The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has 
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) and the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) issued a 
LONDON (Reuters) - The crash of FTX exchange has injected greater urgency into regulating the crypto sector and targeting such 'conglomerate' platforms will be the focus for 2023, the new chair of global securities watchdog IOSCO said in an interview.
Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Blockchain, Crypto, Digital Assets Regulations
Imminent Litigation Challenges of the Metaverse
Blakes | Karine Russell and Christopher DiMatteo | Nov 23, 2022
Image: Unsplash/Javier Peñas
While a virtual-reality parallel universe is likely several years away, entirely new areas of law have developed to address the online world. Cyberattack or data breach class actions have become common.
- Privacy litigation: If the metaverse develops as anticipated, it will involve the collection of an unprecedented amount of data about users. Platforms could (as they do now) collect data about what users buy in the metaverse, what they look at, and their conversations with other users. However, because a user’s access to the metaverse would be through a headset, much more data could be collected – for example, relating to user movements, physiological responses and perhaps even brainwaves – that will give platforms a deeper understanding of their users’ thought patterns and behaviours.
- Tort of intrusion upon seclusion where a defendant intentionally intrudes into the plaintiff’s private affairs in a manner that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. In addition to a data breach scenario, it is possible to envision other metaverse cases of intrusion upon seclusion. If it is possible to buy virtual real estate in the metaverse, for example, a defendant could be liable for snooping in a plaintiff’s virtual home.
- Could a metaverse operator be liable for negligently failing to prevent a cyberattack that resulted in the compromise of user data?
- If a metaverse user breaches the privacy of another user, could the platform be liable for failing to prevent the breach?
See: Proof of Humanity: Aftermath Islands Metaverse Launches Blockchain-based Facial Recognition
- Product liability: The metaverse is projected to result in a vast market for virtual and physical products available for purchase and use by customers. Accordingly, developers, manufacturers, licensors, vendors and others in the industry may be at risk of metaverse-related product liability claims brought by metaverse participants and users of these products.
- claims could result from scenarios where individuals sustain personal injuries while immersed in the virtual or augmented reality of the metaverse world
- property damage or economic loss claims could arise where participation in the metaverse or use of related hardware gives rise to an incident that destroys property. Metaverse users may also be sued by other users for their conduct in the metaverse as it relates to another person or avatar.
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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NYT DealBook Summit: Sam Bankman-Fried Interviewed About the Collapse of FTX
New York Times | Dec 1, 2022
Image: NYT DealBook Summit
Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of the cryptocurrency firm FTX, gave his first live interview since his company filed for bankruptcy. Andrew Ross-Sorkin of The New York Times asked Bankman-Fried to address allegations of fraud and mismanagement and whether the people and organizations who are owed money will get any of it back.
Watch the full interview from the DealBook Summit event.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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CFTC Says Bitcoin is the Only Commodity | ECB Criticizes Digital Asset Sector for Facilitating Illegal Activity
Cointelegraph | Prashant Jha | Dec 1, 2022
Image: Unsplash/André François McKenzie
CFTC has faced a lot of scrutiny in the wake of FTX collapse due to its ties with the crypto exchange and SBF’s efforts to put the committee as the key oversight body for crypto.
- The chief of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Rostin Behnam, claimed Bitcoin is the only crypto asset that can be viewed as a commodity during an invite-only crypto event at Princeton University, reported Fortune.
- Behnam’s comments are quite a contrast to his early statements in October, where he claimed Ether could also be viewed as a commodity.
See: New U.S. Bill Gives Crypto Oversight to the CFTC
- The CFTC chief’s backtracking of his comments on ETH comes in the wake of heavy scrutiny of U.S regulators and accusations of corruption, with Republican lawmakers accusing the SEC chair of coordinating with FTX “to obtain regulatory monopoly.”
- Behnam said the committee has limited oversight powers and blamed the “matrix of regulators” as an imperfect system. However, he called for better collaboration among the long list of regulatory bodies to come up with formidable regulations.
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The Guardian | Alex Hern | Nov 30, 2022
ECB European Bank criticises digital currency sector for facilitating illegal activity
- The European Central Bank says bitcoin is on an “artificially induced last gasp before the road to irrelevance”, in a scathing intervention arguing against giving regulatory legitimacy to the cryptocurrency.
- In a strongly worded blogpost, senior European Central Bank (ECB) staffers Ulrich Bindseil and Jürgen Schaaf criticised bitcoin for being a hotbed of illegal transactions that brings reputational risk for any bank that gets involved with the sector.
See: ECB Publishes Macroprudential Bulletin on Stablecoins, Climate Risk, and DeFi
- German newspaper Handelsblatt, Bindseil and Schaaf argue: “the risks of crypto assets are undisputed among regulators”.
Since bitcoin appears to be neither suitable as a payment system nor as a form of investment, it should be treated as neither in regulatory terms and thus should not be legitimised
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Adapting IOSCO Principles to Digital Assets Markets
IOSCO | Nov 2, 2022
The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published a speech by Tuang Lee, Chair of IOSCO Fintech Task Force, on applying and adapting IOSCO principles to digital asset markets.
- Digital assets: These refer to anything of value whose ownership is represented in a digital or computerised form, through a process called tokenisation. Broadly speaking, digital assets can refer to anything, including real assets like artwork and property, but today our primary focus is on crypto-assets and DeFi.
- International scrutiny: On a global level, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) are calling for more regulation of this sector. The FSB recently published, on 11 October 2022, two consultation papers on the international regulation, supervision and oversight of crypto-assets activities and markets – from a financial stability perspective.
See: Global Securities Wathdog IOSCO to Target Crypto Platforms
- IOSCO Fintech task force: As the global standard setter for the international capital markets, IOSCO sets the core Objectives and Principles,1 along with supporting recommendations and guidance, on how to regulate capital markets activities and associated risks (together, IOSCO’s principles). Our members adopt these principles, distilling them into detailed regulations domestically.
- IOSCO has the mandate and a clear roadmap to explore investor protection and market integrity issues in financial markets.
- We have established two workstreams under our roadmap. The first on “Crypto and Digital Assets” is led by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (UK FCA). The second, covering “DeFi Products and Services” is led by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC).
- Examples of key risks:
- We are seeing many instances of market manipulation, wash trading and insider trading. For instance, a platform employee may be aware of the potential listing of a certain coin and may use the information to invest in the coin and make a quick profit.
- Another key risk concerns conflicts of interest. Conflicts of interest are particularly egregious in the context of crypto-asset service providers. Many of these so-called exchanges perform multiple roles that give rise to conflicts of interest. For example, trading platforms often provide brokerage services, custody and proprietary trading under a single roof – they also engage in the issuance of tokens, lending activities and complex re-hypothecation arrangements with client assets.
See: CPMI and IOSCO publish final guidance for stablecoins
- Like my last example on insider trading, there are existing IOSCO principles that already apply. The challenge is in determining the right level of guidance to provide. For instance, whether platforms should continue to be able to perform their own proprietary trading. Some jurisdictions have already proposed to disallow this. In addition, should platforms be allowed to list tokens which they have active interest in, and if so, what they need to disclose to users of their platforms?
Download a PDF copy of the Speech --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Canadian Federal Regulators Issue Joint Statement on Crypto Assets | OSFI Publishes Digital Asset Roadmap
McCarthy Tetrault | Ana Badour | Nov 17, 2022
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) and the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) issued a joint statement to all regulated entities (regulated entities) engaging in crypto asset activities or crypto-related service:
- In Scope:
- Including but not limited to, “acting as crypto-asset custodians; maintaining stablecoin reserves; issuing crypto and other digital assets; sub-custodial arrangements for crypto as well as dealing in any derivatives/securities financing transactions (SFTs), or
- other assets referencing crypto; acting as market makers or exchange or redemption agents in regards to crypto-assets;
- participating in blockchain and distributed ledger-based settlement or payment systems, including performing node functions; as well as
- related activities such as finder activities and lending in regards to crypto-assets.
- The Canadian federal financial regulators note that cryptocurrencies, stablecoin arrangements and decentralized finance applications “require prudent and thoughtful oversight and regulatory approaches, since innovations occur both within and outside of the mainstream financial system, sometimes both simultaneously”, and endorse the Financial Stability Board’s principle of “same activity, same risk, same regulation”.
See: OSFI Consultation on Prudential Treatment of Cryptoasset Exposures
- OSFI published a Roadmap for an Evolving Digital Asset Landscape and invited feedback from both regulated and non-regulated entities.
- The roadmap includes the launch of a regulatory sandbox in the first half of 2023 to enable experimentation of new technologies in a safe environment. Organizations are invited to express interest in participating in the sandbox by January 19, 2023, including indicating which type of products or services the organization is interested in.
- OSFI also indicates that it expects in 2023 to finalize its risk management expectations for digital currencies including stablecoins, and that it intends, starting in 2024, to expand the regulatory sandbox (to potentially include new participants and/or products) and to explore further the topics of crypto custody, lending, issuance, staking, derivatives and decentralized finance, as well as payment innovation and advanced artificial intelligence/ machine learning.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Global Securities Wathdog IOSCO to Target Crypto Platforms
Yahoo Finance via Reuters | | Nov 24, 2022
LONDON (Reuters) - The crash of FTX exchange has injected greater urgency into regulating the crypto sector and targeting such 'conglomerate' platforms will be the focus for 2023, the new chair of global securities watchdog IOSCO said in an interview.
- Jean-Paul Servais said regulating crypto platforms could draw on principles from other sectors which handle conflicts of interest, such as at credit rating agencies and compilers of market benchmarks, without having to start from scratch.
- IOSCO, which coordinates rules for G20 countries and others, has already set out principles for regulating stablecoins, but now the focus is turning to platforms which trade in them. In mainstream finance there is functional separation between activities like broking, trading, banking services and issuance, with each having its own set of conduct rules and safeguards.
- "For investor protection reasons, there is a need to provide additional clarity to these crypto markets markets through targeted guidance in applying IOSCO’s principles to crypto assets," Servais said. "We intend to publish consultations report on these matters in the first half of 2023," he added.
- The European Union's new markets in cryptoassets or MiCA framework is an "interesting starting point" for developing global guidance as it focuses on supervision of crypto operators, said Servais, who also chairs Belgium's financial regulator FSMA.
See: MiCAR: EU Crypto Regulation in the Making
Jean-Paul Servais, Chair of IOSCO Board:
The sense of urgency was not the same even two or three years ago. There are some dissenting opinions about whether crypto is a real issue at the international level because some people think that it's still not a material issue and risk. Things are changing and due to the interconnectivity between different types of businesses, I think it's now important that we are able to start a discussion and that's where we are going.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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FTX Fallout: Stephen Curry and Tom Brady Reportedly Under Investigation in Texas
Sports Illustrated | Madeline Coleman | Nov 22, 2022
Image: Unsplash/Mediamodifier
The Texas State Securities Board has reportedly expanded its investigation into cryptocurrency platform FTX’s operations and its subsequent bankruptcy to now include scrutinizing promotions by celebrities like Tom Brady and Stephen Curry.
- Bloomberg News first reported the development in the investigation, which is looking at possible securities-law violations. The Texas Tribune has confirmed it.
- This comes after news broke of a class-action lawsuit being filed last week that also names Curry and Brady, among a slew of other celebrities as well as the Warriors. It was filed in Florida and also names the platform’s former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried.
See: CB Insights: FTX ‘Bagholders’ — Investments and M&A Portfolio Map
“Anyone who renders investment advice in Texas typically needs to be registered and they typically have to truthfully disclose all known material facts,” said Joe Rotunda, director of enforcement at the Texas State Securities Board, to the Tribune. “In Texas, there is not a different system of justice or regulation for people who are celebrities.”
CBC News | Nov 22, 2022
FTX bought Bahamas properties worth $300M US, some in name of Bankman-Fried's parents
Image: Reteurs/Koh Gui Qing
- The collapse of FTX, one of the world's largest crypto currency exchanges, has left an estimated one million creditors facing losses totalling billions of dollars.
- Reuters earlier reported that Bankman-Fried's FTX, his parents and senior executives of the failed cryptocurrency exchange bought at least 19 properties worth nearly $121 million in the Bahamas over the past two years, official property records show.
- Old fort property shows founder's parents, who are Stanford law professors, as signatories
- "Since before the bankruptcy proceedings, Mr. Bankman and Ms. Fried have been seeking to return the deed to the company and are awaiting further instructions," the spokesperson said, declining to elaborate.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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