North America: Crypto and Blockchain News Roundup 23rd February to 2nd March 2019

North America

Welcome to another weekly blockchain news roundup from around the world. Here we present to you all the latest Bitcoin news continent by continent and country by country.

Canada

Regulations Proposed After Quadriga CEO Reportedly Takes USD 140 Million to His Grave: Canadian public and regulators are calling for new regulations to be put in place after CEO Gerald Cotton died without giving the whereabouts of the USD 140 million worth of private crypto stash that belonged to investors of the exchange.

The bizarre incident caused the exchange to go into bankruptcy and seek creditor protection. The cautionary tale is forcing the community and the government to ensure that digital assets can still be accessed after a person’s death to distribute to his heirs.

Crypto Ponzi Scheme Banned in Ontario: USI Tech, a US-based Ponzi scheme claiming to deal in forex and cryptocurrency has been banned in Ontario by the Ontario Securities Commission. The abrupt closure comes after the company’s management threw its Canadian affiliates under the bus.

Last month, the OSC had issued a Cease Trade Order against the platform without any reason and the company tried to get out of it by saying that it hadn’t sold any product in Canada directly but only through local independent traders. That is when OSC came to the conclusion that USI Tech was dishonest and warranted a blanket ban.

USA

Congressman Tells Federal Reserve Chair That Cryptocurrencies Will Improve Innovation in the Country: Representative Warren Davidson (R-OH) has told the Federal Reserve chairman that cryptocurrencies can help innovate the fintech space in the country in a recent congressional hearing.

He said:

“Bitcoin doesn’t represent blockchain anymore than a website represents the internet. It is one use…..Capital has fled the United States where this innovation [was] initially off to a good start. Do you believe that regulatory certainty could foster innovation in this market…in the token economy?”

Davidson also cited the development of the internet as a similar example to that of the crypto sector and suggested the Federal Reserve Chair allow it to do so. The response of some of the other lawmakers was not as encouraging as Davidson’s.

Ripple Lawsuit to Remain in Federal Court: Ripple scored a minor legal victory last week when it announced that the securities lawsuit against the company’s XRP cryptocurrency was to remain in Federal court despite a move by the prosecution.

Lawyer Jake Chervinsky announced the development through a tweet on 1st March 2019 and said that the plaintiff’s motions were denied by the court and termed it as a minor victory. The case currently being fought by Ripple is a class action lawsuit against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Ripple for illegally selling unregistered securities in the country.

Specific Tokens to Be Exempted from Securities Law in Rhode Island: A new bill tabled in the Rhode Island legislature suggests that some digital tokens should be excluded from securities laws of the state.

The bipartisan effort H5595 recommends a series of amendments to the Rhode Island Securities Act and suggests several revolutionary changes. According to the new bill, tokens for consumptive use including receipt of services, goods or content may not fall within the securities laws.

But, the bill clearly suggests that tokens are not allowed to be used for investment purposes and so, it makes the adoption of the new bill a tricky subject up for debate in the state assembly.

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