Opinion by: Andre Omietanski, General Counsel, and Amal Ibraymi, Legal Counsel at Aztec Labs What if you could prove you’re over 18, without revealing your birthday, name, or anything else at all? Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) make this hypothetical a reality and solve one of the key challenges online: verifying age without sacrificing privacy. The need for better age verification today We’re witnessing an uptick in laws being proposed restricting minors’ access to social media and the internet, including in Australia, […]
South Korean authorities have arrested one of three Russian nationals accused of an attempted robbery during a fake crypto deal in Seoul. The suspects allegedly lured Korean investors to a hotel, where they tried to steal 1 billion won (approximately $730,000) in cash. The Gangseo Police Precinct in Seoul detained a man in his 20s in Busan on May 27, according to a report by local news outlet JoongAng Daily. The suspect faces charges of assault and attempted robbery. The […]
Luxembourg classified virtual asset service providers (VASPs) as high-risk entities for money laundering in its 2025 National Risk Assessment (NRA), highlighting concerns over the crypto industry’s exposure to financial crime. According to the report, the inherent risk level of VASPs is deemed “High,” driven by factors including transaction volume, client reach, distribution channels, legal structures and the international scope of operations. The NRA identified VASPs as an emerging risk in its 2020 report after “a detailed assessment of ML inherent […]
US Representative Bryan Steil wants lawmakers to stop adding “non-germane items” into two key crypto bills, claiming that doing so is slowing the implementation of a regulatory framework for the industry. “Individuals, when they see legislation that’s going to move forward, want to attach non-germane items to any bill that’s going to move through and be signed into law,” Steil, a Republican from Wisconsin who chairs the House Financial Services Subcommittee on crypto, told Cointelegraph at the Bitcoin 2025 conference […]
Nasdaq has filed for crypto asset manager 21Shares to list a spot Sui exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US, initiating the Securities and Exchange Commission’s review process. The stock market’s May 23 19b-4 filing, which asks the SEC to list the 21Shares SUI ETF, follows 21Shares’ April 30 submission of its S-1 registration statement to the SEC, which asked the regulator to approve trading of the proposed fund. Both regulatory filings are needed for the Sui (SUI) tracking fund to […]
Building a permanent US strategic Bitcoin reserve would likely require targeted legislation rather than executive action, according to VanEck’s head of digital assets, Matthew Sigel. Speaking at Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas, Sigel said the most viable path forward may involve inserting Bitcoin mining incentives into the congressional budget reconciliation process. According to Sigel, the most effective path to growing a US strategic Bitcoin reserve would be through targeted amendments to congressional budget legislation. These could include tax credits for […]
Australia’s markets regulator has filed civil proceedings against Liang “Allan” Guo, the former director of Blockchain Global. Guo will face the court on “allegations relating to multiple breaches of his directors’ duties,” the Australian Securities and Investments Commission said in a May 28 press release. ASIC alleged Guo made multiple breaches of directors’ duties relating to his dealings with ACX Exchange customer funds, and claimed he made false and misleading statements about those dealings and failed to maintain proper books […]
Outgoing US Commodity Futures Trading Commission commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero says the exodus of the agency’s top brass is “not a great situation” for crypto regulations. The CFTC could be headed by just one commissioner once the other four depart later this year, which Goldsmith Romero said in a May 27 interview at the Brookings Institution will make creating regulations harder because it leaves a less diverse pool of opinions. “I think it’s not a great situation if you have […]
US President Donald Trump’s pick to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has disclosed millions of dollars worth of assets, along with his various ties to crypto-related organizations. In paperwork released by the US Office of Government Ethics on May 25, Brian Quintenz disclosed his key positions in crypto and market firms that would directly relate to the CFTC’s regulatory priorities and disclosed assets worth at least $3.4 million, according to a May 27 Bloomberg report. Quintenz was a CFTC […]
Cango, a publicly traded Chinese conglomerate, has agreed to sell its legacy China operations to an entity associated with peer Bitmain in a bid to go all-in on Bitcoin (BTC) mining, according to a report by The Miner Mag. Cango agreed to sell its legacy Chinese auto financing business to Ursalpha Digital Limited in a $352 million deal, according to the report. Additionally, Bitmain is reportedly transferring 32 exahashes per second (EH/s) to Cango. The deal effectively brings Bitmain’s mining […]