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Gibraltar Goes Fintech: Next Destination - Hong Kong
...ooperation. Gibraltar is the member of this week for the first time. Delegation represented desire for this jurisdiction to move into the Fintech sector. The majority of the Albert Isola delegation were businessmen, executives, investors and even financial regulators. They performed a number of meetings and a reception to make some crucial agreements on the future deals. Gibraltar Fintech Offer...
Path: BlogHow Brokers in China Feel After the Website Blocks
We have already informed you regarding the latest **Chinese website restrictions** that occurred due to lack of information towards the financial regulator. Soon after the government **banned Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency exchanges**, followed by the bans of other trade platforms. It affected all FX and trading platforms without ICP certificates. Trading community stated that the access to...
Path: BlogHong Kong Securities and Futures Commission changing its previous "opt-in" approach
...n. The following activities is an extension of the crypto regulations introduced by the SFC in November last year. Hong Kong is considered as the base of many major cryptocurrency exchanges, but until November 2019, they were not regulated by the financial regulator, as digital assets did not fall under the category of securities. This allowed bad actors to deceive investors without any examina...
Path: BlogNigeria’s Crypto regulation as a solution for financial services
...gulatory landscape has made it riskier for larger institutions. A lack of many of the traditional financial services that are often taken for granted in other more developed countries are lacking in Nigeria. One of the reasons for this is because financial regulators in a number of African countries, including Nigeria, have imposed significant restrictions on how citizens can spend their money....
Path: BlogAttempts to Unify Cryptocurrency Regulation and Introduction of the Travel Rule
...tated that it would give 12 months to adopt the guidelines. FATF’s guidelines will: - increase transparency regarding who actually owns legal entities to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing through opaque structures; - provide financial regulators with better access to data through centralized bank account registers; - tackle terrorist financing risks linked to anonymous us...
Path: BlogWhat is the reason behind the suspension of ePayments operations?
...that the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) detected a loophole in the ePayments system that may be used by criminals to their advantage bypassing the regulations. Following a regulatory review of the company’s anti-money laundering system, the financial regulator forced the electronic money institution to freeze all accounts, suspend new account opening, and refrain from AIS or PIS for an un...
Path: BlogASIC implements new rules for issuers of CFDs
**The Australian financial regulator has implemented new regulation for wholesale clients and excluded the ‘price and value test’ for issuers of CFDs.** The test is applied by CFD issuers when classifying customers as wholesale clients. Specifically, the ‘price and value’ test is set in s 761G(7)(a) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and allows to classify clients as wholesale where th...
Path: BlogSouth Korea enforcing crypto rules
... legal foundation for virtual currencies.** This is a big step toward the legitimacy of cryptocurrency in South Korea. So far virtual currency exchanges were classified as information providers so they didn’t fall under the jurisdiction of the financial regulator. The new bill categorizes cryptocurrency as digital assets which makes crypto exchanges recognized as regulated financial business...
Path: BlogSingapore's new retail trading regulation cuts FX Leverage to 20:1
...an 2 million Singaporean dollars at personal disposal or, • have more than 1 million Singaporean dollars in cash or, • earn more than 300 000 Singaporean dollars annually. Newly introduced changes in leverage are no surprise since many financial regulators strongly believe that high leverage represents a risk to retail investors. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has been raising c...
Path: BlogFrom now cryptocurrency will be under AML rules in Thailand
**Thailand’s financial regulator is willing to amend local laws in order for those to include cryptocurrency.** Preecha Charoensahayanon, Police Major and secretary-general of the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), said: *"We believe that, while currently not an issue, cryptocurrency will be a tool of new money laundering. We may not find any clue, but that doesn’t mean the wrongdoin...
Path: BlogCySEC has expanded its authority
*Now, having received new level of authority, the regulator will be able to thoroughly ‘clean up’ the brokerage industry in Cyprus.* The Cyprus financial regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), has just announced that it has significantly expanded its legal authority. In accordance with the new regulations, **CySEC will be able to control the country’s financial sector...
Path: BlogNew financial crime combating plan was released in UK
...oned document discloses the government plans on cryptocurrency businesses. They intent to take action to ensure cryptocurrencies are not used for money laundering and other illegal activities. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the country’s financial regulator, will supervise the regulations, meaning it will introduce and maintain a sufficient AML regime for cryptocurrency companies. F...
Path: BlogSFC Forewarns Retail FX Brokers To Stay Away From Doing Business In China
...ainland regulator (SAFE) in its statement informed that due to the new requirements, it is unlawful for any unapproved organization to conduct forex margin trading or for any client, either an organization or individual from Mainland. The aforesaid financial regulator also adds that companies are advertising their services in simplified Chinese, as opposed to the local dialect used in Hong Kong a...
Path: BlogCanada is Planning to Restrict Cryptocurrency Short Selling
Canadian financial regulatory authorities are currently developing **new rules for cryptocurrency exchanges** within the country. The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) announced a new framework for cryptocurrencies exchanges that would terminate short selling and margin trading of digital assets The development of the...
Path: BlogThe Cook Islands first licensed online foreign exchange money changer
...elated processes. The Cook Islands is an autonomous island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. It is in free association with New Zealand and consists of fifteenth separate islands. The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) is a local financial regulator which, as of July 2003, replaced the former Off-shore Financial Services Commission. It is worth pointing out that all money chang...
Path: BlogCyprus Securities and Exchange Commission is planning to establish an Innovative Hub
...tor wants to establish a two-way working relationship with FinTech and RegTech developments.** Regulatory and financial technologies initiatives have been spreading across the globe over the past few years. In late July of 2018, the main Cyprus financial regulator, the **Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), announced that it would also be creating an Innovation Hub**. The reg...
Path: BlogDid Cayman become a top choice for blockchain business?
...s. Representative of the Cayman Finance stated that development of the blockchain and other fintech business branches currently stands for a number one priority in 2018. **Cayman could become a great place for innovations and representatives of the financial regulator consider this as a very credible outcome**.
Path: BlogThe British Virgin Island Authority declared a warning for CRS and FATCA
...unt information about **foreign tax residents**. The British Virgin Islands International Tax Authority reminded institutions, holding overdue reports not only for 2017 but also for 2016 about the consequences of being fined. Furthermore, the BVI financial regulator assures to be even more informative for institutions that are subjected to these regulations. Requirements for the CRS reports and...
Path: BlogSwitzerland puts a hand over supervising ICOs
...urchaser. Considering this, FINMA, classifies both, utility and access tokens, as securities. This implies that the requirements for them are stricter than for payment tokens. However, the authority still controls all three types. The European financial regulators community still does not have a unified position about cryptocurrencies, blockchain and ICO. For the time being, Switzerland is a...
Path: BlogRepeal of the Bermuda tax reform as the general service tax got denied
Even though the financial regulators of **Bermuda** had extensive plans regarding the **tax reform**, a lot has changed since then. Previously, we informed our readers about the implementation of a general service tax, however, it is dismissed from now on. The 2018\19 pre-budget report declares **tax amnesty** in controversy to the old plans. This amnesty will consist of a cancellation of la...
Path: BlogVirtual Currencies’ Control in Singapore
...n the field of financial instruments makes regulators think of more and more universal types of acts and laws. Many international documents also have requirements for the counter-financing of terrorism and anti-money laundering policies. This puts financial regulators in the position where they should decide whether **digital currencies** are according to the legislation or they should be banned...
Path: BlogNovelties for the Blockchain Business and ICOs in Gibraltar
The New Year has already brought the new regulations and rules in the international business world. We decided to start from the new rules in **Gibraltar**. The main financial regulator of this country, Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, announced new obligation for the companies using distributed ledger technology for storing or transferring values that belong to others. Currently, **...
Path: BlogSt.Lucia International Business Company Formation
...tion opportunities. These give clients unprecedented prospects in diversifying their international offshore business portfolio. St. Lucia’s financial system has never been blacklisted nor has it received much international attention from foreign financial regulatory agencies, escaping unnecessary scrutiny. However, it retains strong anti-laundering and anti-fraudulent policies that has kept th...
Path: CompaniesLabuan Fund Management License
...pany is subject only to 3% of profit tax on net audit profits, and full exemption from other local taxes, assuming that a company does not carry our business activity on the territory of Labuan. Labuan Financial Services Authority (LFSA) is local financial regulator which sets forth strict requirements in order to attract to Labuan only experienced, reliable and dedicated financial services pro...
Path: LicensingBulgaria Crypto License
... limited liability company or a joint-stock company. Overview Bulgaria does not require a specific crypto license for cryptocurrency transactions, as cryptocurrencies are not classified as financial instruments or virtual money by the financial regulator. This allows for the establishment of cryptocurrency businesses without direct regulatory oversight. While there is no dedicate...
Path: Licensing