Investment Education

According to PANews, zkSNACKs, the development company behind the privacy-enhanced Bitcoin wallet Wasabi Wallet, has announced an indefinite ban on its products for users in the United States. This decision is likely triggered by the arrest of the founder of Samourai Wallet earlier this week. As per the company's announcement, the ban will be enforced through the use of an IP address firewall, preventing users from the US and related regions from accessing its website, downloading, and using the Wasabi Wallet, as well as any related products and services, including API and RPC interfaces. The company cited 'recent statements issued by US authorities' as the reason for this decision.

According to Cointelegraph: John Deaton Supports Coinbase in SEC Appeal by Filing Amicus Brief John Deaton, a known crypto lawyer who is presently running a Senate campaign to unseat Elizabeth Warren, has filed an amicus brief advocating for Coinbase. This step comes as the cryptocurrency exchange appeals certain matters in its legal battle against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Source: Courtlistener In an April 26 document filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Deaton submitted the amicus brief supporting a motion for interlocutory appeal, representing 4,701 Coinbase customers. Interestingly, Deaton provided this legal aid pro bono, representing Coinbase users' interests distinct from the exchange itself. The brief insists that the SEC’s enforcement actions are evidence that "the regulator does not speak on behalf of digital asset users and investors and intends to offer no regulatory guidance beyond citing the Howey case." Deaton pointed to the SEC's lawsuits against crypto firms, such as Debt Box, alleging that the commission's approach was more adversarial towards the crypto industry than truth and justice-aligned. Though Deaton's actions appear tied to his ongoing Senate run based on his April 26 X post, he proposed himself as a legal representative for Coinbase users as early as June 2023—prior to announcing his campaign—after the SEC filed its lawsuit. Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase, informed that the interlocutory appeal seeks the court's discernment on whether a post-sale contractual obligation is essential for something to be defined as an "investment contract"—a foundation for deciding if something is a security under SEC regulations. This pivotal legal issue is key among those being contended in the SEC's lawsuit against Coinbase. Less than six months from the election day, it remains to be seen if Deaton's legal maneuvers might impact his Senate campaign, which is distinguished by his markedly different views on digital assets compared to incumbent Senator Warren.

According to Cointelegraph: EU's DeFi Regulations Could Welcome Big Banks but Test Crypto Natives New regulatory rules forthcoming for decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols in Europe could create significant hurdles for crypto-native projects while stimulating traditional financial institutions to enter the DeFi space, as per Marina Markezic, Executive Director of the European Crypto Initiative. Markezic discussed the European Commission's forthcoming DeFi report, set to be released on Dec. 30, 2024, during a recent interview with Cointelegraph. The report will scrutinize DeFi's regulatory feasibility under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. Markezic expressed her expectations from a DeFi regulatory framework stating that it could facilitate traditional players' entry into the crypto space since several banks are already considering issuing stablecoins. However, she cautioned that obtaining licenses and achieving compliance might become harder for crypto-native projects. The EU's report seeks to explore the regulation of decentralized systems, particularly those without a defined issuer or service provider. A crucial outcome may include initial definitions of what regulators perceive as decentralization. Markezic suggested that DeFi should be looked upon as a spectrum rather than a binary scenario. This 'DeFi spectrum' would consist of a range of different use cases, from fully decentralized systems to those that exhibit various levels of control and management. Legal experts push for clear standards instead of strict rules. Sascha Drobnjak, former head of legal and compliance at Elusiv protocol, emphasized that governments, policymakers, and the industry need to agree on what really defines DeFi. Revenue from the DeFi sector is predicted to reach approximately $6.69 billion in Europe by 2024, according to Statista, with a compound annual growth rate of 9.67% between 2024 and 2028, reaching $9.68 billion in revenue by 2028.

According to PANews, the Hong Kong Financial Management Bureau has launched the FiNETech series. This initiative brings together approximately 100 banks, securities companies, insurance companies, and technology enterprises. The aim is to jointly explore advanced cooperation arrangements in wealth technology, insurance technology, green technology, artificial intelligence, and distributed ledger technology. Over the next six to twelve months, the Bureau plans to expand its cooperation in the field of financial technology through the FiNETech series of events. This will include continued collaboration with various co-organizing institutions, industry associations, and market experts. The focus will be on the development of artificial intelligence (including generative artificial intelligence), distributed ledger technology, and green technology. The Bureau also aims to make substantial progress in the adoption of financial technology by banks and other financial institutions. This is part of the broader goal of the FiNETech series to foster innovation and collaboration in the financial technology sector.

According to BlockBeats, the US core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index annual rate for March was reported at 2.8%. This figure exceeded the anticipated rate of 2.7%, matching the previous value of 2.8%. The PCE index is a measure of the prices that people living in the United States, or those buying on their behalf, pay for goods and services. The core PCE index excludes volatile food and energy prices to provide a clearer picture of underlying inflation trends. The data is closely watched by the Federal Reserve as it sets its inflation target based on the core PCE price index. The higher than expected rate indicates a potential increase in inflation, which could influence the Federal Reserve's future monetary policy decisions.

On April 19, 2024, Binance hosted its first-ever online Law Enforcement Training Day. The event aimed to deliver state-of-the-art cryptocurrency education to the global law enforcement community, spotlighting an increasing interest in these topics. The initiative underscores the need for stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors to combat crypto-associated crime. Practical Cryptocurrency Investigation Techniques Unveiled As part of Binance's comprehensive Law Enforcement Training Program, the Law Enforcement Training Day centered around the operational aspects of cryptocurrency investigations. It illuminated blockchain tracing techniques and delved into advanced concepts such as demixing or cross-chain swaps. Law enforcement speakers unveiled recent case studies—ranging from pig butchering scams and child abuse to terrorist financing. These practical examples revealed how combining traditional investigative methods with the ability to trace funds across major publicly traceable blockchains is becoming increasingly critical. Speakers from Diverse Sectors The speaker panel featured 11 experts from various sectors, including Binance, law enforcement portal Kodex, and blockchain data investigation firms Chainalysis, TRM Labs, Elliptic, and Clain. Representatives from the law enforcement community also provided insights, including individuals from the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) of the Royal Thai Police, the National Organised Crime Agency of the Police of the Czech Republic, and the Cyberpolice Department of the National Police of Ukraine. Large Attendance Demonstrates Increasing Interest With over 1,300 law enforcement representatives from 86 countries in attendance—primarily from national police agencies and state prosecutors—the event demonstrated burgeoning global interest in cryptocurrency education. Among the ten countries with the highest attendance, six were European. Commenting on the event's success, Jarek Jakubcek, Binance’s Head of Law Enforcement Training, stressed that public-private collaboration is not merely desirable but downright crucial in detecting and preventing cryptocurrency-related criminal activity. He expressed gratitude towards all participants for contributing to this knowledge-rich event.

According to U.Today, Sarah Netburn, a US Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, has set a schedule for Ripple's motion to strike new expert materials submitted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC has until April 29 to respond to the motion, after which Ripple will have three business days to file its reply. Ripple recently opposed the SEC's motion for remedies, asking the court to reject the agency's request for disgorgement and prejudgment interest. The San Francisco-based company also argues that the SEC's civil penalty should not exceed $10 million, while the regulator is seeking approximately $2 billion in fines and penalties. Ripple has also moved to strike the SEC's new expert materials, which include a declaration and two supporting exhibits prepared by Andrea Fox, an Assistant Chief Accountant in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. Ripple contends that it did not have the opportunity to take Fox's deposition and that reopening remedies discovery to do so would result in unnecessary expense and delay. The company further claims that the SEC was obligated to disclose Fox as an expert witness before the end of discovery. Ripple argues that this obligation cannot be circumvented by merely describing her as a summary witness. As a result, Ripple is urging the court to strike her declaration due to the SEC's late disclosure.

According to Foresight News, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Caleb Joseph Ward and Jeremy George McNutt, co-founders of Bitcoin mining company Geosyn Mining, of defrauding approximately 64 investors of $5.6 million through service agreements sold as securities between November 2021 and December 2022. The SEC alleges that Geosyn Mining's agreement to purchase and operate cryptocurrency mining machines on behalf of clients, for which it charged fees, falsely claimed to have signed a cheap energy contract with a power supplier. In reality, the costs were 40% to 50% higher than the rates communicated to clients. Furthermore, of the 1,400 mining machines that were supposed to be purchased under the service agreements, 400 were never bought. Additionally, most of the mining equipment that was purchased was never put into operation.

According to Foresight News, insiders have revealed that creditors of Celsius Loan are planning to appeal against the company's restructuring plan. The reason behind this is the discovery that Celsius's asset recovery rate is lower than expected. The current plan has reduced the amount of money recovered from customers who hold bankrupt assets in loan accounts. The creditors of Celsius Loan have stated that they do not yet have a specific timeline for potential litigation and are still in the early stages of exploration. This development could potentially impact the company's restructuring process and its future operations. Further details about the appeal and its potential implications are yet to be disclosed.

According to Foresight News, the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has confirmed that it has granted cryptocurrency licenses to 75 institutions so far. The FSCA has reminded the public that its licensing authority is limited to the authorization and supervision of Cryptocurrency Asset Service Providers (CASP). CASPs are limited to providing financial services related to cryptocurrency assets as defined by the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act.