BRICS members China and Saudi Arabia are unloading hundreds of billions of dollars worth of US treasuries. New numbers from the Treasury Department show that China trimmed its US treasury holdings from $938.8 billion in June 2022 to $835.4 billion in June 2023 – a decrease of about $103.4 billion in just 12 months. Even […]
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US crypto exchange giant Coinbase is calling the United Arab Emirates (UAE) a possible key location for its planned expansion of global operations. According to a new blog post, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and other executives are meeting with UAE policymakers in Dubai as they consider expanding to the crypto-friendly region. Says Coinbase, “Crypto and […]
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On Sunday, Saudi Arabia and several major oil producers announced their plan to cut oil production by 1.15 million barrels per day, starting in May and continuing until the end of 2023. According to the Saudi Energy Ministry, the move was coordinated with some members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and […]
PRESS RELEASE. Tallinn, Estonia – Gofaizen & Sherle, a leading fintech and crypto consultancy firm based in Estonia, has recently launched its first crypto product for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The product is designed to assist businesses and startup owners in obtaining crypto licenses in two key zones in UAE – the DMCC free […]PRESS RELEASE. Tallinn, Estonia – Gofaizen & Sherle, a leading fintech and crypto consultancy firm based in Estonia, has recently launched its first crypto product for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The product is designed to assist businesses and startup owners in obtaining crypto licenses in two key zones in UAE – the DMCC free […]
On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Western sanctions on Russia and oil trading between Moscow and India have started to erode the dollar’s decades-old dominance of international oil trade. The oil deals between India and Russia have been settled in other currencies, putting the U.S. dollar’s dominance in the oil trade under pressure. Sources Say Non-U.S. […]
On Feb. 12, 2023, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) announced the launch of a new initiative called the “Financial Infrastructure Transformation Program,” which has nine key objectives. One of these objectives is the research and development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) designed to address both cross-border payments and domestic […]
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the firm's XRP lawsuit could come to an end within "single-digit months."
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expects the firm’s long-running dispute with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) will be finalized within “single-digit months” and remains confident in securing a favorable outcome.
Speaking to CNBC on Jan. 18 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Garlinghouse said the verdict could come as soon as June this year now that both parties have “fully filled and fully briefed” their arguments before the U.S. District Court:
“We expect a decision from a judge certainly in 2023. You don’t really have control over when a judge makes their decisions. But I’m optimistic that sometime in the coming single digit months we’ll have closure there.”
While Garlinghouse and investors believe the facts, law and the court will ultimately side with Ripple, the Ripple CEO also took the opportunity to ridicule the SEC’s “embarrassing” behavior displayed throughout the lawsuit, noting:
“The SEC’s behavior in some of it has been embarrassing as a U.S. citizen. Just some of the things that have been happening, like you’ve got to be kidding."
Garlinghouse also argued the firm was betrayed by the regulator, as it filed the lawsuit despite their efforts to meet with them on three separate occasions seeking regulatory clarity:
“Not once did they say to me we think XRP may be a security. So to later go back and say hey the whole time we thought XRP was a security we just didn’t tell you… that doesn’t feel like a genuine partnership between public sector and private sector.”
While noting that the outcome of the case also has huge implications for the cryptocurrency industry, Garlinghouse reiterated that Ripple would only settle if it was made clear that XRP is not a security.
However, “the SEC and Gary Gensler has very outwardly said he views almost all crypto as a security” Garlinghouse said, “so that leaves very little space in the Venn diagram for settlement,” he added.
Garlinghouse added that the U.S. SEC should take note from some of the more crypto-friendly countries who are piecing together more “positive” regulation that doesn’t stifle innovation.
Among the countries he spoke highly of included the the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and the U.K.
Related: Ripple files final submission against SEC as landmark case nears end
The lawsuit was initiated by the SEC in December 2020, claiming that Ripple illegally sold its XRP token as an unregistered security.
Ripple has long disputed the claim, arguing that it doesn’t constitute an investment contract under the Howey test.
Should the two sides fail to settle, the New York-based District Court will either make a standalone ruling or put the matter before a jury in a trial.
South Korean authorities have requested cooperation from the Serbian government in order to bring Kwon back to face charges in South Korea.
The global manhunt for Terraform Labs' controversial founder and CEO Do Kwon continues to rage on, with South Korean authorities now believing he's in Serbia after leaving Singapore in September.
According to a Dec. 11 report from Chosun Media, South Korean authorities followed a tip-off concerning Do Kwon's whereabouts suggesting he is now in Serbia and has been able to confirm it.
"Recently, we obtained intelligence that CEO Kwon was in Serbia, and it was found to be true," an official told the outlet.
The report also states that South Korea’s Ministry of Finance “is in the process of requesting cooperation from the Serbian government” as part of the investigation.
South Korean authorities have been on the hunt for Do Kwon since Terra's collapse, but haven't seemed to have had much luck pinpointing his location until now.
The 31-year-old was understood to have moved to Singapore toward the end of April, just before the Terra ecosystem’s shock collapse.
On Sept. 14, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office's Financial and Securities Criminal Unit issued an arrest warrant against Kwon for allegedly violating South Korean capital markets laws.
Around that time, authorities in Singapore confirmed that Kwon was no longer in the country, and was understood to have flown to Dubai in transit to a new unknown destination.
Shortly after that, on Sept. 26, Interpol also reportedly issued a “Red Notice” against Kwon. As of Dec. 11, however, Do Kwon doesn't appear to have been added to Interpol’s Red Notice database on the website.
On Oct. 6, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an order for Kwon to surrender his passport. The ministry added that failure to comply would result in the cancellation of his passport altogether.
Later that month, prosecutors in South Korea confirmed reports that Do Kwon had flown to Dubai for a possible stopover before heading to another destination — which, as it turns out, might have been Serbia.
If Do Kwon turns out to be in Serbia, it remains to be seen what, if any, legal strings can be pulled from South Korea to try to extradite the Terraform Labs founder.
While South Korea has entered into a bilateral extradition treaty with 31 countries, Serbia is not among them. However, South Korea has also entered into a much broader multilateral extradition treaty with the Council of Europe, to which Serbia is a signatory.
Related: Terra co-founder Do Kwon faces $57-million lawsuit in Singapore
Kwon has maintained that he is not “on the run” and has been “making zero effort to hide." He's continued to be active on social media over the last few months.
The collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May was partly triggered by the depegging of its algorithmic stablecoin Terra USD Classic, USTC (formerly UST), which in turn brought down its sister asset Luna Classic, LUNC (formerly LUNA) by nearly 100%.
Cointelegraph reached out to representatives for Terraform Labs for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Following the World Gold Council’s (WGC) third-quarter report that shows central banks purchased a record amount of gold, data released by the WGC shows that central banks are buying more gold during 2022’s fourth quarter. Statistics show that the gold held by the world’s central banks is at the highest level since 1974. Central Banks […]