According to CryptoPotato, the legal battle between Ripple and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is nearing its trial on April 23. The lawsuit, launched in December 2020, accuses Ripple of illegally raising over $1.3 billion in an unregistered securities offering by selling XRP. Ripple maintains that its native token is a currency, not a security, and therefore does not fall under the SEC's jurisdiction. Before the trial, both parties must comply with certain court rules. The SEC was recently granted an extension on the deadline to provide essential data related to the schedule for remedies briefing. Its opening brief is due on March 22, while Ripple's opposition should come no later than April 22. American attorney James Filan revealed that the parties have filed a joint letter seeking the magistrates' approval "to govern sealing issues relating to the upcoming remedies-related briefing." The outcome of the lawsuit is eagerly anticipated by industry participants, as it could trigger significant volatility for XRP and the entire cryptocurrency market. XRP's price spiked by over 70% when Ripple secured its first partial court win last year and saw further increases following two additional victories in subsequent months.

According to CoinDesk: Genesis Global Capital, the bankrupt crypto lender, has agreed to a final judgement to pay $21 million to settle charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This settlement emerges in response to Genesis and affiliates allegedly violating securities laws through their involvement with the discontinued Gemini Earn program. The agreement comes after a New York judge denied motions from Genesis and crypto exchange Gemini to halt the SEC case, leveled against them in January 2023. Genesis and its affiliates filed for bankruptcy shortly following the initiation of SEC charges. Genesis disclosed in court documents in February 2024 that it reached an agreement with the SEC to settle the charges for the sum of $21 million, a move which now appears to be finalized. Notably, the settlement stipulates that the SEC will not receive any portion of the penalty until all other claims approved by the bankruptcy court are paid. The SEC Chair, Gary Gensler, emphasized that the settlement underlines the necessity for crypto lending platforms and other intermediaries to comply with securities laws.

According to CoinDesk, EU lawmakers have adopted three key texts in a broad anti-money laundering legislative package that will also apply to crypto. In a joint meeting, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs voted for the texts after a political agreement on the package was reached in January. The Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) will require crypto service providers to comply with customer verification requirements and monitor cross-border transfers and transactions involving self-hosted wallets. The broader package also sets up an Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) based out of Frankfurt, Germany. The Joint Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs voted 68 in favor (10 against) the establishment of the AMLA on Tuesday. Lawmakers voted 71 in favor (four abstentions, nine against) for the provisional agreement on the regulation for the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing. Proposed mechanisms to be put in place by the EU's 27 member states were agreed 74 with five votes against. The three files voted on Tuesday are fundamental to the EU's fight against money laundering and will establish a single rulebook to harmonize implementation across the bloc. Though the regulation seeks to level requirements for all players in the financial sector, the European crypto industry worries the agreed rules for crypto service providers are harsher than those for traditional financial institutions. Edited by Parikshit Mishra.

According to CoinDesk, Citi and the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) have joined the Hyperledger Foundation to collaborate on fostering enterprise-grade services and solutions using blockchain technology. The Hyperledger Foundation is a global ecosystem for enterprise blockchain technology, with 134 supporting members, including IBM and American Express. Members of the Foundation are building products and solutions on top of Hyperledger’s code bases. Biser Dimitrov, global head at Citi’s distributed ledger technology center of excellence, expressed excitement about joining the Hyperledger Foundation. The Foundation also announced the launch of a Besu Financial Services Working Group, a collaborative group for enterprise users and code contributors to Hyperledger’s Besu. Besu is an open-source Ethereum client designed for enterprises for both public and private network use cases. The working group includes Accenture, Mastercard, Santander, and Visa, and will be chaired by the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), which is also a member of the Hyperledger Foundation. Daniela Barbosa, executive director at the Hyperledger Foundation, highlighted the importance of global financial organizations collaborating under the open working group to drive faster and better outcomes.

According to CoinDesk, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans to deliver a market abuse regime for crypto assets this year. The regime would apply to anyone committing market abuse on a crypto asset trading on a UK exchange, regardless of their location. This move is part of the FCA's business strategy to protect consumers, ensure market integrity, and facilitate international competitiveness. Last year, the UK government issued a consultation that included plans for a market abuse regime for crypto assets. The proposed regime would require crypto exchanges to detect and disrupt market abuse behaviors. The FCA is the main crypto regulator in the country and has already implemented a promotions regime for crypto, which includes requirements like adding risk warnings and a 24-hour cooling-off period for first-time buyers. The FCA has also been consulting on a regime for stablecoins. In its strategy for 2024 to 2025, the FCA intends to recover £6.2 million ($7.9 million) of costs for the new regulation of stablecoins and wider regime, and £200,000 for extending the financial promotions perimeter. However, the FCA has not yet detailed how it plans to achieve this.

According to Foresight News, Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) has announced plans to gather information on diversifying investments, including cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, gold, forests, and farmland with lower liquidity. Currently, GPIF has diversified its investments in traditional stocks, bonds, and some alternative assets like infrastructure and real estate. As of December 2023, the fund's assets under management reached approximately JPY 225 trillion, making it one of the largest pension funds in the world.

According to Foresight News, US Federal Judge Robert Shelby has ruled that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must pay legal fees for Utah-based crypto company DEBT Box, accusing the SEC of 'serious abuse of power' during the process of obtaining a temporary restraining order. The SEC had previously sued the crypto project last year, alleging fraudulent activities and obtaining a temporary asset freeze and restraining order against the company. According to the SEC, DEBT Box told customers it was selling licenses to mine cryptocurrencies, but in reality, it was only creating tokens using code. DEBT Box applied to lift the temporary restraining order, claiming that the SEC had misled the court regarding the company's transfer of funds and closure of bank accounts.

According to Foresight News, US prediction market platform Kalshi will launch five new event contracts for customers on Monday, allowing users to bet on various market price trends of Bitcoin and Ethereum using US dollars. Among the five new event contracts on Kalshi, one is a market event contract predicting the future value of Bitcoin, where users can bet on five price targets for this year: $75,000, $80,000, $90,000, $100,000, and $150,000 or higher. The other event contracts include the predicted price of Ethereum at 4 pm every day.

According to Cointelegraph: David Brend and Gustavo Rodriguez, former promoters of the alleged crypto firm IcomTech, have been found guilty of wire fraud conspiracy by a New York jury. The conviction could have them facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for their role in what has been revealed as a Ponzi scheme. Source: U.S. Attorney SDNY on X The trial, which lasted two weeks, ended on March 14 when the jury at a New York District Court delivered a guilty verdict against Brend and Rodriguez. Each has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, issued on March 15, stated that IcomTech founder David Carmona hired Rodriguez in mid-2018 to develop a website for promoting IcomTech, a newly launched firm presenting itself as a crypto mining and trading entity. Brend, Carmona and others enticed IcomTech's investors claiming the company's guaranteed daily returns through their supposed crypto mining and trading activities. Prosecutors unrevealed this to be a Ponzi scheme, concluding that no significant crypto trading or mining activities occurred, instead, new investor funds were used to pay previous investors. As per the allegations, Rodriguez aided in determining the pricing for so-called "investment packages" and unreal daily returns shown to investors via the site and his administered portal. Meanwhile, Brend and other promoters pocketed substantial amounts of victim funds, often amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The seized money was misused for extravagant ventures, including real estate purchases, travel, organizing opulent expos, and community presentations, during which luxury vehicles and lavish attire were used in attempts to attract further investments. Sentences for Brend and Rodriguez are scheduled for June 27 and June 28, respectively. IcomTech's former CEO Marco Ochoa received a five-year sentence in January after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Similarly, founder Carmona, admitted his guilt regarding wire fraud conspiracy in December.

In recent financial developments, Goldman Sachs has expressed its expectations for the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to withdraw its negative interest rates by March. This projection is encouraged by factors like higher wage negotiations results and related reportage believed to catalyze this change. Goldman Sachs' stance from just five days prior suggested some skepticism about the BOJ's communication clarity during this critical phase, hinting at a possible delay in hiking the interest rates. However, their updated forecast signals a more optimistic outlook regarding the BOJ's strategic adjustments.