Dems Block Crypto Bill Over Ethics Concerns

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate on Tuesday failed to clear a procedural hurdle for the Clarity Act, which was primed to be the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for digital asset markets, as Democrats said the ethics guardrails were not strong enough.

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Robinhood Engineers Hit With Crypto-Futures Insider Charges

By Pete Brush

Two Robinhood Markets engineers made over $50,000 each by unlawfully trading futures on the decentralized derivative exchange Hyperliquid using confidential information they got while working at the California-based discount online brokerage, federal prosecutors in New York charged on Tuesday.

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Enova Cites Regulatory Uncertainty As It Ends Bid For Bank

By Jon Hill

Fintech lender Enova International has scrapped a proposed $369 million purchase of Grasshopper Bancorp Inc., dropping its closely watched bid to enter the federal banking system after months of regulatory review and criticism from consumer advocates.

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Walmart, Retail Groups Doubt Value Of $200B Swipe Fee Deal

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Major retail trade associations and Walmart are objecting to a $200 billion settlement over Visa and Mastercard swipe fees in New York federal court, saying the court should decertify the class or at least allow opt-outs so merchants can preserve "valuable claims that class counsel are trading away for nothing."

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Bessent Teases Higher AML Reporting Thresholds For Banks

By Jon Hill

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a U.S. House panel on Tuesday that the Trump administration is moving toward relaxing longstanding transaction reporting requirements for banks as part of its broader push to overhaul federal anti-money laundering rules.

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Feds Seek $61M In Crypto From Iranian Military Oil Sales

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. government filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking $61 million in cryptocurrency, the alleged proceeds of black market sales of sanctioned Iranian crude oil and petroleum products meant to finance the Iranian government and its military components.

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Ex-Fintech CEO Must Face Investors' Market Manipulation Suit

By Katryna Perera

A New Jersey federal judge has ruled the former CEO of Future FinTech Group must face investor claims that he manipulated the company's share price to create an illusion of market demand after the company's failed reinvention from selling fruit juice to blockchain e-commerce.

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Susquehanna Denied Injunction In $155M Insider Trading Suit

By Jessica Corso

A New York federal judge has denied market maker Susquehanna Securities' bid to freeze the accounts of 40 traders the firm alleges participated in a $155 million insider trading scheme, saying Susquehanna has not proven that the trading activity is linked to insider knowledge about a Chinese government crackdown.

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Fintech Co. Says Nuvei Bungled Mastercard Transactions

By Gina Kim

Chicago-based fintech and futures prop trading firm Topstep has sued Nuvei Technologies in Arizona federal court, alleging the payment processor concealed a system error that bungled 189,000 Mastercard transactions and then tried to improperly resubmit them, leaving Topstep's customers "blindsided with unexpected charges" and resulting in reputational harm to Topstep.

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Grab Holdings To Buy 60% Of Atome Financial For $1.5B

By Al Barbarino

Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd. said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire a controlling 60% equity interest in Atome Financial for $1.49 billion, while also agreeing to purchase the remaining 40% stake within the next two years. 

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Nixon Peabody Hires Ex-SEC Commissioner Stein In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Nixon Peabody LLP has hired former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission commissioner Kara Stein, who for the past four years has worked as a board member with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the firm announced Tuesday.

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AG Watch: Oregon Targets Consumer Costs

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield's challenges to bank interest rate and escrow preemption signal heightened scrutiny of consumer costs for lending services, requiring financial institutions serving Oregon and other states with opt-out laws to reassess compliance risk, says Keturah Taylor at Cozen O'Connor.

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A Lender's Guide To Fraud: Safeguarding Collateral

Recent bankruptcies illustrate that lenders should strengthen credit covenants, collateral field exams and third-party verification in order to detect double-pledging, fabricated assets and documentation fraud enabled by artificial intelligence before losses become unrecoverable, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

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How States' 'Perry Mason Moment' Led To $17B Meta Deal

By Dorothy Atkins

A recent landmark $17.1 billion settlement with Meta Platforms Inc. may have never happened if it weren't for a quick-thinking trial attorney and his close-knit team of lawyers representing 29 states, who worked together to swiftly shift strategies midtrial.

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Ashurst Perkins Aided $230M ICap Ponzi Scheme, Suit Claims

By Ben Adlin

Ashurst Perkins Coie pocketed millions of dollars in legal fees by providing services to clients it knew were operating a Ponzi scheme that ultimately swindled investors out of nearly $230 million, plaintiffs claimed in a Washington state lawsuit accusing the firm of aiding and abetting fraud.

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Trump Taps Ex-DOL Official To Serve As EEOC Top Cop

By Anne Cullen

The White House nominated a former Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP attorney who previously led the U.S. Department of Labor's contractor compliance arm to serve as the general counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

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Washington Sen. Murray Vows To Block Trump US Atty Pick

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump's nominee to be U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington is under fire from one of the home state senators who vowed to use every avenue possible to block him.

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Fla. Judge Won't Pause Trump-IRS Settlement Sanctions

By Jack McLoone

The Florida federal judge who barred President Donald Trump and others from citing a settlement resolving what she characterized as a sham $10 billion case against his own Internal Revenue Service won't pause her sanctions order while the president appeals to the Eleventh Circuit.

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4th Circ. Appears Split On Reviving Comey, James Indictments

By Jared Foretek

Partisan splits were apparent Tuesday on the Fourth Circuit panel hearing the Trump administration's challenge to a federal district judge's dismissal of the indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, with two of the three judges appearing to agree an improper appointment doomed the cases.

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Brief

Calif. Judge Charged Over Fatal Crash With Bicyclist

By Craig Clough

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday that his office charged Kings County Superior Court Judge Kendra Weber with a misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter, alleging she struck and killed a bicyclist.

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