Weekly Roundup
Gamification
It was reported that Amy Sochard, FINRA’s Vice President of Advertising Regulation, hinted of an upcoming “gamification sweep,” in which feedback will be requested from the public on various topics.Among the potential: the extent to which Regulation Best Interest would apply, if at all, to communications from broker dealers; disclosure of fee structures and potential conflicts of interest; supervision and governance of platforms; holisticreview of gamification features; among other potential topics.
Crypto ETF Apps Still Waiting for Green Light
It was reported that Bitcoin ETF applications “gather dust” as SEC Chair Gensler indicated there would not be a fast track for crypto ETFs, when he noted that “there are many challenges and gaps for investor protection in [crypto] markets” and that the crypto tokens have not yet been registered with the SEC. OCC Chief Michael Hsu has reiteratedthe need for a “regulatory perimeter” around cryptocurrencies and greater inter agency coordination.
Cybersecurity
Concerns about cybersecurity risks continued, with a recent cyberattack on JBS Snarls Food Chain meat supplier following other recent attacks on public utilities.
Souce Code Theft
A cybercrime forum reportedly advertised an alleged database and source code. Commenters such as Oleg Dyorov, threat intelligence analyst at Group-IB, noted that if the source code for sale is legitimate, that threat actors could potentially use it in “a number of ways: from mass spamming and follow up targeted phishing attacks.”
In the Mix: This Week’s Top FinTech Thought Leader
- Kathy Matsui, former vice chair of Goldman Sachs Japan, has started an ESG Venture Capital Fund.
- Jeff Bezos, has further invested in African fintech startup Chipper
- Ted Knutson, authored an op-ed that bankers should use real-time data through AI toimprove the customer