regulations

Celsius Lists Libra Challenger for 9.9% Potential Interest

Crypto lending platform Celsius Network has listed startup Saga’s SGA stabilized asset, unlocking the potential for token holders to earn interest.  “Saga has partnered with leading cryptocurrency interest income platform, Celsius Network,” Saga founder Ido Sadeh Man told Cointelegraph.The collaboration and listing means “users can both preserve their assets’ value with SGA’s proven stabilization mechanism (the IMF's SDR, a basket of currencies designed to offset currency fluctuations), as well as earn attractive interest through the Celsius network,” Man explained. Saga does not call itself a "stablecoin"Although Saga touts SGA as a stable

Revised Crypto Laws in Japan to be Enforced Starting May 1

New laws for regulating cryptocurrencies in Japan will start to be enforced next month.The Payment Services Act (PSA) and Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA), two of the pieces of legislation passed by the Japanese House of Representatives last year to regulate crypto, were scheduled to come into effect starting in April. However, with unexpected delays, no enforcement date had officially been set until last week.In the April 3 edition of an official government newsletter, it was announced that the revised versions of the PSA and FIEA would be enforced

Africa Using Blockchain to Drive Change, Part Two: Southern Solutions

With pundits like Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey predicting that Africa “will define” the future of Bitcoin (BTC), cryptocurrency and blockchain technology continue to attract interest from both public and private establishments across the continent. Many of these adoption cases have been moving beyond finance, developing solutions targeted at issues like unemployment, identity management, health care and supply chain, among others.Amid the growing enthusiasm for crypto and blockchain technology in Africa, industry stakeholders interviewed by Cointelegraph identify a lack of education as one of the major hurdles standing in the way of more

FATF Grades U.S. Government on Crypto Regulation Enforcement 

The Financial Action Task Force, one of the most prominent Anti-Money Laundering (AML) enforcers in the world, has called out the United States government for being lax on policy enforcement. On March 31, the body published a report in which it explained that the United States is only “largely compliant” with its AML and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF) regulations – especially when it comes to the issue of virtual currencies. Higher Awareness is Good, but Loophole Still Exist In the report, the FATF outlined the United States’ degree of compliance with the recommendations it issued last

Cryptocurrency News From Japan: March 29 – April 4 in Review

This week’s headlines from Japan included the country’s Financial Services Agency revealing feedback from the public on recent regulation, the Cabinet Office Ordinance announcing regulatory changes, Zaif exchange removing three crypto assets, BitBank’s COO predicting crypto exchange mergers, and Nomura Research Institute issuing Japan’s first blockchain-based bond. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan.Japanese FSA receives comments on new regulationsThe Japanese Financial Services Agency, or FSA, unveiled 172 comments from citizens and groups, pertaining to recent crypto asset laws taking effect on May

Malaysia’s Securities Commission Gives Tokenize Xchange The Green Light

The 3rd of April, 2020, marked the end of a nine-month probationary period that the Malaysia based crypto trading firm, Tokenize Malaysia, had gone through. Within this time, the company managed to gain full approval from Malaysia’s securities watchdog, the Securities Commission, or SC.Gaining Approval To Start TradingWith the approval given for the company to operate a Digital Assets Exchange, its namesake crypto trading platform, the Tokenize Xchange, has now gained the full legal support and regulation it needs. This was reported on SoyaCincau, a local news outlet, on the

Malaysian Securities Regulator Approves Crypto Trading Platform

Following a nine-month-long probationary period, Malaysia-based cryptocurrency trading firm, Tokenize Malaysia, has received full approval from local securities watchdog.With the approval to operate a Digital Assets Exchange, the company’s cryptocurrency trading platform, Tokenize Xchange, became legally approved and regulated by the Securities Commission (SC) of Malaysia, local news outlet, SoyaCincau, reported on April 3. The exchange offers fiat-to-digital asset pairings.Malaysian laws require that local cryptocurrency exchanges register with the SC, after which they have up to nine month to achieve compliance with the SC’s regulation standards.Commenting on the development, Hong

As Malta Delays Regulatory Clarity, Fewer Firms Remain on ‘Blockchain Island’

It seems that Malta is becoming both less popular among and less populated with crypto firms. The European Union country attracted dozens of industry players in 2018 on the back of the “blockchain island” agenda championed by the local government, but the relevant framework has not yet proven to be effective. Meanwhile, the official rhetoric apparently started to shift away from the blockchain sector, as the government now aims to consolidate it with “other niche sectors.”Meanwhile, the Malta Financial Services Authority, continues to pluck out non-registered crypto agents — be

Blockchain Head at European Commission Explains Usefulness of DLT

The head of the digital innovation and blockchain unit at the European Commission (EC), Pēteris Zilgalvis, explained the concise benefits of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in an interview to The Banker, a subsidiary of the Financial Times. In the interview, published on April 3, Zilgalvis talked about the benefits and challenges of the technology.According to him, blockchain provides a powerful framework for data sharing, something that can't be done by normal databases:“We think that it presents an excellent technology for situations where different stakeholders need to collaborate but, due to

Google Chrome Leads the Pack, but Privacy-Oriented Browsers Gain Traction

In recent months, big-name players like Google and Apple have been going the extra mile to showcase their privacy features to the world. However, as most people are now aware, these multinational companies have business models that are centered around collecting and aggregating the data of their customers. In this regard, growing interest in privacy-first browsers like Brave clearly suggests a collective increase in internet users’ concern over how their personal information is being accumulated, stored and utilized on a day-to-day basis.Individuals all over the globe have become so accustomed to