The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has ordered Utah-based Jacob Orvidas to pay up to $2 million in restitution and pay a $500,000 civil monetary penalty. The given order reveals Orvidas’ deceptive solicitation of at least four people to invest in a leveraged Bitcoin commodity pool, which resolves concurrently filed accusations. The findings show that

The blockchain company Ripple has acquired Fortress Trust, a Nevada-based chartered trust organisation with a focus on cryptocurrencies and Web3, the business announced in an email on Friday. The acquisition’s financial details weren’t made public. When approached by CoinDesk, Ripple declined to provide any information, but a source familiar with the situation stated the cost

Due to Linus Financial, Inc.’s failure to register the offers and sales of its cryptocurrency loan product, known as the Linus Interest Accounts, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled charges with the company. Due to the Nashville-based company’s cooperation and prompt corrective action, the SEC decided not to levy civil fines on it.

After the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) voted to change how businesses report their finances, MicroStrategy (MSTR) will soon be able to report its holdings of bitcoin (BTC) each quarter without having to recognize impairment losses if the cryptocurrency’s price drops during the period in question, investment bank Berenberg said in a report Wednesday.According to the report, MicroStrategy has declared $2.23 billion in cumulative impairment losses since adopting its bitcoin acquisition approach in August 2020. MicroStrategy’s largest impairment loss of $917.8 million was recorded in the second quarter of 2022, and the loss featured heavily in news coverage of the earnings, “giving the impression that the company’s inherent value had been negatively impacted when this was not the case,” the bank said. “The change should help MSTR and other

Coinbase (COIN), a cryptocurrency exchange, announced plans for a global expansion that would center on obtaining licenses in significant financial jurisdictions “that are enacting clear rules” for the crypto industry, with the European Union, U.K., Canada, Brazil, Singapore, and Australia as near-term priorities. The Nasdaq-listed company’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, stated in April that “everything was on the table” for it, including leaving its current location in the United States because of the murky regulatory environment there.He made it clear in August that he is “not even in the realm of possibility” of leaving the United States right now. The firm stated in a blog post published on Wednesday that it is “in the final stages of selecting the location” for its EU headquarters and that its goal is to “leverage our being the most trusted brand in the crypto space ahead of the European elections in June 2024.”The exchange also intends to cooperate with banks and payment processors and broaden the markets in which it offers derivatives.

According to a recent press release from the company, Pantera Capital sponsored an investment round in which the decentralised exchange (DEX) Brine Fi raised $16.5 million at a valuation of $100 million. The fundraising round also included participation from Elevation Capital, StarkWare Ltd, Spartan Group, Goodwater Capital, Upsparks Ventures, and Protofund Ventures. The new money

The largest financial firm in South Korea, Mirae Asset Securities, announced on Thursday that it is collaborating with Ethereum scaling platform Polygon Labs to improve tokenization in finance and accelerate the adoption of Web3 technologies. Mirae Asset Securities manages more than $500 billion in assets. According to a recent news release from the asset management,

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been informed by Grayscale Investments that it has “no grounds” to object to the transformation of its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an exchange-traded fund.Grayscale’s argument that its proposed product is not materially different from bitcoin futures exchange-traded products (ETPs) that already trade in the United States was accepted by Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, who last week ordered the SEC to review its earlier rejection of the conversion in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. After the Commission has had the opportunity to fully analyze the court’s opinion in light of the record, including the reasons for rejection set forth … we believe the Commission should conclude that there are no grounds for treating the Trust differently from ETPs that invest in bitcoin futures contracts,” Grayscale’s legal team wrote

In order to fill the gap left by the collapse of companies like Genesis and BlockFi, Coinbase (COIN) has developed a new cryptocurrency lending service for institutional clients in the U.S.On September 1, the platform was covertly disclosed in a file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which showed that $57 million had already been raised for the program. A person with knowledge of the situation claims that customers can lend Coinbase money—typically crypto assets—and receive security that is worth more than the loan.Overcollateralization serves as a disaster safety net. In a manner similar to the prime brokerage service banks offer in conventional banking, Coinbase can then turn around and create secured loans to institutional trading clients, according to the person familiar.Similar loan services were offered in the United States by Genesis and BlockFi, but they incurred significant losses in the previous year that sent them, in whole or in part, into bankruptcy court. The new service is distinct from Coinbase’s contentious Lend program, which it discontinued in 2021.Officials from the SEC complained since that was targeted at retail customers.On the assumption that big investors have the sophistication to handle it, regulation is less onerous because this newest loan business is instead targeted toward institutions. “With this service, institutions can choose to lend digital assets to Coinbase under standardized terms in a product that qualifies for a Regulation D exemption,” a Coinbase spokesperson said in a statement. “Coinbase is working to update the financial system that was built over 100 years ago, leveraging crypto to provide

Sam Bankman-Fried, once one of the most influential executives in the crypto industry, is now content to argue with the prosecution over his use of a laptop.The U.S. Department of Justice wrote in a letter on Tuesday that the incarcerated creator of the defunct FTX exchange had access to a laptop and three hard drives with defense files every day.In response to a federal judge’s request for a report on the conditions Bankman-Fried faces while being held at the Manhattan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, the prosecution filed their response. In order to prepare for Bankman-Fried’s upcoming criminal trial, his defense team has argued that they “need” him out of custody so that he can work on it. They have told the case’s judge, Lewis Kaplan, that he is having trouble getting internet access and that his phone’s battery life is running low.Following a televised hearing last week, Kaplan instructed the parties to compile a report on these matters.Prosecutors said in their declaration on Tuesday that Bankman-Fried now had access to an air-gapped laptop for 7.5 hours on weekends and holidays and 11 hours throughout the week.Additionally, Bankman-Fried constantly has access to hard drives with defensive information. Bankman-Fried has use of a laptop with internet access twice a week.Defense lawyers had previously complained about the battery life and sluggish internet connection, but according to the letter sent on Tuesday, the defense team had provided a new battery that “has approximately 8 hours battery life,” and the internet speed throughout the day ranged from 7.5 megabits per second (mbps) to 34 mbps.In its letter, the DOJ stated that this was “sufficient for most internet review activities” (a number of websites claim that 5 mbps is adequate for streaming video). Judge Kaplan revoked Bankman-Fried’s bail in mid-August after finding that the FTX founder had repeatedly attempted to tamper with witnesses. As a result, Bankman-Fried has been detained since that time.The bail was revoked, and his defense team appealed it, but they claimed that his detention interfered with his Sixth Amendment right to prepare his own case.They moved to release him on a temporary basis. The defense team’s description of the technological difficulties had previously been disputed by the prosecution, who claimed they were annoying but not incapacitating.

According to Zodia Markets, a platform for digital assets supported by Standard Chartered Ventures, operating as an over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency broker-dealer in Abu Dhabi has received approval in principle. The approval was given by the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a global financial hub in the United Arab Emirates that has been making an effort

According to the company’s website, Steve Cohen’s Point72 Ventures, a prominent hedge fund manager, led a $15 million Series A fundraising round for GenTwo, a fintech platform that specializes in securitization. The Zurich-based company intends to utilize the investment to expand internationally and to build out its platform for financial engineering. With the use of the company’s PRO platform, investors may securitize and market any asset or investment plan as a bankable security.It enables the accessibility to all investors of non-bankable assets like real estate, fine art, or digital assets. The company announced that Pete Casella, senior partner and co-head of fintech investments at Point72 Ventures, has joined the board of directors of GenTwo.Global venture capital firm Point72 Ventures has offices in Menlo Park, California, and New York.From pre-seed to pre-IPO, it makes investments ranging from $250,000 to $50 million.

According to a poll conducted by trade organisation the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), traditional financial exchanges have varying opinions about delivering crypto-related goods and services.The WFE polled its member exchanges as part of a study on the infrastructure for cryptocurrency trading, and 12 of the 29 respondents (or 41%) said that they already provide services or products connected to cryptocurrencies.In the future, seven more intend to provide them.The study found that more than a third of respondents stated they had no such intentions. The WFE also discovered that institutional demand for crypto goods is typically lower than retail demand.The sorts of products requested also differ, with institutional investors more likely to request custody services and security tokens than retail investors, who are more likely to be interested in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and stablecoins.In the next five years, only about a quarter (26%) of respondents (the sample size) expect crypto assets to become widely used.The study was conducted between May and July 2022, a few months before the catastrophic failure of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which sent shockwaves through the market and fueled already-existing concerns about cryptocurrencies with regard to murky business practices and a lack of regulatory certainty. More than 250 companies, including Nasdaq, Deutsche Boerse, and Switzerland’s SIX Group, are members of the WFE.

California-based cryptocurrency custodian BitGo announced on Tuesday during Korea Blockchain Week that it has formed a strategic business partnership with Hana Bank, a South Korean commercial bank.According to Korea Economic Daily, the agreement includes tech alliances, security solutions, and a potential joint venture.According to a Forkast article, BitGo will help Hana Bank improve custody services in the second half of 2024. Three weeks ago, BitGo raised $100 million at a $1.75 billion value, which led to the announcement.Hana Bank, which manages $448 billion in assets, has previously showed interest in digital assets. According to sources, the bank is “actively participating” in the ongoing Bank of Korea central bank digital currency (CBDC) Proof of Concept project. Following the preparation of the required licenses to adhere to local rules, BitGo also expects to establish an office in Korea in the second half of 2019.

In order to increase the speed of cross-border payment transactions, Visa (V) is investing more in cryptocurrencies. According to a recent announcement from Visa, the San Francisco-based company has expanded its stablecoin settlement capabilities with Circle’s USDC stablecoin to the Solana (SOL) blockchain, designed to provide high-speed performance. One of the first significant financial institutions,

An email addressed to clients recently announced that Genesis’ spot crypto trading operation would close later this month. The over-the-counter trading platform of Genesis Global Trading (GGT) will close on September 18. By September 21st, all deals must be completed, and any open accounts that remain will be closed at the end of the day