US Treasury Charges Bittrex With Sanctions Violations, Crypto Exchange Agrees to Settle With Regulator

On October 11, the U.S. Treasury department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it has settled charges with the cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex. The crypto exchange was accused of sanctions violations and failure to “implement effective sanctions compliance controls” between March 2014 and December 2017. Crypto Exchange … Read more

SWIFT Aims to Test Tokenization in 2022, Clearstream, Northern Trust, SETL to Participate

SWIFT, the Belgian-based cooperative that serves as an intermediary and settlement executor of financial transactions between banks worldwide is planning to experiment with asset tokenization in 2022. In a blog post about the subject, SWIFT notes that it will be working with firms like Clearstream, Northern Trust, and SETL to explore “the feasibility and benefits” … Read more

Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Africa to Trial Cross-Border Digital Currency Payments

The central banks of Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Republic of South Africa have set out to test the use of state-issued digital currencies in cross-border payments. The trial, led by the Bank for International Settlements, aims to establish whether they can simplify transactions and make them cheaper. Reserve Bank of Australia Teams Up With … Read more

China Offers Medics Digital Yuan Insurance Policy for Covid-19

China’s first insurance policy using the digital yuan for settlement has been issued in Shenzhen, local media reported. The new product, targeting medical personnel exposed to coronavirus risks, is offered by the country’s largest insurer, Ping An. The financial giant also has fintech and healthtech entities under its umbrella. Ping An Teams Up With Bank … Read more

Southeast Asia’s Largest Bank DBS Says Trading Volumes on Its Cryptocurrency Exchange Have Increased 10 Times

DBS, Southeast Asia’s largest bank, says that cryptocurrency trading volumes on its exchange have grown 10 times to around $30 million to $40 million. The bank is also collaborating with JPMorgan on a blockchain settlement platform and plans to launch its first security token offering in the second quarter, its CEO has revealed. DBS’ Crypto … Read more

Payment Giant Visa Integrates USDC Stablecoin Support for Settlement

On Monday, the American multinational financial services corporation Visa announced that digital currency payments have arrived on Visa’s settlement platform. The payment giant revealed that the company will leverage USD coin (USDC), the regulated token built on top of the Ethereum network. A lot Has Changed Since Dee Hock founded Visa Visa has announced cryptocurrency … Read more

Legal Battle Between Bitmain Co-Founders Appears to End With Micree Zhan Taking Control of the Company

The long-lasting legal battle between co-founders of China-based Bitmain seems to have seen the light at the end of the tunnel after both parties agreed to reach an agreement. Legal Tussle Between Bitmain Co-Founders Reportedly Ended With a $600 Million Compensation for Jihan Wu According to Chinese media outlets, citing local crypto journalist Colin Wu, … Read more

$16B Worth of Dollar-Pegged Cryptos: Stablecoins Add $100M a Day Since Mid-July

Stablecoins have been gathering a lot of steam and settling massive value in recent months. Moreover, on Thursday, Coin Metrics’ executive Nic Carter mentioned on Twitter that “stablecoins have been adding $100 [million per day] since mid-July. While a number of dollar-pegged stablecoins have seen demand, the longstanding tether is still capturing most of the … Read more

Wells Fargo Fined $3 Billion for 15 Years of Illegal Practices Affecting Millions of Customers

Wells Fargo, one of the largest U.S. financial services companies, has agreed to pay $3 billion to resolve the U.S. government’s investigations into fraudulent sales practices spanning over 15 years. The Wells Fargo fraud case involved the company forging customer signatures, moving money from millions of customer accounts to unauthorized accounts, and misusing customers’ sensitive … Read more