crypto ATM and NDAA
CoinDesk interviews Brandon Mintz, who is CEO of Atlanta-based Bitcoin ATM Operator, Bitcoin Depot, which has 20% market share. Mintz tells the crypto publication that the bitcoin ATM business is ripe for consolidation -and, that one of the reasons many companies fail, is a lack of compliance to existing regulations. Mintz tells CoinDesk, “My goal was always to create the strongest compliance program and hire really good compliance staff, including a compliance officer that I hired very early on in the business…” Read more.
In late July, Cato Institute did a comparison of the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) aspects of the bills from Senators Elizabeth Warren (D, MA) and Roger Marshall (R, KS) – S.2669 -as well as Senators Cynthia Lummis (R, WY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D, NY) – S.2281. In each of these bills are specific ATM provisions.
The latest KYC-AML “bill” from the Senate is the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) amendment from an alliance of the four Senators and includes ATM stipulations requiring complete disclosure of ATM usage. How the must-pass NDAA and this amendment shake out in negotiations with the House remains to be seen.
A sampling of the amendment shows the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to requiring “crypto asset kiosk owners and administrators to submit and update the physical addresses of the kiosks owned or operated by the owner or administrator, as applicable, once every 120 days and collect the name, date of birth, physical address, and phone number of each counterparty to a transaction…” See it on Congress.gov.
more tips:
Crypto ATM Number Net Changes – Coin ATM Radar
CBDCs and protecting banks
The Council for Economic Policy Research in Switzerland has published a new article provocatively titled, “Why the digital euro might be dead on arrival,” and warning about the creation of a European Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). See the article.
The major reason it won’t work according to the two Swiss professors who penned the piece: the current strategy for the digital euro “protects banks and their business model.”
The professors don’t pull any punches and conclude: “The advent of retail CBDC offers the opportunity to rethink the current monetary architecture and to re-evaluate these very features. However, rather than opting for a rethink, the [European Central Bank] seems to have decided to stick with the status quo. This is tantamount to sacrificing the digital euro on the altar of banking as we know it.”
Ledger Insights has a quick analysis of the piece here.
crypto counsel
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Kristin Johnson announced her new Chief Counsel yesterday, Tamika Bent. Bent joins from law firm Linklaters where she worked in the Financial Regulatory Group and advised on “new and evolving technologies and markets, with a focus on cryptocurrencies, tokenized securities, and voluntary carbon credits.” Read more.
She has also been a member of the New York City Bar Association’s Working Group on Cryptocurrency and the UCC.
startup signal: not U.S.
It’s not a huge number in venture investment terms but it could be another signal in offshore crypto investment trends. Jump Crypto has led a gaggle of investors in a new round for Hong-Kong based startup Xverse which is creating a “Bitcoin wallet.” Bitcoin Magazine reports that “since the emergence of Ordinals, Xverse has solidified its position as a premier gateway, boasting seamless integration with industry titans like OKX and Magic Eden.” Read more.
podcast on crypto, securities
Former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) attorney Karen Ubell, now with law firm Goodwin Procter, discusses the Howey Test, misconceptions on Judge Analisa Torres’ ruling about Ripple and much more in an Overpriced JPEGs podcast with Carly Reilly. The provides a good primer on crypto questions like, “What is a security? No, really.” Listen here and learn more about the basis of today’s U.S. regulatory wars.
more tips:
Everything You Need To Know About the SEC vs. Ripple Lawsuit: Podcast Ep. 68 – Chainalysis
see more tips
Bitcoin, Crypto, and the 2024 US Presidential Election – Grayscale
France updates crypto regulations in light of MiCA – Blockworks
Crypto Asset Trading Platform Bittrex (which is bankrupt) and Former CEO to Settle SEC Charges for Operating an Unregistered Exchange, Broker, and Clearing Agency – SEC.gov
Circle CEO Urges Industry to Keep Dollar Stablecoins ‘On Shore’ – Decrypt