Per new updates to a bill to amend California’s securities law introduced in the state’s legislative body on May 5, the largest economy in the United States and the world’s tech hub may be providing new clarity to crypto owners. Formalizing the Howey Test for crypto? Updates to the definition of what constitutes a security include: “Investment contract, except any digital asset that meets one of the following criteria is presumptively not an investment contract.” The criteria named are more or less a line-reading of the Howey Test — the federal metric for assessing whether an asset qualifies as an …

Per her financial disclosures, filed the evening of May 1 after an extension in January, Loeffler’s assets are significant, as was her income as CEO of Bakkt. The much-awaited financial disclosures While Loeffler initially delayed filing her mandatory financial disclosures when she took office in January, they are now available. According to SEC filings by Bakkt’s parent company, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), $980,000 of the $3.5 million were in the form of cash, with the rest in the form of equity. In addition to income of $3.5 million from employment at Bakkt, the new filings display an impressive portfolio of …

A staff memo has revealed that the U.S. Congress is considering blockchain technology as a means for the Senate to conduct remote voting amid the coronavirus pandemic. The report states that blockchain may be deployed alongside end-to-end encrypted, or E2EE, applications to facilitate voting. The memo was composed after the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations’ Roundtable on Continuity of Senate Operations and Remote Voting in Times of Crisis event. The discussion came as the Senate prepares to reconvene this week. Senate considers DLT-based voting contingency The document states that Congress’ two chambers have always “met in-person to conduct business, including committee …

Per a new poll of Georgia republicans released on April 29, Senator Loeffler (R-GA) seems to have a rough road ahead of her en route to the special election later this year. Loeffler’s appointment and coming election Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp initially appointed Loeffler to her senate seat in December following Sen. Johnny Isakson’s announcement that he would retire at the end of 2019 facing declining health. As she attained her seat by appointment rather than election, Loeffler will need to win a special election at the beginning of November to serve out the remaining two years of Isakson’s term. …

A United States congresswoman has said that she will keep working to brand Facebook’s planned stablecoin Libra a security. Facebook and the Libra Association may well have to deal with the SEC In an April 16 announcement, Representative Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) denied that recent updates to Libra’s whitepaper had substantively changed the yet-to-be-released stablecoin’s status as a security. Garcia contends that the newly proposed version of Libra still derives value from a “basket of currencies” subject to change from the Libra Association, which hangs the value of the coin on the work of a third party i.e. a security under …

As Americans wait for COVID-19 stimulus checks, the Digital Dollar has returned to legislation in the United States that looks to extend monthly payments for the long haul. The ABCs of aid during crisis On April 16, Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) introduced the “Automatic Boost to Communities Act,” or the ABC Act in the House of Representatives. The bill looks to extend monthly payments of $2,000, called BOOST payments, until at least next March, and further requires the development of digital dollar wallets for citizens to receive them. The bill reads: “No later than January 1, 2021, the Secretary shall …

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the global economy. As legislators in the United States go back and forth on how best to distribute aid, the conversation has amplified the potential role of a digital dollar to avoid the traps of traditional finance. Whether or not ongoing stimulus efforts lead to the minting of a digital dollar, it’s a subject that is on the minds of U.S. legislators in a new way, especially as China’s pending central bank digital currency (CBDC) continues moving forward. Cointelegraph spoke with several leaders in the blockchain industry to get their take on what a digital …

While the newest version of a proposed stimulus package to respond to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus in the United States has scrapped mention of a digital dollar, at least one senator is fighting to keep those provisions. The changed bill for economic recovery As Cointelegraph reported yesterday, March 23, a draft of the proposed economic stimulus bill was circulating that included the requirement of developing a digital dollar. The provisions further stipulated that all banks party to the Federal Reserve would need to host digital dollar wallets — all measures to expand economic inclusion. Late last night, …

Amid contentious debate over the massive stimulus package in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Democrats in the United States House of Representatives look to implement the digital dollar to streamline payments to U.S. citizens outside of the traditional financial system. A digital dollar for direct payments to families A draft of the legislation circulating as of March 23 proposes the creation of digital wallets for U.S. citizens to be maintained by the Federal Reserve within a section entitled “Direct Stimulus Payments for Families.” The section envisions $2,000 monthly payments to every adult earning less than $75,000 a year, at which …

Democrat congresswoman Maxine Waters has proposed giving $2000 a month to every adult, and $1000 a month to every child in America, to help see them through the COVID-19 financial crisis. Waters — the Chair of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee — made a series of other extraordinary legislative proposals to help the economy in a memorandum dated March 18. The proposals also include a suspension of all consumer and small business credit payments, including mortgages, car payments, student loans, small business loans and personal loans. It's a sign of just how desperate the financial situation is, that economic …

In a meeting today, a United States Senate committee examined new measures to enhance federal reporting for cybersecurity vulnerabilities that threaten “critical infrastructure”. They convened in an attempt to establish new support for state and local governments confronting threats like ransomware. A new era in homeland security? The centerpiece of the March 11 hearing of the Committee on Homeland Security is bill S. 3045, the Cybersecurity Vulnerability Identification and Notification Act of 2019. First introduced in December, the new bill looks to amend the landmark Homeland Security Act of 2002 to include new provisions aimed specifically at cybersecurity. The “Cybersecurity …

A United States congressman is the latest working to clarify and determine which U.S. regulator is responsible for which digital assets. On March 9, Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) introduced the “Crypto-Currency Act of 2020,” a bill that looks to choreograph a wide range of digital assets to answer to the appropriate regulator. The proposed regulatory schema As Will Stechschulte, Gosar’s legislative assistant, explained to Cointelegraph, “the bill looks to provide not only clarity, but legitimacy to crypto assets in the United States.” Gosar’s proposal divides digital assets into three categories: crypto-commodity, crypto-currency and crypto-security. Respectively, the three categories would be …