Commissioner Hester Peirce — also known as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) “crypto mom” — has backed a regulatory framework for stablecoins that allows “room for there to be failure.” Speaking at an online panel on Thursday hosted by financial think-tank the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), Peirce, who has long been an advocate for crypto, was asked to shed light on the actions being taken by U.S. regulatory bodies in regard to cryptocurrency. “One place we might see some movement is around stablecoins,” Peirce answered, “that’s an area that has gotten a lot of …

Despite the growing adoption of various cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) all over the world, the global trading community continues to ask one question: When will a spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF go live in the United States? According to some ETF analysts, a spot Bitcoin ETF could become real in mid-2023, following years of rejection by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Despite the SEC’s apparent unwillingness to allow such a product, industry players like Grayscale continue to actively push for a spot BTC ETF. There are a decent number of reasons why a potential approval of a spot Bitcoin …

Newly discovered documents could pose a major roadblock for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its case against Ripple if they prove a former commission official had a conflict of interest. The SEC has been embroiled in a legal battle against blockchain company Ripple since 2020, in which the crypto company and senior executives Brad Garlinghouse and Christian Larsen were charged with selling Ripple (XRP) tokens as unregistered securities. In a Wednesday announcement, corruption watchdog Empower Oversight claimed that documents obtained under a Freedom Of Information request suggested former SEC director of corporate finance William Hinman had …

The annual meeting of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) began Wednesday in Madrid. United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Rostin Behnam were both featured as keynote speakers at the event, with Behnam speaking at the morning session and Gensler in the afternoon. Behnam spoke at length about “a request for an amended order of registration as a derivatives clearing organization (DCO) by an entity seeking to offer non-intermediated clearing of margined products to retail participants,” which was transparently a reference to FTX US’s request. “As other …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking to hire more people to focus on digital assets, raising the number of personnel charged with safeguarding investors in cryptocurrency markets almost twofold. The SEC's Cyber Unit, which comprises the Crypto Assets and Cyber team, is expected to hire 20 new people to increase the overall force to 50 dedicated positions, as reported by Cointelegraph on May 3. This development comes as the regulatory body attempts to keep up with the rise in the popularity of virtual assets. The SEC's decision to expand its cryptocurrency unit has been praised by …

Bitcoin (BTC) mining has always been a controversial topic. But, Bitcoin’s proof-of-work (PoW) model has reached new levels of concern as senior decision-makers and investors pay closer attention to environmental, social and governance factors. As such, many crypto miners are highlighting environmentally friendly practices by acquiring carbon offsets. Yet, some would argue that this isn’t enough to guarantee green Bitcoin mining. Other risk factors may also be involved with carbon credits. For instance, Kevin O’Leary — the Canadian entrepreneur better known as “Mr. Wonderful” for his role on Shark Tank — told Cointelegraph that he typically indexes public mining companies …

SBI Motor Japan, a subsidiary of SBI Africa Co. Ltd., has announced that its customers can now make payments for used cars using Bitcoin (BTC) and Ripple (XRP). According to the announcement by SBI on Monday, the development marks the first time XRP cryptocurrency will be deployed on a cross-border e-commerce website in Japan. The BTC and XRP transactions will be settled on the SBI VC Trade Co. Ltd, a cryptocurrency exchange owned by the SBI Group. The platform, according to SBI, will use appropriate security methods in order to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing through crypto transactions. Furthermore, …

CEO and co-founder of crypto mining and investment platform Mining Capital Coin (MCC) Luiz Capuci has been indicted by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) for “allegedly orchestrating a $62 million global investment fraud scheme.” The DOJ is charging Capuci with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit international money laundering in relation to several allegedly fraudulent schemes that were run via MCC. If found guilty, he faces a maximum prison sentence of 45 years. According to the DOJ’s indictment, Capuci, alongside unnamed co-conspirators, is accused of misleading investors over the profit-bearing …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has announced that it has settled charges against Nvidia — the company behind graphics cards used by many crypto miners — in regards to “inadequate disclosures.” In a Friday announcement, the SEC said that Nvidia failed to disclose that mining cryptocurrencies was “a significant element of its material revenue growth” based on sales of its graphics processing units, or GPUs, during the 2018 fiscal year. The company has agreed to pay a $5.5 million penalty and will be subject to a cease-and-desist order based on violations of the Securities Act of …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given the green light to Valkyrie’s futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) application. This represents another ETF that has been approved by the SEC, which has previously accepted futures ETFs, but no sign of spot ETFs yet. According to the SEC document published Thursday, the application was filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 using a 19b-4 form, the same law that spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF prospects are relying on — albeit with little success thus far. Last month, the watchdog gave the thumbs-up to Teucrium’s Bitcoin futures ETF, which is the …

Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of the hedge fund SkyBridge Capital, thinks that the next United States presidential candidate will likely be pro-cryptocurrency, given that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced the approval of a fourth Bitcoin (BTC) futures exchange-traded fund (ETF). During an interview at SALT’s Crypto Bahamas conference, Scaramucci told Cointelegraph that he has been bullish on a pro-crypto presidential candidate since the SEC approved Bitcoin futures under the Securities Act of 1933 (‘33 Act) and the Securities Act of 1934 ('34 Act). He added: “The Congress is indicating that they are more crypto-friendly. You now …

A new crypto litigation tracker from commercial law firm Morrison Cohen LLP shows details of more than 300 active and settled court cases since 2013. Morrison Cohen is a New York-based firm that caters to large financial institutions, entrepreneurs and early-growth stage companies and specializes in capital markets, business litigation, real estate and bankruptcy, to name a few. The company also has a cryptocurrency litigation team. The Morrison Cohen Cryptocurrency Litigation Tracker was published on Tuesday and contains any case development related to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Department of Justice …