Latest news with #VASP
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nigel Farage-Led Reform UK Becomes First European Political Party to Accept Crypto Donations
Reform UK, the U.K. political party led by Nigel Farage, is set to become the first European political party to accept cryptocurrency donations, according to a blog post. The donations will be facilitated by Radom, a U.K.-based crypto payments company that has VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) licenses for its crypto infrastructure. The blog post by Radom claims that the average crypto donation is $6,000 -- over 30 times that of a typical fiat contribution. The move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump received $18 million worth of crypto donations leading up to the 2024 presidential election. Nigel Farage also announced that he would follow Trump's lead in making the U.K. a "crypto hub" if he becomes the next prime minister. Farage was famously cut off from banking services in 2023, creating a debate around freedom of banking and the restrictions imposed on those with different political views. 'We're excited to be working with Reform UK on this initiative. We appreciate Nigel Farage's efforts in drawing attention to the issue of debanking in the UK, and we're pleased to see a major political party embrace crypto," said Radom CEO Chris Wilson. "We hope this encourages broader adoption in the UK and helps drive progress toward clearer regulatory frameworks -- something that we see as vital for sustainable industry growth.'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House approves mortgage assistance for veterans
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Thousands of veterans struggling to pay their home loans could soon get help from Congress after the Trump administration ended a mortgage rescue program earlier this month. The Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program, which the Biden administration created as an emergency fix following the COVID-19 pandemic, gave homeowners an affordable way to catch up on their VA-backed mortgage loan payments. 'President Trump and Secretary Collins are choosing to allow veterans to be foreclosed upon rather than to help them,' U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) said during a press conference Tuesday. Takano, the top Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said thousands of veterans are now at risk of losing their homes. 'This White House and VA don't seem to care,' Takano said. Takano argues without VASP, the federal government and taxpayers will foot the bill. 'It costs the VA and every one of us an estimated $60,000 every time a veteran is foreclosed on,' he said. The House advanced legislation Monday though that would allow the VA to create a similar lifeline for veterans, which Republicans do support. 'It was a bad program, and the Trump administration was right to stop it,' U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) said on the House floor during Monday's debate. 'However, I recognize that sometimes veterans fall on hard times and veterans need a safety net.' Bost, the VA committee's top Republican, calls the new measure more fiscally responsible than VASP. 'In no way does that make sense to solve a $25,000 problem with a $320,000 solution. Only in government would you do that,' Bost said. Takano also supports the bill but worries it could arrive too late for some veterans since the Senate still has to debate it. In a statement, VA Press Secretary Peter Kasperowicz said ending VASP 'was necessary because VA is not set up or intended to be a mortgage loan restructuring service.' Kasperowicz said the wind down will not impact existing participants or eligible veterans who enrolled before May 1. 'Since the VASP program started May 31, 2024, VA has purchased more than 17,000 loans worth more than $5.48 billion, and this number is expected to increase in the closing days of the program,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Veterans Mortgage Assistance Plan Approved by House After VA Ends Rescue Program
Veterans struggling to pay their mortgages could get help under a plan approved by the House to replace a mortgage rescue program the Trump administration ended this month. The House approved by voice vote on Monday night a bill that would create a partial claims program for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The program would essentially allow veterans with VA home loans who need to skip mortgage payments to move those missing payments to the end of their loan term. The bill, if ultimately approved by the Senate and signed into law, could provide a lifeline to veterans who are at risk of foreclosure following the end of the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program this month. Read Next: Retired 4-Star Admiral Found Guilty on 4 Charges Stemming from Bribery Allegations "It was a bad program, and the Trump administration was right to stop it. However, I recognize that sometimes veterans fall on hard times and veterans need a safety net," House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., said on the House floor. The bill approved Monday "is a fiscally responsible solution to enhance the VA home loan program and give veterans the assistance they might need if they are in home loan debt," Bost added. The VA had a partial claims program during the COVID-19 pandemic when many veterans, like others around the world, struggled to pay bills because their normal stream of income was disrupted. But that partial claims program ended in October 2022. When the program ended, thousands of veterans found themselves receiving unaffordable bills for mortgage payments they had missed. After NPR reported on the issue last year, the Biden administration created the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase, or VASP, program as an emergency fix. Under VASP, the VA purchased delinquent loans from holders and became the primary loan servicer, providing borrowers a stable payment plan at a fixed rate of 2.5% for the remainder of their loan. The program helped about 17,000 veterans stay in their homes, while the VA purchased about $5.5 billion worth of loans through the program, according to the department. But Republicans opposed VASP, arguing that the Biden administration acted without congressional approval and that taxpayer dollars were put at unacceptable risk by the VA becoming the loan holder. Last month, the VA announced that it was ending VASP, effective May 1. While veterans already on VASP weren't kicked off, the department stopped accepting new applications on that date. VASP "should have never started to begin with," VA Secretary Doug Collins said at a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing last week, claiming that the Veterans Benefits Administration was on the verge of needing to shuffle around billions of dollars from other programs to cover VASP costs. "It should not have been a program that was taking money away from other things to start and getting VA into the mortgage business," he said. Democrats fumed at Collins' decision, arguing that ending VASP without an alternative in place put 80,000 veterans at risk of foreclosure. The bill approved by the House on Monday would provide the alternative by giving the VA the authority to create a new partial claims program. The partial claims program could save the government about $170 million over a decade by reducing the amount of costs the VA pays related to loan defaults, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The bill, which was first introduced by Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., received bipartisan support after negotiations added some more protections Democrats were seeking for veterans who missed mortgage payments from March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic started, to May 1, when VASP ended. Still, Democrats are continuing to blast the VA for not taking more steps to ensure veterans aren't foreclosed on while the bill works its way through Congress. "I continue to urge the secretary to reinstate some kind of assistance for veteran borrowers until this legislation is signed into law and implemented," Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., the ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said on the House floor Monday. "That will take some time. Every veteran who loses their home will have no one to blame but President Trump and Secretary Collins." Related: Year-Old VA Mortgage Rescue Program Ended by Trump Administration
Forbes
20-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
What The SEC's Crypto Roundtable Series Mean For Digital Assets
The SEC Crypto Task Force (CTF) is hosting a five-part roundtable series on digital assets, decentralized finance (DeFi), and the evolving role of AI in these industries. While the initiative may appear procedural, it signals a subtle but important shift: the SEC may finally be open to more transparent engagement, rather than relying almost exclusively on enforcement. For over a decade, U.S. digital asset regulation has been driven primarily through enforcement actions. The SEC has consistently asserted that most tokens fall under its jurisdiction as securities—but has done so mostly through enforcement, not formal rulemaking. This approach has created legal uncertainty, market fragmentation, and increasing frustration among innovators and investors alike. Meanwhile, other jurisdictions—such as the EU and Hong Kong—have introduced comprehensive regulatory frameworks for crypto. The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and Hong Kong's Virtual Asset Trading Platforms (VASP) regime provide relatively clear rules, even if not everyone agrees with their substance. Against that backdrop, the U.S. has begun to look like a laggard, regulating via subpoenas and no-action letters rather than well-defined rules. The SEC's roundtable series appears to acknowledge that status quo may not be sustainable. WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 25: The Securities and Exchange Commission headquarters is seen on April 25, ... More 2025 in Washington, DC. SEC held a roundtable with the SEC's Crypto Task Force that was titled 'Know Your Custodian: Key Considerations for Crypto Custody' in which they heard from officials working in Crypto. (Photo by) Led by Commissioner Hester Peirce, the CTF's mission is to 'help the Commission draw clear regulatory lines, provide realistic paths to registration, craft sensible disclosure frameworks, and deploy enforcement resources judiciously.' So far, the sessions have examined topics including securities classifications for digital assets, broker-dealer registration for crypto platforms, crypto custody, tokenization and DeFi. The format of the roundtables—public, agenda-driven, and inclusive of industry, academic, and regulatory voices—does represent a marked shift in tone. Historically, the crypto projects have received little practical guidance for novel technologies that don't fit into the traditional securities framework. That point came into sharp focus during the April 11 session, which asked whether crypto trading platforms—especially decentralized ones—can realistically comply with existing rules without fundamentally altering their structure. If regulation continues to demand conformity to outdated models, industry participants argue it could stifle innovation or drive platforms offshore. Participants in the CTF Roundtables noted more listening and a willingness from the SEC to engage on operational complexity—something that has been lacking in previous years. Adding to the urgency is the global regulatory landscape. Clearer frameworks abroad are drawing talent, capital, and innovation away from the U.S., while increasing pressure on domestic regulators to catch up. Meanwhile, digital assets are becoming more intertwined with AI infrastructure. AI is being used to automate governance, monitor compliance, and power data analysis across decentralized systems. This convergence creates new layers of risk and complexity that the SEC has not yet meaningfully addressed. Adapting rules for blockchain has been challenging enough—adding AI into the mix will demand even more sophistication. While these roundtables won't themselves resolve the key legal questions facing the crypto industry, they do serve a critical function: they publicly acknowledge the need for regulatory nuance and invite industry feedback on how to craft smarter frameworks. They offer the SEC a platform to hear directly from builders and operators—not just litigants—and allow for more open discussion of the friction between innovation and compliance. The next roundtable, set for June, will focus on DeFi and the American spirit—a topic that has attracted interest from both DeFi pioneers and traditional finance (TradFi) institutions. For industry participants, the roundtables offer more than just lip service. They may be the first step toward a regulatory environment that is more predictable, more transparent, and more compatible with the technologies shaping the future of finance.
Fintech News ME
20-05-2025
- Business
- Fintech News ME
Klickl, WeBank and Goldford Group Partner to Drive Cross-Regional Fintech Innovation
Klickl, a regulated Web3 financial services provider, has signed a tripartite MoU with WeBank, a digital bank from Mainland China, and Goldford Group, an innovation-focused conglomerate in Hong Kong. The agreement sets out to create a cross-regional fintech innovation alliance connecting Mainland China, Hong Kong, and the Middle East. The MoU was signed during an official visit to Qatar by a delegation from Hong Kong and Mainland China, led by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee. This collaboration represents the first structured initiative linking fintech ecosystems across the Greater Bay Area and the Middle East. Klickl contributes its regulatory knowledge and experience in Web3 financial services within the Gulf region. WeBank provides technological expertise from Mainland China, while Goldford Group supports integration across Hong Kong's innovation landscape. The alliance will focus on several areas including the development of a blockchain and AI incubation platform, support for startup acceleration between Asia and the Middle East, delivery of next-generation financial services for cross-border applications, digital transformation support for traditional financial institutions, localisation of fintech solutions for Gulf markets, and the exploration of quantum technology for financial use cases. 'This partnership is more than symbolic, it is strategic,' said Michael Zhao, Founder and CEO of Klickl. 'As the only homegrown Web3 financial services provider in the region, we are proud to help bridge capital, compliance, and technology across three economic hubs. This alliance reflects not only our infrastructure readiness, but also the trust we've built with institutions across Asia and the Middle East.' Klickl is licensed by the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) under its Financial Services Permission (FSP) and holds Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration in the European Union. The firm provides Web3-native financial services including digital wallets (Klickl4U), institutional accounts (KlicklONE), payment infrastructure (KlicklPay), stablecoin services, asset custody, and trading infrastructure. It has also participated in official economic delegations to Malaysia, Poland, and Japan.
