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Regulatory Roadblocks Hinder Economic Theory Testing and Political Betting Platform
2 years ago•Source: CoinDesk
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FTC Antitrust Suit Against Amazon Heads to Court as Negotiations Reach Deadlock
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is preparing to file a lawsuit against Amazon later this month after the e-commerce giant's officials failed to offer any concessions in settlement talks over antitrust claims. The FTC has been examining Amazon's practices, including allegations of favoring its own products over competitors' and how it treats outside sellers on its platform.
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Crypto Regulation Efforts Intensify in U.S. Congress
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SEC Denies Coinbase's Request for Crypto-Specific Rules, Urges Enforcement Actions Instead.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has told an appeals court that Coinbase has not provided sufficient evidence to justify the creation of a new regulatory framework for the digital asset industry. Coinbase had filed a petition with the SEC in July 2022, asking for guidance around digital assets. The SEC has not yet made a decision on the petition and "continues to consider" the filing, the regulator said in a filing. The SEC also noted that considering new rules or amendments to existing regulations does not preclude it from enforcing existing regulations.
Criticism Mounts Against SEC's Proposed Crypto Custody Rule Changes
The SEC's proposed rule demanding investment firms safeguard all of their clients' assets, including crypto, with approved custodians has drawn criticism from financial giant JPMorgan, the Small Business Administration, and the crypto sector. The proposed rule said any assets entrusted to investment advisers need to be held with "qualified custodians," which generally means a chartered bank or trust company, a broker-dealer registered with the SEC, or a futures commission merchant registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The SEC's Chair, Gary Gensler, said the rule would help ensure that advisers don't inappropriately use, lose, or abuse investors' assets.
New York Proposes 'Landmark' Crypto Law for Strongest Regulations in US
New York State Attorney General Letitia James has proposed a "landmark" crypto legislation that claims to be "the strongest and most comprehensive set of regulations on cryptocurrency" in the United States. The proposed bill, called the "Crypto Regulation, Protection, Transparency, and Oversight (CRPTO) Act," would increase transparency, eliminate conflicts of interest, and impose measures to protect investors, consistent with regulations imposed on other financial services. The bill would also require independent public audits of cryptocurrency exchanges, strengthen the New York State Department of Financial Services' regulatory authority of digital assets, and bolster investor protections by enacting and codifying "know-your-customer" provisions.
"New York Attorney General Proposes Comprehensive Crypto Regulations"
New York Attorney General Letitia James has proposed a new set of state crypto regulations that would increase transparency and enhance investor protections in the digital asset sector. The proposed legislation would implement public audit requirements for crypto exchanges, reduce conflict-of-interest issues, require reimbursement for victims of fraudulent transfers, and ban the use of the word “stablecoin” to describe digital assets that aren’t backed up on a 1:1 basis by dollars or other high-quality liquid assets. James says her office will submit the bill to New York state lawmakers for consideration in the ongoing legislative session.
NY Attorney General Proposes Crypto Regulation Bill to Combat Fraud and Dysfunction
New York Attorney General Letitia James has proposed a bill that would give the New York Department of Financial Services stronger authority to regulate digital assets, including the power to shut down businesses engaging in fraud and illegality. The legislation seeks to ban marketplaces from keeping custody of customer funds and would require exchanges to reimburse customers if they are victims of fraud. The bill also targets a range of stakeholders from crypto issuers and exchange platforms to digital asset influencers, with all to be held to detailed disclosure requirements. The proposed legislation must still be passed by state lawmakers to become state law.
SEC Reverses Stance on Labeling Digital Assets
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) removed its first formal definition of "digital asset" from its latest hedge fund rule, stating that it is still considering the term and not adopting it at this time. The SEC has been actively considering crypto matters, including reopening a previously proposed rule redefining the term "exchange" to include decentralized finance (DeFi). The agency's decision to remove the definition of digital assets from the hedge fund rule may be due to concerns that any recognition of their uniqueness as a novel product weakens their litigation stance that digital assets are securities and subject to SEC securities laws.
Nigeria's SEC to Allow Asset-Backed Tokens, Not Cryptocurrency.
Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing new regulations for digital asset platforms, considering allowing licensed digital exchanges to list tokens backed by certain assets like equity, debt, or property, but not cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ether. The SEC aims to register fintech firms as digital sub-brokers, crowdfunding intermediaries, fund managers, and tokenized coins issuers, but will not register crypto exchanges until the central bank provides clear regulations for the crypto market. License applicants would undergo a year of "regulatory incubation," allowing the SEC to study their operations and render their services in the country.
Congressional Hearings Address Crypto Regulation and Compliance Concerns
The Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry, has announced a series of joint hearings in May that will focus on addressing the market structure around digital assets in the U.S. The aim of the hearings is to establish a bill providing regulatory clarity to the crypto sector, which adds to the work being done on the bipartisan bill led by Senator Cynthia Lummis and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. The Responsible Financial Innovation Act, also known as the Lummis-Gillibrand bill, was initially introduced in the U.S. Senate in June 2022 and addresses Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jurisdiction, stablecoin regulation and crypto taxation, among other things.
US and EU Governments Increase Efforts to Regulate Cryptocurrency
The US House Financial Services Committee and House Agriculture Committee will draft legislation to oversee the crypto sector in the next two months after holding joint public hearings starting May, according to Rep. Patrick McHenry. The bill will address both securities and commodities regimes and issues that are hard to fix on either side. Sen. Cynthia Lummis said she looked forward to coordinating those efforts with McHenry, adding that the House had a better chance than the Senate at getting legislation through earlier.
Regulation and Collaboration: The Future of the Crypto Industry
Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson believes that the future of the crypto industry will be regulated, and that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are a distraction from the real innovation of blockchain technology. Johnson also stated that it's better for companies to engage directly with regulators as they develop new products. Despite regulatory uncertainty, Johnson is still bullish on the potential for crypto and blockchain technology to disrupt the financial industry.