The government of Florida already owns $800 million worth of crypto-related investments and could soon hold more, according to Jimmy Patronis, the state’s chief financial officer (CFO). Patronis says in a new interview with CNBC that he “would not be shocked” to see that number grow if former President Donald Trump wins the presidential election […]
The post Florida Owns $800,000,000 in Crypto Investments and Wants To Accumulate More, Says State CFO appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
A top financial officer of the U.S. state of Florida is advocating for state retirement funds to consider cryptocurrency investments, calling bitcoin a hedge against market volatility. US State Official Pushes Bitcoin as Hedge for Public Retirement Stability Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis, a statewide elected official and member of Florida’s […]
The massive category 4 hurricane has killed at least 137 people, and many more are still missing — while millions of homes and businesses remain without power.
United States Bitcoin mining firm CleanSpark says it is still working to turn the power back on across all its facilities in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene — which saw devastating flooding, power outages and widespread damage across several US states.
The Bitcoin miner’s hashrate briefly fell from 28 exahashes per second to 10.5 EH/s when it was forced to shut down 365 MW at the southeast Georgia site shortly after the hurricane started on Sept. 27.
However, CleanSpark has managed to turn 200 MW back online since then, increasing its current operating hash rate to 22 EH/s, CleanSpark’s CEO Zach Bradford noted in a Sept. 30 statement.
A federal judge in Florida recognized the HYDRO token as an investment contract qualifying as a security under SEC guidelines.
A Florida judge has sentenced Michael Kane, the former CEO of Hydrogen Technology Corporation, to roughly four years behind bars after a guilty plea.
According to a notice from the United States Justice Department, on June 24, a federal judge sentenced Kane to 45 months in prison for securities fraud related to a crypto price manipulation scheme. Shane Hampton, Hydrogen Technology’s former Head of Financial Engineering, received a sentence of 35 months for similar crimes.
“[F]or the first time, a jury in a federal criminal trial found that a cryptocurrency was a security and that manipulating cryptocurrency prices was securities fraud,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri. “This prosecution and the sentences imposed today should serve as a warning: The Criminal Division will not hesitate to use all tools at its disposal — including the federal securities laws — to protect the integrity of cryptocurrency markets.”
After months of proceedings, Robert Gronkowski, Victor Oladipo and Landon Cassill may see the light at the end of the tunnel for a lawsuit involving promoting Voyager Digital.
A legal settlement involving three sports stars has received preliminary approval from a Florida judge. The settlement allows them to pay more than $2.4 million in monetary relief over claims they promoted crypto firm Voyager Digital.
In a June 10 filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Judge Roy Altman granted preliminary approval of a class action settlement involving NFL star Robert Gronkowski, NBA player Victor Oladipo and Nascar driver Landon Cassill. Lawyers for the three sports personalities announced in May that they had agreed to collectively pay roughly $2.4 million to settle the case, with Gronkowski alone paying $1.9 million.
The class-action lawsuit, initially filed against former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in 2022, alleged the billionaire misrepresented Voyager’s services, causing inexperienced investors to lose their money when the firm filed for bankruptcy. If given final approval by the court, the proposed settlement would resolve matters for Gronkowski, Oladipo and Cassill but not for Cuban or the Mavericks.
Stephanie Murphy, Tim Ryan, and Pat Toomey — all former U.S. lawmakers — are on the council advising Coinbase on regulatory matters.
Kendrick Meek, previously serving as the House Representative for Florida's 17th congressional district, has joined cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase’s council to address the digital asset regulatory landscape.
In a May 20 X post, Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad said Meek had joined the exchange’s Global Advisory Council as part of efforts to “updat[e] the system” governing digital assets in the United States. The former Florida congressman served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2003 to 2011 and was a member of the Committee on Ways and Means, which has jurisdiction over taxes.
According to a report from The Hill, Meek spoke in favor of digital assets as they “offer new opportunities to address the systemic issues that have plagued our financial system.” He will join other former U.S. lawmakers on the council, including Stephanie Murphy, Tim Ryan and Pat Toomey. Cointelegraph reached out to Meek for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Oregon joins five other states that have delicensed Binance.US after former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to felony charges.
Oregon has become the sixth state to revoke, suspend or decline to renew Binance.US’ license to operate there, following a spate of refusals earlier this year.
The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation announced on April 30 that it had revoked Binance.US’s license, as a result of which it is prohibited from accepting money for transmission or holding or selling fiat or crypto for Oregon consumers. The division explained in a statement:
Oregon was following the example of five states that moved against the exchange after Zhao pleaded guilty to violating Anti-Money Laundering laws. Florida was the first state to act, suspending Binance.US’ license in November, shortly after Zhao’s guilty plea. Alaska followed suit at the beginning of January when it declined to renew its license.
The storm hit Florida first in the continental U.S., which may have stopped Ron DeSantis from joining Vivek Ramaswamy in accepting crypto donations for his presidential campaign.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis canceled a campaign event in which he was reportedly planning to announce the acceptance of cryptocurrency contributions toward his 2024 presidential run.
According to an Aug. 29 report from the Miami Herald, DeSantis canceled a cocktail-hour fundraiser for his 2024 presidential campaign in which he was expected to start accepting donations in crypto. The cancellation was due to the approach of Hurricane Idalia — a storm that hit Florida’s coastline on Aug. 30 before moving into Georgia.
DeSantis appeared to abstain from campaign events in advance of the hurricane passing through Florida. He took to social media channels and press conferences to inform residents about evacuation orders and other relevant information.
Overnight, #Idalia strengthened and now has sustained hurricane-force winds.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) August 29, 2023
It is still expected to make landfall at Florida’s Big Bend as a major hurricane tomorrow. If you are in the path of this storm, now is the time to finalize your preparations. Continue to follow @FLSERT… pic.twitter.com/3yCSHtIJIK
Since announcing his campaign in May to seek the Republican Party nomination for president of the United States, DeSantis has taken certain positions relevant to digital asset users. In July, he vowed to ban central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, should he win the presidency.
According to DeSantis’ campaign website, the candidate was only accepting fiat donations using a credit card. Cointelegraph reached out to the campaign for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
DeSantis, who is trailing by double digits to former President Donald Trump according to several polls, would be one of only a handful of candidates to accept donations in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH). Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced he would be accepting crypto campaign contributions in August but dropped out of the race after failing to qualify for the first Republican Party debate.
Campaigns for Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and longshot Democratic candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have both announced they will accept BTC contributions for their respective presidential runs. Many reports showed both Ramaswamy and Kennedy polling in the single digits as of Aug. 30 — far behind their respective party leaders, Trump and President Joe Biden.
Related: State caps or federal regulation: What's next for political crypto donations
Historically, crypto contributions to individuals running for federal office, when accepted, have not been make-or-break for the candidates. Andrew Yang’s political action committee accepted BTC donations for his 2020 campaign, but he ended up dropping out of the race in February 2020.
Lawmakers in certain U.S. states have aimed to regulate disclosure rules for digital asset contributions or otherwise establish a limit to the amount any one person can give in crypto. In December 2022, the U.S. Federal Election Commission issued an advisory suggesting companies could provide nonfungible tokens to campaign contributors.
Magazine: How to protect your crypto in a volatile market: Bitcoin OGs and experts weigh in
Along with longshot Democratic hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Francis Suarez was one of the few openly crypto-friendly candidates running in 2024.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, one of the few cryptocurrency-friendly candidates running for president of the United States in 2024, has announced he will be suspending his campaign.
In an Aug. 29 announcement on X (formerly Twitter), Suarez said that while running for U.S. president had been “one of the greatest honors of [his] life,” he made the decision to end his campaign and suggested he would support “a strong nominee” from the Republican Party. The Miami mayor announced in June he intended to seek the Republican nomination for U.S. president in the 2024 election, but he did not qualify for the first party debate on Aug. 23.
Running for President of the United States has been one of the greatest honors of my life. This country has given so much to my family and me. The prospect of giving back at the highest levels of public service is a motivator if not a calling. Throughout this process, I have met…
— Mayor Francis Suarez (@FrancisSuarez) August 29, 2023
As mayor of Miami, Suarez made headlines in 2021 after announcing he would accept some of his paychecks in Bitcoin (BTC) and supporting the MiamiCoin (MIA) token project. Along with longshot Democratic hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Miami mayor was one of the few openly crypto-friendly candidates running in 2024.
Related: Robert Kennedy Jr. reveals buying 2 Bitcoin for each of his 7 children
According to many recent polls, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis trails behind former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for president. Trump did not attend the first party debate and faces both state and federal criminal charges related to his alleged role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to current U.S. President Joe Biden.
The 2024 elections in the U.S. could change the way the government handles digital asset legislation. Democrats currently hold a slim majority in the Senate, but 34 seats out of 100 will be up for grabs in the next election. Members of the Republican Party have a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, but the fate of all 435 will be decided in November 2024.
Magazine: Opinion: GOP crypto maxis almost as bad as Dems’ ‘anti-crypto army’
A filing in bankruptcy court from Florida's Office of Financial Regulation suggested the regulator still had the “administrative discretion” to charge Bittrex.
The Florida Office of Financial Regulation is considering action against United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May.
In a July 5 filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) assistant general counsel Brandon Greenberg said the state regulator had been given information on Bittrex’s alleged failure to comply with Florida law. According to Greenberg, the OFR still had the “administrative discretion” to charge or not charge Bittrex.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against Bittrex on April 17, the exchange surrendered its Florida money transmitter license on April 30, and Bittrex filed for bankruptcy on May 8. At the time, the OFR said Bittrex surrendering its license “would not affect our prosecution of the Complaint”, which included allegations that the firm had failed to segregate customer assets with its operating capital, failed to maintain a surety bond, and another complaint which was redacted from the court filing.
Related: Bittrex challenges SEC’s authority in crypto lawsuit, seeks dismissal
The SEC enforcement action, bankruptcy case, and potential lawsuit in Florida came following Bittrex announcing it would wind down operations in the U.S. by April, citing "continued regulatory uncertainty" in the country. The exchange announced on June 15 that certain users could access their accounts and withdraw funds until Aug. 31.
Though the SEC filed separate charges against Bittrex Global in April, the global exchange has largely been unaffected by the regulatory and financial troubles the U.S. exchange faces. The global firm is regulated in Liechtenstein and Bermuda.
Magazine: US enforcement agencies are turning up the heat on crypto-related crime
