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Showing posts from March 26, 2023

US Seizes 18 Crypto ATMs Purchased Using Fraudulent SBA Loans — Arrests Owner

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U.S. law enforcement has seized 18 cryptocurrency ATMs that were purchased using fraudulent loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) meant to assist small businesses financially harmed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The loans were also used to purchase bitcoin from a New York-based cryptocurrency exchange, said the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Coindawg’s Crypto ATMs Seized The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Thursday that Charles Riley Constant, aka Chuck Constant, has been arrested “for charges in connection with a scheme to steal and launder over $1 million in fraudulently obtained loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA), including the use of fraud proceeds to purchase cryptocurrency ATMs.” The Justice Department detailed: Law enforcement agents seized, among other things, 18 cryptocurrency ATMs in Texas and Oklahoma that Constant purchased with fraud proceeds to start a cryptocurrency ATM business named ‘Coindawg LLC,’ as well as Coindawg’s we

US Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Affirm Blockchain Developers and Non-Custodial Services Are Not Money Transmitters

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A U.S. lawmaker has introduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act to ensure that developers and non-custodial service providers in the crypto space are not considered money transmitters and are not subject to the same level of regulation as custodial cryptocurrency exchanges. “The longer we delay providing this commonsense clarification, the greater risk that this transformative technology is driven overseas, depriving domestic users and investors,” the lawmaker warned. Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act Launched U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer (R-MN), the majority whip of the U.S. House of Representatives, announced on Thursday that he has introduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA), “which affirms that blockchain developers and service providers that do not custody consumer funds are not money transmitters.” This bipartisan bill is co-led by Representative Darren Soto (D-FL). Emmer first introduced a similar bill in 2018. “Crypto and blockchain technology, by natur

Report: Regulations Governing Tokenized Deposits and Crypto Assets in South Africa Set to Effect in January 2025

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Regulations governing tokenized deposits and crypto assets are likely to become effective on Jan. 1, 2025, a senior fintech analyst at the South African central bank has revealed. However, according to the analyst, regulators are still trying to understand or learn the risks that come with using distributed ledger technology. Central Bank Considers Appropriateness of Retail CBDC Gerhard van Deventer, a senior fintech analyst at the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) recently disclosed that regulations governing the so-called tokenized deposits and crypto assets are expected to come into effect on Jan.1, 2025. Although taking this step is seen as an important milestone, Deventer, however, warned regulators still need to understand the risks that are associated with the technology underpinning digital assets. To achieve this, the SARB and its partners have conducted experiments whose objective was to understand and identify the risks as well as the benefits of distributed ledger techn