The U.S. federal government is investigating Tether – issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, USDT – for possibly violating anti-money laundering rules and sanctions, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Following the news, Bitcoin’s price plummeted from $68,600 to $66,589 at writing time.Prosecutors at the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office are investigating whether the USDT...Read More
On Sept. 24, Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer took aim at Gary Gensler over his “disastrous record” as Chairman of the SEC. The grilling came during a House Financial Services Committee congressional hearing. Emmer accused Gensler of expecting political allegiance from SEC staff, including civil servants; however, the SEC chair denied this claim despite email evidence to...Read More
Bitcoin-skeptic Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and other Democratic senators sent a letter to the Federal Reserve on Monday calling for far more aggressive rate cuts than the market expects. “We write today to urge the Federal Reserve (Fed) to cut the federal funds rate, currently at a two-decade-high of 5.3 percent, by 75 basis points (bps)...Read More
The Democratic National Committee published its 2024 Party Platform on Sunday – a document detailing the Democrats’ future political priorities heading into the next election. Unlike their Republican counterparts, the Democrats’ platform made no mention of the words Bitcoin, crypto, or blockchain. Democrats Still Quiet On Crypto The ninety-two-page document touched on popular issues among...Read More
Fairshake, a pro-crypto and blockchain Super PAC, has now outraised all other Super PACs in the United States heading into the 2024 federal elections. The interest group’s success reflects crypto’s surging role in U.S. politics, which has culminated in vocal support from politicians aiming to protect the industry’s interests. Fairshake PAC Raises $202 Million According...Read More
The Republican National Committee has released its 2024 GOP Platform ahead of this year’s federal election, adopting several stances aligning with Donald Trump’s “America First” policies instead of traditional GOP social issues. That includes a specific policy dedicated to protecting Bitcoin and crypto – an industry that Trump has tightly aligned himself with this year....Read More
A popular Republican congressman introduced legislation that would require the United States Treasury to accept tax payments in bitcoin. Pay Taxes With Bitcoin The bill, authored by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), would order the Treasury Secretary to “develop and implement a method to allow for the payment with bitcoin of any tax imposed on an...Read More
United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is calling on the Federal Reserve to lower its interest rate target on Thursday – a move most analysts believe would be a boon for crypto markets. The senator’s request puts her in an ironic alignment with crypto investors, whose industry she has repeatedly tried to stifle with burdensome...Read More
Though Congress may appear to have turned pro-crypto, the President may still present a key obstacle to passing key legislation for the industry, according to Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). During a Friday interview, the congresswoman shared her perspective on how Capitol Hill’s views on crypto are evolving, and which parties remain opposed to pro-crypto legislation....Read More
The United States House of Representatives voted on Thursday in favor of barring the Federal Reserve from directly issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to its citizens. The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act bill garnered support from 213 Republicans and 3 Democrats, making the final tally 262 ‘yea’ to 192 ‘nay’. Republicans Pass Another Crypto...Read More
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Monday that will provide long-sought-after legal clarity around how crypto assets should be classified, registered, and custodied. The bill, titled the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), received near unanimous support from Republicans alongside 71 additional votes from Democrats, resulting in a final...Read More
The United States Senate passed a resolution on Tuesday to scrap a de facto ban preventing the nation’s banks from offering crypto custody services. The vote drew cautious optimism from Bitcoin’s most fervent supporters online and in Congress, who are still wary of a likely veto by the presidential office. Will Crypto Banking Be Possible...Read More
Crypto is now a partisan issue in the United States, and there’s a clear reason as to why, according to a former Coinbase executive. Author and entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan argued this weekend that digital assets appeal to “American conservatives” and “Chinese Liberals” – demographics that generally aren’t represented by the Democratic party. Crypto Versus Rich...Read More
Crypto is emerging as a hot topic in the U.S. presidential election this year, with many voters looking forward to hearing their candidates takes on the asset class. Per a Digital Currency Group (DCG) survey of 1201 registered voters conducted last month, about one in five voters view crypto as a major issue in the...Read More
.A Republican-led effort to free American banks to provide crypto custody services has been shut down by the Democrat-led White House. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives discussed and prepared to vote on House Resolution 109 (H.J. Res. 109), which would strike down prior accounting guidance from regulators to banks planning to offer the service...Read More
Brian Nelson was grilled during a House Financial Services Committee hearing providing oversight of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, according to a press release from Representative Tom Emmer on Feb. 14. Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson had to answer for reports that Hamas received $41 million and...Read More
A recent move was the introduction of the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, another bill aiming to curtail the use of cryptocurrencies in America. On Dec. 11. the bill gained five new Senators as cosponsors, including, unsurprisingly, three members of the Banking Committee. Crypto advocate Evan Van Ness posted a list of Senators he claimed...Read More
The Biden administration is being called upon by over 100 lawmakers in the United States to clarify its efforts at combatting global terrorist financing using cryptocurrencies. The bipartisan letter follows reports that Hamas, the Islamist organization that launched attacks on Israeli civilians earlier this month, used crypto to raise millions of dollars over the past...Read More
The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) approved a slew of proposals related to digital asset regulation last month, of which any could be the first piece of crypto-specific legislation signed into U.S. federal law. Here’s a summary of the differences between the most important bills, and what each could mean for crypto as a whole....Read More
The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) failed to reach an agreement for stablecoin legislation on Thursday due to a number of disagreements Democrats had with its existing text. Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R-NC) blamed the White House for holding up the bill, while Democrats alleged that Republicans were attempting to rush incomplete legislation. No Compromise...Read More
U.S. Congress undertook its first-ever markup for digital asset legislation on Wednesday, attempting to establish clear jurisdiction for the nation’s chief market regulators. The bill was not well received by Democrats, however, many of whom find it overly friendly to the crypto industry, and similar to what disgraced FTX boss Sam Bankman-Fried had advocated for....Read More
The Biden Administration’s federal budget proposal to charge a 30% tax on all Bitcoin miners in the United States has been scrapped, a national policymaker confirmed on Sunday. The withdrawal is part of a series of tax-related concessions made by the administration in negotiations surrounding the nation’s fast-approaching debt ceiling. No More Mining Tax Ohio...Read More
Bitcoin-friendly Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis doesn’t think the Biden Administration’s proposed 30% excise tax on Bitcoin miners isn’t likely to make it through the House. On stage at Bitcoin Miami 2023, the politician remained supportive of miners, and believes the industry’s proliferation throughout the United States is a matter of national security. Mining: Dirty or...Read More
Two committees in the US House of Representatives held the first-ever joint hearing related to crypto on Wednesday, seeking to carve a path forward to legislation on digital assets. The early stages of the hearing proved combative, with certain Democrats questioning whether crypto-specific legislation should be signed at all. A Focus On Making Law The...Read More
Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana called banks “sophisticated Ponzi schemes” while discussing the US banking crisis that’s claimed multiple crypto-supportive financial institutions in the past two months. The politician also spoke on the state of inflation, which he believes the Federal Reserve will need to bring to at least 8% to cool down. Banks...Read More
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler testified before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday regarding the agency’s enforcement actions against the crypto industry over the past few months. The chair was pressed for answers on how exactly he differentiates between crypto securities and crypto commodities, and recent difficulties for crypto firms to...Read More
Former presidential candidate and political commentator Tulsi Gabbard is taking a stand against the Biden administration’s plans to develop a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the United States. The ex-congresswoman argued on Sunday that CBDCs will be used as tools of mass financial surveillance that “undermine our autonomy and freedom.” Standing Against a Cashless...Read More
Lee Reiners, policy director at the Duke Financial Economics Center, recommended that banking agenices restrict the crypto industry from accessing the banking system while testifying to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. The professor claimed that crypto has produced nothing of benefit during the 14 years since Bitcoin’s whitepaper was published. What to Do About...Read More
A cohort of the United States Senate is questioning crypto bank Silvergate about its knowledge of the FTX fraud, after finding responses to prior questioning “evasive” and “incomplete.” The senators suspect that Silvergate may have played a role in illegally transmitting FTX user funds to Alameda Research through the trading firm’s accounts with the bank. ...Read More
U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer doesn’t believe that the arrest of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) – which allowed him to miss a scheduled congressional hearing on December 13 – was purely due to good fortune. Rather, the politician suspects that the arrest was “purposeful,” due to Bankman-Fried’s various connections and information. Centralized Failure Speaking with...Read More
