News Nuggets | 28 September: NiceHash Exits UK; CFTC Awards Whistleblower over $300,000

<p>NiceHash Exits the UK
Market Ahead of New Regulations</p><p>The Cloud
mining platform NiceHash has announced that it will cease operations in the UK
starting October 10, 2023, due to upcoming Financial Conduct Authority regulations. The company advised its existing UK users to disconnect their
miners early to avoid potential losses. The decision affects all NiceHash
services, including its exchange, mining services, and hash power marketplace.</p><p>In
anticipation of forthcoming regulations, several other digital currency firms,
such as <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/paypal/" target="_blank" rel="follow">PayPal</a>, ByBit, and Luno, have scaled back their operations in the
United Kingdom.</p><blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">So nicehash emailed me. The UK thinks they can stop this train, bless. <a href="https://t.co/l8YkJKTe36">pic.twitter.com/l8YkJKTe36</a></p>— Anon (@Headnakamoto) <a href="https://twitter.com/Headnakamoto/status/1707068166264803817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2023</a></blockquote><p>CFTC Files Fraud Charges
against Mosaic Exchange Limited</p><p>The
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/cftc/" target="_blank" rel="follow">CFTC</a>) has filed a civil enforcement
action against Mosaic Exchange Limited and its CEO, Sean Michael, for running a
fraudulent digital asset commodity scheme. </p><p>The
complaint alleges that the defendants solicited and misappropriated funds from
at least 17 people in the US and other countries. The CFTC is seeking various
forms of legal redress, including restitution and civil monetary penalties.</p><p>CFTC Awards Whistleblower over $300,000</p><p>In a separate
move, the Commission awarded over $300,000 to a <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/whistleblower/" target="_blank" rel="follow">whistleblower </a>whose tip led to
an enforcement action. The whistleblower provided a particularly informative tip
that described the misconduct in question and assisted the CFTC staff multiple
times during the investigation. The award is part of the CFTC's ongoing efforts
to encourage whistleblowing.</p><p>"Since
issuing its first award in 2014, the CFTC has granted whistleblower awards
amounting to almost $350 million. Those awards are associated with enforcement
actions that have resulted in monetary sanctions totaling more than $3 billion," the CFTC commented.</p><p>ASIC Secures Financial
Penalties for Reporting Failures</p><p>Between
January and June 2023, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission
(<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/asic/" target="_blank" rel="follow">ASIC</a>) prosecuted 36 companies, collecting over $700,000 in penalties. These
companies failed to meet various financial reporting requirements, including
lodging financial reports and holding annual general meetings. </p><p>Notably,
three companies (ALT Financial Group Ltd, TV2U International Ltd, and RMG
Ltd) were fined more than $100,000 each for their violations.</p><p>SEC Charges California
Siblings for Insider Trading</p><p>The US
Securities and Exchange Commission (<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/sec/" target="_blank" rel="follow">SEC</a>) has filed charges against three
siblings from Southern California for insider trading. The siblings allegedly
made $650,000 in illegal profits by trading shares of General Finance Corp before
its acquisition by United Rentals Inc. </p><p>Marco
Perez, one of the siblings and a former Account Manager at General Finance,
is accused of tipping off his siblings about the acquisition.</p><p>SEC Appoints New PCAOB
Board Member</p><p>The SEC has
also announced the appointment of George Botic to the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (PCAOB). The SEC's Chair Gary Gensler expressed his confidence that
Botic will advance the PCAOB's mission to build trust in public companies'
financial disclosures. Botic is looking forward to improving audit quality and
investor protection.</p><p>"I am
pleased that George will serve on the PCAOB Board," said <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/gary-gensler/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Gensler</a>. "George will advance the PCAOB's mission to build trust
in the financial information that public companies disclose to investors. I
also would like to thank Duane for his five years with the Board, including his
service as Acting Chair."</p><p>Cross-Border CBDCs
Successfully Tested by BIS and Central Banks</p><p>The Bank
for International Settlements (BIS) and the central banks of France, Singapore,
and Switzerland have successfully concluded Project Mariana. This project
tested the cross-border trading and settlement of wholesale central bank
digital currencies (<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/cbdc/" target="_blank" rel="follow">wCBDCs</a>) using decentralized finance technology. The
project demonstrated the feasibility of such an infrastructure and could serve
as a blueprint for future financial market infrastructures.</p><p>"Project
Mariana pioneers the use of novel technology for interbank foreign exchange
markets. It successfully demonstrated that it is feasible to exchange wholesale
CBDC across borders using novel concepts such as automated market makers,"
said Cecilia Skingsley, the Head of the BIS Innovation Hub.</p><p>FMA NZ Reviews Catalist
Market Operator Obligations</p><p>The
Financial Markets Authority of New Zealand (<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/fma/" target="_blank" rel="follow">FMA</a>) has conducted its second
market obligations review for Catalist Markets Limited. Catalist is licensed
under section 316 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 to operate the
Catalist Public Market. The FMA is required to review and report on how well
Catalist is meeting its licensed market operator obligations at least once a
year.</p>

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.