Day: June 13, 2023

SEC’s Gensler says BTC, ETH ‘not securities’ in a newly surfaced video

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A newly surfaced video featuring Gary Gensler from 2018 has made the rounds on social media, showing the now-chair of the United States securities regulator agastating that multiple cryptocurrencies are “not securities.” On June 12 multiple Twitter accounts shared the video which is understood to come from a 2018 event hosted by Bloomberg for institutional investors. “Over 70% of the crypto market is Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash. Why did I name those four? They’re not securities,” Gensler says in the video. Chair Gensler in 2018 at a Bloomberg conference in NYC:…

Cato Institute survey reveals low US public awareness of CBDCs

A national survey conducted by the Cato Institute results reveal a significant lack of public familiarity with and support for s CBDC. In a survey from the Cato Institute, results revealed insights about American citizens’ familiarity with, and attitudes towards, financial products and institutions, including a proposed CBDC. The poll surveyed 2,000 individuals, with a margin of error of +/- 2.54%. Firstly, the survey asked about the financial products owned or used by respondents in the past year. Checking accounts proved most popular, used by 83% of those surveyed. This…

Jump Trading seeks to move Terra class action suit to California

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Algorithmic and high-frequency trading firm Jump Trading is seeking to have the class action lawsuit against the firm moved from Illinois to a Northern district court in California, arguing that it would significantly speed up legal proceedings. The lawsuit was initially filed on May 9 by Taewoo Kim, individually and on behalf of others impacted by the collapse of the Terra/Luna ecosystem. Kim is represented by Selendy Gay and Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP. Jump Trading embroiled in controversy as lawsuit claims it manipulated TerraUSD’s value. Accusations of violating…

Atomic Wallet hackers turn to OFAC-sanctioned Garantex: Elliptic

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Illicit funds gained from the $35 million Atomic Wallet hack are on the move again, with sanctioned Russian-based crypto exchange Garantex reportedly becoming the latest to come in contact with the hacked crypto.  On June 13, blockchain security and compliance firm Elliptic updated the situation regarding the stolen Atomic Wallet funds. It alleges that the North Korean hacking collective, the Lazarus Group — which is believes is behind the attack — has used sanctioned Russian-based crypto exchange Garantex to launder the loot. In a Twitter post, the firm said there…

Hong Kong politician extends invitation to Coinbase to operate in the SAR

A Hong Kong lawmaker is extending an invitation to Coinbase, despite news of the SEC lawsuit occurring just one week earlier. Hong Kong Legislative Council member Johnny Ng has taken to Twitter to invite Coinbase and other global virtual asset trading operators to the financial center, emphasizing the region’s supportive environment. I hereby offer an invitation to welcome all global virtual asset trading operators including @coinbase to come to HK for application of official trading platforms and further development plans. Please feel free to approach me and I am happy…

UN report highlights ‘serious and urgent’ concerns about AI deepfakes

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The United Nations has called artificial intelligence-generated media a “serious and urgent” threat to information integrity, particularly on social media. In a June 12 report, the UN claimed the risk of disinformation online has “intensified” due to “rapid advancements in technology, such as generative artificial intelligence” and singled out deepfakes in particular. The UN said false information and hate speech generated by AI is “convincingly presented to users as fact.” Last month, the S&P 500 briefly dipped due to an AI-generated image and faked news report of an explosion near…

BOCI and UBS issue tokenized securities in Hong Kong via Ethereum

Share Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Telegram Copy Link Link copied BOCI, the investment banking subsidiary of the Bank of China, has successfully launched tokenized structured notes valued at 200 million offshore renminbi ($28 million) on the Ethereum blockchain. This marks the bank’s inaugural attempt at issuing a tokenized security in Hong Kong and also sets a precedent as the first Chinese financial institution to take such a step. The launch was accomplished in partnership with UBS, the originating entity. In an official statement, UBS highlighted the…

Fear of blockchain will have ‘disastrous consequences’ — Ava Labs CEO testimony

Ava Labs CEO Emin Gün Sirer will be calling on United States officials to “nurture” and “support” responsible blockchain innovation, warning that they face “disastrous consequences” if they don’t. Gün Sirer’s comments in defense of what he describes as a “revolutionary technology” is part of a testimony that he is scheduled to give to the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on June 13 — the audience will include Chair Patrick McHenry, Ranking Member Maxine Waters and other members in the House Committee. Gün Sirer’s testimony aims to explain how blockchain…

Hinman docs are ‘well worth the wait’

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With just one day until the Hinman documents are due to be unsealed, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse suggests the documents will be “well worth the wait.” In a June 12 Twitter reply to a question raised by crypto YouTuber Jungle Inc, Garlinghouse said that while he did not want to “overstep,” both he and Ripple’s chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty see the documents as being worth the 18-month fight to get them unsealed.  Wish I could go in depth now, but we’ve waited this long (18+ months), I don’t want to…

Binance’s Crypto Exchange Flow Flips Positive; Bitcoin BTC Trades Flat

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All but a couple of the 19 tokens mentioned in the suit, which accuses the exchange giants of violating securities laws, have sunk by double-digits over the past seven days with CHZ and SAND, the tokens of the Chiliz network and The Sandbox metaverse game, falling more than 28% and 27%, respectively and ADA, the native crypto of the Cardana blockchain, dropping over 21% as investors looked fretfully at an an increasingly uncertain U.S. regulatory environment in which cryptos have yet to receive a designation as security, commodity or otherwise.…