Ethereum’s upgrade to proof-of-stake may have placed the cryptocurrency back in the crosshairs of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Speaking to reporters after the Senate Banking Committee on Sept. 15, SEC chairman Gary Gensler reportedly said that cryptocurrencies and intermediaries that allow holders to “stake” their crypto may define it as a security under the Howey test, according to The Wall Street Journal. “From the coin’s perspective […] that’s another indicia that under the Howey test, the investing public is anticipating profits based on the efforts of others,” WSJ reported Gensler as saying. The comments came on the same …

United States Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Gary Gensler is scheduled to testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in a hearing titled “Oversight of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission” on Sept. 15. The transcript of his speech was released in advance. Gensler called securities laws a “gold standard” of capital markets. In his 13-page comprehensive discussion of those markets, crypto markets took up about a page and a half, including footnotes. Per a @BankingGOP aide on @GaryGensler Thursday hearing: "Expect @SenToomey and @BankingGOP to argue that Chairman Gensler’s pursuit of a highly politicized …

The Chamber of Digital Commerce (CDC) has requested to file an amicus brief in the case of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple Labs and its executives Bradley Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. Liliya Tessler of the firm Sidley Austin filed a package of documents, including the proposed brief, with the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York on Sept. 14. The CDC is the world’s largest blockchain and digital asset trade group, with over 200 members that include industry players, investors and law firms. It argued that the Chamber does not have “a view …

The 13% gains in the six days leading to Sept. 12 brought the total crypto market capitalization closer to $1.1 trillion, but this was not enough to break the descending trend. As a result, the overall trend for the past 55 days has been bearish, with the latest support test on Sept. 7 at a $950 billion total market cap. An improvement in traditional markets has accompanied the recent 13% crypto market rally. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 6.2% since Sept. 6 and WTI oil prices rallied 7.8% since Sept. 7. This data reinforces the high correlation versus traditional …

While last week brought no troubles from the market side of the crypto industry — no operations frozen, no bankruptcies filed — the United States regulators made some explicitly negative statements. Recently appointed U.S. Federal Reserve Board vice chair for supervision Michael Barr pledged to “ensure that crypto activity inside banks is well regulated, based on the principle of the same risk, same activity, same regulation, regardless of the technology used for the activity.” In Barr’s opinion, people “may come to believe that they understand new products only to learn that they don’t.” Michael Hsu, an acting Comptroller of the …

Following the decentralized finance (DeFi) boom of 2020, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) solidified their place in the ecosystems of both cryptocurrency and finance. Since DEXs are not as heavily regulated as centralized exchanges, users can list any token they want. With DEXs, high-frequency traders can make trades on coins before they hit major exchanges. Plus, decentralized exchanges are noncustodial, which implies that creators cannot pull an exit fraud — in theory. As such, high-frequency trading firms that used to broker unique trading transactions with cryptocurrency exchange operators have turned to decentralized exchanges to conduct business. What is high-frequency trading in crypto? …

The United States has been the global financial leader since World War II when the U.S. dollar became the world reserve currency. Consequently, Americans have enjoyed benefits like greater buying power, easier access to capital and low-interest rates—including on our national debt. Unfortunately, we face a growing threat to that dominance, from our national debt on the one hand and China’s ascendance and their own digital currency on the other. If the U.S. dollar lost its position as the world reserve currency, it would mean higher U.S. interest payments, more expensive debt repayments and a skyrocketing deficit. The best time …

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has accused crypto exchange Zipmex and its co-founder Akalarp Yimwilai of non-compliance with local laws and referred the matter to the police. In a Wednesday announcement, the Thai SEC alleged Zipmex had not provided information on digital wallets and crypto transactions in compliance with the country’s Digital Assets Act. The regulator claimed that both Akalarp and the exchange forwarded incomplete information outside of an approved timeframe without providing a “reasonable cause” or excuse. “Such actions by Zipmex and Mr. Akalarp are considered to be non-compliance with the competent official's orders, which is an …

The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly pursuing changes in the country's legal framework with regard to its regulation of cryptocurrencies. According to local media, one major concern is that the bill in question does not appear to consider tokens as digital assets or securities — and they therefore wouldn't fall under SEC regulation. The updated position of the nation's SEC follows the appointment of a new board and the increased relevance of the crypto sector in the financial services in the country. Brazilian lawmakers have been working on regulations for cryptocurrencies since 2015, but the Senate only approved …

It took a few years, but government crackdowns on “insider trading” involving digital assets have finally arrived. It’s about time! Insider trading occurs often in our securities markets, so it was only a matter of time before crypto and other digital assets would be exploited improperly by miscreants for financial gain. On June 1, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York announced a criminal indictment against a former product manager of the OpenSea marketplace, Nathaniel Chastain. He is charged with using the confidential information about which nonfungible tokens were going to be featured on OpenSea’s homepage to …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, have called for comments on a proposal which would require large advisers to certain hedge funds to report exposure to crypto. In a joint proposed rule published to the Federal Register on Sept. 1, the SEC and CFTC established a 40-day comment period for amendments to Form PF, the confidential reporting document for certain investment advisers to private funds of at least $500 million. The proposal suggested qualifying hedge funds report exposure to crypto in a different category other than “cash and cash …

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, announced enforcement actions against the chief technology officer of crypto exchange Bitkub allegedly using insider information around the purchase of Bitkub Coin (KUB). In a Tuesday announcement, the Thai SEC said it had fined Bitkub CTO Samret Wajanasathian 8,530,383 baht — roughly $234,000 at the time of publication — and intended to bar him from being a director or executive officer at any crypto firm for a year. The financial regulator alleged Wajanasathian purchased roughly $61,000 worth of KUB tokens in advance of an announced deal in which Siam Commercial Bank, or SCB, …