SEC Adds to Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports adding 20 positions to its crypto assets and cyber unit, which is tasked with “protecting investors in crypto markets and from cyber-related threats.” The unit, in the SEC’s enforcement division, will grow to 50 dedicated positions, officials say. The unit,… Read More >>
A Prime Broker for Digital Assets & Other News
Finansiv Offers Link Between Fiat & Crypto Trading Finansiv, a digital asset prime brokerage that caters to retail and institutional investors in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets, reports that it has gone live and is executing over-the-counter (OTF) client trades. Finansiv officials say that in addition to offering “access to fiat spot markets,” they… Read More >>
‘Cowen Digital’ Launches & Other News Briefs
Cowen Division Focuses on Digital Asset Custody Cowen Inc. has officially launched the Cowen Digital division to provide a platform for trade execution and custody solutions that support digital assets traded by institutional clients, officials say. The new division, based in Stamford, Conn., offers custody solutions via Cowen’s partnership with PolySign’s Standard Custody & Trust,… Read More >>
Justice Department Sharpens Its Focus on Crypto Crime
Has Vlad the Crimea Impaler lost has mind? In the wake of the assault on Ukraine, FTF News is far from the only one asking that question. What’s next? What will stop Vladimir Putin? Around the U.S. and Canada, Russian Vodka is being pulled from liquor store shelves. And if that doesn’t dissuade him from… Read More >>
The Fed Is Starting to Think About CBDCs
The Federal Reserve is mulling what a digital currency backed by a central bank would look like. This should come as no surprise given the onset of blockchains and distributed ledger technology, and then cryptocurrencies and digital assets in many forms. They all have had an underlying driver – a disintermediation push to bring on… Read More >>
Crypto Scams Spur Warning from Vermont Regulator
It’s not exactly Ella singing “Moonlight in Vermont.” More like one of those scary-movie shadows falling across the night sky, just before Count Dracula swoops in through the window. An exaggeration? It might not seem like one to Vermont’s would-be investors who — in just one month — reported more than $1 million in crypto-scam… Read More >>
Crypto Assets Mean Digital Ops for Hedge Funds
Over the next five years, hedge funds are on track for a greater embrace of crypto assets for their investments, and digital overhauls to manage cutting-edge securities operations, according to a survey released in late May by fund administration services provider Intertrust Group, based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The company surveyed 100 senior-level professionals at… Read More >>
Bitcoin-Based Futures Are Risky Business: Regulators
An investor bulletin from the SEC and the CFTC is warning investors to be fully aware of the risks that come with Bitcoin-based futures given the many pitfalls that come with cryptocurrency trading. The “Funds Trading in Bitcoin Futures” bulletin from earlier this month targets “investors considering a fund with exposure to the Bitcoin futures… Read More >>
‘State Street Digital’ to Offer Crypto Asset Services
Nadine Chakar Tapped to Head New Division The financing of digital assets will be a key focus for a new division of custodian State Street Corp. The just-launched State Street Digital is tasked with building upon the firm’s current digital capabilities, and then expanding into cryptocurrencies, central bank digital currency, blockchain, and tokenization, officials say…. Read More >>
Should the SEC Become a Crypto Cop?
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may be taking on more oversight of the cryptocurrency trading world as there are many troubling regulatory gaps, says SEC Chair Gary Gensler in testimony May 26 before the subcommittee on financial services and general government, which is part of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee. In testimony that covered… Read More >>
