Famous American economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz has reiterated his negative stance on cryptocurrencies in a CNBC video released on May 6. “I actually think we should shut down the cryptocurrencies,” Stiglitz declared in the video, pointing out his opinion of the major deficiencies of the digital currencies like bitcoin (BTC). According to Stiglitz, crypto is not the right way to create a more efficient global economy due to a lack of transparency. Indeed, he emphasized that cryptocurrencies accompany illegal financial activities such as money laundering by moving money off “from a transparent platform into a dark platform.” …

The United States Attorney for the District of Arizona (DA) is seeking to retain a defendant in custody in a case of alleged shadow banking for cryptocurrency companies. In a court filing released on May 1, the DA states that they are concerned the accused will flee. The filing follows the official announcement published by the Southern District of New York Attorney in April, ordering to charge an Arizona citizen Reginald Fowler and Israeli woman Ravid Yosef for allegedly operating an unlicensed money transferring business and bank fraud. The recent filing asks the court to detain the defendant pending trial …

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has partnered with blockchain monitoring solutions provider Elliptic to boost its regulatory compliance as part of its international expansion, a Binance spokesperson confirmed to Cointelegraph on May 1. As part of plans to ensure smooth operations in new countries with varying regulations on cryptocurrency, Binance will use Elliptic to ensure it can comply with various demands from authorities. According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph, Binance’s chief compliance officer Samuel Lim states that the latest deal will focus on Anti-Money Laundering (AML). Last month, the exchange also teamed up with blockchain analytics firm CipherTrace, also centering …

The Southern District of New York Attorney has charged an Arizona man and Israeli woman for allegedly shadow banking cryptocurrency companies, according to an official announcement published on April 30. Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the arrest of Reginald Fowler for allegedly operating an unlicensed money transferring business and bank fraud. His purported co-conspirator Ravid Yosef has also been charged with bank fraud and is still at large, according to the announcement. In 2018, the accused allegedly worked for several associated companies that provided fiat currency banking services to cryptocurrency …

Disclaimer: A CipherTrace spokesperson informed Cointelegraph that these numbers are subject to change as new information becomes available, and some numbers have thus been changed. There has been a 46% increase in the number of cross-border payments from United States crypto exchanges to offshore exchanges since early 2017, posing an ostensible quandary for regulators. The data was reported in the latest cryptocurrency AML (Anti-Money Laundering) report from crypto intelligence firm CipherTrace, shared with Cointelegraph on April 29. According to CipherTrace, an analysis of 164 million bitcoin (BTC) transactions revealed that cross border payments from U.S.-based exchanges to offshore platforms rose …

Finland’s Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA) is set to assume its role as a registration authority and supervisory agency for crypto industry participants as new legislation comes into force this week. The news was revealed in an announcement published by FIN-FSA on April 27. With Finland’s Act on Virtual Currency Service Providers set to come into effect on May 1, the watchdog clarifies that it will henceforth be statutorily required to register all crypto exchanges, custodian crypto wallet providers and cryptocurrency issuers operating in the country. As FIN-FSA notes, the new Finnish legislation has been drafted on the basis of the …

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance announced on April 23 that two men plead guilty for illicitly selling steroids and controlled substances and laundering millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies and Western Union payments. Callaway Crain, 35, and Mark Sanchez, also 35, were allegedly behind the darknet website “NextDayGear,” and also manufactured some of the substances they sold. Among their products were reportedly injectable and oral steroids, as well as medication to counteract the adverse effects of their use, including Xanax, Valium and Viagra. Per the announcement, the defendants shipped over 10,000 packages across the United States, generating over $2.3 million …

The Minister of Finance of the Chilean government Felipe Larraín announced the introduction of a bill regulating cryptocurrencies and fintech to Congress, Cointelegraph Spain reported on April 15. During his recent stay in the United States, Larraín reportedly noted that the requirements introduced by the new regulation will be proportional to businesses. He explained that the rules will take into account that various companies have different business models, and deliver different services that imply different risks for the users and the financial market. Local media outlet Ahora Noticias reported that flexibility is among the most important aspects of the bill, …

The Manhattan district attorney has indicted a group of individuals with allegedly selling drugs and laundering millions of dollars with bitcoin (BTC). The development was announced in a press release published on April 16. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., the United States Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have indicted Chester Anderson and his criminal accomplices Jarrette Codd and Ronald Maccarty. The defendants allegedly operated stores on the dark web that sold and shipped “hundreds of thousands” of tablets of counterfeit drugs. Authorities seized 420,000 to 620,000 alprazolam tablets, 500 …

State-backed venture capital (VC) firm Ben Franklin Technology Partners has rolled out a blockchain-based onboarding and tokenization platform. The development was revealed in a blog post on Thursday, April 11. Ben Franklin Technology Partners is an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, that has reportedly invested over $200 million into more than 2,000 emerging technology projects in the Philadelphia region. Today, the organization released a blockchain platform for issuing and managing digital securities on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, specifically “GO Philly Tokens.” Per the release, the new platform enables limited partnership interests in the Global Opportunity …

Almost a year after a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies, Pakistan has come a long way in its attitude toward the space. A recent notice by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) declared that institutions willing to work in the sphere of “electronic money” can now get licenced by the SBP to “issue e-money for the purpose of digital payments.” As reported by a Pakistani news association, The Express Tribune, the government hosted a meeting at the Islamabad office of the State Bank of Pakistan on April 1 for the discussion and formation of crypto regulations, termed Electronic Money Institutions (EMI) …

The world’s third-top cryptocurrency exchange by adjusted volume, Binance, announced that it has partnered with blockchain analytics company CipherTrace. The partnership was announced in a blog post published on April 11. Per the announcement, the partnership is meant to strengthen the company’s regulatory compliance by enhancing its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures. The post claims that CipherTrace also serves regulators, financial institutions and auditors. Cointelegraph reported in March that the Malta Financial Services Authority has appointed the company to monitor activity by crypto businesses in Malta. CEO of CipherTrace Dave Jevans is quoted in the announcement as stressing the importance of …