Headlines
▌Governor of the Bank of France: Cryptocurrency groups need to be regulated
François Villeroy de Galhau, governor of the Bank of France, said at the VivaTech event in Paris that international cooperation is needed to regulate cryptocurrency groups. It is not enough to regulate one legal entity in one jurisdiction, he added, and in the US, cryptocurrency companies have various legal entities operating in different jurisdictions, thus requiring international cooperation. While he emphasised that the EU is leading the way in cryptocurrency regulation, a new version of EU regulations, known as "MiCA 2," may be needed to deal with cryptocurrency blocs.
Policies
▌Russia will pilot digital asset settlement in foreign trade
Alexey Guznov, deputy governor of the Russian central bank, said that the Russian central bank plans to pilot the use of digital assets and central bank digital currency for cross-border payments, including experimenting with digital asset payments in settlements with trading partners. Alexey Guznov added that the use of digital financial assets (DFA) may improve the efficiency of foreign trade transactions. The relevant pilots will be carried out in two phases, and subsequent legislation will be passed to lay the legal foundation for the so-called experimental legal system using cryptocurrencies. Currently, the Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance is preparing bills to amend 30 necessary laws.
▌Hong Kong Eyes stablecoin regulation and tokenised securities
Hong Kong successfully launched its Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licensing regime this month. Now, the territory is looking to the next stage in its efforts to become a global crypto hub. Two areas where Hong Kong is moving ahead at pace include stablecoin regulation and the development of tokenised securities.
Cryptocurrency
▌Coinbase Tackles SEC’s Conduct, Says Commission’s Response Is ‘Evasive’
The plot thickens as Coinbase exchange strives for a clear regulatory scheme in the United States. Following a “noncommittal” and unsatisfactory response from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US-based crypto company has submitted another official petition to a federal court. This move would come as the latest action in the “legal battle” between the SEC and Coinbase after the cryptocurrency exchange was sued by the US financial watchdog earlier this month.
▌Jack Dorsey’s Fund Pledges $5 Million to Bitcoin Developers
Billionaire Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey plans to allocate more capital to the Bitcoin ecosystem after pledging $5 million to the network’s core developers through his grantmaking organisation Start Small. The firm will distribute the funds to the Bitcoin development non-profit, Brink, over the next five years in $1 million annual installments.