Law & Policy

What happened in the crypto industry last week (July 8-14)?

1/ The SEC has officially concluded its investigation into stablecoin issuer Paxos without recommending any enforcement actions. The company announced that it had successfully demonstrated compliance in its operations. Full details: https://paxos.com/blog/paxos-prevails-in-sec-investigation-of-busd-stablecoin-and-sec-will-not-pursue-enforcement-action/

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2/ The head of the CFTC stated that Bitcoin and Ethereum are commodities, not securities. This statement was supported by the 2022 Financial Stability Oversight Council report, which highlighted regulatory gaps in the "spot digital asset market" and called for resolution. Full report: https://cointelegraph.com/news/cftc-chair-bitcoin-ethereum-commodities-senate-testimony#:~:text=%D0%91%D0%B5%D1%85%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BC%20%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%81%D1%8F%20%D0%BD%D0%B0-,%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%82,-%D0%A1%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B0%20%D0%BF%D0%BE%20%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B7%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%83

3/ The German Federal Criminal Police's wallet, containing 49,859 BTC, was fully depleted after two weeks of active withdrawals, causing market turmoil. Wallet activity details:

4/ BitMEX pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement and maintain an adequate AML program. Full article:

4/ BitMEX pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement and maintain an adequate AML program. Full article: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/global-cryptocurrency-exchange-bitmex-pleads-guilty-bank-secrecy-act-offense

5/ Uniswap Labs has called on the SEC to reconsider its approach to regulating the DeFi sector, following the Supreme Court's elimination of the Chevron doctrine. Read the document:

5/ Uniswap Labs has called on the SEC to reconsider its approach to regulating the DeFi sector, following the Supreme Court's elimination of the Chevron doctrine. Read the document: https://blog.uniswap.org/wells-response-supplemental-comment-letter.pdf

6/ A New York judge has rejected Coinbase's request to subpoena SEC Chair Gary Gensler regarding personal correspondence related to the case. Full details:

6/ A New York judge has rejected Coinbase's request to subpoena SEC Chair Gary Gensler regarding personal correspondence related to the case. Full details: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.599908/gov.uscourts.nysd.599908.136.0.pdf

7/ After a three-year probe, the SEC has dropped its investigation into Hiro Systems, a developer of the Bitcoin Stacks Layer-2 blockchain, which raised $70 million from token sales between 2017 and 2019. Full details:

7/ After a three-year probe, the SEC has dropped its investigation into Hiro Systems, a developer of the Bitcoin Stacks Layer-2 blockchain, which raised $70 million from token sales between 2017 and 2019. Full details: https://cointelegraph.com/news/sec-drops-investigation-bitcoin-stacks-developer-hiro-filing

8/ The Lithuanian Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) fined cryptocurrency payment company Payeer €9.29 million (approximately $10 million USD) for AML violations and allowing clients to transfer funds to sanctioned banks. Full details:

8/ The Lithuanian Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) fined cryptocurrency payment company Payeer €9.29 million (approximately $10 million USD) for AML violations and allowing clients to transfer funds to sanctioned banks. Full details: https://fntt.lrv.lt/lt/naujienos/virtualiuju-valiutu-operatoriui-fntt-skyre-rekordine-beveik-93-mln-euru-bauda

3/ The German Federal Criminal Police's wallet, containing 49,859 BTC, was fully depleted after two weeks of active withdrawals, causing market turmoil. Wallet activity details: https://platform.arkhamintelligence.com/explorer/entity/germany