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Cantor Fitzgerald, the Tether-linked broker, agreed to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a $6.75 million penalty yesterday after it was charged with causing two special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that it controlled to make misleading statements to investors ahead of their initial public offerings (IPOs) that raised $750 million. The SEC’s Division of Enforcement Acting Director, Sanjay Wadhwa, said that Cantor Fitzgerald “repeatedly” claimed it hadn’t approached merger targets in public filings despite having “substantive discussions with several private companies regarding a potential merger, including with the companies with which its SPACs eventually merged.” The SEC press release notes that Cantor Fitzgerald neither admitted to nor denied the charges levied against it in the order and paid the civil penalty. Tether custodian Cantor Fitzgerald loves Tether, chief says Read more: Why are Tether and Cantor Fitzgerald lending near iden...

In a post made Nov. 23 on LinkedIn, David Friedland, the Managing Director of the Asia Pacific region for Interactive Brokers, shares an early announcement of a Hong Kong license approval. The license is said to allow retail clients to trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). A surge in activity The recent announcement from Victory Securities coincides with a rush in crypto industry activity in Hong Kong, which has emerged as a focal point for crypto-related endeavors, attracting numerous companies seeking local licensing. David Friedland LinkedIn Post | Source: LinkedIn Notably, in August of this year, Hashkey secured the distinction of being the first crypto exchange in Hong Kong to obtain a specific license permitting the offering of crypto assets to retail investors. Friedland shares that an official announcement from the company should come available soon. You might also like: Victory Securities gains approval by Hong Kong SFC The race continues News of Inte...

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on Monday new rules for Crypto service providers which will require them to hold customer funds in a separate trust before the end of the year, as well as restrict lending and staking of retail customers’ tokens. In a press release, MAS said that the proposed crypto rules follow a public consultation from October 2022 that showed “broad support” for these regulations. Under the draft legislation, crypto firms will be required to reconcile customer assets daily, maintain proper records, and ensure constant access and operational controls to customers’ tokens. While crypto firms won’t be allowed to offer lending and staking of customer tokens, the practice will still be allowed for institutional and accredited investors. These new rules are intended to minimize the risk of misuse or loss of customer funds and make recovery easier in case of insolvency — problems that have become top of mind in Singapore following the collap...

The Lazarus Group, known for its cybercriminal activities, has shifted its focus to Garantex, an OFAC-sanctioned exchange, to trade stolen assets for bitcoin (BTC).  This move comes despite significant efforts from various stakeholders, including on-chain monitor Elliptic, exchange partners, and the wider community, to freeze the stolen funds held in Atomic Wallet. After a significant and successful cross-community effort between @elliptic, many of our exchange partners and friends to freeze stolen @AtomicWallet funds, Lazarus have now turned to OFAC-sanctioned Exchange, Garantex, to trade their assets for BTC… pic.twitter.com/5Lk9DeGjr8 — Elliptic Investigations (@Elliptic_Inv) June 12, 2023 The Lazarus Group, a state-sponsored hacking group with alleged links to North Korea, has a long history of conducting high-profile cyber attacks targeting cryptocurrency exchanges, financial institutions, and other lucrative targets. In this instance, their attention has tur...