White House
CTFC looks at expanded authority to regulate crypto, for less than a 10% budget increase
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has released its Fiscal Year 2023 (FY2023) budget request, seeking $365 million. This marks a 9.9% increase over the previous year and 20% over FY2021. The commission regulates the country’s derivatives market and has been increasingly active in recent years in policing financial products that incorporate cryptocurrencies. According to the agency’s request document, the CTFC focuses on digital asset custodian risk, ensuring secure storage, as well as on accounting. The agency has its own staff of certified public accountants due to the lack of guidance on digital asset accounting from sectoral oversight bodies. In addition, the agency ensures derivative clearing organizations “employ strong segregation of duty processes and proc...
White House office seeks public opinion on crypto-climate implications
The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), an Executive Office of the President of the United States, commenced a study to identify the scope for offsetting energy use and climate changes related to digital assets. On March 9, United States President Joe Biden signed an executive order, directing various federal agencies to examine implications of digital assets on six key areas — consumer and investor protection, financial stability, financial inclusion, responsible innovation, the United States’ global financial leadership and combating illicit financial activity. As a part of the initiative, the OSTP invited the general public and other stakeholders to share their viewpoints on various factors that contribute to the energy use and climate impacts of all types of digital a...
Crypto-related stocks jump in positive reaction to executive order
The stock prices of crypto-related companies have jumped as the broader market reacted positively to President Joe Biden’s long-awaited executive order requiring US federal agencies to create a regulatory framework for digital assets, as well as exploring a future digital dollar. Coinbase (COIN) surged, up 10.5% at market close, while shares in Bitcoin-evangelist Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy (MSTR) posted a 6.4% gain, according to TradingView. Blockchain-related exchanged-traded funds (ETFs) also enjoyed the markets’ renewed confidence in crypto, with ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) gaining 10% and Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BTF) closing up 10.3%. Cryptocurrency mining companies enjoyed the largest gains with Riot Blockchain Inc. (RIOT) shares up 11.2% and Marathon Digital Hold...
Biden to sign executive order on crypto, authorize all-government effort to consolidate regulation
Later today, U.S. President Joe Biden will sign a long-anticipated executive order on digital assets. Despite fears that the order may resound a regulatory clampdown on the industry, the language of the document is fairly favorable, the key focus being the coordination and consolidation of various agencies’ efforts within a unified national policy. The order designates six key areas of the federal government’s involvement with the digital asset ecosystem — consumer and investor protection, financial stability, financial inclusion, responsible innovation, the United States’ global financial leadership and combating illicit financial activity — and directs specific agencies to lead in designated policy and enforcement domains. The Department of the Treasury will take the lead in developing p...
President Biden Shares Snap With Billie Eilish and Finneas In The White House
President Biden spends his day-to-day rubbing shoulders with world leaders. And sometimes, leaders of the pop music world. The POTUS caught up with Billie Eilish and producer Finneas when the siblings stopped into Washington, D.C. during the early stages of the “Bad Guy” singer’s latest tour. To prove it, Biden posted a picture of himself at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, flanked by pop’s hottest famous siblings. “When I heard my friends Billie Eilish and Finneas were in town for a show, I knew I had to invite them over to the White House,” reads his post on Instagram. “Great to see you and your family — and I’m glad you got to meet Commander.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Eilish visited the capital on Feb. 9 for a concert at Capital One Arena, o...
White House on Spotify’s Joe Rogan Mess: ‘There Is More That Can Be Done’ to Inform Users
The White House is weighing in on the Spotfiy-Joe Rogan fiasco. White House press secretary Jen Psaski, in her daily press briefing, was asked by Politico’s Max Tani about Spotify’s decision to add content advisories to podcast episodes that discuss COVID-19 and related issues, such as vaccines. “This disclaimer, it’s a positive step, but we want every platform to be doing more to be calling out mis- and dis-information, while also uplifting accurate information,” Psaki said. “Ultimately, our view is that it is a positive step, but there is more that can be done.” Explore Explore Joe Rogan See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Our hope is that all major tech platforms, and all major news sources for that matter, be responsible and be vigilant to ensure the ...
White House on Spotify’s Joe Rogan Mess: ‘There Is More That Can Be Done’ to Inform Users
The White House is weighing in on the Spotfiy-Joe Rogan fiasco. White House press secretary Jen Psaski, in her daily press briefing, was asked by Politico’s Max Tani about Spotify’s decision to add content advisories to podcast episodes that discuss COVID-19 and related issues, such as vaccines. “This disclaimer, it’s a positive step, but we want every platform to be doing more to be calling out mis- and dis-information, while also uplifting accurate information,” Psaki said. “Ultimately, our view is that it is a positive step, but there is more that can be done.” Explore Explore Joe Rogan See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Our hope is that all major tech platforms, and all major news sources for that matter, be responsible and be vigilant to ensure the ...
President Biden sends CFTC nominations to Senate
The White House has officially submitted President Joe Biden’s nominations to fill two seats at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission with the upcoming departure of another commissioner. In a Friday announcement, the White House said it had sent Citi managing director Caroline Pham’s and Summer Mersinger’s names to the Senate for confirmation. Mersinger previously served as chief of staff to commissioner Dawn Stump — who is expected to leave the agency this year — as well as the director of the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs. She and Pham will be taking the places of recently departed commissioner Dan Berkovitz, whose term expires in April 2023, and that of Stump, with a term ending in April 2027, respectively. The CFTC nominations came the same week the White House...
Camila Cabello Heats the White House With ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’ Performance: Watch
Mariah is the Queen, and Ariana the Princess of Christmas. Just maybe, Camila Cabello is the Lady of the Holidays. The “Havana” singer brought some Latin spirit to the halls of power Tuesday night (Dec. 21), for In Performance at the White House. Dressed in all-red, complete with arm-length red leather gloves, Cabello stopped by for a sultry performance of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” backed with Mariachi Herencia de Mexico. The annual special beamed out on PBS with performances by Andrea Bocelli, Eric Church, Jonas Brothers, Norah Jones, Pentatonix and others. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Jennifer Garner hosted the hour-long show, produced by WETA Washington, D.C., the flagship public broadcaster in the capital, in association with Ken Ehrlich Productions, Inc. Watch here a...
Jonas Brothers Enlist Joe Biden for White House Recreation of Viral ‘Joe Byron’ TikTok Video: Watch
Jonas Brothers are chiming in on TikTok’s latest viral video trend. On Friday (Dec. 17), Kevin, Nick and Joe Jonas visited the White House and filmed a presidential TikTok with snippets from Sidetalk’s Coney Island Ski Club and Coney Island’s Finest videos on YouTube, which went viral on TikTok in September and aided in popularizing the slang term “bing bong.” The video had a special cameo from Joe Biden himself. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Nick, Joe and Kevin are seen in the video engaging in shenanigans around several rooms within the White House as audio from the now-infamous TikTok sound plays. “Bing Bong! Are you vaccinated? Yes sir. Ey yo!” the brothers take turns saying in the short clip. Nick then asks the video’s important question...
Kremlin Papers Seemingly Point To Putin Plot To Land Donald Trump In White House
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Bloomberg / Getty The Kremlin, best known as the seat of the governing body of Russia, has famously kept its secrets away from the public with vault-like efficiency. However, leaked papers are suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin endorsed a plot to place former President Donald Trump in the White House in 2016. The Guardian reports that the Kremlin documents appear to show that Putin authorized a top-secret spy operation to push Trump ahead in the 2016 presidential election during a closed session of Russian’s national security council. The meeting took place on January 22, 2016, well ahead of the November elections, and was attended by a gathering of Putin’s top intelligence leaders and senior staffers. In the meeting, Trump was referred to a...
Cuba blames unrest on U.S. interference as Joe Biden backs protests
Cuba blamed historic protests that took place over the weekend on U.S. “economic asphyxiation” and social media campaigns by a minority of U.S.-financed counter-revolutionaries, while U.S. President Joe Biden said he stood with the Cuban people. The streets of Havana were quiet on Monday, although there was a heavy police presence. Outages in mobile internet – the only way many Cubans have of accessing the web – were frequent. Chanting “freedom” and calling for President Miguel Diaz-Canel to step down, thousands of Cubans joined street protests here from Havana to Santiago on Sunday in the biggest anti-government demonstrations on the Communist-run island in decades. At least 80 protesters, activists, and independent journalists had been detained nationwide since Sunday, according to exile...
