Nasdaq, the American stock exchange, has no immediate plans of launching a crypto exchange until there’s better regulatory clarity from policymakers, said Tal Cohen, the company’s executive vice president. In an interview with Bloomberg, Cohen said that the retail side of the crypto market is fairly saturated and there are enough crypto exchanges catering to the needs of retail investors. He added that his firm would continue its focus on crypto custody services that were launched on Sept. 20. Cohen also shed some light on other crypto-related services that the exchange is working on, namely building execution capabilities on the …

Bitwise Asset Management announced on Oct. 3 a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) to both institutional and retail investors, giving them access to companies "positioned to benefit" from Web3 growth. Bitwise in a statement said it marks "the next wave of the internet's development characterized by greater decentralization and individual ownership of data." We have exciting news! Today we launched the Bitwise Web3 ETF (BWEB), a fund designed to provide focused exposure to one of the fastest-emerging themes in technology. For more information about the fund, go to: https://t.co/8rjQbwFJrM pic.twitter.com/RumkXViGl8 — Bitwise (@BitwiseInvest) October 4, 2022 Traded under the ticker BWEB, …

Are regulators with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission gearing up to take down Ethereum? Given the saber-rattling by officials — including SEC Chairman Gary Gensler — it certainly seems possible. The agency went on a crypto-regulatory spree in September. First, at its annual The SEC Speaks conference, officials promised to continue bringing enforcement actions and urged market participants to come in and register their products and services. Gensler even suggested crypto intermediaries should break up into separate legal entities and register each of their functions — exchange, broker-dealer, custodial functions, etc. — to mitigate conflicts of interest and enhance …

Terra co-founder Do Kwon, wanted by South Korean authorities, seems to live in a digital-era James Bond movie. The businessman, whose whereabouts are currently unknown, reacted via Twitter to Interpol issuing a Red Notice on him. Kwon told his followers that he calmly writes code in his living room, “making zero effort to hide.” Active on social media while facing potential arrest and prosecution in South Korea, Kwon showed his location as Singapore on his Twitter account at the time of publication. Meanwhile, South Korean authorities have requested crypto exchange OKX and Kucoin to freeze 3,313 Bitcoin (BTC) reportedly tied …

The crypto community reacted with a mix of disbelief and amusement after reality star Kim Kardashian was fined for promoting the cryptocurrency EthereumMax (EMAX). The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined Kardashian $1.26 million on Oct. 3, for “touting on social media” about the EMAX without disclosing she was paid $250,000 to post about it. Kardashian has neither admitted to nor denied the SEC’s allegations, but settled the charges and agreed to not promote any cryptocurrency assets until 2025. SEC chairman Gary Gensler tweeted the fine was a reminder that celebrity endorsement of investment opportunities doesn't “mean those …

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Oct. 3 that Kim Kardashian settled an allegation that she promoted “a crypto asset security offered and sold by EthereumMax without disclosing the payment [of $250,000] she received for the promotion.” While she cooperated and closed the case with $1.26 million in penalties, the charge highlights the liability that “influencers” increasingly face as a result of an activist SEC that has failed to establish regulatory clarity. Pushing influencers to leave the United States Addressing the agency’s action against Kardashian, Jacob Robinson, a legal scholar and host of the Law and Code podcast, noted …

Officials with the United States Financial Stability Oversight Council, or FSOC, have recommended U.S. lawmakers pass legislation to determine which “rulemaking authority” will be responsible for regulating parts of the crypto spot market. In an Oct. 3 meeting of the FSOC, Jonathan Rose, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said the FSOC had released a report in accordance with President Joe Biden’s executive order on crypto, detailing potential financial stability risks of digital assets and regulatory gaps. The report identified regulatory gaps including the spot market for cryptoassets that were not securities subject to “limited direct …

The bear market has not deterred one of the biggest Bitcoin (BTC) bulls. The balances of the New York Digital Investment Group, or NYDIG, hit record highs in Q3 of this year. Plus, a United States Securities and Exchange (SEC) filing could reveal the group’s intent to add more Bitcoin to its balance sheet. According to a press release, NYDIG's Bitcoin balances are “up almost 100% year-over-year, and revenue is up 130% through Q2, with another increase when the firm closes its books on Q3.” The company HODLs more Bitcoin than ever despite Bitcoin continuing to tread lower and lower …

XRP are hoping that the token could see a massive price rally in 2022 based off the fingers-crossed assumption that Ripple will win its long-running legal battle against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Hinman documents to save XRP bulls? On Sep. 29, the district court judge in the case, Judge Analisa Torres, ordered the commission to release the documents penned by William Hinman, the former director of the corporation finance division at the SEC. Hinman may have written about Ether (ETH), the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, not being a security in the concealed documents, believes Ripple. …

American socialite Kim Kardashian will pay $1.26 million in penalties for her involvement in the promotion of a cryptocurrency scheme called EthereumMax (EMAX). The United States Securities and Exchange Commission announced the charges against Kardashian on October 3 for ‘touting on social media a crypto asset security offered and sold by EthereumMax’ without disclosing the payment received for her promotional involvement. Kardashian has agreed to settle the charges and pay $1.26 million in penalties, disgorgement and interest and is set to cooperate with further investigations by the SEC into the EthereumMax project. The announcement noted that Kardashian had failed to …

United States Senator Bill Hagerty, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, introduced legislation seeking a safe harbor for cryptocurrency exchanges from “certain” Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement actions. The Digital Trading Clarity Act of 2022, introduced by Sen. Hagerty, aims to provide regulatory clarity around two primary concerns plaguing crypto exchange establishments — (i) the classification of digital assets and (ii) related liabilities under existing securities laws. Sen. Hagerty outlined an overview of the problems amid regulatory hurdles: “The current lack of regulatory clarity for digital assets presents entrepreneurs and businesses with a choice: navigate the significant regulatory …

Will Peck, the head of digital assets at exchange-traded fund provider WisdomTree said regulators in the United States will “ultimately get there” on approving a Bitcoin spot investment vehicle, but dealing with claims of market manipulation could be a challenge. Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Converge22 conference in San Francisco on Sept. 29, Peck said WisdomTree would not follow Grayscale by taking legal action against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for denying its Bitcoin (BTC) ETF application. According to Peck, the company planned to “engage more productively” with the SEC without a lawsuit, but tackling some of the regulator’s …