Month: June 2023

SEC hears from Blockchain Assoc., House Republicans on ‘exchange’ definition proposal

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The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) extended the comments period for its proposal to amend Rule 3b-16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ended June 13. The Blockchain Association and Republican members of the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services filed last-minute comments. The amendments proposal, which runs for hundreds of pages, was released in January 2022. It did not mention digital assets. Another lengthy document was released when the comment period was reopened. It did address digital asset platforms. The amendments could profoundly impact the…

Footwear conglomerate Puma launches 3D Web3 experience

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On June 13, German footwear conglomerate Puma launched its 3D metaverse experience, Black Station. As told by developers, Black Station is an “experiential home” for product drops built to provide “unbridled access” for Puma Pass nonfungible token (NFT) holders. The firm says that the experience is for everyone to explore, but only those possessing RB tokens airdropped to Puma Pass holders can purchase a digital “Rulebreaker” sneaker and claim two digital wearables. At the time of publication, RB tokens currently have a price tag of 0.0125 Ether (ETH). Developers wrote:…

SBF seeks to sever new charges from trial, says proceedings may take ‘years’

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Attorneys for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (also known as “SBF”) are seeking to sever or dismiss six charges from his upcoming trial, claiming that it may take years for courts in The Bahamas to rule on whether they will allow him to be tried for these offenses, according to a June 12 document filed in a New York federal court. Prosecutors acknowledged on May 29 that they need permission from The Bahamas to try Bankman-Fried for five of the charges he was indicted for since these offenses were not included…

US lawmaker invokes SEC lawsuits in considering crypto regulatory framework

Members of the United States House Financial Services Committees met to discuss clarity for the digital asset ecosystem, with some invoking recent legal action from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against crypto firms. In a June 13 hearing of the committee, ranking member Maxine Waters said Democrats were taking a “serious and thoughtful look” at a proposed framework introduced by Republicans on the regulation of digital assets. Committee chair Patrick McHenry said he expected bipartisan input on a draft bill, with markups following a congressional recess in July. Waters…

Ripple Does Not Care Whether XRP Is ‘Sufficiently Decentralized’

For its part, Ripple argues a few things about XRP. First, the for-profit company has for years said that it did not create the network or the token, although it is a primary developer on the chain and perhaps the organization that stands to gain the most materially from XRP’s adoption. Further, perhaps confusingly, the company has argued that XRP is commodity money, a type of resource that has trade value for a diverse cast of investors, coders and companies – like bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). Source

Why Bitcoin’s resistance to retesting the $25K support could be futile

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Bitcoin (BTC) has been trading in a narrow 3.4% range for the past three days after successfully defending the $25,500 support on June 10. In this time, investors’ attention has shifted to the macroeconomic area as the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision on June 14. Cryptocurrencies might work independently from the traditional finance markets, but the cost of capital impacts almost every investor. Back in May, the Fed raised its benchmark interest rate to 5%–5.25%, the highest since 2007. All eyes will be on Fed’s Chair…

Irish data watchdog blocks Google from launching Bard in the EU: Report

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The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has reportedly blocked the launch of Google’s generative artificial intelligence (AI) service, Bard, in the European Union over privacy concerns.  Google launched Bard in the United States, United Kingdom and 178 other countries earlier this year. However, it’s so far been unable to crack the EU. The Mountain View, California company reportedly intended to remedy that during the week of June 13, but as Politico reports, those plans have come to a halt. Per the report, DPC deputy commissioner Graham Doyle stated that Google…

Crypto yield platform Haru suspends transfers after investigation

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On June 13, South Korean yield platform Haru Invest announced that it would be suspending deposits and withdrawals effective immediately. “First of all, the company sincerely apologizes that its latest announcement has caused concerns to our valued investors and customers,” Haru said, claiming that “certain information provided by a consignment operator was suspected to be false” during an “internal inspection process,” thus leading to the transfer halt. “After careful investigation, we concluded that immediate suspension of transactions was necessary to protect our investors. We are currently engaging in a fact-finding…

SEC and Binance seek compromise on US assets freeze

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The United States Securities and Exchange Commission and BAM Trading (Binance’s U.S. arm) recently filed a request for a consent order that would ease some of the restrictions from a previous SEC request to freeze the company’s assets.  The proposed new consent order would offer more assurances for the SEC and allow BAM Trading to make payroll and other financial commitments. Per the document: “BAM Trading and BAM Management may continue to make payments for the purchase of goods and services, salaries for BAM Trading and BAM Management personnel, including…