Bitcoin
Bitcoin Travels Amid Growing Regulatory Friction
Key Takeaways
- The founders of privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet Samourai Wallet have been arrested and charged with money laundering violations.
- In reaction to the action against Samourai Wallet, at least two other bitcoin wallet providers have decided to leave the US market.
- Blockchain technology company Consensys has filed a lawsuit against the SEC related to the potential classification of Ether as a security, among other claims.
- Payments provider Stripe has decided to reactivate crypto payments, focusing on the USDC stablecoin.
- Going forward, crypto market analysts are watching to see if spot bitcoin ETF flows will remain negative after the bitcoin halving.
Bitcoin (Bitcoin) fell below $63,000 on several occasions last week during a volatile period, but was trading closer to that level again on Monday. Friction between regulators and the cryptocurrency industry increased last week after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) accused the founders of a non-custodial bitcoin wallet of money laundering, while crypto firm Consensys took the Commission to Securities (SEC) to the court.
Samourai wallet developers arrested
On Wednesday, the US DOJ filed charges against Samourai Wallet co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill for their alleged roles in facilitating more than $100 million in money laundering through their currency mixing service. cryptography.
The charges, which include conspiracy to commit money laundry and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, underscore the government’s ongoing crackdown on privacy encryption tools. Last year, a similar case was filed against the developers of Tornado Cash, a decentralized app that increases privacy in Ethereum.
Following the legal action, other bitcoin wallet providers decided to leave the US market. zkSNACKs, which is the creator of another privacy-preserving program bitcoin wallet called Wasabi Wallet, has announced that it is blocking all US-based users from its wallet offering. Additionally, ACINQ, which is the creator of the self-custodial, Lightning Network-enabled PhoenixWallet, has decided to remove its wallet from the US market following the action taken against Samourai Wallet.
On Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also issued a warning to consumers against using cryptographic services that may operate as unlicensed money transmitters.
Consensys sues SEC
In its filing, Consensys is asking the court to confirm that Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency, ether (ETH), is not a title. This legal movement occurs amid reports that the SEC is already trying to define ether as a security.
In its legal filing, Consensys also argued that the SEC’s reach into the crypto space could disastrously disrupt the use of the Ethereum blockchain in the US, stifling significant technological innovation. According to Fortune, Consensys received a warning from SEC Wells, which indicated an imminent lawsuit and accused Consensys’ MetaMask wallet of acting as an unlicensed broker due to its staking features.
The lawsuit reflects broader frustrations within the crypto industry regarding the SEC’s perceived lack of clear regulatory frameworks tailored to blockchain technology.
Stripe to Reactivate Crypto Payments
Fintech giant Stripe has re-entered the cryptocurrency arena, announcing on Thursday its plan to allow customers to accept payments in cryptocurrencies. This return to crypto will initially begin with the acceptance of USDC stablecoin through the Solana, Ethereum and Polygon networks.
The strategic move marks Stripe’s first foray into accepting crypto payments since discontinuing support for Bitcoin in 2018 due to its volatility. The announcement highlighted the greater efficiency and accessibility of transactions that crypto can now offer through the Solana network.
What to expect from the markets this week
Although some market analysts expected the recent reduce by half lead to a price boom, which has not happened so far. In fact, inflows into the spot market for bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) have been mostly negative since the halving on April 19, according to data from Farside Investors. This is despite exits from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) slowing down a little.
In the future, the relationship between Spot bitcoin ETF Bitcoin’s inflows and price will be closely watched, as some analysts have already predicted that ETFs will have a very high value. greater impact on price than half from now on.