Circle attempts IPO
In advance of an expected initial public offering (IPO) by Circle, which is the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, financial publication Barron’s says it has reviewed documents showing the SEC has “signaled unease about the [Circle’s] core product, a stablecoin, and raised other concerns.”
Barron’s obtained the information via “a public records request for information related to Circle’s attempted SPAC merger [in 2021]. The records include correspondence between the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance and Circle.” In addition to disclosure concerns (that the USDC stablecoin could be a security) expressed by the SEC at the time, the regulator “also had heightened concerns about whether Circle should be considered an ‘investment company’ and go through a different registration process.” Read more (subscription).
more tips:
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- Circle’s Stablecoin to Benefit From EU Rule Shift, Analyst Says – Bloomberg
what you should know: If Circle can make it through the gauntlet of the registration process, having access to the public markets and driving investment in innovative crypto-related products would appear to be a huge potential benefit to the industry – let alone Circle.
number go way up
Bernstein predicts spot Bitcoin ETFs near approval at major wirehouses; maintains $200,000 target by 2025 end – The Block
FDIC Chair Goldsmith Romero
Punchbowl News says that both sides of the debate are taking shape over whether Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero will the next chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation succeeding Martin Gruenberg.
Senate Banking Chair Sherrod Brown (D, OH) tells Punchbowl he’s going to make the nom happen “as fast as we can make it happen,” Meanwhile, Senate Banking Committee member Senator Bill Hagerty (R, TN) isn’t so hot on the nom. According to Punchbowl, Hagerty said, “he was ‘shocked the Biden administration would put forward somebody with no banking experience and no managerial experience at a time when we need to get this agency back on track.'” Read more.
what you should know: The FDIC Chair role matters to digital assets as policymakers merge traditional and blockchain-infused financial considerations.
quietly withdrawing SAB 121
Cosmo Jiang and Erik Lowe, analysts at crypto venture firm Pantera Capital, postulate in a research note that President Joe Biden was unwilling to sign off on the resolution rescinding the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121) because he didn’t want to embarrass SEC Chair Gary Gensler. The analysts say, “Biden is choosing instead to take the quieter path of asking the SEC to change the rule on their own.” Read more on DL News.
what you should know: SEC Chair Gary Gensler pulling SAB 121 may seem unthinkable, but so did an approved Bitcoin ETF and partially approved ETH ETF by the Gensler-led Commission in the not-too-distant past.
tokenizing treasuries
“Moody’s Ratings has granted an ‘A-bf’ bond fund rating to [British Virgin Islands-based] Hill Lights International Limited, responsible for the issuance of OpenEden’s tokenized United States Treasury bills, known as TBILL Tokens…” – read more in Cointelegraph
the crypto investor (voter)
A new study from Bank of America’s Private Bank group may speak to the identity of many crypto voters. “Younger investors are shifting their allocations. Alternative investments and crypto comprise 31% of younger investors’ portfolios, compared to only 6% for older investors, ” reports Fast Company on the Bank of America data. Read the article.
Just 15 years ago, the crypto category didn’t even exist.
Ledger Insights covers the same Bank of America study and observes this nugget: “The figures are particularly important because there’s expected to be an $84 trillion intergenerational wealth transfer through 2045.” That’s a lotta Dogecoin.
more tips:
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- 3 standout trends from the 2024 Study of Wealthy Americans – Bank of America Private Bank
what you should know: Consumer protection advocates may bump up against a generation which prefers greater risk.
still more tips
Jump Crypto Adds $10M to Industry’s U.S. Political War Chest, Raising PAC to $169M – CoinDesk
SEC drops investigation into Ethereum studio Consensys – Blockworks
Crypto Collective Hector DAO Files U.S. Bankruptcy to Stave Off Lawsuit – The Wall Street Journal