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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a complaint against Singapore-based Terraform Labs and its founder Do Hyeong Kwon in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York for orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud involving an algorithmic stablecoin and other crypto asset securities. In the statement released on 16 February, the SEC alleged that Terraform and Kwon raised billions of dollars from investors by selling an inter-linked suite of crypto asset securities, many of which were not registered transactions. The regulator also alleged that they failed to provide the public with full, fair, and truthful disclosure, especially for Terra and TerraUSD.

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) is reportedly planning to launch a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) for cross-border payments and domestic usage, which is aimed to address the problems and inefficiency of cross-border payments and help drive innovation for domestic payments. It is part of the first stage of the Financial Infrastructure Transformation Program introduced by the country’s central bank to support financial services sectors. In addition to the issuance of CBDC, the government also intends to launch a unified card payment platform and an instant payments platform at first stage of the program.

CEO of crypto exchange Binance Changpeng Zhao expressed his view on Twitter Spaces regarding the possibly increasing popularity of non-dollar stablecoin in the crypto industry in the future. He submitted that dollar stablecoins were still important as most people were still using dollars to calculate their investment returns. However, he noted that the US government’s recent crackdown on dollar-pegged stablecoin will likely result in global crypto industry relying more on euro-based or other Japanese yen, Singapore dollar-based stablecoins. He also anticipated that algorithmic stablecoins may gain more importance in the crypto ecosystem going forward despite the inherent risks associated with them.

Nasdaq-listed automated global electronic broker Interactive Brokers announced on 14 February that it would collaborate with OSL Digital Securities to launch crypto trading services for institutional clients in Hong Kong. Investors, who are Hong Kong residents, and with more than 8 million HKD in investable assets or institutions with assets over 40 million HKD, can now trade Bitcoin and Ethereum as well as stocks, options, futures, bonds, event contracts, mutual funds, and ETFs on its single unified platform.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) conducted a joint operation with the West Yorkshire Police’s cyber team to inspect several sites around the city of Leeds that were suspected of installing unregistered crypto ATMs. The FCA emphasized that all cryptoasset exchange providers in the UK, including crypto ATM operators, must be registered with the FCA and comply with the country’s money laundering regulations. The regulator warned that all current crypto ATM operators in the UK were unregistered and it would continue to disrupt unregistered crypto businesses in the country.

Brazil’s largest public bank Banco do Brasil announced on 11 February its cooperation with crypto firm Bitfy to enable taxpayers to pay their taxes in crypto. Taxpayers could scan a barcode for checking their tax bill and then they would be able to see the amount of local currency needed to be converted into the selected crypto for paying the tax bills. Lucas Schoch, Bitfy’s founder and CEO, described the new digital economy as a catalyst for a future full of advantages. Source: https://cointelegraph.com

DBS Group Holdings Ltd is reportedly planning to apply for a license for offering crypto to customers in Hong Kong. Sebastian Paredes, chief executive of DBS Bank (Hong Kong), revealed at a briefing in Hong Kong on 13 February that the bank was planning to apply for a license in Hong Kong so that it could sell digital assets to its Hong Kong customers. Paredes said the bank was willing to begin the digital assets business in Hong Kong once the regulations were clear and it understood exactly the framework.

The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has reportedly ordered Paxos Trust Company to cease minting Binance USD stablecoin due to several unresolved issues related to the company’s oversight of its relationship with Binance regarding Paxos-issued BUSD. The action comes shortly after the issuance of wells notice to the company by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), alleging the stablecoin is an unregistered security. Paxos informed customers of its intent to cease cooperation with Binance for BUSD and pledged to continue to manage redemptions of the stablecoin, which will be closely monitored by the regulator.

The world’s second-largest crypto ATM operator Coin Cloud has reportedly filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada. Chris McAlary, Coin Cloud founder, CEO and president said the company had the support of its largest creditors and would remain operational for their go-forward hosts and customers. According to the filing on 7 February, the company has liabilities between $100 million and $500 million and assets between $50 million and $100 million. Genesis Global Capital is the company’s largest creditor among its 5,001 and 10,000 creditors, which has unsecured claims of over $108 million.

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has reportedly reached an agreement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle the commission’s charge of failing to register the offer and sale of crypto asset staking-as-a-service program. The SEC said the company had been offering crypto staking services to US users since 2019 without even giving its financial condition and the means of paying the advertised returns to the customers. The exchange agreed to halt its staking program for US users and pay $30 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. Source: https://cointelegraph.com

Finland-based peer-to-peer crypto exchange platform LocalBitcoins announced the decision to cease its operation on 9 February. Despite its continued effort to surmount difficulties during the ongoing crypto winter, CEO Nikolaus Kangas said the company could no longer provide its Bitcoin trading service. New registration will be suspended from 9 February and trading activity will be ceased after 16 February. The company will allow the users to withdraw their assets from the account for 12 months, but it urged the users to begin withdrawal sooner.

US District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan extended the restriction to FTX’s founder Sam Bankman-Fried on using encrypted messaging apps as one of the bail conditions on 9 February. The judge reportedly said he was far less interested in SBF’s convenience than in he contacting potential witnesses in his case. The ban was first ordered on 1 February and will be reviewed on 21 February. SBF’s fraud trial is scheduled to commence in October and he will face eight counts of criminal charges.