Digital asset exchange operator Coinbase will pay a civil penalty of $6.5 million to settle a case with the CFTC involving wash trading by a former employee and inaccurate reporting of digital asset transaction volumes even though the CFTC does not regulate Coinbase. While it doesn’t oversee cryptocurrency trading venues, the commodities regulator stepped in… Read More >>
BNY Mellon Helps Crypto Custody Startup Raise $133M
Fireblocks Raises a Total of $179 Million Crypto infrastructure provider Fireblocks has raised $133 million in Series C funding with help from the Bank of New York Mellon and SVB Capital, the investment platform of SVB Financial Group, via an effort led by Coatue, Ribbit Capital, and Stripes Group, officials say. With this round of… Read More >>
NYSDFS Contestants to Explore Regs for Crypto Firms
It’s not the Super Bowl. But Techsprint — the contest the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) is holding for registered crypto-currency companies — may become just as important for financial regulators. It’s meant to keep tabs on those virtual currency companies that have registered with the NYSDFS. It’s also meant to formalize… Read More >>
SEC Charges Crypto Fund Manager with Fraud
The SEC has taken legal action to freeze a flagship fund of cryptocurrency fund manager Virgil Capital LLC via the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York, alleging that the firm’s investors are at risk via fraud and related matters. The focus of the asset freeze request is the firm’s cryptocurrency trading… Read More >>
Keep Hope Alive for 2021
It’s next to impossible to predict what the major trends in securities operations will be in 2021. The industry is still focused on what the new world will be after the fatal COVID-19 pandemic is defeated by vaccines and new behaviors. We may be in a holding pattern for at least the first six months… Read More >>
Northern Trust to Help Launch Crypto Custody Service
Standard Chartered’s VC Unit Partners with Northern Trust Standard Chartered via SC Ventures and custodian Northern Trust are launching an “institutional-grade” custody solution for cryptocurrencies to help financial services firms invest in cryptocurrency-based assets, officials say. The custodian support is in response to the growing demand for cryptocurrency-based assets that will need support for transaction… Read More >>
Regulator Wants Social Media Controls After Twitter Hacks
“On July 15, 2020, a 17-year old hacker and his accomplices breached Twitter’s network and seized control of dozens of Twitter accounts assigned to high-profile users,” a recent report from the New York State Department of Financial Services specifies. That widely publicized hack also exposed private information about both regulated cryptocurrency firms and public figures… Read More >>
State Street to Service T. Rowe Price’s Active ETFs
State Street to Provide a Range of Services Rowe Price has appointed State Street as the service provider for four, newly launched active exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are listed on NYSE Arca, Inc. “As part of the agreement, State Street will provide services including basket creation, dissemination, settlement, custody, fund accounting, order-taking, financial reporting, performance… Read More >>
DTCC & Accenture’s Governance Model Targets DLT Problems
The DTCC and Accenture are hoping to spark a new dialogue about the governance processes required for the “safety and soundness” of blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) networks that support securities operations. Blockchain/DLT started out as the backbone of the Bitcoin crypto-currency but has been spun out as a potential backbone for key securities operations. The… Read More >>
SEC Alleges Firm Had a Crypto-Pyramid Scheme
The SEC has filed a civil injunctive action against the alleged perpetrator of a multimillion-dollar pyramid scheme. The SEC claims that, from January 2017 through March 2018, San Clemente, Calif., resident Daniel Pacheco enticed would-be cryptocurrency investors by selling so-called instructional packages that provided e-commerce “lessons,” raising more than $26 million in the process. In… Read More >>
