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The Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) recently published the tenth-anniversary edition of its investor guide, which contained a list of risky investments—cryptocurrency included—that people should be wary of. In its "Texas Investor Guide: Strategies for Investing Wisely and Avoiding Financial Fraud," the state regulator said cryptocurrencies require scrutiny and should be traded with care. Aside from crypto, the list also includes unregistered individuals, oil and gas offerings, and promissory notes. According to the TSSB, digital assets are extremely volatile and that it's almost impossible for a layman to understand how it works. Promoters of crypto tokens are also just trying to take advantage of people looking for a way to get rich quickly, the board says, noting that even seniors and retirees who prioritize security over speculation have ended up investing in ICOs. Word of advice from the regulatory body The TSSB has some pieces of advice for investors on how to de...

The world's first central backed digital currency is yet to see the light of day, but progress is being made. This week, the Bank of England announced that it plans to explore possible use cases for a digital currency. The BoE has joined hands with the Bank of International Settlements and five other central banks in the project, among them the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank. The move could be among the most significant steps in the push for the use of CBDCs across Europe and beyond. The move by the BoE is one of many in the past year, as the world seeks to adopt blockchain-based digital currencies. According to the World Economic Forum, central banks are waking up to digital currencies. During the Davos 2020 conference this week, the WEF launched the CBDC Policy-Maker Toolkit that's aimed at helping central banks find the best way to integrate digital currencies into their monetary systems. The organization gathered insight from central bank researchers, internati...

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and over 50 delegations involved in crypto supervision recently gathered to discuss how to regulate crypto assets and related service providers. While examining three key areas, they stressed the importance of international cooperation, citing that cryptocurrencies are global products. FATF-Led Discussion on Crypto Supervision The Financial Action Task Force held a "supervisors' forum" in France last week to discuss crypto asset supervision. The aim of the forum was "to promote more effective supervision by national authorities" in the area of crypto assets and related service providers. The FATF is an intergovernmental organization with a focus on developing policies to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. Supervisors are designated authorities or non-public bodies with compliance responsibilities of each country. According to the FATF, this event was the first opportunity for regulators to discuss how to imple...

Blockchain technology has been focused on improving efficiency, reducing costs and improving speed—all of which translate to increased profitability for its users. However, in recent times, we've seen a rise in the use of blockchain for social good. The Global Blockchain Organization is one initiative, aiming to utilize the blockchain to create a better future. One of the founders, Mru Patel was at the Malta AI and Blockchain Summit where he spoke to CoinGeek's Stephanie Tower about GBO, the need for regulations and more. The GBO will bring together various stakeholders, from regulators to banks and startups, and "create a standard regulated thing on basic values," he explained. These members will "shape the future of the blockchain through process, regulation and universal compliance towards blockchain for humanity." The organization was launched in December 2019 in Oslo, Norway. It intends to work towards the adoption and utilization of blockchain in gover...

New York has a love/hate with cryptocurrency. It's the only state that requires companies in the industry to obtain a separate license, the BitLicense, to operate, while recognizing that digital currency is legitimate. There is even talk of the state issuing its own quasi-crypto, minus the decentralization, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo now believes that companies should take a more vested interest in their activity if they want to operate within the state's borders. Cuomo has proposed changes to New York's Financial Services Law (FSL) that would require those entities to cover all expenses related to regulation and licensing. In Cuomo's State of the State (in pdf) plan, he explains that there are gaps in the oversight of companies licensed under the Bank Law and Insurance Law, and those covered by the FSL. Entities covered by either of the first two are obligated to provide payments to the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to cover their regulatory costs, but t...

2019 is securely in the history books, and 2020 is ready to bring a lot of positive change for the cryptocurrency and blockchain spaces. Regulation, perceptions and laws continue to migrate toward wider acceptance, even if the transition seems slow, and this year is going to be a pivotal shift for how crypto is received. Going from 2019 to 2020 means out with the old, in with the new, and this week, the transformation week between the two years, is helping to make that happen. Despite crypto having been received well in Australia, an executive with the Reserve Bank of Australia sees BTC as a non-practical alternative to fiat. Anthony Richards admits that he has dabbled in BTC, but he doesn't believe it can take the place of regular currency. He's correct, as crypto was never meant to replace fiat, and alternatives such as BTC and ETH are not carrying the digital currency torch the way it had been intended. Google recently banned MetaMask, an ETH wallet and decentralized web bro...