How Upstream is staying warm this crypto winter

The fall of FTX, cryptocurrency, and a crypto winter. How Upstream’s unique methodology was built to prevent these issues and enforce failsafes By Vanessa Malone Upstream, a MERJ Exchange Market, is the first regulated exchange for digital securities and NFTs powered by a blockchain. As a blockchain-powered trading app, Upstream sometimes gets mistakenly looped into […]Continue Reading

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81% of adults in the U.S. agree that there is a need for clearer crypto industry regulations

Ahead of U.S. midterm elections, a recent Grayscale national survey points to the bipartisan consensus that crypto is the future of finance By Anastasia Samaras A new national survey from Grayscale, conducted by The Harris Poll on its behalf, presented interesting findings about public perception surrounding the crypto market ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. 53% of […]Continue Reading

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Are KYC, AML and other regulations coming to the NFT market?

Incoming regulations could be coming for the $2.5B NFT market Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) make up a $2.5 billion market and growing, up from $13.7 million in the first half of 2020.¹  Many of the leading NFT platforms, including OpenSea, Axie Infinity, CryptoPunks and Rarible have seen record volume in the last few weeks. OpenSea’s transaction volume […]Continue Reading

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SEC Chair Gary Gensler calls for more investor protection in crypto realm

SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s recent comments on crypto and the implications By Vanessa Malone Last week, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler gave a speech before the Aspen Security Forum and an exclusive interview with CNBC surrounding regulation in the crypto space. Some were optimistic that the new SEC Chair, whose background includes teaching a blockchain course […]Continue Reading

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What is SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce’s safe harbor proposal and the implications surrounding it. By Vanessa Malone In a speech last week, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce announced a proposal for a three-year “safe harbor” for tokens offerings which would exempt the sale of tokens or cryptocurrencies from certain federal securities law requirements. Token project issuers […]Continue Reading

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The EU steps up its crypto compliance laws for 2020

5AMLD- what’s in store for the blockchain community and how fintech can stay ahead of global regulation By Vanessa Malone The U.S. isn’t the only country cracking down on compliance initiatives surrounding blockchain and digital assets in 2020. Globally, anti-money laundering(AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements have continued to increase and become more applicable […]Continue Reading

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The blockchain community needs to work with, not against regulators

By Vanessa Malone It is said that the blockchain industry is in its infancy. While this may be true regarding adoption and integration, it’s definitely in its rebellious teenage years regarding compliance. A few months ago, Kik made headlines for launching a crowdfunding campaign to support its case against the SEC, claiming its going to […]Continue Reading

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Upcoming Dialogue with the Regulators Forum: Navigating Blockchain & Fintech

Capital markets are evolving right now and at the forefront of revolutionary changes in fintech and regtech is blockchain technology. Worldwide spending on blockchain solutions alone is expected to grow from $1.5 billion in 2018 to an estimated $11.7 billion by 2022, with the financial sector accounting for over 60 percent of the market value […]Continue Reading

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Digital Securities: Where Blockchain and Wall Street Collide

By Vanessa Malone Key Points: A series of events from both the Wall Street and blockchain industries led to the emergence of digital securities. The infrastructure to efficiently and compliantly conduct a digital security offering (from issuance to secondary trading) is already here. Education should be the primary focus as we head deeper into the […]Continue Reading

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