The CoinDesk policy team is scattered throughout the world; in the final edition of this newsletter, each member explains what they’re watching in 2024 in the world of crypto regulations. Happy holidays, and we’ll see you next year!
SEC Chair Gary Gensler: ‘Far Too Many Frauds and Bankruptcies’
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to speak with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, recognized by CoinDesk as one of the most influential figures in the crypto industry over the past year, about how he views his agency’s role in the digital asset world.
In Search of the Elusive Crypto Voter
On Monday, a New Hampshire state representative asked a mostly-filled room at an industry campaign event to raise their hands if they were visiting from another state. More than half the people in the room raised their hands. These visitors had come to hear from industry representatives, state lawmakers and – perhaps most importantly – three presidential candidates talk about the upcoming election.
In Search of the Elusive Crypto Voter
On Monday, a New Hampshire state representative asked a mostly-filled room at an industry campaign event to raise their hands if they were visiting from another state. More than half the people in the room raised their hands. These visitors had come to hear from industry representatives, state lawmakers and – perhaps most importantly – three presidential candidates talk about the upcoming election.
The Most Influential Folks in Crypto Regulations
CoinDesk published its annual Most Influential list (it’s not a ranking, except for the top 10 being maybe more influential than the other 40). I wrote a few pieces (I had nothing to do with the art and didn’t know about it when I wrote the pieces), as did my CoinDesk reg team colleagues, but I wanted to take a minute to recognize other influential figures who we may see pop up again. This is not meant to be a comprehensive or objective list; just a recognition of some of the folks whose work I’ve paid attention to this year.
Binance’s Future and Other Questions Post-Settlement
Binance is paying literally billions of dollars and giving the U.S. government unfettered access to its books, while its founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao is looking at maybe a year and a half in federal prison. But Binance the exchange is still operating, while federal prosecutors are admitting in court filings that CZ still has most of his money.
Binance’s Busy Day, Kraken’s Second SEC Fight
Binance is paying one of the largest fines in corporate history to the U.S. Department of Justice, while its founder and CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, stepped down from his role running the platform as part of a settlement with multiple federal agencies. Meanwhile, Kraken is facing a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that echoes the SEC’s previous wave of suits.
Delaware, We Need to Talk
Some sectors of the crypto industry were excited (and/or confused) by an apparent BlackRock XRP Trust filing in the state of Delaware, suggesting the massive asset manager may try to launch an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) after applying to launch bitcoin and ether ETFs. But, this filing was “false.”
The Crypto Industry Responded to the IRS Proposed Broker Rule
The U.S. Treasury Department and IRS are poised to bring fresh crypto tax reporting rules into effect. The crypto industry largely seems opposed – the majority of comments I read urged caution or raised concerns about the proposal as written while only a relative few seemed to support it.
Sam Bankman-Fried Needs Better Answers on the Stand
There was a moment on Monday where an assistant U.S. attorney needed to ask FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried if he was the chairman and sole board member of Alameda Research, while showing him a document that he signed, which literally identified him as the chairman and sole board member. And Sam’s response was he did not intend to be, which curiously enough, was not the question actually asked.
Catching Up on a Lot of Stuff
I poked my head out of the Sam Bankman-Fried trial just long enough for my entire panel of House lawmakers at CoinDesk’s policy event in Washington, D.C. to cancel, leading to a very impromptu session instead. Unfortunately that’s not enough time to really dig into any of the things that’s happened over the past month so here’s a brief list of things I missed instead.
What’s Holding Crypto Back? It’s the Founders, Not Just Regulators
The Sam Bankman-Fried Trial Is Revealing Crypto’s Amateur-Hour Ways
Paradigm, BlockFi, Genesis and other companies did not have access to audited financial statements prior to investing or loaning billions to FTX, FTX.US. and Alameda Research, according to testimonies given in the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried. Rather, these investors and lenders looked at unaudited financial statements and spoke with the executives at these companies to determine critical pieces of information like FTX’s cash flow, its liabilities, its current assets and net asset value.
Key Points From the Sam Bankman-Fried Trial’s First Week
It’s been less than a week since the federal government’s trial against FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried began, but we’ve already heard from an FTX co-founder, a former developer, a customer and an investor.
There’s a Lot of Thefts Happening
TKTK
Crypto Wants a De Minimis Tax Exemption in the U.S.
The leaders of the Senate Finance Committee, Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) published an open letter in July asking the crypto industry to weigh in on crypto tax issues, including loans, staking, mining, constructive sales and wash trading. These comments were due earlier this month.
Sam Bankman-Fried Remains Stuck in Jail
Sam Bankman-Fried lost a bid to be released from jail ahead of his trial next month. All hope isn’t lost for him, but time is running out for the FTX founder.
Looking at Uniswap and Crypto’s New Favorite Ruling
A ruling dismissing a putative class action lawsuit against Uniswap will almost definitely come up again in other lawsuits involving securities law and crypto entities.
Tornado Cash Indictments May Prove to Be Just a Localized Storm After All
The Tornado Cash indictments could be another tipping point for crypto. How the case plays out could define how the federal government can deal with decentralized trading platforms if they’re seen as broad precedents. But the case may be much more straightforward than initial reactions suggested.
