1. Citigroup to Let Investors Trade Custodian-Held Cryptocurrency
U.S. multinational bank Citigroup is developing a cryptocurrency product to give institutional investors access to crypto markets without owning cryptoassets directly. Citigroup, which had previously taken a centralized approach to cryptocurrency, will reportedly use a revamped version of the American Depositary Receipts (ADR). The end product will be known as a Digital Asset Receipt (DAR), the sources claim. A DAR works much like an ADR, both giving U.S. investors a way to own foreign stocks that don’t otherwise trade on U.S. exchanges.

2. Bitcoin Markets Volatile After US SEC Suspends Trading in Two Crypto-Based Securities
US regulators banned trading of XBT Provider’s Bitcoin and Ether Tracker One securities. The SEC’s statement reads: “The Commission cautions broker-dealers, shareholders, and prospective purchasers that they should carefully consider the foregoing information along with all other currently available information and any information subsequently issued by the company.” If any broker or dealer enters any quotation which is in violation of the rule, the Commission will consider the need for prompt enforcement action. The SEC’s move comes amid a testing time for cryptocurrency investors versus the U.S. regulatory establishment, the regulator having recently rejected a slew applications for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

3. Winklevoss Brothers Launch Fiat- Backed Stablecoin After New York Regulator’s Green Light
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, creators of cryptocurrency trading platform Gemini, have received permission from New York regulators to launch their own stablecoin. Their mission is to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) received a second rejection from regulators in July. The Gemini dollar has the backing of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). The coins are being backed by U.S. dollars that are kept in the United States bank and eligible for FDIC ‘pass-through’ deposit insurance, subject to applicable limitations. Trading of the Gemini dollar begins today, and there is hope it will solve issues associated with time delays between 24/7 crypto markets and time-restricted fiat ones.

1. South Korean Official Proposes Greater Cooperation for Global Crypto Regulation

An official from South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has proposed greater international cooperation between regulators for crypto and Initial Coin Offering (ICO) regulation. Yoon Suk-heun, governor of FSS, made a statement about the potential for more cooperation during the opening ceremony of the 20th Integrated Financial Supervisors Conference (IFSC) held in Seoul Thursday, September 6, and attended by officials from 15 countries. The South Korean official stressed that country’s main aim is to “improve transparency in transactions to prevent illegal activities.” As Asia Economic TV reports, Yoon Suk-Heun urged the need for international coordination, including information sharing among countries, in preparation for the risk of money laundering that could rise as new financial products or services emerge.

2. EU Lawmaker Wants Standard Regulations to Allow ‘Passport’ for ICOs

A European lawmaker believes that new regulations for initial coin offerings (ICOs) are the key to making them more “accessible” within the European Union. Ashley Fox, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) said that the rules would be voluntary for projects that engage in token sales, though he hopes that companies will want to abide by them if they are adopted. The MEP’s proposal would limit the proceeds for ICOs to 8 million euros, mandate know-your-customer/anti-money laundering rules, and provide token startups with access to the entire EU.

3. Uzbekistan Legitimises Bitcoin

The President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has now signed a decree that permits the existence of cryptocurrency exchanges and other activity surrounding the industry. The decree gives an account of the policy details pertaining to cryptocurrencies. It has also laid out a host of requirements that exchanges must have to follow in order to operate in the country. As per decree crypto activity won’t be regulated by current legislation surrounding securities and that it will instead be regulated by specific acts put into place for digital assets. The exchange license will be granted to foreign entities only if they meet certain criteria, mentioned in the decree.

1. India Eyes State Digital Currency to Cut $90 Million Banknote Bill: India’s central bank is researching how to introduce a rupee-backed central bank digital currency (CBDC) into its monetary policy in a bid to reduce its hefty annual bill for minting physical cash. An inter-departmental unit has already been formed within the organization to study the desirability and feasibility to introduce a central bank digital currency. The effort apparently comes in response to a rapidly changing landscape of digital payments and the rising costs of managing fiat paper/metallic money. While the RBI did not reveal whether the potential CBDC may be blockchain-powered, it claimed the utilization of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in payment and settlement solutions holds the promise of significant economic benefits in future.

2. Yahoo Finance Integrates Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin Trading: Yahoo Finance has integrated trading with Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC) on its platform. While statistics are available on the platform for other digital currencies like Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum Classic (ETC) or EOS, they currently do not have buy and sell options. The development has led some in the crypto community to say that it is an important step forward for crypto adoption.

3. Standard Chartered, Siemens Partner on Blockchain Pilot to ‘Fully Digitize’ Bank Guarantees: UK multinational banking and financial services company Standard Chartered (SC) disclosed it is working on a blockchain pilot for bank guarantees using R3 Corda blockchain technology. In partnership with Siemens’ financing arm Siemens Financial Services (SFS) and trade finance platform TradeIX, the pilot began operating in March and aims to be complete by the end of 2018. If successful, the project will “digitize trade and leverage real-time data to deliver efficiency gains and transform the way trade finance is conducted,” SC’s global head of trade products Samuel Mathew commented.

4. EU to Discuss Further Crypto Regulation Amid Concerns About Lack of Transparency: Economic and financial affairs ministers from European Union’s 28 states will hold an informal meeting on the challenges posed by digital assets and the possibility of tightening regulations. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has previously warned customers about ICO-s, but despite that warnings, ICO’s have established an effective and efficient way to raise capital. The new rules set by The E.U. Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, bring more stringent transparency requirements aimed at the use of “anonymous payments through prepaid cards” and “virtual exchange platforms” for the purpose of money laundering or terrorist financing.

Bitcoin trading is illegal in Saudi Arabia: A governmental committee comprised of Saudi Arabian regulators has issued a statement, according to which the standing committee warned against trading in cryptocurrencies due to negative consequences and high risks on traders as they are out of government supervision, but there is no indication of possible consequences for parties found to be trading in cryptocurrencies.

Americans are the main targets for crypto hackers, new study reveals: A Russian based computer forensics and information security firm, revealed that in 2017, the number of “compromised login data” increased by 369 percent in comparison to 2016, while in January 2018 alone, there were 212 leaks of login data, which represented an increase of 689 percent to the monthly average experienced in 2017. According to the study, the three major countries that are targeted the most by hackers are the United States, Russia, and China and one in every three victims were Americans.

Communist Party of China Releases Primer on Blockchain Technology: The book by China’s Communist Party provides a scientific description of key blockchain features, its origin, future application scenarios, as well as major challenges associated with the adoption of the new technology. The Chinese political party aims to assist government authorities in understanding the concept of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and consider the benefits and challenges of adopting blockchain on a national scale. Earlier yesterday, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) listed a blockchain laboratory as one of the key labs for the year of 2018. The MIIT’s blockchain lab aims to improve data security and IT systems with the new DLT developments, and will operate under the oversight of the National Industrial Information Security Development Research Center.

FinCEN says it receives 1500 crypto complaints in a month: The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) receives more than 1,500 reports every month from financial institutions regarding cryptocurrencies. FinCEN director Kenneth Blanco discussed the role his agency takes in regulating cryptocurrencies. He emphasized the importance of Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filings – a type of document that financial institutions must file following a suspected incident of money laundering or a fraud.