Regulatory Financial News

US banks, already hesitant to work with crypto customers, are now even warier of providing services to the industry after a string of regional-lender collapses and amid heightened scrutiny by regulators. The closure of crypto-friendly Silvergate Capital Corp. and seizure of Signature Bank has left crypto firms struggling to find new banks for depository and payment services. While there's no blanket ban on serving crypto clients, financial firms are imposing lengthy application procedures, turning away smaller companies and some retail platforms, and in some cases shutting the door on crypto businesses altogether, according to industry participants, investors and bank executives. Cross River Bank, for example, received requests from more than 100 new clients not all of whom were crypto companies seeking a safe harbor for their deposits within days of SVB Financial Group's Silicon Valley Bank and Signature collapsing, according to a person with direct knowledge of the bank's business. The closely held company turned down almost all those requests, the person said. The bank is «only considering companies with existing relationships with Cross River that are blue-chip customers and integral to the fintech ecosystem,» said Eden Hoffman, a spokesperson for the Fort Lee, New Jersey-based lender. Among the few crypto companies that have won over the bank is stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial., which expanded a partnership with Cross River, announced after Silicon Valley Bank failed.

Hedera [HBAR] , the decentralized enterprise-grade public network got an opportunity to discuss the idea behind its project at a U.S. Department of state meeting.

In this week’s episode of Market Talks, Cointelegraph welcomes Brent Xu, founder and CEO of Umee — a decentralized finance hub built on the Cosmos SDK that offers tools for macro-level borrowing and lending applications. Before founding Umee, Xu led strategy at Tendermint while setting the strategic roadmap and partnerships for the Cosmos Ecosystem.

The US crypto industry could be in for a tough time ahead, as regulators continue their crackdown on some of the biggest companies in the space, experts have warned.

For the past twelve days, the price of Ether (ETH) has been trading in a narrow descending range. Surprisingly, not even the news of Binance and Changpeng "CZ" Zhao being sued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) was enough to break the support level. 

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Binance’s native token Binance Coin [BNB] plunged nearly 6% in the past 24 hours, after the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) alleged that crypto behemoth and founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) violated compliance rules to expand its business.

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission has filed suit against Binance and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao for trading violations, according to a Bloomberg report. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

As per an analysis by Developer Report, the U.S. ceded a considerable chunk of the blockchain development pie to emerging markets around the world.

As the United States grapples with the challenges posed by an evolving cryptocurrency landscape, Asia emerges as a beacon of innovation and opportunity for digital asset businesses. 

Binance is increasingly taking heat from regulators on multiple fronts, with its US business being the most vulnerable to ongoing crackdowns by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Recent turmoil in the traditional banking sector, culminating in USD Coin (USDC) losing its peg, could negatively affect stablecoin adoption and potentially increase calls for regulation, argued credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service. 

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of the more prominent anti-crypto voices in the United States Congress, has called on Jerome Powell to recuse himself amid an internal probe at the Federal Reserve.

The plan by insolvent lender Voyager Digital to sell its digital assets to cryptocurrency exchange Binance.US includes a clause that would preclude U.S. authorities from bringing legal action against anyone connected to the sale.

Anchorage Digital, a crypto bank based in San Francisco, is making substantial staff cuts in response to the current downturn in the crypto market and regulatory uncertainty in the United States. 

Crypto bank Anchorage Digital announced it would be letting go of 75 employees, representing approximately 20% of its workforce, citing regulatory uncertainty in the United States as a factor in its decision.

Following the decision by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Reserve, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to restore all customer deposits at failed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Bitcoin’s [BTC] price rallied by almost 10% in the last 24 hours. 

Disclaimer: The information presented does not constitute financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice and is solely the writer’s opinion

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Bitcoin (BTC) traders saw continued downward pressure after the 5.5% decline in BTC price on March 7. Increased odds of further interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve and regulatory pressure in cryptocurrencies explain some of the movement.

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has turned to alternative stablecoins following regulatory action by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against its native stablecoin, Binance USD (BUSD). The SEC sent a Wells notice to Binance, alleging that BUSD violates US securities law. The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) also asked BUSD issuer Paxos Trust to stop minting new BUSD, which forced Binance to look for alternative ways to meet its stablecoin needs.