We previously reported on the Kentucky court that issued a temporary restraining order against BitConnect. On Wednesday, that TRO was extended to February 27. Yesterday, a new lawsuit was brought against BitConnect in federal court in Florida. The judge in this case refused to enter a TRO freezing the defendants’ assets. Following are the material parts of the decision: Plaintiffs argue that without the TRO, Defendants may “dissipate money generated from Plaintiffs and the Class or…
Last week, India’s Finance Minster, Arun Jaitley, made the following statement: The government does not recognize cryptocurrency as legal tender or coin and will take all measures to eliminate the use of these cryptoassets in financing illegitimate activities or as part of the payments system in India As Forbes reports, this was reported by many as the banning of cryptocurrency in India but that seems to have been an overstatement. The issue remains gray and…
The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has issued guidance reminding all virtual currency entities licensed by New York State, including those that hold a money transmitter license, that they are required to implement measures designed to effectively detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, attempted fraud, and similar wrongdoing. In addition, DFS reminded virtual currency companies that they must be especially vigilant against efforts at market manipulation. In the guidance issued today, DFS…
SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and CFTC Chairman Christopher Giancarlo testified today before Congress on the subject of virtual currencies. The prepared remarks of both contained very little that they had not already said in previous public comments. (For example, Mr. Clayton repeated that the ICOS he has seen would qualify as a “security” and this need to be registered) Each also referred to the enforcement actions that their agencies had taken (mostly over the past…
In statements published today, officials in Singapore confirmed a mainly hands-off policy regarding cryptocurrencies and stated that they had no plans to ban cryptocurrency as part of its future regulatory plans. As have many other governments, it warned about the risks of investing in cryptocurrency. At the same time, the government said it wanted to “continue to encourage experiments in the blockchain space that may involve the use of cryptocurrencies, because some of these innovations…
Over the past few decades, supply chain management has benefited immensely from technological advances that have made it easier and faster to transport cargo from one place to another. However despite these advances, supply chains continue to face challenges when it comes to tracking cargo, ensuring the integrity of cargo and holding members of the supply chain accountable for cargo, as it moves from one participant in the chain to the next. Blockchain has the…
According to a Bloomberg report, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. said they’re halting purchases of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on their credit cards. The banks do not want the credit risk associated with the transactions. There is also the risk that thieves will abuse cards that were purloined or based on stolen identities, turning them into crypto hoards.
On 1 February the European Commission announced the launch of a new EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum. The aims of the Observatory are to: map key existing blockchain initiatives in Europe and beyond; monitor blockchain developments, analyse trends and address emerging issues; become a knowledge hub on blockchain; promote European blockchain actors and reinforce European engagement with multiple stakeholders; be a communications channel to set out the EU’s vision and ambition with respect to blockchain…
Government issued identification is one of the areas that garners a lot of attention in terms of the potential uses of blockchain technology outside the world of fintech. One driver is the susceptibility of existing systems to hacking and the attendant risk of identity theft. Another is the simple unwieldly system of so many government issued IDs — birth certificates, drivers licenses, passports, social security cards — all of which are paper-based in the U.S. …