Author: Derek Andersen

Crypto pundits gather online to discuss innovation and national security

Derek Andersen

The George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School National Security Institute hosted a webinar Wednesday, March 30, titled “Crypto and National Security: How to Validate American Innovation and Verify U.S. National Security.” Journalist Laura Shin moderated the discussion. CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation Sheila Warren, executive director of Coin Center Jerry Brito, and global managing partner and chief strategy officer of risk compliance and monitoring firm K2 Integrity Juan Zarate were participants. After opening comments, the first of three questions posed to the panel concerned American innovation. Brito…

Ted Cruz introduces companion to Emmer’s bill to exclude Fed retail CBDC digital currency issue

Derek Andersen

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz introduced companion legislation into the U.S. Senate on Wednesday for Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer’s bill prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing central bank digital currency, or CBDC, directly to individuals, Emmer announced. Emmer introduced the House bill Jan. 18. Fellow Republican Cruz’ legislation could potentially speed up passage or rejection of the bill by allowing it to be considered in both chambers of Congress at the same time.  Emmer, co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, motivated his bill by concern a retail CBDC that forced consumers…

MIT adds the Bank of England to its stable of CBDC digital currency research partners

Derek Andersen

The Bank of England announced Friday that it had reached an agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative, or DCI, on a joint twelve-month research project on Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC. The bank said in a statement that the new project was for research purposes only, and not intended to develop an operational CBDC. The bank began studying CBDC in 2020, releasing a discussion paper in March of that year, which the DCI responded to with a discussion of how a CBDC could…

Gemini receives license to provide electronic money services in Ireland

Derek Andersen

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has received an electronic money license from the Central Bank of Ireland. It was the 18th organization to receive the license, and the first since October 2020. Gemini joined such license holders as Coinbase, Stripe, Square and Meta.  The e-money license, which Gemini applied for in early 2020 and received March 14, will allow it to issue electronic money, provide electronic payment services and handle electronic payments for third parties. It will also enable the company to passport those services to European Economic Area countries, which are…

Binance tells regulators it will cease operations in Ontario… for real this time

Derek Andersen

Binance confirmed in an undertaking to the Ontario Securities Commission, or OSC, in Canada dated March 16 that the crypto exchange will cease activities involving Ontario residents. Binance will also stop opening new Ontario accounts and provide fee waivers and fee reimbursements to certain Ontario users under the administration of a third party, the company said.  The undertaking appears to mark the end of a disagreement that started in June, when Binance announced that it would no longer service Ontario accounts and customers were advised to close out active positions…

New Hampshire hopes its express approval of crypto-friendly law will attract new business

Derek Andersen

The New Hampshire House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday to adopt the new version of Chapter 12 of the Universal Commercial Code, or UCC, which will govern transfers of digital assets. The chapter is still in draft form, but if HB1503 is signed into law, New Hampshire will be the first U.S. state to adopt the chapter.  Like the draft chapter of the UCC, the bill — titled “Exempting the developer, seller, or facilitator of the exchange of an open blockchain token from certain securities laws” — seeks to…

Class action suit against Coinbase alleges unregulated securities sales

Derek Andersen

Three individuals who bought cryptocurrency through Coinbase filed a proposed class action March 11 in the Southern District Court of New York alleging that Coinbase is operating as an unregistered securities exchange. The lawsuit lists 79 tokens that it claims are securities Coinbase is selling in violation of state and federal law, and the buyers were not warned of the risks involved in their purchases. The plaintiffs, Christopher Underwood, Louis Oberlander and Henry Rodriguez, represented by Connecticut law firm Silver Golub & Teitell, filed the amended complaint naming Coinbase Global,…

Biden’s executive order promises great things for the crypto industry — Eventually

Derek Andersen

United States President Joe Biden signed the Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets on March 9. The order had been expected for several months, giving some in the industry ample time to build up trepidation. Once the executive order, or EO, was released, however, it was met with a chorus of approval. “I was expecting certain things and the positive tone was not necessarily one of them,” TRM Labs head of legal and government affairs Ari Redborn said of the order. Crypto advocacy group Coin Center executive…

Commissioner Allison Lee announces her departure from the SEC

Derek Andersen

Securities and Exchange Commissioner Allison Herren Lee announced that she would be stepping down from her post at the end of her term in June. In a Tuesday announcement, Lee said that she will remain in the role until her successor has been confirmed. The SEC commissioner has spent less than three years at her current position, having been sworn in in 2019 to serve out the remainder of a five-year term expiring in June. With her departure, Lee, a Democrat who replaced former commissioner Kara Stein, will create a…

Crypto lobbyists up 180% since 2018, with Andrew Yang joining the charge

Derek Andersen

Lobbying by the cryptocurrency industry and crypto proponents is booming in the U.S. Congress. According to a report released Tuesday by Public Citizen, the number of lobbyists for cryptocurrency-related issues rose from 115 in 2018 to 320 in 2021, with the number of representatives of the cryptocurrency industry, itself, jumping from 47 to 157 in that time. In February, that chorus was joined by the somewhat unorthodox Lobby3, “a project to fund effective policy advocacy and educate lawmakers about the positive potential of Web3” that is the brainchild of former…