United States
Not giving up: VanEck refiles with SEC for spot Bitcoin ETF
VanEck, one of the first firms in the world to ever file for a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF), is not giving up on its plans to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States. The firm has refiled an application for a physically-backed Bitcoin ETF with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Filed on June 24, VanEck’s latest Bitcoin ETF application comes months after the SEC rejected its previous spot Bitcoin ETF request on November 12, 2021. The securities regulator based its decision on the ETF on its alleged inability to meet standards to protect investors and the public interest as well as to “prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.” In the latest filing, VanEck provided a wide number of reasons for the SEC to approve a Bitcoin ETF this time. T...
US lawmakers say crypto industry has a ‘tech bro’ problem hurting innovation
According to some United States lawmakers in the House Financial Services Committee, the lack of diversity in the financial technology space could be hurting many companies’ bottom lines. In a Thursday virtual hearing on “Combatting Tech Bro Culture,” U.S. lawmakers and witnesses discussed how women and people of color were underrepresented in leadership positions in the financial technology industry, including crypto firms. Massachusetts Representative Stephen Lynch cited data that only 2% of venture capital funding went to firms in which the founders were women, while only 1% went to those with black founders, and 1.8% for Latinx. According to Lynch and some on the committee, this trend suggested an “old boys club” culture in companies including those involved with cryptocurrencies, in w...
Former Monero maintainer Riccardo ‘Fluffypony’ Spagni to surrender for South Africa extradition
Riccardo Spagni, the former maintainer of the privacy coin Monero also known as Fluffypony, faces extradition to South Africa months after his arrest by U.S. authorities. In a Thursday court filing for the Middle District of Tennessee, Magistrate Judge Alistair Newbern ordered Spagni to surrender to U.S. Marshals on July 5 for extradition to South Africa. He will reportedly face 378 charges related to allegations of fraud and forgery between 2009 and 2011 at a company called Cape Cookies. U.S. authorities arrested Spagni in Nashville in July 2021 at the request of the South African government, holding him in custody until September. The court filings hint at allowing Spagni to be in the United States for the Independence Day holiday weekend before being taken to Africa early on Tuesday. No...
US govt delays enforcement of crypto broker reporting requirements: Report
The provision in the U.S. infrastructure bill signed into law in November, which will require financial institutions and crypto brokers to report additional information, could reportedly be delayed. According to a Wednesday report from Bloomberg, the United States Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service may not be willing to enforce crypto brokers collecting information on certain transactions starting in January 2023, citing people familiar with the matter. The potential delay could reportedly affect billions of dollars related to capital gains taxes — the Biden administration’s budget for the government for the 2023 fiscal year previously estimated modifying the crypto tax rules could reduce the deficit by roughly $11 billion. Under the current infrastructure bill, Sectio...
That’s ‘Sir’ Crypto Dad: French order knights former CFTC chair Chris Giancarlo
The French government has given former United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Chris Giancarlo, also known as “Crypto Dad,” the equivalent of a knighthood. In a Tuesday tweet from Giancarlo, the former CFTC head said France’s National Order of Merit awarded him a Chevalier — the equivalent of a knighthood — in a ceremony at the French ambassador’s residence in Washington D.C. Those attending included current and former CFTC commissioners Rostin Behnam, Brian Quintenz, Christy Goldsmith Romero, Kristin Johnson, Caroline Pham, as well as Hester Peirce of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Merci for honor of l’Ordre National du Mérite at the Résidence de France before mes amis @CFTCbehnam @BrianQuintenz @HesterPeirce Dawn Stump Dan Berkovitz @CFTCcgr @C...
Celsius denies allegations on Alex Mashinsky trying to flee US
Troubled crypto lending firm Celsius is putting their best foot forward to recover operations alongside CEO Alex Mashinsky, who currently stays in the United States, the company has claimed. A spokesperson for Celsius has denied rumors that the company’s CEO tried to flee the U.S. last week amid the ongoing liquidity crisis of the Celsius Network. The representative told Cointelegraph on Monday that the firm continues working on restoring liquidity, stating: “All Celsius employees — including our CEO — are focused and hard at work in an effort to stabilize liquidity and operations. To that end, any reports that the Celsius CEO has attempted to leave the U.S. are false.” Celsius’ statement came shortly after Mike Alfred, co-founder of the crypto analytics firm Digital Assets Data, took to T...
CBDC may threaten stablecoins, not Bitcoin: ARK36 exec
Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) do not pose any direct threat to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) but are still associated with risks in relation to stablecoins, one industry executive believes. According to Mikkel Morch, executive director at the digital asset hedge fund ARK36, a state-backed digital currency like the U.S. dollar doesn’t necessarily have to be a competitor to a private or a decentralized cryptocurrency. That’s because the use cases and value proposition of the decentralized digital assets “often go beyond the realm of simple transactions,” Morch said in a statement to Cointelegraph on Thursday. The exec referred to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell who earlier this year hinted that the United States government would not stop a “well regulated, privately issue...
GitHub users respond with ‘Bitcoin bill’ idea to Gillibrand-Lummis bill
Now every interested user has a chance to leave their mark on a crypto bill that could define the industry guidelines in the United States in the near future, the Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA). The document was uploaded on GitHub, a platform populated by software and product experts, by its co-sponsors to get public feedback. On Wednesday, June 22, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand uploaded the full content of their Responsible Financial Innovation Act on GitHub. As Lummis’ representatives commented: “The senators seek comments from industry stakeholders, consumers and interested parties to ensure that this landmark legislation reflects the innovative nature of the industry it regulates, while also adding confidence, trust and stability for consumers.” By t...
US lawmaker lays out case for a digital dollar
Connecticut House of Representatives member Jim Himes has released a proposal aiming to start a dialogue on the United States potentially launching a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. In a white paper released on Wednesday, Himes urged Congress to begin exploring the rollout of a digital dollar issued by the Federal Reserve to prevent the government from falling behind in innovations in financial technology. According to the U.S. lawmaker, a CBDC “should not be thought of as replacing legacy payment systems and currencies but as an additional alternative for consumers and businesses.” The white paper laid out a proposal in which a CBDC could present concerns over transparency, security and privacy when compared with fiat currency. Himes added that any regulatory framework on CBDCs en...
US lawmakers urge EPA to consider the potential benefits of crypto mining
A group of 14 United States senators and House representatives have signed a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency extolling what they believe are the benefits of crypto mining. In a Thursday letter, many U.S. lawmakers including pro-Bitcoin Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative Tom Emmer addressed EPA administrator Michael Regan, requesting the government agency analyze the potential impact of crypto mining in an effort to balance innovation with environmental concerns. The group of 14 senators and representatives claimed mining could have a “substantial stabilizing effect on energy grids” and cited examples of mining operations using flared gas and renewable energy sources. “Digital assets, and their related mining activities, are essential to the economic future of the Unite...
Stablecoins highlight ‘structural fragilities’ of crypto — Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve’s board of governors pointed to stablecoins as a potential risk to financial stability amid a volatile crypto market. In its Monetary Policy Report released on Friday, the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System said “the collapse in the value of certain stablecoins” — likely referring to TerraUSD (UST) becoming unpegged from the United States dollar in May — in addition to “recent strains” in the digital asset market suggested “structural fragilities.” The government department pointed to the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets report from November 2021, in which officials said legislation was “urgently needed” to address financial risks. “Stablecoins that are not backed by safe and sufficiently liquid assets and are not subject to appro...
Elusive Bitcoin ETF: Hester Perice criticizes lack of legal clarity for crypto
The crypto sector may be maturing, but regulatory clarity around the treatment of digital assets continues to remain cumbersome. This was recently highlighted by Commissioner Hester Peirce — also known as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) “crypto mom” — in remarks she made at “The Regulatory Transparency Project Conference on Regulating the New Crypto Ecosystem: Necessary Regulation or Crippling Future Innovation?” Peirce began her speech by emphasizing the importance of “regulating the new crypto ecosystem.” While this may be, Peirce also noted that the crypto industry is still in search of an actual regulator. She said: “A bipartisan bill announced last week attempts to answer that question. Some people in the crypto industry are celebrating the all...
