State of Crypto

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Terraform Labs, the company behind the failed TerraUSD stablecoin, and its co-founder, Do Kwon. Former CFTC Chair and Harvard Kennedy School Research Fellow and Director of the Digital Assets Policy Project Timothy Massad discusses his outlook on stablecoins and crypto regulation in the U.S. Plus, the significance of a clearer regulatory framework for government agencies to protect investors better.

17. Feb. 2023

As U.S. regulators continue to sniff around Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange is prepared to pay monetary penalties to “make amends” for past regulatory violations, according to The Wall Street Journal. The world’s largest crypto exchange has been under extra scrutiny since the collapse of rival exchange FTX. CoinDesk Global Policy & Regulation Managing Editor Nikhilesh De discusses what this means for Binance and crypto regulation at large.

16. Feb. 2023

CoinDesk Global Policy and Regulation Managing Editor Nikhilesh De discusses the key takeaways from Tuesday's Senate Banking Committee hearing called "Crypto Crash: Why Financial System Safeguards are Needed for Digital Assets." 

15. Feb. 2023

Paxos acknowledged it received a Wells Notice from the SEC, indicating a possible enforcement action is forthcoming based on the charge that its Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin constitutes an unregistered security, according to a Monday press release. But the stablecoin issuer said it "categorically disagrees with the SEC staff because BUSD is not a security under the federal securities laws." CoinDesk Global Policy and Regulation Managing Editor Nikhilesh De discusses what we know so far and the larger implications for crypto regulation.

14. Feb. 2023

Stablecoin issuer Paxos will stop minting new Binance USD (BUSD) tokens at the direction of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), with the news coming just after a report of the threat of legal action from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). CoinDesk Global Policy and Regulation Managing Editor Nikhilesh De discusses the details and the wider implications for crypto regulation.

13. Feb. 2023

Kraken is shuttering its crypto staking-as-a-service platform for U.S. customers and will pay $30 million to settle SEC charges it offered unregistered securities. In a blog post, Kraken said it would automatically unstake any assets staked by U.S. clients except for staked ether, which won't be unstaked until after the Ethereum Network's Shanghai upgrade takes effect. Ketsal partner and former SEC Attorney Zachary Fallon discusses what this could mean for the future of SEC enforcement actions over the crypto industry.

10. Feb. 2023

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted that he's heard rumors that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission wants to ban retail investors from engaging in cryptocurrency staking, the income-generating technique at the core of running blockchains including Ethereum. CoinDesk Global Policy and Regulation Managing Editor Nikhilesh De shares the latest developments.

9. Feb. 2023

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) again made its case Tuesday that crypto assets are often unregistered securities being traded on unregistered exchanges, issuing an investor alert warning that people should be wary of crypto in individual retirement accounts (IRA). CoinDesk Global Policy and Regulation Managing Editor Nikhilesh De discusses the latest in the world of crypto regulation.

8. Feb. 2023

Crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) and its bankrupt Genesis subsidiaries reached an in-principle agreement on terms of a restructuring plan with a group of the firm’s main creditors. CoinDesk Global Policy & Regulation Managing Editor Nikhilesh De discusses the terms of the proposed deal. DCG is the parent company of CoinDesk and Genesis.

7. Feb. 2023

FTX Group is sending "confidential letters" to politicians and other political beneficiaries of Sam Bankman-Fried, his deputies and his companies, asking them to return the money by the end of the month. This comes as Emergent Fidelity Technologies, a firm co-founded by SBF and former executive Gary Wang, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. CoinDesk Global Policy & Regulation Managing Editor Nikhilesh De discusses what we know so far.

6. Feb. 2023