Regulation

The government of Kazakhstan has received 3.07 billion tenge (approximately $7 million) in tax payments from crypto mining entities in 2022, following the implementation of an amended law regulating the fiscal burden of mining cryptocurrencies, according to the local media reports. Preliminary data from the government for 2023 shows that mining fees collected by April 27

Binance is under investigation by the United States Justice Department (DOJ) national security division for allowing Russians to use the cryptocurrency exchange in violation of U.S. sanctions, according to a report that appeared in Bloomberg on May 5. There have been no accusations against the company or its executive in connection with the investigation. The

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued its largest-ever whistleblower award totaling $279 million. The SEC generally issues awards ranging between 10% to 30% of collected monetary sanctions that are larger than $1 million. To receive such an award, the whistleblower needs to have provided information that directly assists the SEC in successfully

On May 4, Argentina’s central bank banned payment providers from offering crypto transactions, alleging it intends to reduce the country’s payment-system exposure to digital assets.  According to a statement from the monetary authority, payment providers may not offer or facilitate crypto services through their applications. The move brings payment fintechs and financial institutions under the

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, has announced the inspection of sites across the country “suspected of hosting illegally operated crypto ATMs.” In a May 5 announcement, the FCA said it had coordinated with local authorities in the cities of Exeter, Nottingham and Sheffield to raid facilities suspected of operating unregistered cryptocurrency ATMs.

The United States vice president and President Biden’s top advisors have held a meeting with several AI industry CEOs to discuss “concerns about the risks associated with AI.” On May 4, U.S. vice president Kamala Harris was joined by nine top Biden administration advisors in science, national security, policy and economics, meeting with the CEOs

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments. SUI rises to glory as Sun sets sights on it On Apr. 30, cryptocurrency exchange Binance unveiled two LaunchPools for the then-up-and-coming listing of Sui tokens. As a Layer-1 blockchain created by Mysten Labs, which in turn was founded by former

The use and popularity of cryptocurrencies have significantly increased in recent years, but their decentralized nature makes them difficult to regulate, and the lack of a clear framework has led to concerns about money laundering, terrorist financing and consumer protection. Over 90 countries have introduced cryptocurrency regulations since 2014, with 28 adopting crypto-related laws in

Nigeria, known to be one of the world’s most curious nations about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), has approved the National Blockchain Policy for Nigeria during its meeting on May 3, 2023. The approval was in response to a memo presented by Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.  The

The former OpenSea manager who was accused of insider trading of NFTs has been convicted on May 3 of wire fraud and money laundering in a New York federal court, according to a report from Reuters. According to prosecutors, Nathaniel Chastain, a former Product Manager at OpenSea, was in charge of choosing which NFTs would

Cryptocurrencies were designed to be anonymous or pseudonymous, so there is an inherent tension when protocols come up against jurisdictional authorities.  In the United States, the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector has jousted with regulators over the need to comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules, and even over adherence to economic

A cryptocurrency YouTuber has been served a lawsuit through a tweet after a United States court allowed the action as lawyers claimed they couldn’t serve him through other means. A May 2 order from a Florida District Court Judge granted The Moskowitz Law Firm permission to serve legal notice to crypto YouTuber Tom Nash via

United States Congressmen Warren Davidson and Mike Flood have written a letter to the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) demanding an explanation for a chapter the agency prepared for the Economic Report of the President that expressed “a hostile view towards the digital asset ecosystem.”  The report, presented to Congress is March,

The Ethereum network underwent the successful Shapella hard fork on April 12, allowing validators to withdraw their long-staked Ether (ETH) from the Beacon Chain after three years. In the first week of withdrawals, more than a million ETH was unstaked by validators. However, from the second week onward, the number of ETH staked was higher

Legislators in the European Union have pushed forward with a draft of a new bill designed to keep artificial intelligence technology in check. According to the bill, the high-risk tools will not be banned entirely, though they will be subjected to stricter transparency procedures. In particular, generative AI tools, including ChatGPT and Midjourney, will be

The deadline has come for comments on a consultation paper and call for evidence released by the United Kingdom’s HM Treasury on a proposed crypto asset regulatory framework. The long-awaited paper, published in February, drew detailed responses from a variety of cryptocurrency industry players. Blockchain provider Polygon Labs, venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), the Association for