The biggest crypto news and ideas of the day |
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The takeaway: Regulatory clarity, when it comes, won't end crypto risk for investors, says Paul Brody, EY's blockchain chief.
Binance renewed its push to fend off charges from U.S. commodity regulators on Monday, as the world's biggest crypto exchange faces increasing heat from enforcers. The exchange says the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is trying to police the world by taking action against a company, which on paper has sought to avoid U.S. business. "The CFTC relies on new and broad arguments that would allow it to regulate any activity in cryptocurrency (or other assets) related to a derivatives product anywhere on the globe," said a filing made by Binance in an Illinois court late Monday. |
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Sam Bankman-Fried's defense team has officially named its sole proposed expert witness: PF2 Securities' Joseph Pimbley. We don't yet know how many other witnesses we may hear from – and, indeed, whether Bankman-Fried himself will testify. Pimbley's testimony looks to address similar financial concerns, although he seems to be more focused on allegations from various FTX insiders about the line of credit to Alameda and the size of funds the trading firm actually took from FTX. Some diagrams in Pimbley's disclosure statement also suggest he may speak to FTX's actual balances. Whether the jury finds this testimony compelling enough to cast reasonable doubt on Bankman-Fried's alleged guilt remains to be seen. The trial, currently on a break, resumes this Thursday. Looking for more in-depth reporting on the SBF trial? Subscribe to "The SBF Trial" newsletter pop-up, written by CoinDesk reporters and editors on the ground in court. |
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Institutional investors are chomping at the bit to buy bitcoin (BTC) amid renewed optimism of a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) being approved. The world's largest cryptocurrency rallied to a 17-month high of $35,000 on Tuesday after the ticker for a BlackRock ETF showed up on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC) website (only later to be removed). The breakout above the $31,800 resistance level coincided with a drop in open interest, a metric that assesses the notional value of all derivatives positions, across crypto exchanges, according to Coinalyze data. The decline, which reflects retail investor interest, contrasts with open interest on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), a venue favored by institutions, topping 100,000 bitcoin ($3.4 billion) for the first time. |
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Ledger's 'Recover' Debuts |
Wallet maker Ledger's "Recover" option is now live, prompting a fresh swath of criticism from some unimpressed crypto users. When the service was first discussed publicly in May, critics said the product undermines Ledger's stated commitment to self-custodial privacy and security. Recover, which provides a backup for users' recovery seed phrase, is now available on Ledger's most popular wallet Nano X, CEO Pascal Gauthier wrote in a post on X. Seed phrases are a random string of 12 or 24 words that users must remember if they need to regain access to a crypto wallet. "Let's be clear: too many people have lost their digital assets because they've lost their Secret Recovery Phrase," Gauthier wrote. "This risk stops people from using crypto, and certainly from using self-custody." |
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The Takeaway: Investor Risk Still Here | The following is a guest column from Paul Brody, head of blockchain at EY (Ernst & Young). Like a ship emerging through the fog, the outlines of regulatory clarity are becoming visible in many different parts of the world, even though the United States isn't one of them. From Japan to Dubai to the EU, the rules and regulatory models for cryptocurrencies, digitized real world assets and stablecoins are taking shape. The future is one where it will be possible to legally issue all kinds of digital assets, and that legal and regulatory structure will reduce risks and unleash a torrent of investment in the space. So pack your sunscreen, the blockchain summer is coming. It's worth, at this moment, contemplating what the limits of regulatory clarity will bring. Let's just start with something simple like cryptocurrencies. Regulatory clarity will certainly reduce or largely eliminate the risk of crypto exchanges absconding with your digital assets. It will also eliminate the possibility that people will buy an asset one day only to find it is illegal and illiquid the next day. Regulatory clarity will also give people more confidence in stablecoins, knowing they are backed by actual currency or government bonds and overseen by banking or securities regulators. It's notable already that many stablecoins are backed one-for-one by currency, and actually have a lower risk profile than a traditional bank deposit, which can be re-loaned out to other people. Europe's incoming MiCA regulations implement similar rules for a wide range of asset-backed coins, not just currency, but oil, gold and other commodities as well. What regulation cannot do is protect people from making bad investment decisions. And the opportunity to do so in a world of digital assets is nearly unlimited. Take something basic like cryptocurrencies. The premise of a digital asset like Bitcoin is that it functions like gold, only better. The supply is limited in total, and the release process is governed by an algorithm. Read the full article on the web. |
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Cryptocurrency Payment Solutions are (Finally) Emerging, Thanks to Payment Gateways Like Alchemy Pay* If cryptocurrency-as-payment were truly easy and ubiquitous, there wouldn't be playful articles about how hard it is. And that gets to the crux of the issue. The idea of "buying coffee with bitcoin" was quirky and fun but not mainstream. Not only Bitcoin, other cryptocurrency like Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, XRP have been used to make payments, but failed to take off as a widespread payment solution. None have truly caught fire in a mainstream way. The reason for this lack of adoption? Let's look at it from the perspective of users, merchants, and enterprises. Continue reading **This is sponsored content by Alchemy Pay |
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