, unrelated company.” The firm …

Before its downfall, crypto exchange FTX and its then-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried had been some of the most prolific spenders in the space, bailing out crypto firms and donating to political campaigns and media outlets. With more than 1 million FTX creditors looking to be made whole, what’s happening with these funds? Bankman-Fried said in May he had been willing to donate between $100 million and $1 billion to lawmakers as part of elections in 2024. Bloomberg reported on Dec. 12 — hours before SBF’s arrest in The Bahamas — that the total donations could be at least $73 million, given …

If you saw the returns in my crypto portfolio this year, you would take a pass on my predictions for the direction of the cryptocurrency market. So, I will stick to what I know and share some regulatory predictions for the crypto industry. Few legislative changes A few minor victories will logroll small legislative fixes into “must pass” bills like the defense authorization or omnibus spending bills. The top candidate would be a de minimis exemption for smaller crypto transactions to exempt users from capital gains tax liability every time they purchase a coffee with crypto. The protection for noncustodial …

More than six months after the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, South Korean authorities continue to investigate and freeze the funds of persons involved in Terra. After seizing 140 billion won ($108 million) from Terra co-founder Shin Hyun-Seong in November, the Seoul Southern District Court has recently ruled to confiscate more assets related to Terra. The South Korean court has ordered to freeze of 120 billion won ($92 million) in assets of former and incumbent CEOs of Terraform Labs’ affiliate firm Kernel Labs, The Korea Economic Daily reported on Dec. 20. Founded in 2018, Kernel Labs is a blockchain consultancy …

Busan, the blockchain city of South Korea, has moved a step closer to forming a local crypto exchange, but it has dropped most of the global centralized exchange partners. The drastic decision comes in the wake of the recent colossal failure of centralized exchanges. The city announced the steering committee comprising 18 local blockchain experts but none of the five exchanges that had agreed earlier this year to assist the city in establishing its first official digital asset exchange. The five exchanges included Binance, Crypto.com, Gate.io, Huobi Global and FTX. The steering committee is a municipal advisory body tasked with …

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, currently in the custody of Bahamian authorities, has reportedly agreed to be extradited to the United States to face charges. According to a Dec. 19 report from Reuters, Bankman-Fried’s legal team said it planned to prepare documents to have him reappear before the Bahamas Magistrate Court sometime this week. The former FTX CEO attended an emergency hearing of the court just hours earlier without any seeming adjudication or ruling — he returned to prison following the event. "Mr. Bankman-Fried wishes to put the customers right, and that is what has driven his decision,” reportedly said …

Staffers at the Bank of Canada released an analytic note on fiat-referenced crypto assets, otherwise known as stablecoins, Dec. 19. In addition to a review of mechanisms for creating and distributing stablecoins and a list of the potential risks and benefits they involve, the note expressed the authors’ support for further regulation of the crypto asset. The global market for fiat-referenced crypto assets increased 30-fold between the beginning of 2020 and mid-2022, reaching $161 billion in U.S. dollars. They are mainly used on crypto-trading platforms, the note states, but they have the potential for a wide variety of other uses, …

It would be ideal for the industry for Congress to weigh in on its fate rather than leaving it to unelected regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). To that end, representatives from both sides of the aisle have introduced bills designed to offer “regulatory clarity.” The moderate position seems to favor placing crypto mostly under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). To be sure, there are two Senate bills in particular that are not ideal. Boozman-Stabenow lacks clarity Democratic Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow has coauthored one proposal with Republican Sen. John Boozman. With …