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House overturns SEC’s anti-crypto guidance, Biden to veto: Law Decoded

U.S. President Joe Biden may block the U.S. House of Representatives’ decision.

The United States House of Representatives has voted to pass a bill overturning controversial Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) guidance preventing banks from owning crypto. 

The House voted to pass a bipartisan bill titled H.J. Res 109, overturning the SEC’s Special Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121) requiring banks to hold their customers’ crypto assets on their balance sheets, which is not the case for traditional assets such as securities.

Republican Party Representative Mike Flood — who introduced the resolution — said SAB 121 was unfair for banks looking to custody crypto, as custodial assets are “always considered off-balance sheet.”

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Crypto Advocacy Group Coin Center Names Top Three Threats Against Digital Asset Industry

Uniswap CEO warns US President to reverse course on crypto policies

Hayden Adams suggested that crypto policies from the SEC and Senator Elizabeth Warren could hurt President Joe Biden’s chances for a second term.

Hayden Adams, the founder and CEO of decentralized exchange Uniswap, called on United States President Joe Biden to consider how voters think about crypto when they enter ballot boxes in November.

In a May 12 X post, Adams claimed there was “not much time” for President Biden to change the perception many crypto-focused voters had of his administration’s policies on digital assets. According to the Uniswap CEO, the U.S. President was making a “miscalculation” of assuming crypto would be irrelevant in the 2024 elections and allowing Senator Elizabeth Warren and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to “wage total war” on the technology.

“Republicans smell blood in the water and are turning hard towards crypto,” said Adams. “Not much time for Biden to save it. Anyone close to him or [Democratic] leadership should be expressing how serious this is and pushing for immediate reversal on his approach to crypto (public support/plan and reigning in sec + warren).”

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Crypto Advocacy Group Coin Center Names Top Three Threats Against Digital Asset Industry

Bitcoin bottomed at $56K? BTC price chart hints at breakout within days

Adding to the bullish technical formation, Bitcoin's distribution 'danger zone' has officially ended, according to popular analyst Rekt Capital.

A popular Bitcoin chart formation suggests that Bitcoin's (BTC) price could break out from its current range. However, this week's macroeconomic news could also significantly impact the price. Can Bitcoin break out to the upside?

On the four-hour chart, Bitcoin price printed an inverse head and shoulders pattern, a formation used by technical analysts to predict the reversal of a previous downtrend.

Based on the technical formation, Bitcoin could rally to the upside if a break above the trendline occurs, according to a May 13 X post from crypto investor Quinten Francois, who wrote:

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Crypto Advocacy Group Coin Center Names Top Three Threats Against Digital Asset Industry

MoonPay donates to Coinbase’s Stand With Crypto campaign

Crypto payment firm MoonPay is among the first crypto advocates to support Coinbase-initiated pro-crypto PAC related to the upcoming U.S. election.

Cryptocurrency payment firm MoonPay has contributed an undisclosed amount to Coinbase’s nonprofit crypto advocacy project, Stand With Crypto.

“This morning, we made a donation on behalf of everyone here at MoonPay to Stand With Crypto,” MoonPay CEO Ivan Soto-Wright announced on May 13.

The executive emphasized that the upcoming U.S. election will define the future of the cryptocurrency industry in the country, and it’s people’s responsibility to step up to advance crypto. He stated:

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Crypto Advocacy Group Coin Center Names Top Three Threats Against Digital Asset Industry

Franklin Templeton CEO says all ETFs and mutual funds will be on blockchain

She also warned that generative artificial intelligence was like the “kid that got an ‘F’ in math.”

Jenny Johnson, the CEO and President of Franklin Templeton, a financial firm with $1.6 trillion in assets under management, recently reiterated her pro-blockchain stance during an interview with Bloomberg anchor David Westland during the 27th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference in California. 

Among the hot topics discussed by the two, Johnson had plenty to say on the subjects of tokenization and generative artificial intelligence.

When asked how Franklin Templeton benefited from tokenizaiton, Johnson was quick to reply. “First of all, I am a huge fan of blockchain and the technology.”

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Crypto Advocacy Group Coin Center Names Top Three Threats Against Digital Asset Industry

SEC has taken ‘too expansive’ a view of crypto, says former commissioner

Former SEC commissioner Troy Paredes was not the first to criticize the U.S. financial regulator’s lack of clarity on digital assets.

Troy Paredes, who served as a commissioner at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from 2008 to 2013, suggested that the regulator might be overreaching on what digital assets it considered securities.

Speaking at the TokenizeThis 2024 conference in Miami on May 9, Paredes said SEC Chair Gary Gensler seemed to suggest that the commission had clarity on his views of what constituted a security under the Howey test. However, he said there was still a “jurisdictional question” the SEC needed to address on digital assets.

“I mean, if it’s not a security, then it’s outside the scope of the federal securities laws in the SEC’s jurisdiction,” said Paredes. “The commission, I believe, has taken a very expansive view as to what constitutes a security under the Howey test.”

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Crypto Advocacy Group Coin Center Names Top Three Threats Against Digital Asset Industry

Digital Currency Group revenue jumps 51% in 1Q24 despite GBTC outflows

Revenue at Digital Currency Group (DCG) increased 51% to $229 million in the first quarter of 2024, driven by the rebound in crypto markets.

Digital Currency Group (DCG) saw a surge in revenue in the first quarter of 2024, driven by the recovery of crypto markets. 

The crypto conglomerate’s revenue jumped 51% year-over-year to $229 million, the company reportedly wrote in a letter to shareholders.

Grayscale’s revenue held steady during the quarter despite $17.4 billion in outflows from its Bitcoin fund since it was converted to an exchange-traded fund (ETF) in January. The asset manager generated $156 million in revenue thanks to rising asset prices, offsetting losses in assets under management.

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Crypto Advocacy Group Coin Center Names Top Three Threats Against Digital Asset Industry

Ex-Digitex Futures Exchange CEO pleads guilty to violating Bank Secrecy Act

U.S. authorities indicted former Digitex CEO Adam Todd in February for failure to implement and maintain an effective Anti-Money Laundering program at the exchange.

Adam Todd, founder and former CEO of the Digitex Futures Exchange, has pleaded guilty in federal court for failure to establish an Anti-Money Laundering program at the firm.

In a May 7 announcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said Todd pleaded guilty to “willfully causing” Digitex to violate the Bank Secrecy Act. Authorities indicted the former CEO in February. According to the indictment, Todd operated an unregistered futures platform for U.S. customers between 2018 and 2022, failing to implement and maintain AML and Know Your Customer (KYC) programs. 

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Todd could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Though charged in a different federal district, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to similar charges in November 2023. In April, Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison. His reporting date has yet to be scheduled.

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Crypto Advocacy Group Coin Center Names Top Three Threats Against Digital Asset Industry

Crypto must adapt to laws, not the other way around — John Reed Stark

Former SEC official John Reed Stark has criticized claims that the agency is “regulating by enforcement” in a hearing before U.S. Congress.

John Reed Stark, a former Securities and Exchange Commission official, has accused the crypto industry of perpetuating myths to obscure its lack of transparency and accountability, dismissing claims that the agency engages in “regulation by enforcement.”

Stark’s comments were made at a U.S. House Financial Services Committee hearing on May 7. According to the SEC’s former internet enforcement chief, the crypto industry refused to conform to established laws while expecting the legal framework to bend to its needs:

According to Stark, what has been called “regulation by enforcement” within the crypto industry is just the regulator performing its duties. “The rest of us simply call it enforcing the law.”

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Crypto Advocacy Group Coin Center Names Top Three Threats Against Digital Asset Industry

Crypto is ‘top of mind for voters’ in US swing states — Harris Poll

A majority of respondents with crypto-positive views said they intended to vote in 2024, where tight elections in certain states could swing to either political party.

A survey conducted by the Digital Currency Group (DCG) and The Harris Poll suggested that voters’ positions on digital assets could be a key issue in the 2024 United States elections.

In an online poll conducted in April with 1,201 registered voters, more than two-thirds of those surveyed somewhat or strongly agreed that “crypto is for people like them, and more equitable than the financial system.” More than 90% of respondents in Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Montana, Pennsylvania, or Arizona said they intended to vote in the 2024 elections, suggesting that crypto could be a critical issue for candidates in swing states.

“[D]igital assets have emerged as a significant issue in the upcoming election,” said Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith, referring to the poll. “Additionally, over one quarter (26%) of voters indicate that they are actively weighing political candidates’ positions on digital assets when making their decisions. These data underscore the increasing relevance of our issues in shaping the electoral landscape of 2024.”

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Crypto Advocacy Group Coin Center Names Top Three Threats Against Digital Asset Industry