SEC
‘Game yet to begin’ for security token offerings, INX exec says
Despite some of the first security token offerings (STO) launching at least four years ago, the STO industry is still yet to take off, according to an executive at the INX cryptocurrency trading platform. The STO industry is still nascent compared to the overall digital asset industry as companies and individuals are just getting into the field, INX’s chief business officer Douglas Borthwick said in an interview with Cointelegraph. According to Borthwick, there is still a huge educational gap between those who are aware of STOs and those who have never heard of the term. Also known as a tokenized initial public offering (IPO), an STO is a type of public offering involving sales of tokenized digital securities, or security tokens, on security token exchanges. Security tokens can be used to ...
Tesla reports $64M profit from Bitcoin sale
Tesla’s decision to offload most of its Bitcoin (BTC) treasuries netted the company a hefty profit in the second quarter, even as crypto prices plunged into a bear market. In the first six months of 2022, Tesla recorded $170 million of impairment losses “resulting from changes to the carrying value” of its Bitcoin holdings, according to an official Form 10-Q filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. After selling 75% of its BTC stash for dollars in the second quarter, the company netted a realized gain of $64 million. In finance, an impairment loss occurs when the fair value of an asset held by a company falls below the carrying value of the investment. If you sell 75% of your bitcoin, you will only have 25% of your #bitcoin left. — Michael Saylor⚡&#x...
The lasting agony of 3AC: Law Decoded, July 18-25
The late spring and summer months of 2022 would be remembered not only for their extreme temperatures across the globe but also for a crushing streak of large crypto companies falling apart. Terra Lab in May, Celsius in June and now, the lasting agony of a Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC). Technically, 3AC was ordered for liquidation by a court in the British Virgin Islands on June 27, but it was last week, which has seen some further developments around the firm. The liquidators of 3AC are brutally demanding access to the company’s Singapore headquarters due to the “virtual radio silence from the management/directors of the Company.” They believe the office may contain cold wallets or information on how to access 3AC trading accounts, which the liquidator...
SEC listing 9 tokens as securities in insider trading case ‘could have broad implications’ — CFTC
Caroline Pham, one of five commissioners with the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has expressed concerns about the possible implications of a case the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, brought against a former product manager at Coinbase. In a Thursday statement, Pham said the SEC complaint against former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi, his brother Nikhil Wahi and associate Sameer Ramani “could have broad implications” beyond the case, given its labeling nine tokens as “crypto asset securities” falling under regulatory body’s purview. The complaint alleged that the Wahis and Ramani engaged in insider trading by using confidential information Ishan obtained from Coinbase with regard to which tokens would be listed on the exchange, in ord...
US lawmaker criticizes SEC enforcement director for not going after ‘big fish’ crypto exchanges
Brad Sherman, the congressperson who previously called for banning cryptocurrencies in the United States, criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approach to enforcement among major crypto exchanges. In a Tuesday hearing before the House Committee on Financial Services, Sherman said SEC enforcement director Gurbir Grewal needed to show “fortitude and courage” when pursuing securities cases against cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States. The lawmaker added that the SEC enforcement division had “gone after” XRP as a security, but not the crypto exchanges that processed “tens of thousands” transactions of the token. “If XRP is a security — and you think it is, and I think it is, why are these crypto exchanges not in violation of law and is it enough that the crypto ex...
SEC dismisses claims against John McAfee, fines accomplice for ICO promo
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) obtained the final judgment for an initial coin offering (ICO) promotion scheme against late entrepreneur John McAfee and accomplice Jimmy Gale Watson, Jr., filed on October 5, 2020. In the original complaint, the SEC alleged that McAfee and Watson promoted ICO investments on Twitter without disclosing that they were paid for them. Watson allegedly assisted McAfee in negotiating promotional deals with ICO issuers and cashing out the crypto payments, among other pump-and-dump charges. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found Watson guilty of violating the law and imposed a cumulative fine of $375,934.86. In addition, Watson has been barred from participating in ICO-related issuance, purchase, offer o...
SEC commissioner Allison Lee departs, readying financial regulator for Jaime Lizárraga
Allison Herren Lee, one of five members of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s board, has officially left the regulatory body after more than three years as a commissioner. In a Friday announcement, chair Gary Gensler and commissioners Hester Peirce, Mark Uyeda, and Caroline Crenshaw said Lee had left the SEC, where in 2005 she started as a staff attorney at the agency’s enforcement division at a regional office in Denver. She moved on to be appointed a commissioner in 2019 under the former presidential administration, and later served as acting chair to the regulatory body for three months, until Gensler’s confirmation in April 2021. “Commissioner Lee has been a stalwart advocate for strong and stable markets, including by emphasizing the need for market participants to...
Crypto Biz: 3AC’s founders are nowhere to be found
In the world of crypto, there’s no such thing as “too big to fail.” Three Arrows Capital, once the most recognizable hedge fund in the industry, has essentially gone belly-up after its founders believed their own hype and decided to go full-degen mode during the worst macro climate of a generation. Since the proverbial shit hit the fan last month, founders Kyle Davies and Su Zhu have kept a very low profile. So low, in fact, that their whereabouts remain a mystery, according to court documents. This week’s Crypto Biz chronicles the latest developments surrounding Three Arrows Capital and explores Grayscale’s legal proceedings against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Liquidators can subpoena 3AC founders despite ‘tricky issues’ with crypto assets We may not ...
SEC extends window to decide on ARK 21Shares spot Bitcoin ETF to August
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has pushed the deadline to approve or disapprove ARK 21Shares’ Bitcoin exchange-traded fund to August 30. According to a Tuesday filing from the SEC, the regulatory body extended the deadline for approving or disapproving the ARK 21Shares spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF from July 16 for an additional 45 days, to August 30. The application, originally filed with the SEC in May and published for comment in the Federal Register on June 1, included a proposed rule change from the Chicago Board Options Exchange BZX Exchange. Ark Invest partnered with Europe-based ETF issuer 21Shares to file for a spot Bitcoin ETF listed on CBOE BZX Exchange in 2021, but the SEC rejected its application in April. Under current rules, the regulatory body is able to dela...
Not giving up: VanEck refiles with SEC for spot Bitcoin ETF
VanEck, one of the first firms in the world to ever file for a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF), is not giving up on its plans to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States. The firm has refiled an application for a physically-backed Bitcoin ETF with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Filed on June 24, VanEck’s latest Bitcoin ETF application comes months after the SEC rejected its previous spot Bitcoin ETF request on November 12, 2021. The securities regulator based its decision on the ETF on its alleged inability to meet standards to protect investors and the public interest as well as to “prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.” In the latest filing, VanEck provided a wide number of reasons for the SEC to approve a Bitcoin ETF this time. T...
MicroStrategy scoops up 480 Bitcoin amid market slump
Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy has added to its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings, reaffirming CEO Michael Saylor’s bullish outlook on the digital asset despite its recent struggles. In a Form 8-K filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Microstrategy disclosed that it had acquired an additional 480 BTC at an average price of roughly $20,817. The total purchase amount was $10 million in cash. With the purchase, MicroStrategy now holds 129,699 BTC, making it the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. The total value of its holdings is roughly $3.98 billion. MicroStrategy has purchased an additional 480 bitcoins for ~$10.0 million at an average price of ~$20,817 per #bitcoin. As of 6/28/22 @MicroStrategy holds ~129,699 bitcoins acquired for ~$3.98 billion at...
Not the best week for crypto lending: Law Decoded, June 20-27
Due to Celsius Network’s withdrawal suspension in mid-June, the very topic of crypto lending made its entryway to the acute issues list for the regulators. Last week, lawmakers and officials continued to raise the question of necessary action, with significant utterance belonging to one of the key European crypto skeptics, Christine Lagard. European Central Bank president got so impressed with the Celsius crisis that she coined the term “MiCa II,” referring to the main regulatory package for crypto in the European Union. Lagarde believes the new MiCa should include separate crypto-asset staking and lending guidelines. It’s not necessary to be a civil servant to discern the flaws of the current lending model, though. A hardcore Bitcoin (BTC) maximalist and Swan Bitcoin CEO...
