Month: February 2023

Staking ban is another nail in crypto’s coffin — that’s a good thing

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Rumors of an impending crypto ban came to fruition on Feb. 9 with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement action against Kraken, which resulted in a settlement where the exchange agreed to end its staking services for American users. The action will likely extend to all companies based in the United States. Reactions were predictable depending on where you stand on crypto in general. Crypto advocates railed against regulators who are slowly asphyxiating this burgeoning industry, while skeptics celebrated crypto’s impending demise. The advocates have it right. Antagonistic regulators will…

SEC enforcement against Kraken opens doors for Lido, Frax and Rocket Pool

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission is ramping up pressure on the crypto sector. On Feb. 9, the SEC reached a $30 million settlement with Kraken over the centralized staking program it offered to its users. The news of the crackdown sent the price of Bitcoin (BTC) to a three-week low as investors became fearful of the regulatory enforcement. Ether’s (ETH) price also corrected on the news, cementing the token’s worst-performing day of 2023. While the overall crypto market was down after the SEC announcement, bright spots arose, with…

SecretDAO votes to restructure foundation after public spat between organizations

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The decentralized autonomous organization that governs privacy-focused blockchain Secret Network has voted to restructure its foundation as a nonprofit with a “transparent operation,” according to the proposal’s official page. Congrats to the #SecretNetwork community! The Secret Foundation has been restructured as an NPO, with a community-elected board & amendments requested by the founder. #blockchain #cryptocurrency — Krypton AI (@KryptonAi) February 10, 2023 The proposal states that the new foundation “will be registered as an NPO [nonprofit organization] and provide an annual account of its activities, including key performance indicators (KPIs),…

Policymakers Should Embrace DAOs in the New Future of Abundance

There are not many things that will always be scarce, but human attention is at the top of the list. Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) and co-operatives might be much better vehicles for accumulating attention and engagement. In DAOs, co-operatives and staking systems, critical decisions are made by the members for the benefit of the members, and the rewards for engagement flow back to the members in proportion to their engagement and in alignment with their constructive participation. Source AbundanceDAOsEmbracefuturePolicymakers CryptoX Portal

An Ode to LocalBitcoins (and a Lesson About Maintaining Bitcoin’s Public Goods)

Before the imposition of those compliance mechanisms, LocalBitcoins was a useful tool for people to enhance their privacy on-chain. But even after, the stripped-down service helped facilitate a native bitcoin economy – the platonic ideal of which would look like alphanumeric addresses interacting with similarly pseudonymous entities relying on Bitcoin’s architecture to estable mutual “trust.” The company onboarded and verified users from 189 countries. At its peak, in 2018, some 2,400 BTC traded hands weekly. By 2021, average weekly volumes dropped below 1,000 BTC. Last week, only 283 BTC were…

Kraken CEO Calls on Congress to Protect US Crypto Industry Following Settlement With SEC Over Staking Program – Regulation Bitcoin News

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The CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, Jesse Powell, has called on Congress to pass a law to protect the U.S. crypto industry after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took action against his trading platform over its crypto staking service. Kraken’s CEO Responds to SEC Action Kraken CEO Jesse Powell urged Congress to pass a law to protect the domestic crypto industry on Thursday after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged his crypto trading platform over its staking service. The Kraken boss tweeted: Congress must act to protect…

US lawmakers question SEC chair on timing of Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest

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Two members of the United States House Financial Services Committee are calling on Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler “regarding the timing of the charges filed against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried” based on his scheduled appearance at a hearing. In a Feb. 10 notice, committee chair Patrick McHenry and Representative Bill Huizenga, who chairs the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, said the timing of Bankman-Fried’s charges and arrest in the Bahamas raised “serious questions about the SEC’s process and cooperation with the Department of Justice”. The two lawmakers called on…

SEC Enforcement Is the Wrong Way to Regulate Crypto

Gensler and his defenders might counter that he has consistently warned that most, if not all, tokens are securities. But the industry’s gripe goes beyond that. It’s that, other than the occasional public invitations to “come in and talk to us,” there’s been no real effort to collaboratively develop a regulatory framework that accommodates the unique, decentralized features of this technology. Worse, industry leaders say, the SEC practices “regulation through enforcement,” with the Kraken suit being a case in point, which leaves everyone on their toes. Source

Crypto Exchange Binance Adds Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Three Other Altcoins As Verifiable Digital Assets

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The world’s largest crypto exchange platform by volume is adding Shiba Inu (SHIB) and three other altcoins to its list of verifiable crypto assets. In a new company blog post, Binance says its introducing zero-knowledge (zk) SNARKS, a verification method that keeps information secure, to its proof-of-reserves identification system. Binance also says it’s adding four altcoins, including SHIB, Polkadot (DOT) and Ethereum (ETH) challenger Solana (SOL), as well as fan token-focused crypto project Chiliz (CHZ). “Continuing the efforts in providing transparency on user funds, Binance is excited to introduce zk-SNARKs,…

Federal Reserve Governor Reinforces US Regulators’ Preference for Keeping Crypto Apart From Banks

“I’m supportive of prudent innovation in the financial system, while at the same time concerned about banks engaging in activities that present a heightened risk of fraud and scams, legal uncertainties, and the prevalence of inaccurate and misleading financial disclosures,” he said. A bank that wants to involve itself in crypto, “would have to be very clear about the customers’ business models, risk-management systems, and corporate governance structures to ensure that the bank is not left holding the bag if there is a crypto meltdown.” Source