Regulators worldwide are pushing back hard against Facebook's Libra, and central banks and governments find themselves on the back foot. With financial giants getting serious about crypto, only the strong will survive.

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Global

G20 offers official backing for FATF cryptocurrency user data sharing rule. More →

Bank for International Settlements will back central bank digital currencies. More →

Ox decentralised exchange shuts due to smart contract vulnerability. More →

Cash and bank deposits under threat from Big Tech cryptocurrencies, IMF paper suggests. More →

Venture capital blockchain funding slows to $1.6bn as early-stage growth deals rise. More →

Regulators ‘asleep at the wheel’ as cryptocurrency flourishes, says Nobel Prize winner Nouriel Roubini. More →

Investment fund giant Fidelity ramps up hiring for digital assets division. More →

Europe

EU

ECB confirms it does not consider Bitcoin a currency, rather an asset. More →

Croatia

Croatian Post Office opens pilot cryptocurrency exchange in three branches. More →

Cyprus

Blockchain draft bill will be ready this year, says Finance Ministry. More →

YouHodler crypto loan site exposes unencrypted credit cards in MongoDB database leak. More →

France

Financial Markets Authority watchdog to approve first cryptoasset issuers under new tax laws. More →

Georgia

Georgia exempts Bitcoin from VAT to treat crypto as currency. More →

Germany

Finance Minister Scholz sounds alarm over Libra ahead of G7. More →

Bundesbank president Jans Wiedmann backs Libra at G7. More →

Daimler to build cryptographic hardware wallet for automotive industry. More →

Cryptocurrency firms will require BaFin markets authority license by 2020. More →

BaFin greenlights $250m real estate tokenisation bond. More →

Malta

Binance announces futures trading with 20x leverage. More →

Binance attackers move $8m in stolen Bitcoin. More →

Binance discovers, will distribute $775k in XLR for Proof-of-Stake work it didn’t know it did. More →

Suspected Ponzi scheme has no license in Malta, Financial Services Authority warns. More →

Ireland

Dublin-registered Bitsane exchange disappears with 250,000 user funds. More →

Netherlands

Finance, Justice Ministries push €3000 cash payment ban, crypto regulation in bid to fight money laundering. More →

Finance Ministry vows to regulate cryptocurrency ahead of 2021 FATF probe. More →

Norway

Norwegian Air to accept Bitcoin, open own crypto-exchange. More →

Poland

Country’s largest exchange BitMarket collapses in apparent liquidity loss. More →

Police investigating death of BitMarket co-owner. More →

Russia

Finance Ministry rules out cryptocurrency use for payments but no mining ban. More →

Duma won’t ban Facebook’s Libra after all, hinting at full crypto regulation. More →

Sberbank drops out of interbank blockchain project after ‘failure to reach goals’. More →

State corporation Rostec to oversee blockchain development. More →

Cryptocurrency draft law ‘stuck’ in Duma, postponed until autumn. More →

GoBit admits selling blatant trade volume fakes to help exchanges appear on CoinMarketCap. More →

Former WEX exchange owner arrested in Italy, questioned over $4bn money laundering claim. More →

Sweden

Quickbit exchange leaked private details of 300,000 users, security researchers find. More →

Switzerland

Nestlé blockchain pilot to track supply chain from New Zealand to Middle East. More →

Bitcoin Suisse broker applies for banking and securities license. More →

Federal data commission still waiting for Facebook response over Libra regulation. More →

Turkey

Economic roadmap for 2023 calls for central bank digital currency. More →

UK

First crypto hedge fund wins regulatory approval. More →

Facebook’s Libra needs ‘deep thought and detail’, says FCA. More →

FCA proposes ban on sale of crypto derivatives, ETNs. More →

Brewdog brewery opens up share buys in BTC, OMG, 0x, LTC. More → 

CEX.io exchange wins MTL license to expand to 33 US states. More →

Facebook’s Libra must be ‘rock solid’ before launch, warns outgoing Bank of England governor Carney. More →

Treasury Department’s Economic Crime Plan lays out plans for illicit cryptoasset crackdown. More →

Economic Crime Plan puts January 2020 deadline on installing FCA as cryptoassets supervisor. More →

Facebook trying to ‘turn itself into its own country’ with Libra, MP warns. More →

FCA impersonated in email Bitcoin scam. More →

FCA sandbox firm TokenMarket closes own STO at £240,000. More →

FCA determines it will not regulate Bitcoin, Ether in cryptoasset guidance. More →

Cryptoassets lack ‘intrinsic value’ warns FCA. More →

Detail: Final guidance on cryptoassets from FCA specifies what falls under utility, exchange and security tokens. More →

Americas

Brazil

Latin America’s largest investment bank plans $1bn security token sale. More →

Foreign affairs office requires all new diplomats to know about cryptocurrency and blockchain. More →

Country’s largest coffee co-operative to launch own cryptocurrency. More →

State of Bahia launches blockchain to track government tender contracts. More →

Canada

Ontario city votes to accept Bitcoin for property taxes. More →

Government relaxes crypto-exchange reporting rules to transfers of $10,000 or more. More →

Securities regulator mulls new regulations for crypto derivatives, exchanges. More →

Cuba

Government researching cryptocurrency to bypass US economic sanctions. More →

United States

Blockchains CEO buys Nevada bank. More →

Facebook has applied for money transfer license, registered with FinCEN, and applied for New York BitLicense for Calibra. More →

LG applies for trademark on mobile crypto wallet. More →

Facebook’s Libra draws Washington fire as 30 groups sign on to regulatory letter. More →

Bitfinex claims to have paid back $100m of outstanding $700m debt to Tether stablecoin. More →

Gemini apply for broker dealer license to trade securities. More →

Florida city that paid $500,000 Bitcoin ransom sacks IT director. More →

Bill to provide ‘safe harbour’ for customers with hard-forked cryptoassets reintroduced to Congress. More →

Bitcoin money-laundering cartel found operating inside Florida prison. More →

SEC and FINRA statement on broker-dealers offering custody shows many questions still to be answered. More →

IRS conduct social media surveillance to clamp down on Bitcoin tax avoiders. More →

Massachusetts private bank opens cryptocurrency custody. More →

Texas federal court orders scammers posing as CFTC to pay $400,000. More →

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell calls for Facebook to halt Libra until ‘serious concerns’ addressed. More →

Visa invests in $40m round for crypto custody firm Anchorage. More →

Amazon, Fidelity and Deloitte back blockchain accelerator. More →

New York college hit in $2m Bitcoin ransomware attack. More →

Miami Dolphins name Litecoin team’s ‘official cryptocurrency’. More →

President Trump eviscerates Bitcoin, demands crypto firms apply for banking charter. More →

SEC gives first Reg A+ clearance to Blockstack token offering. More →

Congress drafts bill to keep Big Tech firms from issuing cryptocurrencies. More →

Tether admit accidentally printing 5 billion USDT. More →

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says Facebook’s Libra needs safeguards against money laundering. More →

Facebook leaders vow to wait for regulatory approval for Libra before US launch. More →

Venezuelan group sues $30m diamond-backed crypto Ponzi scheme in Florida case. More →

Senate hearings focus on Facebook’s serious trust issues over Libra. More →

Facebook ‘delusional’ if they think they can launch Libra, senators say. More →

IMF chief economist says regulators must address risks over Libra. More →

Ex-Microsoft engineer accused of $1.6m Bitcoin theft, using mixers to hide trail. More →

Treasury Department vows to ensure cryptocurrencies don’t become ‘new Swiss bank accounts’. More →

St Louis Fed chair says cryptocurrencies will upend US financial system. More →

CFTC probes Hong Kong’s BitMEX for alleged sales to US customers without license. More →

Fidelity’s crypto division applies for New York Trust license. More →

Libra spawns wave of fakes on Facebook, Instagram. More →

Bitfinex deny they served New York residents in NYAG test case. More →

Facebook settles $5bn fine with Federal Trade Commission over privacy, data scandal. More →

FINRA extends deadline for brokers, exchanges to report crypto activity. More →

Bakkt begins user acceptance testing for Bitcoin futures. More →

New York Times debuts blockchain ‘fake news’ project. More →

New York Department for Financial Services announce new R&D division to license cryptocurrency firms. More →

Facebook amassing ‘army’ of lobbyists to woo DC over Libra. More →

Utah County to offer blockchain voting app in municipal elections. More →

Genesis crypto loan firm hits record $746m in Q2 2019. More →

New York State names first six members of Digital Currency Taskforce. More →

Bill in New York State Assembly proposes confiscating ‘unclaimed’ Bitcoin under abandoned property law. More →

KPMG partners R3 for telecoms billing on blockchain. More →

Federal judge proceeds $224m SIM-swap case against telecoms giant AT&T. More →

New Jersey man who sold $2m of cryptocurrency as unlicensed exchange faces 25 years in prison. More →

Senate Banking Committee schedules July 30 debate on cryptocurrency regulation. More →

Newegg technology retailer extends Bitcoin payment option to 74 countries. More →

Facebook to pay $100m for misleading claims over Cambridge Analytica data use. More →

Presidential candidate Andrew Yang to accept Bitcoin donations via Lightning Network. More →

SEC clears first blockchain gambling firm to sell Ethereum tokens. More →

Bitfinex allegedly sold $1bn in LEO tokens to US investors using Cayman Islands loophole. More →

Crypto investment firm Abra drops QTUM, BTG, EOS, OMG, SNT, citing ‘regulatory uncertainty’. More →

IRS targets 10,000 Bitcoin users to pay back taxes on profits. More →

894 Safeway supermarket stores to offer 3.5% BTC cashback. More →

FINRA grants underwriter license to Galaxy Digital’s broker-dealer arm. More →

Bank of America files patent for DLT-based settlement system, citing Ripple. More →

SEC seeks contractor to run Bitcoin, Ethereum nodes. More →

Senate hearing key takeaways: blockchain is inevitable. More →

FinCEN requires security token firm to add Know Your Business rules to comply with Bank Secrecy Act. More →

Venezuela

President Maduro orders every branch of Banco de Venezuela to sell Petro cryptocurrency. More →

Middle East & North Africa

Bahrain

Crypto Exchange Gets Central Bank License in Middle East First. More →

Israel

Hacker charged with $1.7m cryptocurrency theft. More →

Iran

Central bank deputy confirms trading Bitcoin illegal in Iran. More →

Economic Commission legalises cryptocurrency mining industry. More →

Bitcoin miners banned from using subsidised electricity during peak hours. More →

Palestine

New government confirm plans to use cryptocurrency to replace Israeli Shekel. More →

Central Asia

Kyrgyzstan

Police seize 8,000 Bitcoin mining rigs in clampdown on illegal farm. More →

South Asia

India

Private bank manager arrested for alleged cryptocurrency scam. More →

National Police Academy launches training for officers to explain cryptocurrency. More →

Authorities ‘uncomfortable’ with Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency. More →

Police foil kidnapping plot aimed at cryptocurrency traders. More →

Finance minister confirms no separate laws to regulate crypto exist. More →

Third major crypto-exchange CryptoKart shuts down citing hostile regulatory picture. More →

Private currencies like crypto, Libra ‘will destroy macroeconomic stability’, says reserve bank. More →

Government panel recommends ban, fines and 10-year jail sentence for dealing, trading cryptocurrency. More →

Economic Affairs Committee mulls official central bank cryptocurrency, report claims. More →

East Asia & Pacific

Australia

Top Australian banks join IBM in blockchain project to digitise bank guarantees. More →

Retired couple lose $900,000 to cryptocurrency scam. More →

Treasury office excludes cryptocurrency from proposed limit on cash payments. More →

China

Libra is forcing People’s Bank of China to develop its own cryptocurrency, central bank official claims. More →

Central bank blockchain has processed $4.4bn so far in 2019. More →

Police seize 4,000 Bitcoin mining rigs in gang bust. More →

Hangzhou Internet Court rules Bitcoin protected by property laws. More →

State-run media allege TRON founder Justin Sun suspected of money laundering, prostitution. More →

Oranco alcohol wholesaler testing blockchain for anti-counterfeit measures. More →

State-owned research group puts EOS first, Bitcoin 11th in blockchain ranking. More →

Hong Kong

BitMEX exchange to launch fixed income bonds. More →

Japan

Bank of Japan Deputy Governor says digital currency operators must conform to money laundering regulations. More →

110 cryptocurrency exchanges want registration in Japan, FSA regulator says. More →

Bitpoint exchange hacked for 3.5bn yen ($32m). More →

55,000 users affected in Bitpoint hack as exchange loses $8.9m from hot wallet. More →

Finance Minister Taro Aso urges G7 for new crypto regulations in wake of Facebook’s Libra plans. More →

Japan quietly leading development of SWIFT bank network for cryptocurrency. More →

Malaysia

Securities Commission issues second warning in two months over unauthorised ICOs. More →

New Zealand

Hacked Cryptopia exchange liquidator explains why users have not received funds. More →

Philippines

Union Bank completes blockchain remittance pilot, praises greater funding for rural banks. More →

Singapore

Huobi exchange launches platform to build enterprise blockchains. More →

Bitrue exchange confirms $4.5m hack, offers more detail. More →

Detail: Inland Revenue’s plan to drop local taxes on cryptocurrencies. More →

Government proposes ending VAT for cryptocurrencies. More →

Singapore Stock Exchange backs Ethereum security token sale platform. More →

Banks, telcos combine for blockchain identity service due in 2020. More →

Monetary Authority of Singapore warns against cryptocurrency exchange scam. More →

South Korea

Mall food court giant to accept cryptocurrency payments. More →

Alleged Ponzi scheme PlusToken goes bust owing $3bn. More →

Shinhan Bank cracks down on anonymous cryptocurrency transactions. More →

Samsung quietly releases blockchain for dApp development. More →

Binance eyes launch of crypto-exchange in South Korea. More →

Anti-ICO chairman of Financial Services Commission resigns. More →

‘Samsung Coin’ request made by trademark troll, not tech giant, says Korean Intellectual Property Office. More →

Crypto-related crime cost South Korea more than $2bn since 2017. More →

Seoul greenlights Busan City blockchain free trade zone but bars ICOs. More →

Thailand

Huobi wins crypto-exchange license from Ministry of Finance. More →

Caribbean

Lobbyists urge Caribbean Development Bank to support crypto projects for financial sovereignty. More →

Bermuda

Arbitrade gold-backed cryptocurrency and exchange goes dark. More →

Crypto lobby pressure Prime Minister Burt to focus on secure institutional crypto custody, AML. More →

Goldman Sachs-backed Circle to open compliance arm in Bermuda. More →

Circle and Poloniex say Bermuda move due to regulatory uncertainty in US. More →

Africa

South Africa

Crypto Ponzi scheme pulls in $135,000 from duped investors. More →

Payments processor Payfast drops Bitcoin citing ‘fundamental’ confirmation time problem. More →