Before the current run-up in cryptocurrency prices, there were the wild days of late 2017 into 2018. One of the poster-children for that craze was an iced-tea company in Long Island, New York known as Long Island Iced Tea. From approximately 2015 to 2017, the company’s principal business was ready-to-drink beverages. In December 2017, the company changed its name to Long Blockchain Corp. (LBCC) and announced that it was shifting its business operations from soft…
On February 17, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against Coinseed, a company that purported to offer a mobile investment application that enabled users to invest in digital assets, and its co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Delgerdalai Davaasambuu, in connection with Coinseed’s offer and sale of digital asset securities. According to the SEC’s complaint, from at least December 2017 to May 2018, Coinseed and Davaasambuu sold digital asset securities called “CSD tokens”…
We previously reported that India’s Parliament was going to be considering legislation that would largely ban the use of private cryptocurrency. Bloomberg is now reporting that cryptocurrency investors in India will be given a transition period of three-to-six months after the implementation of the new law to liquidate their investments. While banning cryptocurrencies, the Indian government will allow the use of technology underlying the cryptocurrency for research. We also reported on the strict steps the…
Eight times since 2013, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has repeatedly refused to approve applications for a cryptocurrency-linked exchange traded fund (ETF). See here and here. Time and again, the SEC said that the applicants were unable to persuade the Commission that the Bitcoin market was sufficiently resistant to market manipulation. Another common theme was the dissent of Hester Pierce (affectionately known as “Crypto Mom), who said in January 2020, for example: This order…
In a February 5, 2021 letter, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) warned all banks in the country that that they are prohibited from dealing in cryptocurrencies or facilitating payments for cryptocurrency exchanges. Thus, all banks and other financial institutions were directed to identify persons transacting in or operating cryptocurrency exchanges and make sure that such accounts were closed. The letter included a warning that breaches of the directive would “attract severe regulatory sanctions.” After…
On January 29, 2021, Hugo Sergio Mejia, 49, of California, was charged in a two-count information with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and money laundering. In a plea agreement, Mejia agreed to plead guilty to these felony offenses. According to his plea agreement, from May 2018 to September 2020, Mejia operated a virtual currency business that exchanged Bitcoin for cash, and vice versa, charging commissions for these transactions. Mejia admitted he never registered his…
Previous posts have talked about India’s interesting relationship with cryptocurrency. In 2018, India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), had banned domestic financial institutions from providing banking services to cryptocurrency exchanges in India. In March 2020, the India Supreme Court struck down the RBI ban as unconstitutional. The report last month that the Indian government was weighing a proposal to impose an 18% goods and services tax on Bitcoin transactions was looked on…
Russia is continuing its unpredictable relationship with cryptocurrency. At one time, there was talk of the country banning cryptocurrency, though that never happened. Russia eventually legalized it, but did not allow cryptocurrency to be used to make payments. In December 2020, Reuters reported that President Vladimir Putin signed an order requiring that Russian public officials would have to declare cryptocurrency holdings starting January 1, 2021. Now, Coindesk and Coin Telegraph are reporting that, under a…
We have previously reported about how India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), had banned domestic financial institutions from providing banking services to cryptocurrency exchanges in India, and how, in a decision on March 4, 2020, the India Supreme Court struck down the RBI ban as unconstitutional. Now, the Times of India is reporting that the Indian government is weighing a proposal to impose an 18% goods and services tax on Bitcoin transactions. …
On December 29, 2020, New York State’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) granted a charter under New York Banking Law to GMO-Z.com Trust Company Inc., to operate as a limited liability trust company. With DFS approval, GMO is authorized to issue, administer, and redeem Japanese Yen and U.S. Dollar-pegged stablecoins in New York. The Japanese Yen stablecoin will be the first of its kind available to the public. New York, a leading global financial center, has had an interesting history with cryptocurrency. We…