News Roundup — Tether to Launch Stablecoin Pegged to UAE's Dirham

Major news stories this week;

1. Tether to Launch Stablecoin Pegged to UAE's Dirham
2. What a Dubai Court Ordering a Company to Pay Its Employee in Crypto Means
3. Australia took down 600 crypto scams, says AI will make it worse
4. US to Treat Crypto as Traditional Money, Expand Reporting Requirements
5. Binance Founder CZ Moved from Prison to Halfway House — Isn’t Free Yet

Story Summaries;

1. Cryptocurrency company Tether said last Wednesday it would launch a new stablecoin pegged to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) dirham as it taps demand for the Gulf currency and seeks to offer alternatives to the U.S. dollar. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to keep a constant value backed by traditional currencies such as the U.S. dollar or euro. They have seen rapid growth, both as a form of payment and among traders wanting to buy and sell cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin outside of the regulated banking system. "We see a lot of interest in holding AED (dirham) outside of the UAE," he said, citing the stability and safety of both the country and its balance sheet. The dirham, like most Gulf currencies, is pegged to the U.S. dollar. The UAE is pushing to become a global hub for the crypto industry as economic competition heats up in the Gulf region.
2. A Dubai court ordered a company to compensate a worker through a cryptocurrency token, as stipulated in the employment contract, a legal precedent that raises several questions even as it lends some legitimization to crypto in the region. The ruling does not, however, necessarily mean crypto is legalized for salary payments in general, two Dubai-based lawyers told CoinDesk. The order by Dubai's court of first instance is dated July 17. Under Dubai labor laws there is a 15-day appeal period. Given the private nature of legal proceedings in Dubai, neither the name of the plaintiff nor the company were revealed and it's not clear if an appeal has been lodged.
3. Australia’s financial markets regulator said it has taken down over 600 crypto scams in the last 12 months, warning that artificial intelligence and crypto fraudsters are constantly updating their tactics to “lure consumers.” In an Aug. 19 statement, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) revealed that since July 2023, it has taken down over 5,530 fake investment platforms, 1,065 phishing hyperlinks and 615 cryptocurrency investment scams. ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court shared particular concern about deepfakes and other AI-generated images, which she suggests have made it more difficult for the average person to detect fraud. “The scams landscape is rapidly evolving. Innovative technology developments may improve how we live and work, however, they also provide new opportunities for scammers to exploit,” she said. She noted that an average of 20 investment scam websites are taken down each day on average and that these scams remain the leading type driving losses for Australians, with $1.3 billion in losses for 2023.
4. The United States (U.S.) financial regulators are moving to bring cryptocurrencies under the same reporting requirements as traditional fiat currency, signaling a major step towards integrating digital assets into the mainstream financial system. The U.S. Department of the Treasury, in its latest semiannual regulatory agenda, outlined plans to redefine “money” under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to encompass cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) are set to propose new rules clarifying what constitutes “money” under the Bank Secrecy Act. This move aims to bring both domestic and cross-border cryptocurrency transactions under stricter financial reporting requirements. The updated regulations will encompass a broad definition of digital assets, including those backed by traditional currencies and potential future central bank digital currencies.
5. Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has been moved from his prison to the RRM Long Beach halfway house in California and has not been freed, despite claims from excited X (formerly Twitter) users. CZ was initially being held at FCI Lompoc II prison, also in California. However, the federal inmate tracker was updated this week to reveal he has been moved to Long Beach. RRM Long Beach is classed as a ‘residential reentry management (RRM) field office,’ otherwise known as a ‘halfway house.’ Federal inmate communications provider InmateAID says it is a housing unit that assists inmates nearing their release date. InmateAID says, “There is no security level other than voluntary compliance but there is a strict adherence to the rules of the house.” This means that while CZ will technically be out of prison — RRM Long Beach is a Bureau of Prisons-administered facility rather than a prison per se — he will still be serving his sentence.

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And that’s all for last week’s news! Wishing you a great week ahead!

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