Tag: SEC

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.

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

SEC’s Chairman Gensler Faces Congressional Grilling Over Crypto Oversight

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Nina Bambysheva. (Forbes). September 24, 2024.

In a highly anticipated Congressional hearing today, U.S. Securities and Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler and his fellow commissioners faced intense scrutiny over the agency’s handling of digital asset regulation.

For the first time since 2019, all five commissioners including Caroline Crenshaw, Hester Peirce, Jaime Lizárraga, and Mark Uyeda testified together before the House Financial Services Committee. The hearing laid bare the growing tension surrounding the SEC’s oversight of cryptocurrencies, which critics argue has become overreaching and legally ambiguous.

Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry, a Republican from North Carolina, wasted no time in setting the tone, calling out Gensler for what he sees as regulatory overreach. “Chair Gensler’s legacy will be defined by turning the once proud institution of the SEC into a rogue agency,” McHenry said, accusing the SEC of enforcing regulations “often without adequate justification, economic analysis, or public engagement.” The SEC’s heavy-handed approach has targeted a broad range of U.S. crypto companies—from exchanges like Coinbase to decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms like Uniswap and NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea.

Read the full piece here: Forbes.

The ‘Crypto Moment’ Is Much Closer, But Pay Attention to the Real Value

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By R.A. Moss (RealClear Markets). September 13, 2024.

The rising competition between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris over the support of the cryptocurrency industry initially sent the price of Bitcoin surging and reignited hopes of a crypto bull run—but the optimism was short lived. Global markets have once again injected volatility in Bitcoin and other digital assets along with stock market averages. The key difference between the S&P and crypto, however, is that token price volatility is not the best indicator of a technology or an industry only now emerging from its infancy.

Bitcoin’s current fluctuation tells a different story today than it might have several years ago. The crypto industry’s newly-found market acceptance and political maturity have sped up the technology’s regulatory clarity. Future value won’t be indicated by token prices, but rather the solutions these innovative companies provide with their coins’ utility.

Read the full piece here: RealClear Markets.

Gary Gensler Under Fire for Alleged Political Favoritism in SEC Appointments

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By Vismaya V. (DeCrypt). September 12, 2024.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler has come under fire for allegedly hiring civil servants based on political affiliations—a violation of federal law.

The allegations come from a joint letter sent by the House Judiciary, Financial Services, and Oversight Committees. While the allegations don’t appear to overlap with crypto enforcement actions from the regulator, they do arrive at a time when firing Gensler has become one of Republican nominee Donald Trump’s campaign promises as he runs for re-election.

The letter, signed by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC), and Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY), calls into question the appointment of Dr. Haoxiang Zhu as SEC Director of Trading and Markets.

Read more here: DeCrypt.

Ripple Gets OK To Pause SEC Penalty As It Mulls Appeal

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By Aislinn Keely. (Law360). September 4, 2024.

Law360 (September 4, 2024, 9:34 PM EDT) — A New York federal judge on Wednesday signed off on Ripple Labs’ request to hold off on paying the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission the $125 million penalty it owes to allow time for either side to appeal the landmark ruling in the agency’s registration case.

The blockchain firm asked U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres earlier Wednesday to delay the monetary portion of her Aug. 7 judgment, which directed Ripple to pay the penalty for failing to register institutional sales of its XRP token. Though Ripple was due to pay up on Friday, Judge Torres allowed a stay until either 30 days after the time to appeal expires, or the resolution of any appeal. 

Read more at: Law360

Does Harris Have A Plan For US Crypto And Blockchain Industries?

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By Daniel Ikenson. (Forbes). August 21, 2024.

Two seismic events in 2024 may prove beneficial to investors in blockchain applications and the future of technology innovation in the United States. First, the Supreme Court’s overruling the 40-year-old “Chevron Doctrine” marks the beginning of a process that will restore greater clarity and consistency to the regulatory environment. Second, Vice President Kamala Harris’s rise to the top of the Democratic ticket provides fresh opportunities for her and her party and to fully grasp the importance and vitality of these industries to the U.S. economy and establish, reset, and cultivate relationships with its superlative entrepreneurs and innovators.

Cryptocurrencies and other blockchain technologies have weathered a long period of regulatory uncertainty (and persecution), which has had the effect of stunting innovation and chasing investment dollars to more welcoming foreign shores. Fortunately, in 2024, there has been increasing bipartisan receptivity to the conclusion that these industries have been unfairly demonized by certain regulator and politicians, but should be nurtured instead. Democrats must build on their small, but laudable, legislative efforts this year to provide blockchain innovators the regulatory and legal clarity to develop their networks and expand their research. If the blockchain economy is permitted to grow to its full potential, the benefits to the U.S. economy will be sizeable.

Read the full piece here: Forbes.

Court Brings Gavel Down on SEC’s War on Crypto

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By Roslyn Layton. (DC Journal). August 20, 2024.

On August 8, Judge Analisa Torres of the U.S. Southern District of New York issued her judgment on the case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission against the blockchain payments company Ripple. 

In her 16-page order, Torres brought the District Court’s gavel down on the SEC’s spectacular failure to expand the administrative state beyond what the law allows. The SEC should read the room and move on.

From the moment the SEC filed its case against Ripple in December 2020, the breadth and audacity of its legal assault on the company and its two senior executives rightly dubbed it the cryptocurrency trial of the century. The SEC argued that the XRP token, a digital commodity by any definition, was a security and that all XRP sales between any two parties are investment contracts with Ripple in perpetuity.

Read the full piece here: DC Journal.

Crypto Coins of Appreciation and Traffic Management Await

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By Daniel Conway. (Real Clear Markets). August 8, 2024.


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Crypto Coins of Appreciation and Traffic Management Await

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By Daniel Conway

August 08, 2024Crypto Coins of Appreciation and Traffic Management Await

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In 2011, engineers at John Deere were putting bitcoin wallets on tractors and implements (seeders and fertilizers), and every spin of the axel created a message on the controller area network (CAN bus), after which a small amount of bitcoin transferred to the implement’s wallet. The process of creating what was effectively a new payment system horrified the company’s internal accountants, but the fact that bitcoin had no apparent monetary value at the time somewhat assuaged their worries.

By 2016, the automotive standards group SAE (The Society of Automotive Engineers) began standards conversations regarding blockchain, and today most new automobiles have blockchains built in. This created a whole new range of possibilities: Today, a driver coming up behind a car wanting to make a pass can signal his intention by using a turn signal, honking, or getting aggressively close to the car. With blockchain, the cars can automatically execute a smart contract so that the faster vehicle can pay cryptocurrency to the slower vehicle to move aside, creating a cryptocurrency mechanism for virtual fast lanes. Ford holds this patent, incidentally. 

Read full article here: Real Clear Markets.