Coinbase’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal is accusing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) of stonewalling the top US-based crypto exchange’s request for public records. In a new thread on the social media platform X, Grewal accuses the FDIC of being deceitful and refusing to hand over vital records pertaining to how the federal agency […]
The post Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Accuses FDIC of Deceit, Says Agency Stonewalling FOIA Requests appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
Top US-based crypto exchange Coinbase’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests are uncovering more instances where the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) asked banks to freeze crypto services. In a new thread on the social media platform X, Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal says the revealed information confirms the notion that the US […]
The post Coinbase FOIA Requests Unearth More Instances of U.S. FDIC Asking Banks To ‘Pause’ Crypto Services appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal says he can see multiple instances when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) told banks to stop offering crypto-related services. In a new thread on the social media platform X, Grewal says that Coinbase uncovered the information after filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request at the FDIC, […]
The post Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Uncovers 20 Instances of US Regulator Telling Banks To Stop Crypto Services appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
Coinbase wants US banking regulators to disclose information regarding an apparent “digital asset deposit cap” they’ve been imposing on financial institutions, according to Paul Grewal, the exchange’s chief legal officer (CLO). Grewal notes the firm filed a new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), asking for copies of […]
The post Coinbase Files FOIA Request Demanding Clarity on Alleged Cap Imposed on Crypto Deposits to Banks appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
A FOIA request with the SEC regarding Prometheum has been filed, while others found former FINRA and SEC staffers among the firm's ranks.
United States crypto lobby group Blockchain Association has filed a request with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, seeking information about the formerly little-known crypto company Prometheum.
The company became the center of the crypto industry's attention this week when its CEO Aaron Kaplan testified at a House hearing and gave its support of regulating crypto under securities laws and the SEC, a position that’s starkly opposite to other vocal proponents of the industry.
On June 15, Blockchain Association counsel Marissa Coppel said the group filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the SEC seeking documents and communications related to Prometheum.
In a series of tweets, Coppel said she was “suspicious” Prometheum was approved as a special purpose broker-dealer (SPBD) for digital assets “in the midst of aggressive SEC enforcement.”
Coppel was also skeptical at how Kaplan was able to provide testimony at a Congressional hearing on regulations for the industry.
2/ The CEO somehow gets a seat in front of Congress and argues that Prometheum represents the compliant path for digital assets.
— Marisa Tashman Coppel (@MTCoppel) June 15, 2023
And they've paid $1.5+ million in sales commissions to a Chinese-affiliated entity with quite the regulatory track record.
Hmmm
FOIA requests are submissions by members of the public to U.S. federal agencies that can ask for records on any topic, in this case, the SEC’s information on Prometheum.
At the June 13 House hearing Kaplan said his firm did not receive any “additional exemptive relief from the SEC” when questioned by Representative Mike Flood.
For those that didn’t stick around until the end of the @FinancialCmte hearing today, this exchange between @USRepMikeFlood and @PrometheumInc CEO Aaron Kaplan is an absolute must-watch.
— Alexander Grieve (@AlexanderGrieve) June 13, 2023
Flood explicitly lays out why Prometheum’s claims that their SPBD approval is evidence of a… pic.twitter.com/yCDDKHiLea
Meanwhile, others have raised suspicion over the background of the Prometheum team, noting that some are former SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) staffers.
Prometheum’s chief compliance officer, Joseph Zangri, was an SEC enforcement attorney in the mid-to-late 1990s. In addition, the company’s chief regulatory officer, Rosemarie Fanelli joined the company in May 2021 after a nearly 14-year stint in senior roles at FINRA — a self-regulatory organization for the U.S. securities industry.
The co-founders and co-CEOs of Prometheum — Aaron and Benjamin Kaplan — also have a small degree of separation from former SEC staff. The Kaplans are attorneys at the law firm Gusrae Kaplan which states it was established “by a former Chief Attorney of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.”
Who look alot like these guys: https://t.co/MPQjKH0GbL pic.twitter.com/bcu4sgcv7s
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshInBos) June 14, 2023
Gusrae Kaplan co-founder, Martin H. Kaplan, is also a Prometheum chairman.
It is not out of the ordinary for crypto companies to hire former regulatory staffers, however.
Following a lawsuit from the SEC, Binance.US hired former SEC enforcement co-director George Canellos as a lawyer. The newly appointed chief legal officer of stablecoin issuer Circle has a resume spanning many government roles including the U.S. Treasury and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Magazine: Peter McCormack’s Real Bedford Football Club puts Bitcoin on the map
Top US crypto exchange Coinbase is licensing software that aggregates information about blockchain transactions to a federal law enforcement agency. According to a new report by The Intercept, the Homeland Security Investigations wing of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has purchased a software tool called Coinbase Tracer, available for both government and private sector clients. […]
The post Coinbase Crypto Exchange Selling Transaction Tracing Data to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Report appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
