Category: News

Trump’s new SEC leadership poised to kick start crypto overhaul, sources say

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By Hannah Lang and Chris Prentice. (Reuters). January 15, 2025.

WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Top Republican officials at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are poised to begin overhauling the agency’s cryptocurrency policies potentially as early as next week when President-elect Donald Trump takes power, said three people briefed on the matter.

Among the measures commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda are weighing are initiating the process that would ultimately lead to guidance or rules clarifying when the agency considers a cryptocurrency to be a security, and reviewing some crypto enforcement cases pending in the courts, two of the people said.

Read more here: Reuters.

FDIC At A Crossroads: Debanking, Crypto, And The Fight For Reform

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By Tonya Evans. (Forbes). January 13, 2025.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), once a trusted pillar of financial stability, now finds itself navigating the turbulent waters of innovation and regulatory reform. Recent remarks by FDIC Vice Chairman Travis Hill have ignited fresh debates over the agency’s approach to financial inclusion, cryptocurrency, and what critics have dubbed “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.” This latest iteration of debanking practices—seemingly targeting the crypto industry—has resurfaced as a flashpoint in the broader struggle between traditional financial institutions and the burgeoning world of digital assets.

Read more here: Forbes.

Fairshake: Crypto Titans Use Old-School Dollars to Turn Tide in Congress

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By Jesse Hamilton. (CoinDesk). December 10, 2024.

Here’s the new political calculus for a U.S. congressional candidate: You nod to crypto and say you’re on the pro-innovation side, and chances are, a million dollars (or more) could drop from the sky to pay for TV spots that highlight your strengths or pillory your opponent.

In any of hundreds of lesser known districts of the House of Representatives, a few hundred thousand dollars tends to make or break a candidate. When the leading crypto-driven political action committee notices you, a massive influx of cash can pave your way straight to Congress. The Fairshake super PAC isn’t subtle. It’s nuclear. For a relatively small industry, Fairshake is the biggest corporate money player in U.S. politics. And it’s not close to hanging up its hat as the Nov. 5 elections recede into the past.

Read the full piece here: CoinDesk.

Patrick McHenry: The Lawmaker Who Built a Foundation for U.S. Crypto Legislation

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By Jesse Hamilton. (CoinDesk). December 10, 2024.

Patrick McHenry has spent much of his last two years in Congress on a long-shot quest to get a complex oversight regime for the crypto sector passed into law, and he failed. But failing in Congress isn’t always permanent.

McHenry, the outgoing Republican chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, embarked on an uphill battle in 2022 when he took on the cause of an industry that had just suffered widespread ruin and reputational devastation. He decided that digital assets regulation was a goal worth spending much of his political capital on, fighting a pitched battle across committees, parties and chambers of Congress to finally get his Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) onto the floor of the House of Representatives in May of 2024. 

Read the full piece here: Coindesk.

Ripple CEO criticizes 60 Minutes for not including info on XRP ruling

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By Turner Wright. (Cointelegraph). December 9, 2024.

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of blockchain payments firm Ripple Labs, took to social media to say certain information was “shockingly left out” of a 60 Minutes’ segment covering crypto’s role in the 2024 United States elections.

In a Dec. 8 X post, Garlinghouse said the news program had omitted information related to the US Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit against Ripple.

The 60 Minutes report with journalist Margaret Brennan covered Ripple’s role in funding the political action committee Fairshake, which poured millions of dollars into supporting pro-crypto candidates in the US election, and the SEC’s enforcement action against Ripple over the XRP token.

Read more here: Cointelegraph.

Bitnomial Suit Highlights Crypto Turf War Between SEC, CFTC

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By Professor Tonya Evans. (Law360). October 31. 2024.

Bitnomial Exchange LLC’s lawsuit[1] against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, filed on Oct. 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, signals a major shift as digital asset exchanges push back against regulatory overreach. Bitnomial is seeking a declaratory judgment to challenge the SEC’s expansive jurisdiction over digital assets, fighting for clear and legally sound rules that foster innovation rather than stifle it.

The commission’s enforcement strategy under SEC Chair Gary Gensler has created regulatory uncertainty. Gensler’s “regulation by enforcement” approach diverges from established securities law and risks weakening U.S. leadership in financial technology.

By filing suit, Bitnomial aims to expose the pitfalls in the SEC’s regulatory tactics, joining other exchanges in a broader legal effort to reshape the rules governing digital assets.

Read the full article here: Law360.

Gary Gensler Has to Go

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By Jared Whitley. (Townhall). October 12, 2024.

After 21 years with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), enforcement director Gurbir Grewal, has resigned. Why? The same day that Gary Gensler’s head of enforcement announced his resignation, the SEC appealed its most famous crypto enforcement action against Ripple, challenging the recent civil penalties ruling, prolonging the case even further. Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stu Alderoty took notice of the parallel moves, as Grewal’s resignation was announced a mere hour before the filing. 

Gensler is undoubtedly aware of his political fall from grace, if he were ever held in high regard. Indeed, Commissioner Hester Pierce dared to openly challenge his policies during the House hearing and Gensler’s hands began to visibly tremble throughout. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) asked Peirce if the SEC’s enforcement agenda “reflects the priorities of the commissioners as a whole,” or if it is “an extension of Chairman Gensler’s agenda?” Peirce was blunt: “The agenda is the chairman’s agenda,” and that there are “other things we should be spending our time on.” 

There is no clearer example of Gensler’s muddled agenda than the prolonged litigation battle between the SEC and the U.S. crypto payments company Ripple. The SEC made over-the-top legal allegations as a proxy fight against the entire crypto industry and has dragged the case out for almost four years (and counting) in a naked attempt to bulldoze the company’s business. The case centered on Ripple’s sales of the XRP token to a variety of buyers, including anonymous trades on public exchanges.

Read the full piece here: Townhall.

The Next U.S. President Won’t Define Crypto’s Future, Congress Will

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By Tonya Evans. (Forbes). October 1, 2024.

The national conversation around cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, and U.S. innovation leadership has centered on the White House this election cycle. Presidential candidates Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have both made notable shifts regarding this emerging industry of financial technology. Harris has pivoted from President Biden’s antagonistic approach, led by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and prudential regulators, to a more pro-innovation tone focused on blockchain and digital assets. These technologies, she claims, are crucial to her “Opportunity Economy,” aimed at empowering middle-class families and small businesses.

Meanwhile, Trump, who once called bitcoin a “scam,” now vows to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet” and pledges to fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler (the head of an independent agency who can only be removed for cause) on his first day in office. Although these promises grab attention, the reality is that the President’s influence over the future of digital assets is limited. It is Congress that holds the real power to shape the regulatory framework for crypto.

Read the full piece from Dr. Tonya Evans here: Forbes

Democrats Must Seize the Chance to Change Crypto Narrative

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By Al Wynn. (RealClear Policy). September 27, 2024.

In politics, a lot can change in a month. After the first presidential debate, Trump and the Republicans appeared to have significant momentum heading into November. Now, Vice-President Kamala Harris, buttressed by her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, can pave a new path forward for the party. Walz’s selection underscores the Harris campaign’s intention to fight for every state and every constituency. As we inch closer and closer to November, the presidential campaigns need all the wins they can get. Harris would do well to reflect on and court the voters who may feel abandoned by the larger party’s approach to certain industries and issues.

One of the many surprises of this election cycle is the emergence of new power players and the constituencies they represent—namely the cryptocurrency industry. Touting freedom of choice as an important aspect of her platform, that sentiment should extend to financial freedom, and with it, the pursuit of financial innovation. The Democratic National Convention has come and gone without much tangible change in the race. Now is the time for Harris to turn the page on crypto for the Democratic party as it becomes a larger part of all our economic and technological futures.

Read the full piece here: RealClear Policy

Kamala Harris says she will support crypto: Here are 3 steps that would show she’s serious

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Tonya Evans. (Fortune). September 25, 2024.

At a fundraiser in New York City on September 22, Vice President Kamala Harris took a significant step by publicly expressing her support for emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, according to a report in Bloomberg. “We will encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets, while protecting our consumers and investors,” she said at the Cipriani Wall Street event, helping to raise $27 million.

For the first time as the Democratic nominee, Harris offered a glimpse into how her administration might approach digital assets. While her comments signal a promising proof of pivot, six weeks into her campaign, there is a growing urgency to address the concerns of pro-crypto voters. This demographic—especially the younger, politically energized, pro-crypto population—has been skeptical, if not outright alienated, by the current administration’s approach.

What these young voters are looking for is not just clarity on bitcoin but a comprehensive legal structure for all digital assets. They are also aware that former President Trump has made significant overtures to the crypto industry, particularly by appealing to Bitcoin maximalists.

Read the full piece here: Fortune.