The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has announced charges against Hydrogen Technology Corporation and its market marker Moonwalkers Trading Limited related to allegedly perpetrating a scheme to manipulate the trading volume and price of Hydro tokens. In a Sept. 28 announcement, the SEC said former Hydrogen CEO Michael Ross Kane hired Moonwalkers and its CEO Tyler Ostern “to create the false appearance of robust market activity” following the distribution of Hydro tokens through an airdrop, bounty programs, and direct sales in 2018. Kane then had Moonwalkers sell the tokens in the “artificially inflated market” for more than …

Kalin Metodiev, the co-founder and managing partner of crypto lender Nexo stated his firm was “surprised” by the way in which eight state regulators publicly took action against it for securities violations. Earlier this week the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DFPI) filed a desist and refrain order against Nexo’s Earn Interest Product, claiming the company was offering a security product that had not been cleared by the government for sale in the form of an investment contract. The DFPI also stated that it was joining regulators from seven other states in taking action against the company, including …

Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner (CFTC) Caroline Pham has proposed the creation of an “Office of the Retail Advocate” aimed at expanding the CFTC's consumer protection mandate. Pham referred to the office as a “voice for the people” in a speech given at an event hosted by blockchain project Corda on Sept. 27, suggesting recent events in crypto make retail protection a more pressing issue, noting: “The crypto crash, risk management failures, and substantial retail losses, gives urgency to the need to balance innovation with retail protection and appropriate regulation.” Pham has modeled the proposed office on the Security and Exchange …

The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has sparked strong criticism from the community after filing a federal civil enforcement action against members of decentralized autonomous organization Ooki DAO over digital asset trading violations. In a Sept. 22 release, the CFTC stated that it had filed and simultaneously settled charges against the founders of decentralized trading platform bZeroX Tom Bean and Kyle Kistner for their role in “illegally offering leveraged and margined retail commodity transactions in digital assets” However, the community has kicked up a fuss over a simultaneous civil enforcement action against bZeroX’s associated Ooki DAO and its members, which …

Crypto markets are flashing a bit of green on Sept. 22 as Bitcoin (BTC) price tacked on a 4.7% gain to trade above $19,300 and Ether (ETH) surged 6.5% to recapture the $1,300 level. RSR and and Astar Network (ASTAR) also surged by 23% and 17% respectively, but the more notable mover of the day was XRP. Currently, XRP price reflects a near 25% gain and the asset is up 41% in the past month. According to defense lawyer, James K. Filan, on Sept. 18 Ripple Labs filed a motion for summary judgement - a legal process which involves the …

A United States crypto advocacy group, the Chamber of Digital Commerce (CDC), has been granted approval from the Court of Southern District of New York to participate as an amicus curiae in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case against Ripple Labs. The status of “friend of the court” permits them to assist a court by providing information, expertise or insight. An order was signed by Judge Analisa Torres on Sept. 21. The CDC shall file its brief by Sept. 26. While explaining its interest in the case, the CDC legal team emphasized the far-reaching consequences of the court …

The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has made an unprecedented claim that Ethereum transactions take place in the United States as ETH nodes are “clustered more densely” in the United States than any other country. The SEC argument is found within a Sept. 19 lawsuit against crypto researcher and YouTuber Ian Balina, which alleged, among many other complaints, that Balina conducted an unregistered offering of Sparkster (SPRK) tokens when he formed an investing pool on Telegram in 2018. The SEC claims that at the time that U.S.-based investors participated in Balina’s investing pool, the ETH contributions were validated by a network …

Caroline Pham, one of five commissioners at the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, met with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse ahead of a court decision which could affect how regulators handle XRP tokens. In a Monday tweet, Pham said she visited Ripple Labs’ offices as part of a “learning tour” involving crypto and blockchain. Garlinghouse later tweeted that the commissioner’s visit was related to “public-private engagement” — likely referring to a privately funded company like Ripple engaging with U.S. regulators. The next stop on my learning tour was visiting @Ripple Labs. Thanks @bgarlinghouse! #XRP #crypto #blockchain pic.twitter.com/ICr8H2ZE3q — …

As the world waits to see America’s take on cryptocurrency regulation, crypto enthusiasts should keep one thing in mind: The industry can trust Senator Cynthia Lummis. Her proposal with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, which we’ve all been waiting for action on, is bipartisan in nature. We’re still awaiting the final details, but things have slowed to a crawl with the November elections around the corner. United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler has moved forward with commentary that suggests the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will take a major role in the oversight of Bitcoin (BTC), which, in and of …

On Sept. 8, Coinbase announced it was bankrolling a lawsuit against the United States Treasury Department. The cryptocurrency exchange is funding a lawsuit brought by six people that challenges the sanctions on Tornado Cash. And on Sept. 9, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler announced he was working hard with Congress to create legislation to increase cryptocurrency regulations. But these two stories are not mutually exclusive. And the sequence of events proves that governments are purely reactive rather than proactive when it comes to decentralized finance (DeFi). Tornado Cash was sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control …

A quick flick through Twitter, any social media investing club, or investing-themed Reddit will quickly allow one to find handfuls of traders who have vastly excelled throughout a month, semester, or even a year. Believe it or not, most successful traders cherry-pick periods or use different accounts simultaneously to ensure there’s always a winning position to display. On the other hand, millions of traders blow up their portfolios and turn out empty-handed, especially when using leverage. Take, for example, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which requires that brokers disclose the percentage of their accounts in the region that …

Following United States President Joe Biden’s executive order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, federal agencies came up with a joint fact sheet on six principal directions for the crypto regulation in the U.S. It sums up the content of nine separate reports, which have been submitted to the President to “articulate a clear framework for responsible digital asset development and pave the way for further action at home and abroad.” The fact sheet was published on the White House official website on Sept. 16, and consists of seven sections: (1) Protecting Consumers, Investors, and Businesses; (2) Promoting Access …