A United States Securities and Exchange Commission rule forbidding defendants from criticizing the agency’s claims when settling enforcement actions “undermines regulatory integrity” and free speech, says one of its commissioners. In a Jan. 30 statement, SEC commissioner Hester Peirce disagreed with her agency’s denial of a petition to amend its 1972 “gag rule” — which forbids defendants from…

Global payment giant Visa is doubling down on cryptocurrency adoption by enabling another method to exchange crypto to fiat currencies without using a centralized exchange. Visa has partnered with the Web3 infrastructure provider Transak to introduce cryptocurrency withdrawals and payments through the Visa Direct solution, the firms announced on Jan. 30. The new integration allows users to…

The central bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) conducted its first cross-border digital dirham transfer using the mBridge central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform on Jan. 29. The 50 million dirhams ($13.6 million) cross-border CBDC transfer was sent to China using the multi-CBDC mBridge platform, according to Gulf News. The chairman of the board of the…

Crypto exchange listing scams are making a comeback amid a broader market recovery. According to a Jan. 29 post by Yi He — a co-founder of Binance and the spouse of the exchange’s former CEO, Changpeng Zhao — a LinkedIn impersonator is using her name and position to offer token listings in exchange for payment. “I do…

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has cautioned the public about potentially risky investment products called “Floki Staking Program” and “TokenFi Staking Program.” Both products are affiliated with the Floki ecosystem. According to the SFC, these products offer staking services and claim to deliver annualized returns ranging from 30% to over 100%. However, the…

United States Representative French Hill, chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, provided the public with an update on how lawmakers planned to move forward with crypto-related legislation in 2024. Speaking at an event hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) on Jan. 29, Representative Hill said U.S….