blockchain tipsheet

Prometheum – investigation

Senator Tommy Tuberville (R, AL) and 5 Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives alleged yesterday that Prometheum co-founder and CEO Aaron Kaplan may have “provided false testimony” in front of a House Financial Services (HFS) Committee hearing on digital assets on June 13.

In a Congressional letter (see it here – PDF) addressed to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, the Congressional group asks for an investigation into whether or not a China-based investor named Shanghai Wangxiang Blockchain, Inc., was still supporting Prometheum well beyond the end of the 2019 time period Kaplan had suggested in written HFS testimony on June 13. “Wangxiang” as it is known is believed to have connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The Congressional Members point to Prometheum’s SEC filings which admit to Wangxiang’s continued involvement with the company’s platform beyond 2019.

CoinDesk notes that Wangxiang has a 20% stake in Prometheum today which Kaplan has admitted previously to the SEC.

FINRA, The FBI and the Director of National Intelligence are all cc’d on yesterday’s letter.

more tips:

(Opinion) U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville: It’s past time for the DOJ and the SEC to investigate Prometheum’s ties to China – 1819 News
Continue reading “Republicans Request Prometheum Investigation; Bipartisan Support Grows?”

getting swallowed

In another story inspired by recent Bitcoin Spot ETF filings such as BlackRock’s, traditional finance is stepping up its interest in crypto. Matthew Sigel, a digital assets researcher at fund manager VanEck, tells The Washington Post, “Assets often move from weak hands to strong hands during bear markets. We think that’s what is happening in crypto. A lot of losses last year were taken by retail or immature players, and now here come the big boys” of traditional finance. Crypto pledged to dethrone Wall Street. It’s getting swallowed instead.” Read more.

Little hope is given to companies like Coinbase in the article.

former Chairs framework

In an op-ed on Friday hopefully titled, “A Path Forward for Regulating Crypto Markets,” former Republican Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Jay Clayton, a Republican, and former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Timothy Massad, a Democrat, combine forces to provide their own solution for a digital assets regulatory framework. Continue reading “Former SEC And CFTC Chairs On Digital Assets; How Big Is The Crypto Industry?”

distributed ledger finance

A new report is out from a group of U.S. financial services companies –  such as Citigroup Inc., HSBC, BNY Mellon and others regarding a “regulated liability network” (RLN) based on distributed ledger technology.

CoinDesk’s Jesse Hamilton distills the news, “Fitting somewhere in the middle of the debate between central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and private stablecoins, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s New York Innovation Center (NYIC), which has collaborated on the project since last year, concluded that “the network has the potential to deliver improvements in the processing of wholesale payments due to its ability to synchronize U.S. dollar-denominated payments and facilitate settlement on a near-real time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week basis.”  Read more from CoinDesk.

more tips:

Regulated Liability Network U.S. Proof of Concept Findings – rlnuspoc.org

Research Study Examines Feasibility of Theoretical Payments System Designed to Facilitate and Settle Digital Asset Transactions – Federal Reserve Bank of New York Continue reading “Regulated Liability Network Meets Blockchain; July 19 Is HFS Markup For Crypto Bills”

cyber CODEL

According to Politico, the most recent Congressional recess provided an opportunity for a trip to Europe by a CODEL of the House’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee.  Members who participated included Chair Andrew Garbarino (R, NY),  Ranking Member Eric Swalwell (D, CA), Rep. Dave Joyce (R, OH) and Rep. Rob Menendez (D, NJ) who said that “there are definitely lessons to be learned” from cyber officials in the European Union. The Congressmen were tight-lipped on specifics, but told Politico: “One concept, in particular, that struck a chord with some of the lawmakers in their meeting with Estonia’s Secret Service was a proposal to provide the agency with additional authority to investigate crimes related to digital currency.” Read a bit more.

more tips:

The lore of CODELs – Politico Continue reading “Blockchain Technology Makes NDAA Amendments; Cyber CODEL”

FedNow this month

FedNow, the Federal Reserve’s real-time payment system is expected to launch later this month. Last week, 57 companies were “certified as ready” for the new service with “41 financial institutions participating as senders, receivers and/or correspondents supporting settlement, 15 service providers processing on behalf of participants, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury.” Read the release.

The Democrats’ Senate Banking Committee Twitter account touted the FedNow news on Monday tweeting, “Our banking system is one step closer to real-time payments, which will help consumers and small businesses send and receive money instantly and safely. And the more banks that sign on, the more Americans that will have access to instant payments.”

Meanwhile, back in April, the Federal Reserve was already trying to debunk the idea that FedNow will replace cash and/or provide an on-ramp to a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). See “Is FedNow replacing cash? Is it a central bank digital currency?”

And in early June, Bitwise crypto research analyst Ryan Rasmussen explained to Blockworks 5 important ways that stablecoins remain relevant in spite of FedNow’s launch of an always-on payment service including stablecoins’ global reach. Read them all. Continue reading “Senate Banking Democrats Tout FedNow; Crypto Exchanges Attract Most Scrutiny”

Bitcoin ETF – refilings

On Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) informed NASDAQ and Cboe that their applications were “inadequate” due to a dearth of information on their surveillance sharing arrangements for a Bitcoin Spot ETF. The Wall Street Journal reported that the two firms “filed the applications on behalf of asset managers including BlackRock and Fidelity Investments.” Read it. ”

By late Friday, at least 5 companies total had refiled (see Cboe’s filing) with the SEC given the reported guidance by the agency earlier in the day, according to  Bloomberg. Also, amended to each of the filings was “that Coinbase Global Inc. will provide market surveillance in support of” each of the funds. Read more in Bloomberg.

SEC, your serve.

Bitcoin ETF – McHenry

When the news on the SEC rejection of the Bitcoin Spot ETF applications on Friday, House Financial Services (HFS) Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R, NC) didn’t take it well. He tweeted, “If these reports are accurate, [Gary Gensler] has a lot of explaining to do. An ETF would provide everyday investors with an SEC-regulated product. The only reason for Chair Gensler to oppose is if he wants to kill crypto in the U.S. all together.” See the tweet. Continue reading “Bitcoin ETFs Boomerang Refilings; OTC Framework For Tokens?”

House Republicans and SEC

Top House Republicans state they’ve had enough obfuscation from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler and its time for full transparency.

In a press release yesterday about a November request known as the “SEC Off Platform Letter”, House Financial Services (HFS) Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R, NC), House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R, OH) and House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R, KY) “identify significant concerns with Chair Gensler’s potential failure to comply with federal record keeping laws, while slamming Gensler’s inadequate response to a previous inquiry regarding the matter.”

In a new letter addressed to Chair Gensler and dated this past Wednesday,  the three House Republican Chairs (three corresponding Democratic Ranking Members are “cc’d”) drill down much further and call into question, for example, whether Congress has been provided relevant communications from digital apps such as Signal, WhatsApp, Teams, and Zoom.

Also, proper recordkeeping around meetings with lobbyists such as Better Markets and Healthy Markets are questioned.

The letter concludes in part, “Your failure to adequately respond to the SEC Off Platform Letter, combined with the potential recordkeeping matters described above, continue to raise troubling questions about the SEC’s compliance with applicable federal laws. They also raise disturbing questions regarding your own commitment to holding the SEC accountable to the same standards you seek to impose on the individuals and entities you regulate.”  See the letter.

A response to the letter’s many requests is due by July 17. Continue reading “House Republicans Demand Transparency From SEC; New Law Moves UK Ahead On Digital Assets”

EU ‘likes’ CBDC

The European Union appears to see an opening for a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Yesterday, the European Commission published two new proposals including a framework for the digital euro that could be implemented “over time” and moved the continent ever closer to its own CBDC.

Valdis Dombrovskis, EVP of the European Commission said in a release, “Today’s proposals will also make sure that cash will continue to be fully available, while allowing the European Central bank to develop, over time, the practical aspects of the digital euro.”

In addition, along with Dombrovskis, Fabio Panetta, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) penned, “Why Europe needs a digital euro” yesterday. See the 2-pager (PDF).

Highlights include:

“Protecting privacy is a vital feature of the digital euro. The ECB would not see users’ personal details or their payment patterns. The offline functionality would also bring a higher degree of data privacy than any other digital payment methods currently available.”

“A digital euro would also reduce payment-related fees for consumers by spurring competition in Europe. At present, two-thirds of Europe’s digital retail payments are processed by a handful of global companies. Thanks to greater competition, customers and merchants would benefit from cheaper services.” Continue reading “European Union Moves Closer To CBDC; National Security, Digital Assets Combo Reaches Congress”