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☆ Crypto bill from Republicans lays out clear roles for SEC and CFTC
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The bill proposes a clearer pathway for the registered offer and sale of digital assets. Crypto exchanges have been calling for regulatory clarity in the wake of expansive enforcement actions that have left companies and developers scrambling to move operations beyond the U.S. Crypto exchanges Coinbase and Gemini have both announced off-shore exchange operations. Coinbase also is engaged in a bruising courtroom battle with the SEC over the very issues that apparently prompted the McHenry-Thompson bill. The crypto exchange received a Wells notice, a warning of impending enforcement action, from the SEC earlier this year. The draft bill will likely be reshaped and modified in coming weeks and months, but it represents a powerful vote of support from two influential Republican members.

Persons: Patrick McHenry, Glenn Thompson, Coinbase, McHenry, Thompson Organizations: Republican, Financial Services, Futures, Securities, Exchange, SEC, Gemini Locations: North Carolina, Washington ,, R

☆ A husband hid $500,000 in bitcoin during a divorce — and got busted by a crypto hunter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +23 min

Thumb drive-size devices, such as a Trezor or Ledger, offer another way to secure crypto tokens cold by safeguarding both the crypto itself and the keys to access it. Transfers of digital assets between chains has helped to expand the crypto market by giving people more ways to pay and transact. With crypto staking, investors typically vault their crypto assets with a blockchain validator, which verifies the accuracy of transactions on the blockchain. The tax implications are another major consideration when choosing how to divide crypto assets. I think the people that are interested in digital assets are going to continue to be interested in digital assets," she said.

☆ 'Ordinals' could signal the beginning of a new generation for Bitcoin. Here's what investors need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"In a way, Bitcoin Ordinals add more diversity and utility to the Bitcoin network, which could elevate the Bitcoin network utility to that of other blockchains, such as Ethereum." There's one population in crypto, however, who have long believed the Bitcoin network could and must do more than that. Binance cited Bitcoin network congestion on Sunday as the reason for pausing withdrawals, and bitcoin dropped 7% between then and Monday. "Congestion, or lots of demand for the block space, is not just good, it's a critical thing for the future of Bitcoin," Miller added. A sneak peek Ordinals and spikes in transaction fees are just a glimpse of what may be on the horizon.

☆ Old-School Rules Apply to New-School DeFi Exchanges
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Paul Kiernan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/old-school-rules-apply-to-new-school-defi-exchanges-1ec14258

[1/2] U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler testifies before a House Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing on President Biden's budget request for the Securities and Exchange Commission, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 29, 2023. Many in the industry have said existing securities regulations are inappropriate and the sector needs fresh rules. Some DeFi platforms may fall under the proposed definition, but others may already be considered exchanges by the existing one, SEC officials said this week. "Make no mistake: many crypto trading platforms already come under the current definition of an exchange," SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in prepared remarks published on Friday. Most crypto trading platforms meet that definition, regardless of whether they call themselves decentralized, Gensler said.

☆ US SEC sees DeFi platforms as exchanges, seeks more public feedback
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Chris Prentice | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler testifies before a House Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing on President Biden's budget request for the Securities and Exchange Commission, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 29, 2023. The SEC voted 3-2 to take additional comments from the public after crypto firms criticized the plan as vague and aimed at roping in decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. Some DeFi platforms may fall under the proposed definition, but others may already be considered exchanges by the existing one, SEC officials said this week. "Make no mistake: many crypto trading platforms already come under the current definition of an exchange," SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in prepared remarks published on Friday. Most crypto trading platforms meet that definition, regardless of whether they call themselves decentralized, Gensler said.

☆ The IRS may tax certain NFTs at a higher rate in the future — here’s what to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Currently, the IRS treats NFTs and cryptocurrency as property for federal income tax purposes, according to the agency's website. However, net profits earned from selling a collectible are subject to a higher tax rate of 28%. So, if the IRS decides to treat NFTs as collectibles for tax purposes, sellers may be faced with a higher tax bill. The NFT market started the year off with a sizable surge in trading volume, according to NFT and DeFi tracking company DappRadar's latest report. That's up from trading volume of $1.9 billion on 18 million sales in the fourth quarter of 2022.

☆ U.S. says decentralized finance services being used for illicit transfers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - North Korea, cybercriminals, ransomware attackers, thieves and scammers are using decentralized finance (DeFi) services to transfer and launder their illicit proceeds, the U.S. Treasury Department warned on Thursday. In a new illicit finance risk assessment on decentralized finance, the Treasury found that illicit actors are exploiting vulnerabilities in U.S. and foreign anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulation and enforcement as well the technology underpinning the services. DeFi services that fail to comply with these obligations to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing pose the most significant illicit finance risk in this domain, the assessment found. "Our assessment finds that illicit actors, including criminals, scammers, and North Korean cyber actors are using DeFi services in the process of laundering illicit funds," the Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in the statement. Nelson added that the private sector should use the findings of the assessment to inform their risk mitigation strategies and to take steps to prevent illicit actors from using decentralized finance services.

☆ Ether is rallying ahead of major upgrade that will let holders more easily access their tokens
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Ethereum underwent a huge network upgrade called the merge which proponents say will make transactions much more energy efficient. Following the merge, ether prices have dropped following a huge run up ahead of the event. Ether has spiked this week to a nine-month high, ahead of a major network upgrade that some crypto enthusiasts say will make the digital currency a more profitable long-term investment. Currently, over 18 million ether tokens worth about $32.5 billion are staked, meaning that 15% of ether's total supply are considered locked assets. That could signal a buildup of bearish bets leading up to the network upgrade.

☆ Coinbase says it's working on 'flatcoins' that will keep pace with inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Coinbase said Friday that it's developing "flatcoins" that keep pace with inflation. The crypto exchange believes the tokens will help crypto traders shield their portfolios from soaring prices. Billionaire investor Ray Dalio is one high-profile name who's backed the idea of an inflation-linked coin in the past. Stablecoins are crypto tokens that derive their value from another asset. "I think that what would really be best is an inflation-linked coin," the billionaire investor told CNBC's "Squawk Box" last month.

☆ Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul and other celebrities charged $400,000 for violating crypto rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday charged Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul and several other celebrities with failing to disclose that they were paid to promote crypto. The celebrities agreed to pay $400,000, including fines, and return what they were paid for the promotion. For their violations, Lohan agreed to pay $30,000 in fines in addition to the $10,000 she earned for the promotion. Paul agreed to pay $75,000 in fines on top of the $25,000 he earned. “At the same time, Sun paid celebrities with millions of social media followers to tout the unregistered offerings, while specifically directing that they not disclose their compensation.”

☆ Why stablecoin company Circle is set to be the big winner in crypto after the collapse of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The collapse of three crypto-friendly banks is a boon for stablecoin issuer Circle, investors said. Slivergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature all imploded in the space of a week. Circle keeps its reserves at BNY Mellon, which helped its stablecoin USDC recover after SVB's fall. Circle, the company behind the stablecoin USDC, is set to come ahead in the aftermath of the collapses of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank, according to several investors and founders. One risk, however, is that recent bank failures prompt regulators to bar crypto companies, including Circle, from accessing the US banking system altogether.

MarketVector's Smart Contract Leaders Index (.MVSCLE), which tracks major tokens of this kind - including ether, dot and solana - is up 36% in 2023, outpacing even bitcoin's 33% rise. Bundeep Rangar, CEO of crypto-focused asset manager Fineqia, said he expected the biggest crypto returns to come from smart contract tokens on platforms that support decentralized finance (DeFi) apps. Around seven of the top 20 biggest crypto assets are smart contract tokens, including ether and dot , solana and cardano . BofA analysts also pointed to smart contract tokens and the blockchain-based applications they power as similar to growth stocks in the equities world, typically technology shares. They caution, though, that the global macro outlook and central bank policy could hit the growth of crypto projects and their associated tokens.

☆ Crypto Company Circle Focuses on Growth After Canceled SPAC Merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Circle is still hiring even as many crypto companies are laying off staff and some have filed for bankruptcy following the run on the stablecoin TerraUSD last spring. The crypto company had been preparing to go public via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, a move to access the capital market, enhance its transparency and further expand operations internationally. A SPAC typically has as long as two years to find its merger partner, clear the SEC’s review process and complete the deal. Circle, which was founded in 2013, intends to make another bid to go public, though likely not this year, Mr. Fox-Geen said. Circle in 2021 said that Poloniex LLC, its discontinued crypto exchange business, paid $10.4 million to settle a case brought by the SEC.

REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File PhotoFeb 21 (Reuters) - The world of stablecoins is suddenly looking shaky. "There's way too much demand for dollar-based stablecoins for them to go away," said Alex Miller, CEO at bitcoin developer network Hiro. Market leader tether (USDT) has been a big beneficiary, adding $1.9 billion to its market capitalization to hit $70.3 billion since the news. It now commands 52.6% of the stablecoin market, up from just over 51%. Traders also use these tokens to hedge their positions, and hence dwindling market value is associated with falling liquidity and leverage in the broader crypto market.

☆ G20 watchdog homes in on decentralised finance after FTX crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

FSB member countries will now "proactively" analyse vulnerabilities from DeFi as part of regular monitoring of crypto markets, the report said. The collapse of FTX last November exposed vulnerabilities in intermediaries and DeFi, the report said. FSB DeFi Graphic 1SUPERVISION GAPSThe most worrying vulnerability in DeFi relates to "mismatches" in liquidity from different maturities in liabilities and assets, the report said. Until the sharp retreat in bitcoin prices and the FTX crash, regulators had largely focused on cryptoassets rather than related technology. FSB DeFi Graphic 2Reporting by Huw Jones Editing by Helen PopperOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Crypto Brands Reposition Themselves in Wake of FTX and Market Tumble
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Patrick Coffee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Roughly one year ago, a handful of crypto heavyweights made swaggering debuts on the Super Bowl ad roster, airing costly commercials with messages like “Don’t miss out” (FTX) and “Fortune favors the brave” (Crypto.com). Then came the swoon in crypto and the bankruptcy of FTX. Recently, trading firm OKX scuttled its plans to buy an ad in Super Bowl LVII when FTX began to dominate the news cycle. Coinbase aims to convey its confidence in crypto “while maintaining our position as the most trusted brand in the space,” Chief Marketing Officer Kate Rouch said. “I think that, especially after the FTX collapse, there has been a real need for that across the entire crypto space,” he said.

☆ Crypto investors lost nearly $4 billion to hackers in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Cryptocurrency hackers stole $3.8 billion in 2022, according to the blockchain analytics firm's report — up from $3.3 billion in 2021 . Take smart contracts, for example. These digital contracts are the key underlying technologies that allow crypto transactions to be made. Within DeFi, smart contracts are publicly viewable sets of instructions that allow users to borrow, lend or make transactions without an intermediary. Once a user meets the smart contract's terms and conditions, the transaction happens automatically, similar to a vending machine.

☆ Russia's Sberbank to launch DeFi platform in coming months - Interfax
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Russia's largest lender Sberbank (SBER.MM) plans to launch a decentralised finance (DeFi) platform within the next few months, the Interfax news agency reported. Sberbank says it wants to make the Russian decentralised finance system the best in the world, and is currently beta testing its own platform. Traditional financial institutions are looking at how to get into the space and integrate DeFi technology with their existing regulated operations. Sberbank will launch open testing in March of its platform and aims to start commercial operations by the end of April, the Interfax news agency quoted Konstantin Klimenko, head of products at Sberbank's blockchain laboratory, as saying. Sberbank's DeFi platform will be based on the Ethereum blockchain, the second-largest crypto currency by market capitalisation after bitcoin, Klimenko said on Friday.

☆ Trader Is Charged in Alleged $110 Million Crypto Manipulation Scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

He faces charges of commodities fraud, commodities market manipulation and wire fraud in connection with what prosecutors said was manipulation of Mango Markets. Mr. Eisenberg remained in police custody on Thursday and will be arraigned Feb. 14, when he would be asked to enter a plea. PREVIEWThe Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed parallel civil charges against Mr. Eisenberg last month. The CFTC, which regulates derivatives markets, said the enforcement action against Mr. Eisenberg was the first of its kind against an alleged manipulation scheme involving a decentralized exchange. He allegedly artificially pumped up the price of MNGO on three different digital asset exchanges that Mango Markets used to determine the value of the derivative contracts.

☆ Crypto's core technology has a legitimacy problem. The founder of VC firm Dao5 is seeking to shore up its cred by working with university researchers.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tekin Salimi, the founder of the VC firm Dao5, sources many of his deals through academic research. Salimi's venture capital firm, Dao5, counts several university professors among its advisors and has backed several startups founded by academics. His budding interest in crypto eventually brought him to Silicon Valley, where he joined the crypto VC firm Polychain Capital in 2018. When he left Polychain to launch Dao5 last year, Salimi sought to build academic research into the firm's deal-sourcing process. Dao5 cut ties with Kwon after the collapse, and he never had any financial involvement in the firm, Salimi said.

☆ Crypto hacks stole record $3.8 billion in 2022, led by North Korea groups - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The report by Chainalysis found hacking activity that "ebbed and flowed" throughout the year, with "huge spikes" in March and October. October was the biggest single month ever for cryptocurrency hacking, with $775.7 million stolen in 32 separate attacks, the report said. "It isn’t a stretch to say that cryptocurrency hacking is a sizable chunk of the nation’s economy," Chainalysis said. Targets in "decentralized finance" or DeFi, a thriving segment in the cryptocurrency sector, accounted for more than 82% of the cryptocurrency stolen in 2022, the report said. Last year saw a record amount of crypto transactions related to illicit activity overall, reaching $20.1 billion, Chainalysis said in January.

☆ Record $3.8 billion stolen in crypto hacks last year, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —A record $3.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency was stolen from various services last year, with much of those thefts driven by North Korean-linked hackers, according to a report Wednesday from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. Some of the biggest crypto hacks of the year have since been attributed to North Korea. US officials worry Pyongyang will use money stolen from crypto hacks to fund its illicit nuclear and ballistic weapons program. While crypto hacks continued to rise last year, there is some cause for hope. Law enforcement and national security agencies are expanding their abilities to combat digital criminals, such as the FBI’s recovery of $30 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen in the Axie Infinity hack.

☆ Bitcoin and other cryptos slump as the Fed gets ready to raise interest rates again
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Crypto markets are slipping as the two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve kicks off. A blockchain exec broke down how crypto markets are thinking about this week's expected rate hike. Ethereum is flat ahead of the central bank meeting, trading at $1,585. Recent economic data points indicate that high inflation is easing, giving the central bank room to pull back on monetary tightening. "Any movement ahead of the Fed meeting is mere correlation," Jeremy Epstein, CMO of smart contract platform Radix, told Insider.

☆ Crypto comeback is just a 'mean-reversion' rally, Bernstein says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

That's one observation about the current crypto bounce Bernstein analysts made in a note to investors Monday. They called it a mean-reversion rally, meaning that they see bitcoin prices reverting to their long-term mean or average level. "We reckon, the mean reversion of crypto still has some headroom," analyst Gautam Chhugani said in the note. BTC.CM= 6M mountain Bitcoin Nevertheless, Chhugani attributed the recent bounce to capital already within the crypto industry, namely "sidelined stablecoins" being deployed. As the crypto asset class becomes "more regulated," Chhugani expects to see institutions take crypto positions this year, he said.

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