The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which is the main financial regulator in the United States, recently ordered a company offering bitcoin options to halt operations. The regulatory agency also ruled that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are classified as commodities and are covered by the Commodity Exchange Act. The regulator issued an order filing and simultaneously settling charges against Coinflip, Inc. Derivabit and is chief executive officer Francisco Riordan for activity relating to commodity transactions without the proper licenses. CFTC Ruling on Bitcoin Options According to the CFTC press release, the bitcoin options platform does not comply with the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations by trading or processing swaps….
In the first enforcement case against a Bitcoin operator after recognizing the cryptocurrency as a commodity, Bitcoin operator Coinflip has reached a settlement with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). With the new ruling that virtual currencies are to be recognized as commodities that are under the rules and regulations of existing laws, the U.S. derivatives regulators brought their first case against a Bitcoin trading platform, Reuters reports. The Federal agency said that a settlement had been reached with San Francisco-based trading platform Coinflip and its CEO Francisco Riordan. The charges were originally brought forward against the company and its CEO for conducting activity related to commodity options transactions without complying…
Bitcoin is now a commodity according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). On Thursday the organization publicly stated it had settled with a Bitcoin exchange for trading option contracts after an enforcement case against a Bitcoin operator. “In this order, the CFTC for the first time finds that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are properly defined as commodities,” according to the press release. CFTC now has authority to oversee cryptocurrency futures and options. Bitcoin derivatives and futures platforms must register as a swap execution facility or designated contract market. “While there is a lot of excitement surrounding Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, innovation does not excuse those acting in this space from following…
Qiwi, a Russian payment system operator, plans to begin issuing a cryptocurrency called “bitrubles” in 2016 and has met opposition from local officials, according to Kommersant, the business daily, and PRIME, a Russian news service. Officials fear the cryptocurrency could fund terrorism and money laundering. Sergei Solonin, CEO of the company, said Qiwi has already started designing the “bitruble” and the project may require several hundred million rubles. Lawyer: Central Bank Must Authorize Currency Only the central bank is authorized to emit money in the country, according to law firm Herbert Smith Freehills’ advisor Stanislav Grigoryev. “That is why they cannot launch the cryptocurrency without the regulator’s permit,” he said. Solonin said Qiwi has met with…
California Legislative Assembly has ordered to inactive a Bitcoin bill proposal at the request of state senator Holly Mitchell. The Bill AB-1326 was introduced by Assemblyman Matt Dababneh in February 2015. Soon upon the release of its first draft, the Californian Bitcoin bill drew plenty of opposition for a number of reasons. Several Bitcoin advocacy groups, including Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), BTC Foundations and Copia Institute, criticized the bill for impeding the growth of young Bitcoin startups. Responding to the growing criticism, Assemblyman Dababneh introduced some amendments into the Bitcoin bill. For instance: the lawmaker revealed that the amended bill has allowed virtual currency businesses with valuation lower than $1m to register with a…
The launch of the Laissez Faire (LZF) digital currency-to-fiat exchange platform in 49 states marks the first U.S.-based exchange to operate legally throughout the entire U.S., with the exception of New York. The goal is to provide a digital currency-to-fiat exchange platform that provides the most secure, incentivized trading environment. Using a structure similar to a Saas (software as a service) platform, LZF provides an autonomous system with fully-implemented banking capabilities. The autonomous, synchronized system minimizes the need to manually process user requests (with the exception of crypto cold storage). LZF does not serve New York due to the state’s BitLicense requirement. CCN reported earlier this year that the company, formerly known as PS Coin,…