A number of senators are asking for a rescission and extra complete updates on the Workplace of the Comptroller of the Forex’s digital asset steerage, citing risky market situations and better threat for monetary establishments.
An unbiased workplace inside the Treasury Division, the OCC oversees banking exercise and ensures regulatory compliance. Appearing Comptroller Michael Hsu was requested to restrict cryptocurrency transactions inside the banking system by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass; Dick Durbin, D-Ailing.; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI.
“In gentle of latest turmoil within the crypto market, we’re involved that the OCC’s actions on crypto could have uncovered the banking system to pointless threat, and ask that you simply withdraw present interpretive letters which have permitted banks to interact in sure crypto-related actions,” the letter reads.
Lawmakers particularly focused a sequence of interpretive letters the OCC beforehand issued to banks that allowed them to interact in digital foreign money transactions––offered a financial institution can show the transactions are financially sound.
Letters 1170, 1172, 1174, and 1179 all allow banks to interact in cryptocurrency transactions in what lawmakers say is “unfettered” and “problematic” habits. They reference the latest volatility in cryptocurrency markets, specifically the fluctuating costs of digital cash, as the important thing cause warranting extra cautious oversight.
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“We’re involved that the OCC has didn’t correctly handle the shortcomings of the previous interpretive letters and the dangers related to crypto-related banking actions, which have grown extra extreme in latest months.”
The senators ask for the withdrawal of the OCC’s letters concerning cryptocurrency transaction permissions adopted by coordination with the Federal Deposit Insurance coverage Company and Federal Reserve to implement a stronger shopper safety framework concerning cryptocurrencies.
The letter additionally asks for a whole listing of banks regulated by the OCC which might be foreign money offering cryptocurrency deposit and holding providers, whole greenback quantities of cryptocurrency custodies at the moment deposited in taking part banks, and different data surrounding digital foreign money transactions.
A spokesperson for the OCC instructed Nextgov that whereas the OCC doesn’t touch upon congressional correspondences, Hsu has beforehand advocated for a robust, coordinated federal strategy to stop dangers related to cryptocurrency banking.
“To the extent the OCC’s prior communications have been interpreted as tacit encouragement to interact in crypto actions, the forthcoming releases will make clear that security and soundness is paramount,” he mentioned in remarks earlier than the Federal Reserve Financial institution of Philadelphia.
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The federal authorities has been more and more eager on exploring laws for the booming cryptocurrency market to stop broad destabilization within the monetary system.
Whereas regulation is usually met with pushback by business gamers, some crypto corporations welcome the oversight. Georgia Quinn, basic counsel on the first OCC-approved crypto buying and selling platform Anchorage Digital, mentioned that extra laws guarantee a safer digital foreign money business. She additionally mentioned that rescinding the OCC’s letters allowing cryptocurrency transactions would decentivize corporations like Anchorage from looking for federal charters.
“Latest requires the OCC to withdraw its crypto steerage for banks would end in fewer establishments looking for federal banking charters, and fewer shopper protections because of this,” she mentioned in a press release. “If we really need to shield shoppers, we have to pave a workable path ahead for regulated establishments to offer crypto providers, which was the very intent of the OCC’s steerage.”
Over the past 24 hours, Cronos’sCRO/USD price has risen 9.17% to $0.09. This continues its positive trend over the past week where it has experienced a 25.0% gain, moving from $0.07 to its current price. As it stands right now, the coin’s all-time high is $0.97.
The chart below compares the price movement and volatility for Cronos over the past 24 hours (left) to its price movement over the past week (right). The gray bands are Bollinger Bands, measuring the volatility for both the daily and weekly price movements. The wider the bands are, or the larger the gray area is at any given moment, the larger the volatility.
The trading volume for the coin has climbed 366.0% over the past week, moving opposite, directionally, with the overall circulating supply of the coin, which has decreased 0.71%. This brings the circulating supply to 27.09 billion. According to our data, the current market cap ranking for CRO is #43 at $2.50 billion.
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This article was generated by Benzinga’s automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.
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Binance is shifting its focus to increase cryptocurrency adoption in Thailand which could transform the future of digital assets in the Asian region.
Binance announced it wants to make virtual coins a mainstream currency in the Thai market, which could propel the crypto platform to hit 1 billion users.
Binance Chief Marketing Officer Rachel Conlan said that the crypto firm sees Thailand as a key strategic market in expanding its dominance in the cryptocurrency sector.
A Strategic Market
During the Binance Blockchain Week, Conlan explained that Binance’s primary market is Asia because there are many early crypto adopters in the country.
The Binance executive added that the Southeast Asian country has taken the “pioneering approach” when it comes to digital currency, believing that Thailand is moving in the right direction in making crypto regulations.
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“I think that is what ultimately is going to help this industry thrive and drive forward,” Conlan remarked.
A High Crypto Penetration
Conlan explained that one of the reasons why Binance targets Thailand for its expansion is its high crypto penetration rate, which is twice the global average.
Statistics showed that the global crypto penetration rate is only 6% but Conlan said that in Thailand the penetration rate is pegged at 12%.
The Binance executive noted that Bitcoin adoption worldwide remains relatively low although cryptocurrency has been in existence for many years now.
Bitcoin market cap currently at $1.45 trillion. Chart: TradingView.com
In recent months, there have been several factors driving the surge in crypto.
Currently, the cryptocurrency platform operates in 100 markets globally with at least 240 million users. The crypto firm continues its business expansion wherein 60 million users were added in more than six months.
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Turning Thailand Into A Crypto Hub
Binance’s crypto expansion is a welcome development in the Southeast Asian country as it aims to become a crypto hub in the region.
In October this year, Thailand’s Digital Asset Association president Nares Laopannarai said that it is plausible that the country could become a cryptocurrency center once strategic policies that support its development are implemented.
Laopannarai said that to be able to compete regionally, Thailand should bolster its position as a hub for digital assets by striking a balance between traditional finance and blockchain technology.
He added that the country is already going in that direction to become more supportive and less regulatory.
Binance Exec Filed Motion To Dismiss
In a related development, Binance lawyers and its ex-CEO Changpeng Zhao have asked the court to dismiss the charges filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against them.
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The crypto firm’s lawyers and its former executive argued that the SEC’s amended complaint is a “lip service” to a previous ruling of the court which stated that crypto assets are treated as securities.
They added it seems that the SEC did not recognize the impact of the court’s ruling in cryptocurrency trading, saying that secondary market resales of crypto do not constitute “securities” transactions.
Featured image from Wanderlust Travel Magazine, chart from TradingView
The crypto industry poured millions of dollars into the presidential and congressional races, but its most salient election victory is likely to be the departure of US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler.
The former Goldman Sachs banker has led the strongest regulatory crackdown on the digital-asset industry, slapping dozens of cases against crypto companies and traders large and small, including financial behemoths Coinbase Global Inc. and proprietary trading firm DRW Holdings LLC.
President Donald Trump’s decisive victory ensures a pullback on crypto-related enforcement once he takes office. In July, Trump pledged to fire Gensler on the first day of his second administration while headlining a Bitcoin conference in Nashville.
The SEC has often touted its success in court in obtaining judgments that align with its view that decades-old securities laws apply to the upstart digital asset class. It’s also notched some significant fines against some of the biggest names in the industry. In April, the agency won a massive $4.5 billion fine and disgorgement from Terraform Labs, a stablecoin issuer, and founder Do Kwan. The agency hasn’t yet released its annual enforcement report for fiscal 2024 actions. Still, in the prior year, the agency brought 46 such cases, a more than 50% increase from the year prior, according to a report by consulting firm Cornerstone Research.
“Some crypto cases have been legit fraud cases and I hope those continue and I hope we get more of them,” said J.W. Verret, professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School in Arlington, Virginia. “A lot of crypto cases have been registration only, foot fault cases when registration is impossible.”
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The next SEC chair is expected to push forward new regulations that will modify existing securities laws or enable digital asset companies to become compliant with rules that Gensler has long admonished them for flouting. That will also serve to rein in enforcement.
Bipartisan crypto legislation that supports that goal is now a stronger prospect, with the Senate set to be in Republican control.
“We expect that both the Trump administration’s and new Congress’ approach to crypto regulation to be much more constructive,” said Jack Inglis, chief executive officer of the Alternative Investment Management Association, a London-based trade group representing hedge funds and private equity firms.
That means policies “recognizing the need to embed crypto in the broader financial services framework while taking account of the technological differences with traditional finance leading to a more bespoke approach in many areas,” he said.
The SEC’s enforcement cases against crypto companies have centered on whether their products fit within the decades-old definition of a security, as laid out in the US Supreme Court’s opinion SEC v. W.J. Howey Co. That hasn’t been a good approach, according to William McLucas, a former SEC enforcement director, now a partner at WilmerHale. McLucas spoke during a securities enforcement conference in Washington on Wednesday.
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“That can’t be the solution because whether you like crypto or you don’t like crypto it’s not going away,” McLucas said. “The enforcement cases that have been brought are what they are, but they keep bringing them, and we keep seeing crypto products,” he said.
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Digital assets were a focus of 18% of all the tips, complaints and enforcement referrals at the agency in fiscal year 2024, the regulator’s Inspector General said in a recent report. The agency’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy received nearly 6,000 such complaints during that same period, more than double any other type of complaint, the IG said.
Gensler Departure
Despite Trump’s vow to boot Gensler from office immediately, it may boil down to whether the SEC chair resigns by inauguration day. Some of Gensler’s fiercest critics in financial services are already calling for his immediate resignation.
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“Last night the people voted for this country to take a new direction, and Chairman Gensler should respect that vote by stepping down from his position immediately,” said Chris Iacovella, president and chief executive officer of the American Securities Association, which represents regional brokers and other financial services firms.
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If Gensler follows Washington tradition and departs, it would leave the agency split 2-2 along party lines until a new chair can be confirmed. That would stymie further aggressive enforcement, particularly with Hester Peirce, dubbed “Crypto Mom” still a commissioner.
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One crypto industry executive, who requested to speak on background to speak frankly, said they anticipate Gensler may still want to file cases against companies like Uniswap and OpenSea that have already received “Wells notices” — an enforcement process formally notifying a company they’re under SEC investigation.
But other enforcement cases could be slow-rolled. Agency staff, aware that an incoming SEC chair, particularly one who back’s Trump’s vow to shrink the size of the federal government, might look unkindly on employees taking aggressive actions in the months leading up to a change in leadership and policy, the industry executive said.
The SEC declined to comment.
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