On Aug. 16, the Dubai Court of First Instance recognized crypto as a valid salary payment option.
Irina Heaver, a partner at United Arab Emirates law firm NeosLegal, explained that the ruling in case 1739 of 2024 is a shift in the court’s stance, which previously denied recognizing cryptocurrencies as valid salary payments due to their lack of precise valuation.
According to Heaver, the case involved a lawsuit claiming that an employee had not been paid their wages by their employer and sought wrongful termination compensation.
The court ruled in favor of the employee and ordered the payment of the crypto salary according to the employment contracts without converting it into fiat.
Coinbase, KuCoin, others file crypto license applications in Turkey
Coinbase, KuCoin and other cryptocurrency exchanges have filed crypto license applications in Turkey following regulatory updates from the Turkish Capital Markets Board (CMB).
On Aug. 9, the CMB announced that 47 crypto companies had applied for licenses under the country’s new regulatory framework; as of Aug. 18, this list expanded to 76.
Binance, Bitfinex and OKX had already been part of the application process as more prominent companies flocked to the Turkish market.
Despite the growing interest, the CMB clarified that those included in this “list of Those in Operation” did not equate to official authorization as each company must obtain formal approval.
Crypto mixer founder argues 30-year prison sentence is “unwarranted”
On Aug. 15, a filing given by lawyers representing Roman Sterlingov, founder of crypto mixer Bitcoin Fog, argued against Sterlingov’s “lengthy” sentence for convicted money laundering charges.
In the filing issued to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Sterlingov’s legal team claimed that the government’s recommendations were “unwarranted” based on sentencing in comparable cases.
According to the US government, Bitcoin Fog facilitated $400 million in Bitcoin (BTC) transactions tied to illicit activities, including identity theft, computer fraud and drug trafficking.
Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, is also facing charges in the US for his alleged role with the crypto mixing service, and he is awaiting trial in December.
California AI bill aimed at preventing disasters draws ire from Silicon Valley
On Aug. 15, a Californian bill caused controversy in Silicon Valley’s tech community. The bill required that artificial intelligence developers establish safety protocols to prevent “critical harms” against humanity.
Democratic legislators proposed the California bill, “Safe and Secure INnovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act,” also known as SB 1047, in February.
The proposed regulation would mandate an “emergency stop” button for AI models, require annual third-party audits of AI safety practices and impose heavy penalties for violations.