A new court ruling has reversed the sanctions placed on crypto mixer Tornado Cash (TORN) by the US government. According to a recent filing by the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the previous decision to place sanctions on the digital assets tumbler has been lifted. “It is ordered and Adjudged […]
The post Government Sanctions on Tornado Cash Reversed by U.S. Courts in Landmark Ruling appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
The president-elect cannot officially nominate anyone until after he is inaugurated on Jan. 20, but the US Senate has been holding hearings to question his potential picks.
Scott Bessent, US President-elect Donald Trump’s anticipated pick for the country’s Treasury secretary, faced Senators in a hearing to explain his positions on financial issues.
In a Jan. 16 hearing of the US Senate Committee on Finance, Bessent responded to questions from Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn regarding a US central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The Tennessee lawmaker brought up Chinese officials introducing a digital yuan to foreign attendees at the 2022 Olympics and asked how Bessent could handle a potential digital dollar if officially nominated and confirmed in the Senate.
“I see no reason for the US to have a central bank digital currency,” said Bessent. “In my mind, a central bank digital currency is for countries who have no other investment alternatives. [...] Many of these countries are doing it out of necessity, whereas the US — if you hold US dollars, you can hold a variety of very secure US assets.”
With a Republican majority having taken control of the US Senate in January, Tim Scott said the Banking Committee would have an “open-minded environment” for digital assets.
Republican Senator Tim Scott, recently elected chair of the US Senate Banking Committee, announced that developing a regulatory framework for digital assets would be one of the body’s priorities in the 119th Congress.
In a Jan. 15 notice, Senator Scott said the Banking Committee intended to focus on policies for financial inclusion that “create opportunity” in the US. The committee’s list of priorities included affordable housing, economic national security, oversight and digital assets.
“Under Chair Gensler, the SEC refused to provide clarity to the cryptocurrency industry, which has forced projects overseas,” said Scott. “Moving forward, the committee will work to build a regulatory framework that establishes a tailored pathway for the trading and custody of digital assets.”
The incoming US president will have the authority to enact many policies favorable to crypto users after taking office next week.
With seven days until US President-elect Donald Trump takes office, many in the crypto industry have been monitoring his prospective staff picks and policy announcements.
Since shifting from calling Bitcoin (BTC) a “scam” in 2021 to claiming to embrace the technology during his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump has made many promises to the digital asset industry that could affect regulation and enforcement. Though there is no way to know if he intends to prioritize those promises — or fulfill them at all — after taking office, there has already been some movement in the regulatory landscape before his scheduled inauguration.
At the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July, Trump promised to fire US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler on his first day in office, Jan. 20. Many speculated that Gensler would be more likely to announce his resignation ahead of any Trump presidency, despite the SEC chair’s term ending in June 2026.
The former FTX CEO is currently serving a 25-year sentence awaiting appeal, while the Silk Road founder was sentenced to life in prison in 2015.
United States President Joe Biden, scheduled to leave office on Jan. 20, still has time to issue pardons and commute the sentences of individuals convicted of federal crimes — and some crypto users are betting he turns his attention to the founders of Silk Road and FTX.
As of Jan. 9, cryptocurrency betting platform Polymarket gave users 4% odds on President Biden pardoning former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried and a 2% chance he would pardon Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. At the time of publication, users had bet more than $5 million on SBF’s chances and $1.2 million on Ulbricht’s.
Bets on US President Joe Biden issuing pardons. Source: Polymarket
“We’re seeing people up and down the Cabinet who have been supportive of digital assets, innovation, and AI,” said TRM Labs’ Ari Redbord.
Recent pro-crypto political appointments in the United States have led to excitement for crypto like a “space race” that could see the US become a key part of the digital asset industry, according to TRM Labs’ Ari Redbord.
“There’s this excitement and cadence of almost a space race where the US is now in a position to keep up with the rest of the world or even surpass the rest of the world,” said Ari Redbord, head of legal and government affairs at TRM Labs, on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Jan. 6.
Redbord, a former prosecutor, pointed out that there have been several pro-crypto key appointments in US federal agencies since Donald Trump’s presidential election victory.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation at a Jan. 6 press conference.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he will step back as his political party’s leader and resign as prime minister once officials choose a successor.
In a Jan. 6 press conference, Trudeau said Canada’s Liberal Party would select the next leader “through a robust, nationwide, competitive process.” Reports had suggested that the prime minister intended to announce his resignation amid calls from many members of Parliament to step down.
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau addressing the media on Jan. 6. Source: Guardian News
Interest groups suggested that a majority of lawmakers in the US House of Representatives would be “pro-crypto” after the 2024 election.
United States lawmakers who benefitted from support from the cryptocurrency industry in their respective 2024 primaries or elections will soon be sworn into office for the 119th session of Congress.
Crypto executives and political action committees (PACs) like Fairshake and its affiliates poured millions of dollars into media buys to support “pro-crypto” candidates in the 2024 election cycle, which could have contributed to some politicians winning in certain tight races across the country.
One of the most high-profile elections saw Republican Bernie Moreno defeating incumbent Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown by roughly 200,000 votes after the Defend American Jobs PAC spent more than $40 million.
According to reports, the U.S. government is teetering on the brink of yet another shutdown, with the funding deadline looming large on Dec. 20, 2024. The proposed funding bill has stirred up quite the controversy, packed as it is with what many call pork. The bill also sneakily tucks in a $70,000 salary bump for […]
National Assembly member Kim Nam-kuk left South Korea’s Democratic Party in 2023 after allegations of cashing out $4 million in crypto holdings.
Kim Nam-kuk, a member of South Korea’s National Assembly, could be sentenced to six months in prison for allegedly not reporting all his cryptocurrency holdings to the government.
According to a Dec. 18 report from South Korean news outlet Dong-A Ilbo, prosecutors in Kim’s case requested a six-month prison sentence for the lawmaker, who is currently on trial in Seoul.
Kim allegedly reported his total assets at 1.2 billion Korean won — roughly $834,356 at the time of publication — in 2021 despite owning 9.9 billion in digital assets, and also concealed 990 million won worth of crypto holdings in 2022.
