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now leaving the country
Is this the next step to leaving the United States? Cryptocurrency platform Coinbase continues full-steam ahead with its global product plans as the company announced Coinbase International Exchange. Read the details on the Coinbase blog.
The company says the newly-announced futures product is already in motion, “Coinbase International Exchange listed BTC and ETH perpetual futures contracts earlier today. All trading is settled in USDC; no fiat on-ramps required. The contracts initially offer up to 5x leverage. Direct access trading via API is available to institutional clients in eligible, non-US jurisdictions.
The company will be using Bermuda and its regulatory framework to facilitate international trading (no U.S.) as The Block notes that Coinbase and fellow competitor Gemini (see their news yesterday) are busy filling the international void left by FTX implosion in the perpetual futures space. Read more.
Coinbase just received a license in Bermuda two weeks ago.
more tips:
One effect of the news – and not lost on Coinbase – is the pressure a non-U.S. launch puts on U.S. regulators and Congress as innovative U.S. companies move abroad amid regulatory dysfunction. Expect more Coinbase openings internationally.
DAME it
The Biden Administration is proposing an exorbitant, new tax to reign in crypto mining according to a new blog post yesterday from the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors. Titled “The DAME Tax: Making Cryptominers Pay for Costs They Impose on Others,” the Council post explains that the Digital Asset Mining Energy (DAME) excise tax would impose on miners “a tax equal to 30 percent of the cost of the electricity they use in cryptomining” and would raise $3.5 billion in new revenue over 10 years. Read the post.
CoinDesk’s Jesse Hamilton notes that the crypto mining tax is a follow-up to a budget proposal made in early March and represents “an unusual industry-specific penalty that could threaten the profits of such businesses.” Read it.
no joke politics
Speaking to Crypto Council of Innovation CEO Sheila Warren at the Milken Institute Global Conference, Politico reviews the how the court system may increasingly playing a role in a framework for digital assets. Warren says, “The bigger picture – outside of our industry – is we are at a time where we’re wrestling with questions about administrative and executive authority, and executive branch oversight and authority.” Read more.
She concludes hopefully about Congress, “A lot of folks understand this space better than they did a year ago, a lot of things are changing. But the politics are no joke.”
DOJ bust
In what the Department of Justice (DOJ) is calling the “Largest International Operation Against Darknet Trafficking of Fentanyl and Opioids,” the traceable nature of cryptocurrency apparently played a role. In the press release, Chief Jim Lee of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) discussed the global “umbrella” of law enforcement agencies who took part in the operation and added, “Our team at IRS-CI plays an integral role in these investigations by following the money trail, whether it’s in fiat currency or digital assets on the blockchain.” Read more. It’s this type of operation where companies such as blockchain analytics firms Chainalysis, TRM Labs and Elliptic are used. Read more about “operation SpecTor” on BleepingComputer here.
more tips:
The Wall Street Journal covers Attorney General Merrick Garland‘s press conference about the seizure and what the DOJ says is the “Biden administration strategy to curtail crypto-fueled crime.” Read it.
use case – hotel
Ledger Insights reports that a hotel in Japan is now using tokens on the Progmat blockchain to facilitate its business.
Part of its functionality: “The attached utility tokens can only be exchanged for souvenirs on-site at the hotel up to a value of Yen 1,930 ($14), encouraging securities owners to visit and use the hotel.” And that’s not all.
use case – tickets
Media companies are continuing to dabble with non-fungible tokens (NFTs), i.e. digital collectibles, as Sports Illustrated announced its new “NFT Ticketing Platform” via Layer 1 blockchain Polygon. The idea is that for every event ticket you purchase, “Box Office of SI Tickets” as it is known, may be providing you an NFT and related experiences. The press release “promises that event promoters and “attendees have access to an advanced ticketing experience that transforms the antiquated barcode into engaging and collectible content.” ConsenSyS is a technology partner here. Read more.
Sports Illustrated is owned by Authentic Brands Group and Maven.
still more tips
Bottom Line: Crypto giant Binance adds more lobbyists – The Hill
Blur NFT lending protocol gets mixed reactions from the community – CoinTelegraph
DeFi on Bitcoin? Trustless Computer Says Yes – Blockworks
FDIC hits Fort Lee bank (Cross River Bank) with cease and desist order, cites ‘unsound banking practices’ – NorthJersey.com
Crypto startup Tristero sets out to build autonomous dark pools – Axios
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