The past week was relatively quiet in regards to app news, but it did bring some peculiar local developments in regulation. United States Representative Tom Emmer has introduced legislation in the United States House of Representatives that could prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). According to the Minnesota lawmaker, the bill would prohibit the Fed from issuing a digital dollar “directly to anyone,” prevent the central bank from implementing CBDC-based monetary policy, and require transparency for digital dollar-related projects. .
Canadian securities administrators have published a notice outlining the new commitments it expects from crypto asset trading platforms seeking to register in Canada. The new commitments touch on issues including asset segregation, leverage, capital determination, transparency and others. But above all, it anticipates a ban on algorithmic stablecoins.
In a joint statement by three US federal agencies, the banking industry was advised against creating new risk management principles to counter liquidity risks stemming from vulnerabilities in the crypto-asset market. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a statement reminding banks to apply existing risk management principles when addressing the risks of liquidity related to cryptocurrencies.
By July 2023, the Financial Stability Board, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Bank for International Settlements will deliver documents and recommendations that will set standards for a global crypto regulatory framework. The announcement was made by representatives of the world’s 20 largest economies, collectively known as the G20.
The IMF says that there are no cryptocurrencies as legal tender
The IMF executive board endorsed a crypto asset policy framework that did not grant crypto assets an official currency or legal tender status. The document “Elements of effective policies for crypto assets” develops a framework of nine policy principles that address macro-financial, legal and regulatory issues and international coordination. According to the first principle, safeguard sovereignty and monetary stability, “do not grant crypto assets official currency or legal tender status.”
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Emojis count as financial advice and have legal consequences
The judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that emojis such as the space rocket, stock chart and money bags indicate a financial return on investment. In his decision on Dapper Labs’ motion to dismiss the amended lawsuit alleging its NBA Top Shot Moments violated security laws, federal judge Viktor Marreo wrote: “And while the literal word ‘benefit’ is not included in any of the the tweets, the ‘spaceship emoji, ‘stock chart’ emoji, and ‘money bag’ emoji objectively mean one thing: a financial return on investment.”
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SEC Files Objection To Binance.US Bid For Voyager Assets
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has opposed Binance.US’s decision to acquire more than $1 billion in assets belonging to the defunct cryptocurrency lending firm Voyager. Digital. The SEC is formally investigating whether Binance.US and related debtors violated the anti-fraud, registration, and other provisions of the federal securities laws. The agency noted particular concern around the security of assets through the planned acquisition. According to the regulator, the information provided in the planned purchase of Voyager’s assets does not adequately describe whether Binance.US or affiliated third parties will have access to client wallet keys or control over anyone with access to such wallets.
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Nigeria in talks with New York-based company for CBDC revamp
After several attempts to create an efficient digital currency, the Central Bank of Nigeria is turning to a New York tech company to revamp the underlying technology. According to sources close to the matter, Nigeria’s financial authority has discussed plans to develop a new and improved system with New York-based technology firm R3. Although one of the first countries to launch a CBDC, Nigeria’s eNaira got off to a slow start, with low adoption among the population. According to some reports, the ambitious project is “at a standstill”, with only 0.5% of Nigerians using the CBDC.
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