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- SEC Chair Gensler says major cryptocurrencies aren’t securities in 2018 video.
- BinanceUS warns judge SEC-requested asset freeze would ‘halt’ company operations.
- This and much more in today’s Snapshot.
SEC Chair Gensler says major cryptocurrencies aren’t securities in 2018 video
A video surfaced Monday in which future US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler told a group of institutional investors that major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are not securities.
In the video, which was shot in 2018 at a crypto event geared towards institutional investors, Gensler told the audience that 75% of the crypto market of the time consisted of assets that did not qualify as securities.
There's nothing about the crypto securities markets that suggests that investors & issuers are less deserving of the protections of our securities laws.
— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) June 12, 2023
Congress could have said in the 1930s that the securities laws applied only to stocks & bonds.
For more, read my remarks:
The statements contradict Gensler’s campaign as SEC Chair, in which the agency has levied several lawsuits against crypto firms on grounds that their tokens are being offered and sold as unregistered securities.
Gensler was named in a Republican-introduced bill which aims to remove him from his post earlier Monday.
The SEC sued major exchanges Binance and Coinbase last week, which saw major declines in tokens newly labelled as securities such as SOL, MATIC, and ADA.
NOW READ: How the SEC’s showdown with Coinbase will change the crypto market for everyone
BinanceUS warns judge SEC-requested asset freeze would ‘halt’ company operations
Crypto exchange BinanceUS asked a US judge to reject a Securities and Exchange Commission proposal to freeze customer assets on Monday, a week after the SEC sued the firm and its chief, Changpeng Zhao.
BinanceUS attorneys told the presiding judge that the company’s “operations would grind to a halt” if assets were frozen, with customers and employees alike affected.
The SEC requested the freeze based on allegations that BinanceUS has misled investors and misallocated customer funds for several years — claims the firm denies.
NOW READ: Users in $39b SafeDAO call for unlock of governance tokens: ‘For the love of God, let this pass’
BlockFi hints at summer customer withdrawals after FTX fallout
Crypto lending firm BlockFi announced that customers may finally be able to withdraw funds from the platform this summer, after fallout from the 2022 collapse of exchange FTX caused the company to pause withdrawals.
BlockFi stated in a Monday email to clients that the firm would “be in a position to begin allowing clients to withdraw digital assets” provided the accounts were not subject to claims.
The lending firm suspended withdrawals on Nov 13 of last year, and is currently under bankruptcy protection.
NOW READ: Billionaire and top UK taxpayer calls Sunak ‘mad’ for backing a16z’s London crypto plan
Circle CEO Allaire warns of fragile US dollar ahead of stablecoin bill talks
Jeremy Allaire, CEO and co-founder of stablecoin issuer Circle, championed upcoming stablecoin legislation as a key factor to maintain US dollar primacy, ahead of a Tuesday US House Financial Services Committee Hearing.
Allaire — whose USDC stablecoin is the second-largest stablecoin by market cap worldwide — warned advances by competitors such as China in the digital asset space would threaten US dollar dominance.
On June 13, @jerallaire will speak before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee (@FinancialCmte/@FSCDems) on the importance of protecting the U.S. dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency, & the urgent need for payment stablecoin legislation. https://t.co/OFD0FOEqTo
— Circle (@circle) June 12, 2023
The Circle executive’s testimony comes amid an April draft bill currently debated by the House Financial Services Committee, which would outline regulations for stablecoins in the US.
In addition to his calls for clear stablecoin regulations, Allaire also fired a warning shot at USD stablecoins which might fall out of the regulatory scope of any new legislation, and called for such tokens to be subject to criminal penalties.
BinanceUS hires former SEC enforcement lawyer ahead of lawsuit
Embattled exchange BinanceUS hired a former co-director of the SEC’s enforcement division as part of its legal defence team following a June 5 lawsuit put forth by the SEC.
George Canellos supervised an estimated 1,300 attorneys while employed at the SEC, before moving to law firm Milbank LLP.
Canellos is one of four high-powered lawyers hired by BinanceUS ahead of the lawsuit, in which the SEC had made several allegations regarding improper business conduct by the firm.
More web3 news from around the web…
Republican lawmakers take shot at SEC’s Gensler with proposal to oust him — The Block
Coinbase pushes for legislative remedy as it fights SEC suit — Bloomberg
SEC’s DeFi rulemaking do-over falls short — CoinDesk