The Australian division of social investment platform eToro (eToro Aus Capital Limited) has been sued by the nation’s markets regulator for allegedly breaking “design and distribution obligations and of eToro’s licence obligations to act efficiently, honestly and fairly”, The claims made by Australia’s Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) concern eToro’s contract for difference (CFD) product,

According to a statement published on the ministry’s Facebook page on Wednesday, Kenya’s Ministry of the Interior has suspended the operations of Worldcoin, the identity crypto protocol co-founded by Sam Altman of OpenAI, while the nation’s financial, security, and data protection services look into the project’s legality and data protection. “The Government is concerned by the ongoing activities of an organization calling itself ‘WORLD COIN’ which is involved in the registration of citizens through the collection of eyeball/iris data,” said the statement signed by Minister Kithure Kindiki. Worldcoin is working to develop a system for universal identification based on iris scans that may be used to demonstrate an agent’s humanness and individuality.This might be very important in a world where agents with artificial intelligence are involved in the economy, according to the initiative.However, the gathering of biometric information and the registration process in underdeveloped nations have come under fire, including charges of exploitation.According to a statement, many European regulatory bodies, including the Bavarian data protection body that oversees the company, have begun investigations into Worldcoin.Kenya, however, is the first nation to take things a step further and shut down the business totally while local authorities look into it. Since the project’s introduction last week, those who had their irises scanned have obtained WLD tokens.According to statistics from CoinMarketCap, the token has increased 1.9% in the last day to reach $2.38 on cryptocurrency markets.By the time this article was published, Worldcoin had not reacted to any request for comment.

On July 28, Volatility Shares submitted a filing for their ether futures ETF. In the event that the SEC does not reject the application, the first Ethereum futures ETF might launch on October 12. Following the buzz surrounding the bitcoin spot ETF a few weeks ago, as many as six organizations have submitted applications with

According to a statement published on the ministry’s Facebook page on Wednesday, Kenya’s Ministry of the Interior has suspended the operations of Worldcoin, the identity crypto protocol co-founded by Sam Altman of OpenAI, while the nation’s financial, security, and data protection services look into the project’s legality and data protection. “The Government is concerned by the ongoing activities of an organization calling itself ‘WORLD COIN’ which is involved in the registration of citizens through the collection of eyeball/iris data,” said the statement signed by Minister Kithure Kindiki. Worldcoin is working to develop a system for universal identification based on iris scans that may be used to demonstrate an agent’s humanness and individuality. This might be very important in a world where agents with artificial intelligence are involved in the economy, according to the initiative. However, the gathering of biometric information and the registration process in underdeveloped nations have come under fire, including charges of exploitation. According to a statement, many European regulatory bodies, including the Bavarian data protection body that oversees the company, have begun investigations into Worldcoin. Kenya, however, is the first nation to take things a step further and shut down the business totally while local authorities look into it. Since the project’s introduction last week, those who had their irises scanned

The Group of Twenty (G20) note on cryptocurrency was published by India, the G20’s current president, in an effort to have its recommendations taken into consideration for creating international crypto regulations. The memo assumes importance because it represents India’s formal suggestions before the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) jointly prepare a

For its future cryptocurrency exchange business, which it hopes to start in August, Binance Japan has recently released specific plans. . In comparison to significant domestic rivals Bitbank (30 coins), GMO Coin (26 cryptocurrencies), and Coincheck (22 cryptocurrencies), Binance Japan will handle 34 cryptocurrencies. By handling the most cryptocurrency upon launch, Binance Japan is the

South Korea is moving forward with its plans to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by selecting just three areas to serve as a pilot project. According to a report from a local South Korean media outlet on July 31, 2023, the Bank of Korea has chosen Jeju, Busan, and Incheon as contenders for

The legal team at Davis Polk has submitted a response letter to GBTC’s upcoming 19b-4 filing as Grayscale Investments waits for a ruling from the DC Circuit in their litigation to convert GBTC to a spot bitcoin ETF. This also contains seven additional spot bitcoin ETF applications with recently announced surveillance sharing agreements (SSAs). Grayscale’s

The newly formed platform of Binance Japan, a division of Binance, will start onboarding users in Japan.Regulators had already warned the exchange that it was operating illegally in the nation.Customers in Japan who are currently with the local subsidiary may switch as of August 14.Spot trading, product rewards, and a non-fungible token (NFT) market are all accessible to users.34 coins, including the native BNB token of the Binance Smart Chain, which is now available in Japan for the first time, will be available for trading. Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC), a licensed cryptocurrency exchange, was acquired by Binance in November of last year.In recent months, Coinbase (COIN) and Kraken discontinued operations in the nation, claiming “market conditions” as the cause. Japanese decision-makers hinted at the development of further Web3-related policies last week at the WebX conference in Tokyo.

After the U.S. District Court decided on July 13 that Ripple Labs did not break the law by selling its XRP coin on cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase (COIN) shares have outperformed the market.Investment bank Berenberg said in a research report on Tuesday that another judge from the same court, however, strongly rejected the Ripple decision on Monday. “In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York rejected Judge Torres’ distinction between institutional sales and sales to retail investors on crypto exchanges, which he characterized as a misinterpretation of the Howey test used to determine if an asset is a security,” analysts led by Mark Palmer

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria (SEC) has severely cautioned against using Binance. According to a statement from the Commission, Binance’s activities and business practises in Nigeria are illegal. According to the official circular, the platform for Binance, which can be accessible at www.binance.com, is “neither registered nor regulated by the Commission.” In Nigeria,

Binance has made history by becoming the first cryptocurrency exchange to be granted an Operational MVP Licence by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) of Dubai. With the use of this licence, Binance will be able to provide regulated virtual asset exchange services in Dubai, demonstrating its dedication to compliance and cooperation with regional regulators.

The worst month of the year was July, when exploits and attacks cost cryptocurrency investors $303 million.The most recent reminders of decentralized finance’s vulnerabilities came from attacks on Curve Finance and Multichain.Security audit company CertiK stated that cryptocurrency traders had lost $303 million worth of digital assets this month as a result of hacker assaults and cryptocurrency exploits, making July on track to be the worst month of this year thus far in terms of value stolen. The release of the research coincides with investors in decentralized finance (DeFi) still in shock following this past weekend’s abuse of Curve Finance, a crucial piece of the DeFi ecosystem’s infrastructure.Since Sunday, the popular smart contract coding language Vyper has had some versions vulnerable, allowing hackers to steal $52 million in digital assets from the protocol.Around $125 million worth of assets were taken from the Multichain blockchain bridge protocol earlier this month.The platform suddenly stopped operating and claimed that chief executive Zhaojun had been detained by Chinese officials in May. The DeFi protocols are the most susceptible components of the crypto ecosystem, according to Ari Redbord, head of legal and government affairs at blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs, who also noted that exploits are still occurring at a “unprecedented” speed and scale. According to CertiK’s data, of the $303 million this month, investors lost around $285 million due to hacks and exploit attempts, including the Multichain and Curve attacks.Assets worth about $8.7 million were misused by flash loans.This is a sophisticated exploit platform that dispenses with third parties by allowing traders to borrow unsecured funds using smart contracts.Although these loans are legitimate, they are occasionally used by attackers to affect the price of smaller, less liquid tokens.The most famous instance included Conic Finance’s use of flash loans to drain 1,700 ether (ETH), which was valued $3.26 million at the time, from the DeFi protocol. Investors lost roughly $8.6 million due to exit scams.These scams, often known as “rug pulls,” involve developers marketing a fresh idea to raise money then sapping liquidity.

Despite the local government’s efforts to make the territory a crypto hub, crypto firms in Hong Kong are having trouble opening corporate bank accounts.According to a story in the Hong Kong Economic Journal, the director of commercial and client services at the Hang Seng Bank, which is owned by HSBC, said that while authorized cryptocurrency businesses can open a bank account, they will only be able to receive a “simple” one.What services were not included in such an account was not stated in the study. Even while banks are free to provide services to crypto firms, they are reluctant to do so because of a lack of employees at the Securities and Futures Commission and the difficulty in opening bank accounts for crypto companies applying to operate in Hong Kong. The central bank of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), has asked significant lenders, such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Bank of China, to accept cryptocurrency exchanges as clients. “We have active dialogues with virtual asset players to exchange views on a range of topics, including but not limited to account opening,” an HSBC spokesperson said.  “We remain very engaged on policies and developments of this nascent industry in Hong Kong.” In a previous interview, a Standard Chartered spokeswoman stated that the company maintains “regular dialogue” with authorities on a variety of topics.OSL and Hash Blockchain are the only two virtual asset trading platforms that currently have licenses from Hong Kong’s security regulator.

Data reveals that newly released bald (BALD) tokens on the Base blockchain dropped as much as 90% following Monday’s peak when the token’s deployer took away millions of dollars’ worth of liquidity.During the early hours of Monday morning in Europe, BALD held up to $32 million ether (ETH).The developer reportedly transferred millions, forcing rates to drop from 9 cents to 1 cent.At the time of writing, prices appeared to be recovering to 4 cents as few traders purchased the dip. Bald coins’ market valuation reached $50 million on Sunday as their acceptance in trade circles increased.Late on Sunday, it reached a capitalization of $85 million, making traders like @cheatcoiner more than $1.4 million from a $500 investment.Blockchain data indicates that the deployer was providing liquidity at the time of writing by adding ether in smaller chunks.Prices increased steadily, but fearful holders kept offloading tokens in large quantities. Based on applications submitted to Base, which was developed by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase on OP Stack, opened to developers in mid-July after launching its testnet in January.Except for Sunday, when companies like BALD caused a sudden influx of funds and people to the blockchain, traction has been minimal thus far.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a strong opponent of cryptocurrencies, has introduced legislation that would subject digital assets to specific Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations. The Bank Policy Institute (BPI), a lobbying group for American banks, has welcomed this proposal.The Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act was reintroduced on July 28 by Warren, Joe Manchin, Roger Marshall, and Lindsey Graham, according to a Bloomberg article.The law, which calls for greater openness in digital asset transactions to thwart money laundering and terrorism financing, has the support of the BPI.The BPI stated that the U.S.’s current AML framework does not take into consideration digital assets. “The existing anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act framework must account for digital assets, and we look forward to engaging in this process to defend our nation’s financial system against illicit finance in all its forms.” If the seven-page measure is approved, it will be necessary for miners, suppliers of digital asset wallets, and other parties involved in validating and securing blockchain transactions to maintain records of the identities of their clients.Financial institutions would also be prohibited from employing digital asset mixers, like Tornado Cash, that are intended to conceal blockchain data. Among those who favor the legislation are the National Consumers League, the Massachusetts Bankers Association, and the National Consumer Law Center.In response to the announcement, Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, tweeted on July 28 that individuals opposed to Warren’s planned legislation are “doing the right thing.” Warren first proposed the legislation to the U.S. Senate in December 2022, claiming that the majority of the crypto business is not covered by the current AML regulations.Warren stated that cryptocurrency should be subject to the same laws as banking institutions on February 14 during a Senate Banking Committee hearing titled, “Crypto Crash. Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers.” “Senator Marshall and I introduced a bipartisan bill today that requires crypto to follow

The European Union is being urged to relax forthcoming regulations for open-source artificial intelligence (AI) models in an open letter signed by digital companies including GitHub, Hugging Face, Creative Commons, and others. According to the letter, regulating upstream open-source projects as if they are deployed AI systems or commercial products would impede the development of open-source AI. It also asks policymakers to revisit certain of the rules of the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act. “This would be incompatible with open source development practices and counter to the needs of individual developers and non-profit research organizations,” stated GitHub in a blog post.  The group made five recommendations in particular to make sure the AI Act applies to open-source models, including clearly defining AI components, making it clear that developers working collaboratively on open-source models are exempt from the bill’s requirements, protecting researchers’ exceptions by allowing some limited testing in real-world scenarios, and establishing proportional requirements for “foundation models.” Open-source software, as the name suggests, is software that is available for everyone to view, modify, and improve thanks to its publicly available source code. Open-source software aids in the development and use of AI models.With 499 votes in favor, 28 votes against, and 93 abstentions, the European Parliament passed the act by a substantial margin in June. Once the 27-member European Council agrees on a common version of the language proposed in 2021, the act will become a law.Individual discussions with EU members are required in the following stage to iron out the details. The measure establishes a global precedent for regulating AI to handle its hazards and promote innovation, claims the open letter. “The regulation has an important opportunity to further this goal through increased transparency and collaboration among diverse stakeholders,” reads the open

To prevent one from having an advantage, cryptocurrency fund manager Grayscale is pleading with the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve all proposed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at once. Grayscale’s legal team filed a letter about eight spot Bitcoin ETF registrations, including its own, claiming the SEC shouldn’t pick “winners and losers” and should instead make a fair and orderly judgement, according to a post by Grayscale Chief Legal Officer Craig Salm on July 27. According to the letter, the SEC might approve the spot ETFs based on its approval of Bitcoin futures ETFs because the two fund types are “inextricably linked.” The most recent surveillance sharing agreements (SSAs) between Coinbase and the spot ETF providers, according to Grayscale, are “not a new idea” and would not comply with SEC requirements. SSAs with Coinbase have just been added to ETF filings from Invesco, BlackRock, Valkyrie, VanEck, Wisdom, Fidelity, and ARK Invest.In order for the SEC to keep an eye out for any potential market manipulation or erroneous trading activity, Coinbase will submit information about its trading books as well as other data. Due to the lack of SSAs, the SEC opposed the ETFs in late June, arguing that they were required due to the possibility of manipulating the crypto markets.The SSAs, according to Grayscale, “would neither satisfy nor be necessary” in accordance with SEC requirements because Coinbase is neither registered with the SEC as a securities exchange or broker-dealer nor with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a futures exchange. It was stated that allowing the ETFs would “improperly grant these proposals an unfairly discriminatory and prejudicial first-mover advantage” and represent “a positive but sudden and significant change” in how the SEC applied its standard.According to Salm, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which tries to monitor Bitcoin’s price, has close to 1 million investors. There is “simply no reason” the SEC should prevent GBTC investors from purchasing a spot Bitcoin ETF, he added, adding that if it were converted to an ETF, investors would receive billions in value back.In June of last year, the SEC rejected Grayscale’s request to change the GBTC into a spot Bitcoin ETF. In response, Grayscale filed a lawsuit against the regulator, claiming that by refusing to treat comparable investment vehicles consistently, it was acting arbitrarily.

The Supreme Court of India has recently expressed concern over the lack of clear norms and regulations governing cryptocurrencies in that nation. The court characterised the absence of such law as “unfortunate,” highlighting the urgent need for a legal framework to oversee the quickly developing cryptocurrency industry. As the number of criminal proceedings involving cryptocurrencies

According to John Deaton, the unfair treatment raises questions about both the broader framework for digital assets and the effectiveness and fairness of the regulatory agency. John Deaton, an attorney who supports XRP, claims that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) actions against the crypto business are motivated by a larger goal to