1. The U.S. Department of the Treasury dismantled a North Korean cryptocurrency money laundering network
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) dismantled a North Korean cryptocurrency money laundering network that provided money laundering and cryptocurrency transaction services through a company in the United Arab Emirates, and repatriated the illegal proceeds to Pyongyang, involving millions of dollars.
2. U.S. Ohio State Representatives propose the state treasury to establish a Bitcoin reserve
U.S. Ohio State Representative Derek Merrin proposed that the state treasury establish a Bitcoin reserve as a supplement to the state treasury's investment portfolio and to hedge against the devaluation of public funds.
3. Deutsche Bank launches a digital asset compliance trading pilot platform Dama 2 based on Ethereum L2
According to Bloomberg, Deutsche Bank launched a test version of its digital asset compliance trading platform Dama 2 based on Ethereum L2 in November. The L2 in this platform was developed by Memento Blockchain and Interop Labs based on ZKSync's ZK Stack. Deutsche Bank stated that trading on a self-developed L2 can avoid compliance issues such as paying transaction fees to sanctioned entities. The bank hopes to launch a minimum viable product next year after obtaining regulatory approval.
4. Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury proposes the second reading of the Stablecoin Bill
According to the Hong Kong government press release, the Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christopher Hui, proposed the second reading of the Stablecoin Bill in the Legislative Council meeting today and hopes to pass it as soon as possible. The regulatory framework focuses on (1) licensed entities must maintain a sound reserve stabilization mechanism; (2) stablecoin holders should have the right to redeem stablecoins from the issuer at par value; and (3) requirements for anti-money laundering, risk management, disclosure, auditing, and fit and proper persons.
5. ASIC Deputy Chair: Binance Australia's compliance system is severely inadequate
According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announcement, the Australian financial services regulator is suing Binance Australia Derivatives for allegedly misclassifying over 500 retail clients and refusing to provide legal protections. The lawsuit outlines several regulatory breaches, including Binance's failure to publish a PDS or TMD, inadequate dispute resolution mechanisms, and lack of employee training to ensure compliance with its financial services license. ASIC also accused Binance of failing to provide services "efficiently, honestly and fairly".
ASIC stated in the document that retail clients are entitled to stronger consumer protections, including product disclosure statements (PDS), target market determinations (TMD), and internal dispute resolution procedures. ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court criticized Binance's compliance system as "severely inadequate" and said many clients suffered significant financial losses due to inadequate protections.
6. The Hong Kong SFC issues licenses to 4 virtual asset trading platforms under the "fast-track" licensing process
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today issued licenses to four applicants for virtual asset trading platforms under the "fast-track" licensing process. The four virtual asset trading platform applicants are Yunzhanghao Greater Bay Area Technology (Hong Kong) Limited, DFX Labs Company Limited, Hong Kong Digital Asset Exchange Group Limited, and Thousand Whales Technology (BVI) Limited. The SFC is also processing the remaining applications under the same fast-track licensing process.
