Law & Policy

What happened in the crypto industry last two weeks (June 1-16)?

1/ Coinbase submitted a report to the appellate court criticizing the SEC's policy on digital assets. The company argues that the regulator deliberately creates difficulties for market participants before suing them. (https://assets.ctfassets.net/sygt3q11s4a9/6epGNmHl71Xt2WPaRYKob3/b02e476a519c3c7f43c89dc8c24d2c8a/2024.05.31_-41-_Coinbase_Reply_Brief.pdf)

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Head of web3&crypto practice at Buzko Krasnov law firm

3/ The US Department of Justice charged Epoch Times CFO Bill Guan with laundering $67 million. (https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/chief-financial-officer-multinational-media-company-charged-participating-scheme)

4/ The New York District Court, chaired by Jed Rakoff, approved a settlement between the SEC and Terraform Labs. The latter will pay a $4.47 billion fine to settle the case (compensation of $3.6 billion, a civil penalty of $420 million, and pre-judgment interest of nearly $467 million). (https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/47830587/Securities_and_Exchange_Commission_v_Terraform_Labs_Pte_Ltd_et_al)

5/ The European Banking Authority (EBA) released a comprehensive package of technical standards and guidelines under MiCA, containing regulatory guidance for asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens across Europe. (https://www.eba.europa.eu/publications-and-media/press-releases/eba-publishes-regulatory-products-under-markets-crypto-assets-regulation)

6/ On June 4, 2024, Spain's data protection agency restricted Worldcoin's activities in the country until the end of 2024. (https://www.aepd.es/prensa-y-comunicacion/notas-de-prensa/worldcoin-se-compromete-paralizar-su-actividad-en-espana)

7/ The US Navy presented the blockchain technology PARANOID to protect software from cyberattacks. (https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fd2vrpothuwvesb.cloudfront.net%2Fuploads%2Ftechops%2F9aa642f0-9b3b-4d0a-8a47-e1b65bb8c356%2Fattachments%2F11860995_file_PARANOID.pptx)

8/ Ripple Labs introduced the RLUSD stablecoin, backed by the US dollar. According to the release, the asset is expected to hit the market later in 2024.

2/ The American Securities Association sued the SEC for lack of transparency in enforcement actions. This was triggered by $3 billion in fines imposed on 16 different companies. (https://a23bc45c-4554-4d0e-a03d-124f54b031fc.usrfiles.com/ugd/a23bc4_671a70eb2d834fdc94c763e1cf795009.pdf)