A G7 taskforce is being created to examine how central banks can regulate cryptocurrencies such as Facebook’s libra, Reuters reported on June 21. Francois Villeroy de Galhau, the governor of France’s central bank, said: “We want to combine being open to innovation with firmness on regulation. This is in everyone’s interest.” Although Paris has said it is not against Facebook creating a financial instrument, it vehemently opposes libra becoming a sovereign currency. Concerns have been raised over how to ensure cryptocurrencies comply with anti-money laundering laws, consumer protection rules and other regulatory matters. The G7 taskforce is going to be …

Spanish law enforcement arrested 35 people for allegedly counterfeiting banking cards and laundering the proceeds through bitcoin (BTC), local media La Verdad reports on June 14. Per the report, the organization obtained over €600,000 ($674,000) and laundered over €1 million ($1.2 million) using bitcoin. Furthermore, the Command of Alicante reportedly solved a total of 1,020 connected cybercrimes during the operation. The alleged actions of the suspects — who are from Equatorial Guinea, Spain, Nigeria, Cameroon and Morocco — had a total of 219 victims in Spain, with 20 more in Israel, Denmark, Germany, France and Greece. According to La Verdad, …

On June 21, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will reportedly publish a note clarifying how participant nations should exercise oversight for the digital assets sector, according to FATF spokeswoman Alexandra Wijmenga-Daniel. The news was reported by Bloomberg on June 12. Per Bloomberg, the new rules will apply to a wide gamut of businesses dealing with cryptocurrencies and tokens — including crypto exchanges, custodians and crypto hedge funds. FATF is an intergovernmental organization established on the initiative of the G7 to promote the implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures to fight money laundering. The FATF has developed a series …

Coin Center — a nonprofit research and advocacy center focused on crypto-related public policy issues — has urged Her Majesty’s Treasury not to over-broaden the scope of the United Kingdom’s anti-money laundering/counter terrorism financing (AML/CFT) regulations. The development was revealed in an official Coin Center news release published on June 10. Coin Center’s central concern regards HM Treasury’s plans to ostensibly “impose data collection and reporting requirements on not only cryptocurrency developers, but all open-source software developers and others who facilitate the peer-to-peer exchange of cryptoassets,” as the news release states. The advocacy center outlined its position in detail in …

At the start of June 2019, reports emerged that Binance DEX’s website was blocking users with IP addresses from 29 countries. This news immediately caused confusion with some commentators, using it as an opportunity to reaffirm their stance that Binance DEX is not truly a decentralized exchange (DEX). However, as it turned out, the initial reports were somewhat inaccurate, as the geoblocking only applied to Binance.org — the website for the DEX platform. Traders could still access the DEX via some supported wallet apps, bypassing the need to go through the website to reach the DEX service. Responding to the …

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors have asked the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and global standard-setting organizations to monitor risks around crypto assets. The request was made in a joint communiqué published on the website of Japan’s Ministry of Finance on June 9, following the G20 meeting held in Fukuoka, Japan. The leaders that cosigned the document state that they urge relevant institutions to give greater consideration to crypto assets and consider appropriate action: “We ask the FSB and standard setting bodies to monitor risks and consider work on additional multilateral responses as needed.” The joint statement also points …

One of the main themes to be discussed at the G-20 Financial Ministers and Central Governors Meeting this weekend has to do with money laundering and cryptocurrency. What kind of agreement would be a surprise? Even for the purpose of introducing Anti-Money Laundering (AML), should we allow our financial privacy to be compromised? Alexander Zaidelson, the CEO of Beam, shared his views with Cointelegraph. A new agreement on crypto and AML? Jiji Press, a major Japanese publication, recently reported that there will be “a new kind of agreement as to cryptocurrency and AML/CFT.“ But for blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, which …

The captains regent of the Republic of San Marino, Nicola Selva and Michele Muratori, have issued a governmental decree on blockchain tech for businesses, according to a recent document. The new decree outlines procedures for registering a blockchain-based organization with the “Istituto per l’Innovazione della Repubblica di San Marino,” or San Marino Innovation Institute. According to the decree, blockchain-based organizations in the Republic of San Marino, the EU, or any country not classified as “high risk” and also considered relevant to the purview of San Marino legislation, may apply for registration with the institute. The institute sets out to provide …

The Supreme Court of Israel has declared that Leumi Bank cannot block the cryptocurrency exchange Bits of Gold’s account on the grounds of regulatory concerns, according to a report by Finance Magnates on June 3. Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling against Leumi, the bank reportedly maintains its stance against dealing with the exchange. The report notes, however, that this ruling sets precedent for Israeli cryptocurrency firms to legally use traditional banking services in the region. In 2017, the Israeli Supreme Court previously ruled in favor of Leumi in a separate case against Bits of Gold, in which the bank restricted …

G20’s international watchdog, the Switzerland-based Financial Stability Board (FSB), said in its latest report that regulators need to improve their risk assessment strategies regarding financial activity in the crypto space, according to a report by Reuters on May 31. The report noted that one potential risk assessment metric regulators could look at is banks’ and other financial entities’ degree of exposure to cryptocurrency. The report also added that the FSB does not currently believe that crypto poses “a material stability risk” to the financial sector. As per the report, existing crypto regulations are somewhat weak, and the fast rate of …

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) published new initial coin offering (ICO) and cryptocurrency guidelines on its official website on May 30. The regulator detailed the prerequisites that a cryptocurrency business needs to follow in order to comply with both the Australian Corporations and ASIC Acts, but did not cover regulations enforced by other national institutions. Notably, the guideline specified that if a crypto asset is a financial product, then the issuer and firms dealing with it are required to hold an Australian financial services license. The report also notes that miners will be considered part of the clearing …

A subsidiary of Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, Rakuten Wallet, has partnered with blockchain security firm CipherTrace to assure Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance for the company’s upcoming crypto exchange. The development was announced in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on May 29. CipherTrace — which develops cryptocurrency AML, forensics and regulatory monitoring solutions — will work on improving the safety of Rakuten Wallet’s investors as well as the protection of the integrity and compliance of the exchange. Dave Jevans, CEO of CipherTrace, commented on the cooperation: “We have made significant strides as an industry to make the cryptocurrency market grow …