Libra pushes on, US backs crypto SRO and token sale safe harbour, coronavirus delays CBDCs and crypto-friendly banks moon as governments scramble to follow.

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Global

Central banks of UK, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Japan and EU set April meeting on developing digital currency. More →

Cryptocurrency crime losses double to $4.5bn in 2019, CipherTrace finds. More → 

Blockchain deals fall from $6.3bn 2018 high but investment ‘remains robust’, says KPMG. More →

FinCEN among 50 Financial Intelligence Units to meet to discuss ‘international ramifications’ of cryptocurrency. More →

Blockchain adoption grows as wallet users hit record 44.69 million in Q4 2019. More →

DeFi hits record $372m volume in February 2020, Dune Analytics figures show. More →

Global regulators must get up to speed on crypto, urges Financial Stability Board chair. More →

G20 urges governments to adopt tough FATF cryptocurrency rules. More →

Bank lending could dry up in cryptocurrency economy, Bank of England official warns. More →

Immigration and Customs Enforcement reveals cryptocurrency intelligence probe targeting P2P. More →

Facebook’s Libra in final dev testing before 2020 mainnet launch. More →

Blockchain is wrong tech for voting, says MIT cryptography expert. More →

Europe

Estonia

MetaBlock Exchange claims it complies with FATF ‘travel rule’. More → 

EU

ECB investigating CBDC launch ‘for the people’ says Christine Lagarde. More →

European Commission consultation on regulating cryptocurrency extends to March deadline. More →

European Parliament says it can’t regulate Libra without more clarity. More →

Belgian firm sets up first node for cross-European blockchain network. More →

Finland

Customs agency seized $15m in Bitcoin but don’t want to sell. More →

France

Central Bank Digital Currency ‘at least 10 years away’ says former governor. More →

Germany

BaFIN regulator clarifies licensing process for foriegn crypto custodians. More →

40 German banks declare interest to offer crypto services, BaFIN says. More →

New cryptobanking laws attracting biggest institutional investors, says Borse Stuttgart. More → 

Ireland

High Court seizes €52m in Bitcoin from convicted drug dealer. More →

Luxembourg

Bitstamp adds SegWit support for Bitcoin addresses. More →

Malta

Binance ‘not authorised’ to operate in Malta, says MFSA regulator. More →

MFSA highlights problems with security token issuances. More → 

New government says it still wants Malta to be ‘Blockchain Island’. More → 

Russia

Central bank proposes legal framework for tokenisation. More →

Tokenisation plan will label cryptocurrency activity as suspicious, report says. More → 

Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky unveils blockchain voting system. More →

Sweden

Riksbank begins testing e-krona ahead of CBDC development. More →

Switzerland

FINMA regulator proposes 1,000 franc client ID threshold for crypto transactions. More →

Ominex cryptoexchange wins investment from SIX. More →

UK

Small crypto startups will pay decreased £2,000 registration fee, FCA regulator says. More →

Crypto merchant bank DAG Global hopeful of FCA license award. More → 

Retail investors ‘not interested in crypto derivatives’ claims eToro head. More →

Bank of England working paper claims demand can reduce cryptocurrency prices. More → 

UK cryptoasset regulatory clarity sparked renewed investment drive, KPMG report says. More → 

Bank of England chief cashier signals support for UK-backed cryptocurrency. More → 

Chinese crypto firm Zeux told to remove Tube ads claiming 5% savings interest rate. More →

Crypto-friendly challenger bank Revolut raises $500m Series D for $5.5bn valuation. More →

London-based Global Digital Finance pushes for US crypto SRO. More → 

Ukraine

Government won’t regulate crypto mining, ministry says. More → 

Blockchain ‘unnecessary’ for CBDCs, central bank claims. More →

IT worker at state-owned firm convicted of using office computers to mine Bitcoin. More →

Americas

Unregistered cryptoexchanges fuelling Latin America money-laundering boom, report finds. More →

Brazil

Central bank debuts instant payments to hold off Bitcoin growth. More → 

Canada

Shopify to join Libra Association. More →

‘No need’ for CBDC now, says central bank. More →

United States

Food inspectorate to test IBM blockchain for exports. More → 

Federal Reserve Governor Brainard says privacy, ID, data top concerns for US CBDC. More →

Kleiman lawyers accuse Craig Wright of ‘abusing privilege’ to block 11,000 documents.  More →

Federal Reserve weighs up cost-benefit analysis of CBDC. More →

Landmark case claiming Bitcoin Cash market manipulation fails. More → 

SEC unveils legal framework for ICOs. More → 

Regulators willing to engage with Bitcoin finserv providers, say Grayscale. More →

Judge invites CFTC to comment on SEC Telegram case. More →

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce puts forward 3-year ‘safe harbour’ for token sales. More → 

Paystand raises $20m Series B to scale. More → 

Social media firms that tokenise ‘must follow law’ says FinCEN. More → 

US government lost $1.7bn on Bitcoin auctions by failing to HODL, research claims. More → 

SEC charges fraudster who raised $33m from fake crypto algo trading scheme. More → 

JP Morgan in talks to merge Quorum blockchain unit with Consensys. More → 

IRS rejects Government Accountability Office request to clarify crypto taxation. More → 

FinCEN preparing ‘significant new requirements’ for cryptocurrency, says Treasury Secretary. More →

CFTC’s fintech innovation arm seeks crypto firms for engagement. More →

Pro-Bitcoin Presidential candidate Andrew Yang drops out of 2020 race. More → 

Coinbase Pro adds 3x margin trading in 23 states. More →

Coinbase Custody wins SOC1 and SOC2 certification. More →

Craig Wright threatens to sue BTC and BCH over Bitcoin database use. More →

Department of Justice criminalising on-chain privacy, starting with crypto mixers. More →

Nominee to lead Federal Reserve says US must be proactive on CBDC. More →

Court papers show TON community firing back at SEC over Telegram case. More →

Blockchain payment, signature bills advance in New York state senate. More →

IRS to host March crypto tax evasion summit with startups. More →

Hester Peirce calls for ‘safe harbour’ comment from crypto industry. More →

Leading 2020 Presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg publishes cryptocurrency framework masterplan. More →

DeFi platform bZx hacked twice in a week for 3500 ETH. More →

Enigma agrees to return $45m from ICO, register ENG tokens as securities.  More →

Federal judge tells SEC ‘don’t get hung up on labels’ in Telegram $1.7bn ICO case. More →

Coinbase wins Visa membership to issue Bitcoin debit cards. More → 

Crypto industry lauds ‘safe harbour’ token sale rules. More → 

Bank regulator OCC hits New York’s Safra for ‘extensive’ AML failures. More → 

Possible US cryptocurrency SRO, stablecoins on CFTC agenda. More →

New Jersey lawmakers wants to create state crypto license. More →

Blockchain pioneer Caitlin Long announces plans to launch first dedicated crypto bank in US. More → 

Congress to hear digital currency case in March. More → 

Department of Commerce calls for rule change requiring finserv firms to state cross-border cryptocurrency usage. More → 

Court finds Microsoft engineer guilty of amassing Bitcoin fortune through embezzlement. More →

Crypto investor allowed to proceed with $24m AT&T SIM-swap hack case. More → 

Tokenised US Treasury bond fund seeks foothold in $17trn market.  More →

SEC squashes Bitcoin ETF dreams by denying Wilshire Phoenix/NYSE Arca. More → 

Outgoing SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce slams Bitcoin ETF rejection. More → 

Bitcoin behind 50% of Square’s Cash App revenue in Q4 2019. More →

CFTC commissioner Brian Quintenz backs US crypto SRO ‘to further market integrity’. More →

Judge allows class-action XRP lawsuit against Ripple to proceed. More → 

Victims paid $144m in Bitcoin ransoms since 2013, FBI reveals. More →

House Committee to probe blockchain impact on small business. More →

Documents reveal Coinbase is testing controversial AI facial recognition. More →

Steven Seagal settles for $157k with SEC over Bitcoiin2Gen ICO promotion: More →

Crypto broker Tagomi joins Libra Association. More →

Wilshire Phoenix slams SEC Bitcoin ETF denial. More →

Middle East & North Africa

UAE

Abu Dhabi FSRA regulator updates crypto framework in line with FATF. More →

Moody’s ratings agency deems cross-bank KYC blockchain ‘credit positive’. More →

Iran

General calls for country to use cryptocurrency to evade sanctions. More →

South Asia

India

Telengana state to launch dedicated blockchain incubator. More → 

Government think tank plots key blockchain use cases. More →

East Asia & Pacific

Australia

Government to ramp up blockchain adoption in latest National Roadmap. More →

AUSTRAC regulator confirms number of cryptoexchanges has grown to 312. More →

Court accepts cryptocurrency as security for legal costs. More → 

Cambodia

Government announces state-backed CBDC. More →

China

Crackdown on cryptomining sees production shift to North America. More →

Coronavirus delays CDBC launch, says government. More →

FCoin exchange plans to re-open, return $130m in missing Bitcoin. More → 

Bitfinex, OKEx brought down by DDos attack.  More →

Hong Kong

Tether adds Chainalysis KYT tool to spotlight money laundering. More →

Bitfinex ups max leverage to 5x on BTC, XRP, ETH, LTC. More →

Country considering tougher FATF-style cryptocurrency regulations, Finance Secretary says. More →

Bitfinex claims to have paid $100m of outstanding $700m Tether loan. More → 

Japan

700m LINE users to trade crypto as social network wins SRO approval. More → 

Lawmakers push for G7 support for digital yen. More →

Ruling party aims to add digital yen CBDC to government policy. More →

Financial authorities collaborating on CBDC research. More → 

Bank of Japan governor calls for more scrutiny before CBDC launch. More →

LINE shuts down Singapore exchange to launch US-based Bitfront. More →

New Zealand

Tax authority plans to drop ‘unfavourable’ cryptocurrency sales tax. More → 

Philippines

Police documents suggest regulator of crypto-focused Cagayan Economic Zone ‘outrageously corrupt’. More → 

Singapore

Binance has applied for crypto license, CEO says. More →

Market maker B2C2 wins appeal over Quoine exchange Bitcoin trade reversal. More → 

South Korea

Samsung launch security chip to protect data on cryptocurrency devices. More →

Ripple strikes three deals for money transfer firms to use RippleNet. More → 

Tax authority recommends capital gains tax on crypto trading. More →

M.Pay deal will see 13,000 ATMs support Litecoin withdrawals. More →

Coronavirus crackdown stalls crucial cryptocurrency legislation. More → https://decrypt.co/20770/coronavirus-stalls-crucial-south-korean-crypto-legislation

Taiwan

Binance throws weight behind Shyft Network in FATF ‘travel rule’ race. More →

Binance debuts P2P trading. More → 

Caribbean

Bermuda

Cryptoexchange developer named in US lawsuits seeking $200k damages. More →

Africa

Seychelles

Ex-employee thought to be behind leak of 8,000 KYC customer data docs from Digitex Futures exchange. More →