A new viral report is showing that the leading global financial services firm and one of the largest banking institutions in the world, JPMorgan is closely exploring Bitcoin options. As we can see from the latest Bitcoin news, the situation on the market is not good but the BTC derivatives are doing well. The lifetime aggregate volume on BitMEX's XBT swap future recently surmounted $2 trillion and the CME has been registering hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin futures trades each and every day. The growth in derivatives markets has not gone unnoticed. We can see that JPMorgan is closely exploring Bitcoin options after releasing an extensive cryptocurrency-focused report in which it revealed that it is keeping a close eye on the derivatives markets. If you were around in 2017 and 2018, you probably know that there were reports from mainstream media revealing that JPMorgan's CEO, Jamie Dimon, was not the biggest fan of Bitcoin. In interviews, he lambasted the dominant coin and called it a "fraud" that global governments were going to "crush." The sentiment has not stopped JP Morgan from delving into cryptocurrency and blockchain, running its own Quorum blockchain and releasing reports on the developments in Bitcoin. However, the recent report shines a light on the financial services giant. Written by "Global Research" team at JP Morgan, it shows that there is a "genuine demand for non-linear institutional trading products in crypto markets.” What JPMorgan also indicated is that this "genuine demand" for Bitcoin comes via the trading products and is likely driven from institutions. Analysts and traders were quick to see this and post on social media. https://twitter.com/zhusu/status/1232516108629856256 Optimists right now are positive on the fact that JPMorgan is closely exploring Bitcoin. They know that options give the buyer the right to buy or sell an asset at a specified price on a specified date - something that makes them very popular. The derivatives are most often used by traders to hedge risk. As the cryptonews also show, JPMorgan's observation of "genuine demand" means that the company is prepared to step into trading Bitcoin, especially considering Jamie Dimon's disposition towards cryptocurrency. However, even keeping a close eye on the space is not a bad sign.

The regulation crypto exchange news that we have been covering are nothing compared to a recent decision by an actual state in the United States. We are referring to the state of New Jersey which is now considering a new bill that would require cryptocurrency businesses to obtain a proper license to operate. As the cryptonews first hinted, the assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez proposed the Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Act on Feb. 20. as part of a legislation which would establish new requirements for virtual currency businesses and create consumer-friendly protections by requiring crypto firms to disclose their legally registered names, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Anti-Terrorist Financing (ATF) policies, as well as their licensing and legal history to the State of New Jersey and the Department of Banking and Insurance. Even though the largest surge was the Bitcoin news showing how BTC got to $20,000 in December 2017, there were no state regulations surrounding cryptocurrency in New Jersey at the time. Unlicensed crypto operators had to be tried on a federal level then through the Department of Justice. This is why Lopez highlighted the need to address the issues today and said:

“People see and hear about [Bitcoin] in their day-to-day lives, but most are not quite sure what it is. We must take steps to protect consumers looking to invest in cryptocurrency, while also allowing the sector to continue to develop and expand in New Jersey.”

The bill apparently requires crypto companies to disclose their terms and conditions for consumer accounts. As such, they will be protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Cooperation (FDIC) as are traditional bank account holders. The US crypto regulation news also show that anyone applying would need to provide a schedule of fees and any information regarding the risks of investing in digital assets.

“With this legislation, consumers will be better-informed of the risks involved when investing in virtual currency.”

This is what is new in the US crypto regulation news. What is important now is that with the introduction of a state-level licensing scheme, New Jersey would join its neighbor New York in requiring crypto firms to obtain special permission to operate - something that has been known as the BitLicense which the regulators in New York introduced in 2014.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) of Cyprus has published a report in which it discussed about the ongoing activities of its Innovation Hub - a new cooperative entity which launched in October 2018 with the main goal to engage the communication between CySEC and entities operating in the fintech and regtech sectors. The Cyprus SEC now embraces the blockchain technology and is intended to facilitate knowledge-sharing between regulators and innovators. The commission will also be in charge of promoting the development of regulations which foster innovation and ensure compliance within dynamic and emerging tech industries. It will also engage with third parties seeking to participate with emerging financial innovations, including law firms, credit institutions and education institutions. A press release shows that the chairwoman at Cyprus SEC Demetra Kalogerou described the Hub as working to strengthen investor protections “by embracing new innovations in financial and regulatory technology,” adding that the regulator’s mission is to “create a robust ecosystem in which fintech firms can flourish responsibly in Cyprus.” Despite the efforts to foster innovation within the DLT sector, activities involving cryptocurrencies remain an unregulated activity within the country. A recent interview showed Kalogerous saying that the agency is still “evaluating the risk and benefits of crypto innovation to determine whether further actions and legislative requirements are needed to ensure full investor protection.” The chairwoman also added that the Cyprus SEC team does not wish to act prematurely as its main mission is to prevent “any dislocation in an otherwise smooth functioning [...] capital market.” Before this, CySEC published warnings regarding three unauthorized forex and cryptocurrency brokers including Naga Markets, CALIBUR CAPITAL and IcFxMarkets of operating illegally within the country. The commission noted that the companies fraudulently claimed to have affiliation with entities regulated within the jurisdiction. As the blockchain news showed, the Cyprus securities regulator partnered with the University College London's Blockchain Technology for Algorithmic Regulation and Compliance (BARAC), which researches applications for blockchain technology in automating the compliance and regulatory procedures. In 2019, the cabinet in the country published its National Strategy on Distributed Ledger Technologies, aiming to provide a platform for both public and public-private initiatives employing blockchain applications.  

The regulation crypto exchange and crypto news show that Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) which is the successor of KGB, agreed with the central bank of the country that cryptocurrencies should not be allowed as means of payments on the territory of Russia, according to a local portal. Reports show that Russia decides to outlaw crypto and sees if it is even possible to ban cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as payment options. Before the consensus, the FSB was confused about whether it was even possible to do this. The two departments have argued about how to regulate digital currencies. While the Bank of Russia has been firm on its position that everything related to cryptos should be banned, the FSB was open to legalization and endorsed a new regulatory framework that would favor the miners. According to a letter from the Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko seen by the Russian portal Baza (sent to Vladimir Putin) the two agencies have finally come to a compromise.

"A decision was made following a meeting in the government to establish a ban on the issuance and use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment," the letter read.

In the same letter, Chernyshenko said that the FSB insisted that some of the crypto-related proposals should be included in Russia's bill on digital financial assets, which is very likely to pass through the parliament this spring. If this occurs, we can see how Russia decides to ban cryptocurrencies. But before that, the FSB wants to identify all crypto owners in the country. For failure to comply with the upcoming law, the FSB is going to impose administrative and even criminal liability. While the FSB and the Bank of Russia reached an agreement on how to regulate crypto, the two departments would not concede on their intentions to independently influence the regulatory process. So far, the bank has not responded to the FSB proposals. What's also interesting in the altcoin news is that a BBC investigation from earlier this month showed that the FSB could be behind the disappearance of $450 million worth of crypto from an exchange platform. Meanwhile, the action on the market is the same and the market cap is at $280 billion while BTC's dominance is at 62.9%.