South Korea eyes KuCoin, BitMEX in crypto exchange crackdown  

Stablecoin issuer Tether is reportedly engaging with a Big Four accounting firm to audit its assets reserve and verify that its USDT (USDT) stablecoin is backed at a 1:1 ratio.Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino reportedly said the audit process would be more straightforward under pro-crypto US President Donald Trump. It comes after rising industry concerns over a potential FTX-style liquidity crisis for Tether due to its lack of third-party audits.Tether to produce first full audit after scrutiny“If the President of the United States says this is top priority for the US, Big Four auditing firms will have to listen, so we are very happy with that,” Ardoino told Reuters on March 21.“It’s our top priority,” Ardoino said. It was reported that Tether is currently subject to quarterly reports but not a full independent annual audit, which is much more extensive and provides more assurance to investors and regulators.However, Ardoino did not specify which of the Big Four accounting firms — PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, or KPMG — he plans to engage.Tether recorded a profit of $13.7 billion in 2024. Source: Paolo Ardoino Tether’s USDT maintains its stable value by claiming to be pegged to the US dollar at a 1:1 ratio. This means each USDT token is backed by reserves equivalent to its circulating supply. These reserves include traditional currency, cash equivalents and other assets. Earlier this month, Tether hired Simon McWilliams as chief financial officer in preparation for a full financial audit.Industry concerns over Tether’s lack of auditsIn September 2024, Cyber Capital founder Justin Bons was among those in the industry who voiced concerns about Tether’s lack of transparency.“[Tether is] one of the biggest existential threats to crypto. As we have to trust they hold $118B in collateral without proof! Even after the CFTC fined Tether for lying about their reserves in 2021,” Bons said.Related: Tether freezes $27M USDT on sanctioned Russian exchange GarantexAround the same time, Consumers’ Research, a consumer protection group, published a report criticizing Tether for its lack of transparency.Just three years prior, in 2021, the United States Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fined Tether a $41 million civil monetary penalty for lying about USDT being fully backed by reserves.Meanwhile, more recently, Tether has voiced disappointment over new European regulations that have forced exchanges like Crypto.com to delist USDT and nine other tokens to comply with MiCA.“It is disappointing to see the rushed actions brought on by statements which do little to clarify the basis for such moves,” a spokesperson for Tether told Cointelegraph.Cointelegraph reached out to Tether but did not receive a response by time of publication.Magazine: Dummies guide to native rollups: L2s as secure as Ethereum itself

John Reed Stark, the former director of the Office of Internet Enforcement at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), pushed back against the idea of regulatory reform at the first SEC crypto roundtable.The former regulator said the Securities Act of 1933 and 1934 should not be changed to accommodate digital assets and urged that digital assets do not escape the definition of securities under the current laws.The first-ever SEC crypto roundtable. Source: SEC“The people buying crypto are not collectors. We all know that they are investors, and the mission of the SEC is to protect investors,” Stark said. The former official added:”The volume of case law has developed so quickly because of all these crypto firms. They went for this sort of delay, delay, delay, idea, and they hired the best law firms in the world, and these law firms all fought the SEC with incredible briefs.”“I have read every single one of them. And they lost just about, I would argue, every single time,” he continued. Stark concluded that he saw no innovation in digital assets or cryptocurrencies compared to previous online revolutions, such as the debut of the iPhone.John Reed Stark, pictured on the far right, arguing against comprehensive regulatory reform. Source: SECRelated: SEC’s deadline extension is a ‘fork’ in case against Coinbase — John Reed StarkJohn Reed Stark: one of crypto’s staunchest criticsStark has been one of the most vocal opponents of cryptocurrencies and the digital asset industry, often criticizing the industry for a lack of transparency and accountability.In February 2024, the former SEC official characterized a sponsorship deal between the Dallas Mavericks — a National Basketball Association (NBA) team — and crypto firm Voyager as an agreement with a “heroin manufacturing firm.”Stark later said that the government agency’s regulation by enforcement under former chairman Gary Gensler was warranted and added that cryptocurrency must conform to existing laws rather than the law evolving to embrace the future of money.Stark’s anti-crypto stance has been criticized by industry executives and investors as unhinged. In June 2023, notable investor Mark Cuban called out Reed’s views as “crypto derangement syndrome.”Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

The government of Nigeria is still open to crypto businesses operating in the country despite the ongoing lawsuit against crypto exchange Binance and the high-profile detention of Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan.Nigerian Information Minister Mohammed Idris told Semafor that many crypto businesses operate inside the country that are not facing litigation or criminal prosecution.“This is part of the effort to strengthen our laws, not to cripple anybody. We are ensuring that no one comes and operates without regulation,” Idris told the outlet.Nigeria filed an $81.5 billion lawsuit against Binance in February, claiming the exchange crashed Nigeria’s local currency, the naira, and said that Binance owed $2 billion in back taxes as the Nigerian government continues to grapple with sensible crypto policy.The naira M2 money supply has been rapidly increasing since March 2024. Source: Trading EconomicsRelated: Nigeria’s crypto future: Striking a balance between innovation and regulationNigerian regulations don’t give crypto investors hopeThe Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission overhauled its crypto regulations in December 2024, tightening laws around crypto marketing and advertising.More specifically, the updated law requires digital asset providers operating in the country to obtain permission before third-party marketing firms can run advertisements on behalf of the firms.In February, Nigerian regulators also announced a plan to tax crypto transactions for revenue generation.According to Chainalysis “2024 Global Adoption Index” report, Nigeria ranks second globally for crypto adoption, while India claimed the top spot.Nigeria ranks second globally for crypto adoption. Source: ChainalysisChainalysis also found that the African country received $59 billion in cryptocurrencies between July 2023 and June 2024.Despite these impressive figures, taxing crypto transactions may not bring in the revenue desired by the Nigerian government.Nigeria leads African countries in terms of cryptocurrency value received. Source: Chainalysis Coin Bureau founder and market analyst Nic Puckrin said Nigeria has a robust over-the-counter market for retail crypto trading, which evades centralized exchanges and is difficult to track or tax.Puckrin added that importers use crypto to circumvent the high volatility of the Nigerian naira and escape foreign exchange risk.The rapidly depreciating value of the fiat currency makes it unlikely that the importers will stop using crypto, and these importers will be hard-pressed to report their crypto transactions, which can be conducted peer-to-peer, to the Nigerian government.Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025