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The Senate votes to end the SEC’s controversial cryptocurrency custody policy. See why everyone hates SAB 121 – DL News

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The Senate votes to end the SEC's controversial cryptocurrency custody policy.  See why everyone hates SAB 121 – DL News
  • The SEC’s SAB 121 accounting guidance has infuriated crypto supporters.
  • But why did senators, investors and banking sector defenders attack it?

On Thursday, the Senate will vote in a resolution to revoke controversial accounting guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which critics say has dissuaded investment banks from offering large-scale crypto custody.

The block reported There apparently is enough bipartisan support to see the measure passed.

This will please a range of interests – policymakers, investment banks, cryptocurrency investors and cryptocurrency skeptics – who often agree on very little.

Everyone would like to see the SEC staff’s Accounting Bulletin 121, known as SAB 121, scrapped, saying the guidance forces banks to treat crypto differently than other assets.

“Even I think rewriting the rules for how crypto custody works is outrageous,” said Sean Tuffy, a banking regulation expert and self-confessed crypto skeptic. DL News.

So what is SAB 121 and why is there so much anger surrounding a mysterious banking compliance issue?

Losing ETFs

Let’s look at exchange-traded funds to understand the impact of SAB 121.

ETF issuers pay depositories, often banks, to safeguard the fund’s underlying asset.

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BNY Mellon, JPMorgan and State Street have large custody businesses in the US.

So why, when it comes to spot Bitcoin ETFs, are none of these names involved? If you look at the bottoms prospectsyou will see Coinbase, Gemini, BitGo, and Fidelity listed as custodians.

This is due, at least in part, to SAB 121, a “de facto crypto custody rule that actually excluded custodians,” Tuffy said.

The second Published SAB 121 in March 2022. Advises any entity that secures crypto assets on behalf of others to place them on its balance sheet as if it owns them.

They don’t need to do this with traditional assets like stocks.

Like other too-big-to-fail banks, depositors must hold capital reserves to offset risky balance sheet items so that they can finance their positions in the event of default.

This is expensive: the capital they are forced to keep in reserve could be used to generate revenue.

SAB 121 is unclear about how much banks would have to withhold against crypto assets, or whether the SEC would even enforce it – it’s not a rule per se, just high-level guidance.

But the uncertainty alone has deterred a number of big companies – including BNY Mellon, State StreetIt is Nasdaq – to enter this business.

Why is this a problem?

Lawmakers like Republican Mike Flood, who supports the anti-SAB 121 resolution, say excluding experienced and heavily regulated banks from the cryptocurrency custody business puts investors’ assets at risk.

Part of this risk comes from the fact that most of the Bitcoin underlying spot ETFs is concentrated in one vendor. Coinbase handles custody of eight of the 10 ETFs, or about 90% of the Bitcoin in those funds.

“It’s a very strange situation and a good example of how the SEC has gotten a little involved with its all-out legal push against crypto.”

-Sean Tuffy

However, this puts SAB 121 directly at odds with SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s position that existing regulations are adequate to police crypto markets, Tuffy said.

“If that’s true, and I’m inclined to believe it is, then why would the SEC need to create very different custody rules for crypto?” -Tuffy said.

SAB 121 essentially transfers custody of Bitcoin ETFs to Coinbase, which the SEC is actively prosecuting for violations of securities laws.

“It’s a very strange situation and a good example of how the SEC has gotten a little involved with its all-out legal push against crypto,” said Tuffy.

Pressure to revoke

Gensler appears unwilling to discard SAB 121.

He likely believes this addresses the risks the SEC staff sees in crypto markets – a position reinforced by the huge losses caused by bankruptcies of crypto firms like FTX and Celsius.

But he is under pressure to overturn it, or at least allow the public to have a say in the matter.

The Government Accountability Office, the oversight body of the US Congress, said in October that SAB 121 constitutes a rule and must be submitted to the legal process of public consultation.

And then there is the powerful big banking lobby. Influential trade associations, such as the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association have called investment banks will be excluded from SAB 121.

Gensler, however, has the U.S. President Joe Biden in his corner. Biden said he would veto Flood’s resolution if it passed the Senate.

“Limiting the SEC’s ability to maintain a comprehensive and effective financial regulatory framework for cryptoassets would introduce substantial financial instability and market uncertainty,” Biden said.

Contact the author at joanna@dlnews.com.



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We are the editorial team of TokenTrends, where seriousness meets clarity in cryptocurrency analysis. With a robust team of finance and blockchain technology experts, we are dedicated to meticulously exploring complex crypto markets with detailed assessments and an unbiased approach. Our mission is to democratize access to knowledge of emerging financial technologies, ensuring they are understandable and accessible to all. In every article on TokenTrends, we strive to provide content that not only educates, but also empowers our readers, facilitating their integration into the financial digital age.

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Bitcoin

RIOT, MARA and CLSK shares at risk

TokenTrends Staff

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Bitcoin price nears key support: RIOT, MARA, and CLSK stocks at risk

Bitcoin (BTC) Mining stocks like Riot Platforms (RIOT), Marathon Digital (MARA) and CleanSpark (CLSK) retreated in pre-market trading as BTC retreated.

RIOT, MARA and CLSK all fell more than 2%, while other crypto-related stocks such as MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Coinbase (COIN) fell 1.5%.

Bitcoin sell-off continues

Crypto-linked stocks retreated as Bitcoin resumed its downtrend on Wednesday. After rising to $63,750 on Monday, BTC is hovering at $60,0000 and it is unclear whether it will recover.

More importantly, Bitcoin is dangerously close to the crucial support at $58,273, which is the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). The next support level for Bitcoin is $56,426, representing its lowest level in May.

Bitcoin Price Chart

If Bitcoin drops below this price, it will be a sign that the bears have prevailed, which could take it to the $50,000 level, if not below.

This decline happened after a whale deposited nearly 2,000 Bitcoins to Binance in two separate transactions. While this isn’t always the case, deposits to exchanges often happen when holders are exiting their positions.

The whales’ action coincided with a period in which the German government continues to sell off its Bitcoin holdings. It transferred $52 million worth of coins to exchanges on Tuesday.

As a result, data from CoinGlass shows that the volume of Bitcoin balances on exchanges has started to increase. The volume rose to 2.49 million on Tuesday, from last month’s low of 2.47 million.

Bitcoin Balances

Bitcoin balances on exchanges

Bitcoin Mining Companies at Risk

If the Bitcoin sell-off continues, it will put Bitcoin mining companies like Marathon, CleanSpark, and Riot Platforms at risk. These companies have tended to have a close correlation with Bitcoin in the past.

This drop is happening a few months after the halving event, reducing the amount of Bitcoins that miners receive.

To compensate for this drop, most of these companies have added their mining equipment. CleanSpark has reached a hash rate of 20 EH/swhich helped her mine 445 coins in June after mining 417 coins the previous month. She did this after purchasing 5 mining sites in Georgia.

Digital Marathon mined 590 coins in June, down 40% from the same month in 2023 and flat from May.

Riot Platforms, on the other hand, focused on acquiring Bitfarms, a company that mined 189 coins in June.

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Michael Saylor Issues Statement on Bitcoin Amid Crypto Market Sell-Off by U.Today

TokenTrends Staff

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Michael Saylor issues statement on Bitcoin amid crypto market sell-off

U.Today – Amid an ongoing sell-off in the cryptocurrency market, Michael Saylor, a prominent advocate and president of MicroStrategy, made a statement on X (Twitter) that reverberated across the crypto space: “Just Bitcoin.”

This two-word tweet comes as the cryptocurrency market faces significant sell-offs as the price of Bitcoin plummets.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, began its decline in Tuesday’s trading session, hitting $63,223 at one point before falling further.

Losses deepened on Wednesday as investors considered remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, with Bitcoin hitting intraday lows of $59,509. At the time of writing, BTC is down 2.85% over the past 24 hours to $60,274.

According to data from CoinGlass, the sell-off has resulted in a significant amount of cryptocurrencies being liquidated in the past 24 hours, totaling over $166 million. However, this has not deterred Saylor’s confidence in Bitcoin, as he reiterates his longing for the crypto asset in his tweet.

Cryptocurrency market crashes

Cryptocurrencies fell on Tuesday after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank needs to see more progress on inflation before cutting interest rates, which are now at 5.25%-5.50%. Powell revealed at a monetary symposium in Sintra, Portugal, that the United States is moving closer to a disinflationary path.

“We want to be more confident that inflation is moving sustainably downward toward 2% before we begin the process of tapering or easing policy,” Powell said.

Market losses deepened after Wednesday’s economic releases that indicated the labor market is cooling. Recent data showed weaker-than-expected private payroll growth in June, but weekly jobless claims were higher than economists had forecast. The latest figures come ahead of the highly anticipated June nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.

As the cryptocurrency market goes through a period of uncertainty, the coming days and weeks will be crucial in determining the direction of BTC’s price.

This article was originally published on U.Today



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Bitcoin and Ethereum in GTA 6? Still rumors — for now

TokenTrends Staff

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Bitcoin and Ethereum in GTA 6? Still rumors — for now

Rumors that the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto 6 will use cryptocurrency that has been circulating for more than a year now—and they’re spinning again.

On Wednesday, a pseudonymous Crypto Twitter influencer named Gordon — apparently named after Gordon Gekko from the iconic 1987 film “Wall Street” —shared to his nearly 500,000 followers that “GTA 6 will allow cryptocurrency payments” and that “so far only Bitcoin, EthereumIt is USDT [are] confirmed.”

But in reality, no cryptocurrency has been confirmed for Grand Theft Auto 6, despite ongoing chatter about the rumors. Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two have made no such announcements this week on the subject, nor have they made any prior announcements, and official trailers and announcements have made no mention of cryptocurrency being included.

However, the tweet — which also included a fake trailer for the game — quickly went viral, with over 500,000 views as of this writing in a matter of hours. When Twitter users asked Gordon for his sources, he would jokingly respond that his “uncle works there” or say that previous reports on the matter were “old” at this point.

But really, nothing has changed since then. DecipherGG’s reported in previous rumors in May 2023, not even since the first official trailer — which initially leaked with “BUY BTC” stamped on itApparently by the leaker in question—premiered last December.

DecipherGG reached out to Rockstar Games for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Could Grand Theft Auto 6 implement a crypto element when it releases in 2025? It’s certainly possible, and if so, it would be a transformative moment for cryptocurrency adoption by the traditional gaming industry.

Take-Two Interactive has explored the space before, acquiring casual gaming giant Zynga in early 2022, when Take-Two founder and CEO Strauss Zelnick suggested there were “Web3 opportunities” that they could explore better as a team. Zynga has launched its first blockchain game on Ethereum, called Sugartownbut Take-Two has yet to get involved with other brands.

Rockstar Games, on the other hand, prohibited the use of cryptocurrency or NFTs on player-run Grand Theft Auto 5 servers in late 2022, following a rise in the use of NFTs to represent unique player-owned assets on modded game servers.

And given Grand Theft Auto’s satirical tone, the game may be more likely to criticize cryptocurrency and poke fun at caricatures of crypto fans and NFTs, for example, rather than trying to launch its own on-chain currency. But that’s all speculation at this point, as there are relatively few official details about GTA 6.

For now, at least, don’t believe the hype. While Rockstar Games hasn’t officially closed the door on cryptocurrency usage in Grand Theft Auto 6, it hasn’t confirmed anything about it either. However, it’s sure to remain a hot topic in the long run leading up to release, which is currently scheduled for fall 2025.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.

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Bitcoin

Crypto President Trump’s ‘Lesser’ Regulation Will Bless Coinbase’s Bitcoin Leverage, Expert Says – Coinbase Glb (NASDAQ:COIN)

TokenTrends Staff

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Crypto President Trump's 'Lesser' Regulation Will Bless Coinbase's Bitcoin Leverage, Expert Says - Coinbase Glb (NASDAQ:COIN)

Chris SenyekChief Investment Strategist at Wolfe Researchrecently expressed his opinion on the potential impact of a Donald Trump win the 2024 elections in the cryptocurrency market.

What happened: Senyek suggested that a Trump presidency could ease cryptocurrency regulations, benefiting companies like Coinbase Global Inc. COIN due to its importance Bitcoin BTC/USD Leverage.

“Trump would be less harsh on crypto regulation, and Coinbase would be a big beneficiary of that given its influence on bitcoin,” Senyek said during CNBC’s “Last Call” on Tuesday.

See too: Enhance Your Retirement Portfolio: The Benefits of Adding Cryptocurrency

Why does this matter?:Senyek’s comments come in the context of the former president Donald Trump‘s reported plans to participate at the Bitcoin 2024 convention, which could reinforce his image as a “Crypto President”.

Trump’s potential participation in the Bitcoin 2024 convention, a major event on the cryptocurrency calendar, could have significant implications for the industry.

Pratik KalaHead of Research in DigitalX Limitedhe has predicted a Trump victory in the upcoming elections, but warns that immediate cryptocurrency-friendly regulations may not be a priority.

A recent report by 10x Search explore the recent rise in Bitcoin price and its potential connection to Trump’s strong position in the 2024 election race. The report, titled “Is the Bitcoin Trump Pump Sustainable?”, highlights a 4% spike in Bitcoin’s price following the news that the president Joe Biden will remain in the race despite a poor performance in the presidential debate.

Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading 2.10% lower at $60,860.66, according to Benzinga Pro.

Read next:

Image created using photos from Shutterstock

This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari

News and market data brought to you by Benzinga’s APIs

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