RBB Lab, a technology development firm based in the Republic of San Marino, has utilized nonfungible token (NFT) technology to issue a court summons to a former employee and a contractor. RBB Lab CEO Enrico Rubboli told Cointelegraph that it summoned the two individuals to the Judiciary of Italy on claims of attempted extortion and aggravated defamation of the firm. The summons was “an order restriction that we are asking them to stop this campaign against us,” said Rubboli. This is the first time that an NFT has been used to deliver a court summons in Italy. If this technology …

Working on their national crypto framework, the amendments to the law “On virtual assets,” the Ukrainian regulatory community actively collaborates with international experts. The list includes the international consultancy firm Ernst&Young and the USAID Financial Sector Reform project. On Dec. 1, the Advisory Council on the Regulation of Virtual Assets, organized by the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, held its first meeting. The regulatory experts discussed the amendments to the law "On virtual assets", which should adjust the National Tax Code to crypto regulation. The event was attended by representatives of the President's Office, the National Bank of Ukraine, …

Cryptocurrency miners in Russia appear to be unbothered by the ongoing crisis of crypto mining as the local demand for mining hardware has reportedly been on the surge in Q4 2022. Some crypto mining hardware distributors in Russia have faced a significant spike in demand for mining-designed application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips, the local news agency Kommersant reported on Dec. 1. Local dealer Chilkoot reported its ASIC sales in November and October exceeded its entire sales made in Q3. Over the past nine months, the distributor reportedly sold 65% more hardware than in 2021. “We are working with legal entities, …

Central bank governors from around the globe are currently in Thailand to discuss the role of central banks amid evolving financial technology. The conference is jointly hosted by the Bank of Thailand (BOT) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). A panel discussion on digitalized monetary systems saw Eddie Yue, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Changyong Rhee, governor of the Bank of Korea, Adrian Orr, governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and Cecilia Skingsley from Bank for International Settlements discuss the rise of digital assets and central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and the risks associated …

The United States Trustee handling FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings has referred to the now-defunct exchange as the "fastest big corporate failure in American history," and is calling for an independent probe to look into its downfall. In a Dec. 1 motion, U.S. Trustee Andrew Vara noted that over the course of eight days in November, debtors "suffered a virtually unprecedented decline in value" from a market high of $32 billion earlier in the year to a several liquidity crisis after a "proverbial 'run on the bank.'" "The result is what is likely the fastest big corporate failure in American history, resulting …

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has been lambasted this week following a series of controversial public appearances, with Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz one of the latest to dish out a lashing to the former kingpin of crypto. On Dec. 1, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz unleashed a tirade of criticism towards SBF concerning his interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times annual DealBook Summit on Nov. 30. Speaking to Bloomberg, Novogratz characterized SBF as “delusional” following his declaration in the live interview that he never tried to commit fraud. “It’s kind of surprising that his lawyers …

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has submitted a proposed change in state laws that would allow it to charge licensed crypto companies for regulating them. While that may seem like an odd proposition, under Financial Services Law (FSL) it is common practice for the DFS to charge licensed non-crypto financial entities for the cost and expenses of maintaining oversight over them. The proposal is led by DFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris, who announced the move via the DFS website on Dec. 1 and has submitted it for public feedback over the following 10 days. Essentially, Harris is …

United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Rostin Behnam told a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee meeting Dec. 1 that his agency’s regulations contain “core elements that have served the markets for decades.” But as the fallout from the FTX collapse gets sorted out, notable gaps in current legislation have come to light, Behnam and the senators agreed. Sen. Tina Smith called the FTX collapse “shocking, not surprising,” and said that future crises will continue to occur as long as regulatory gaps remain. Behnam pointed out that the Securities and Exchange Commission has the authority to require basic safeguards …

The New York State Department of Financial Services, or NYDFS, has proposed a regulation which would allow the government department to assess supervisory costs from licensed crypto firms operating in the state. In a Dec. 1 announcement, NYDFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris opened the proposed budget measure for public comment. The regulation, if approved, would grant the department the authority to assess costs for the supervision and examination of firms operating in the state with a BitLicense — a requirement for crypto companies since 2015. “This assessment authority will allow the Department to continue building the team that is leading the …

As a crypto CEO, I know how often our sector is misunderstood and criticized. Sometimes, the criticism is deserved because we have not always done our part to shine a light on the utility and use cases powering positive change. But other times, it’s based on the assumption that all players in this industry are the same, which is just not true. Recently, skepticism reached new heights with the epic crash of FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world — and perhaps the largest-ever example of the need for regulatory oversight. Given the positioning of FTX, it …

Italy is planning to tighten regulations on digital currencies by expanding its tax laws to include cryptocurrency trading in 2023, according to budget documentation released on Dec. 1. Included in its 2023 budget are plans to impose a 26% levy on profits larger than 2000 euros ( $2,062.3) made on cryptocurrency trading, according to Bloomberg. Prior to this proposal, digital currencies had lower tax rates because they were previously considered “foreign currency." In the proposed bill, taxpayers will have the option to declare the value of their digital asset holdings as of Jan. 1, and pay a 14% tax. This …

Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, chair Rostin Behnam has cited LedgerX, the crypto derivatives and clearing platform based in the United States which was not part of FTX Group’s Chapter 11 filing, as an example of how regulating crypto firms could benefit U.S. consumers. In a Dec. 1 hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee exploring the collapse of FTX, Behnam said LedgerX had essentially been “walled off” from many of the companies within FTX Group — including those that filed for bankruptcy — that provided a regulatory window for the CFTC. The CFTC chair said LedgerX was “healthy”, “solvent”, …