Biden’s ‘wealthy crypto investors’ tweet rattles industry, Jump and Jane Street retreat from crypto

Biden faces backlash over $18bn crypto tax loopholes tweet

US President Joe Biden faces a backlash from the crypto community over a tweet taking aim at “tax loopholes that help wealthy crypto investors.”

The Tuesday tweet is part of wider sabre rattling on Capitol Hill, where Democrats and Republicans are deadlocked over raising the $31.4tn US debt limit or risk the country defaulting in three weeks.

The Potus Twitter account argued that while Democrats want to plug crypto tax loopholes worth $18 billion, Republicans want to cut a near-equivalent $15 billion in food safety inspection funding.

Critics voiced confusion at Biden’s $18 billion claim, and some outright denied the existence of crypto loopholes.

Crypto has morphed into an increasingly partisan issue over the years, with Republicans like Ron DeSantis adopting a crypto-friendly stance and Demoracts like Elizabeth Warren campaigning for tougher crypto laws.

NOW READ: Attacks on CBDCs highlight crypto’s new battleground

Top market-makers Jane Street and Jump Crypto flee amid uncertain US regulations

Top market makers Jane Street Group and Jump Crypto will scale back digital asset activity in the US and beyond, according to a Bloomberg report.

The report cited regulatory uncertainty as the primary cause for their plans to dial down Stateside crypto trading.

Jump Crypto will expand operations overseas, following the trend of other major crypto firms Gemini and Coinbase, while Jane Street will excise its global crypto activities as well.

READ NOW: Argentina’s aim to slow crypto helps spur black-market workarounds

Coinbase slams SEC for custodian law proposal

Crypto exchange Coinbase slammed the US Securities Exchange Commission’s plans to restrict custody access for investment advisors.

The proposed rule would force investment advisors to store clients’ crypto assets with qualified custodians, such as banks or savings trusts.

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal tweeted that the SEC “should continue to define state trust companies and other state-regulated financial institutions” as qualified custodians and refrain from lumping digital assets in with other security types.

Other critics of the proposed rules included Republican lawmakers and US banking giant JPMorgan.

READ NOW: Coinbase says SEC’s proposed tweak to custody rule ‘unnecessarily singles out crypto’

Grayscale files with the SEC to create three crypto ETFs

Asset manager Grayscale filed for the creation of three crypto-related exchange-traded funds with the SEC on Tuesday, The Block reported.

The ETFs fall under the umbrella of the newly-founded Grayscale Funds Trust, which submitted registration documents in the filing to the SEC.

Grayscale is currently at loggerheads with the SEC over a rejected proposal to convert the company’s GBTC fund into a Bitcoin spot ETF.

NOW READ: European regulators pushed to scrap smart contract laws that would kill DeFi

Abu Dhabi will host Middle East’s largest Bitcoin mining operation

UAE capital Abu Dhabi plans to host the largest Bitcoin mining operations in the Middle East under the moniker Abu Dhabi Global Markets JV Entity.

The venture is in development by Marathon Digital Holdings and Zero Two, and will have a combined 250 megawatt capacity for its mining operation.

The project will leverage excess energy in the sector and Marathon and Zero Two stated the project will purchase clean energy certificates for any non-sustainable electricity used.

More web3 news from around the web...

Litecoin transactions hit record high as Bitcoin fees surge amid BRC-20 frenzy — CoinDesk

OKX throws shade at Coinbase, says ‘broken’ system needs a ‘rewrite’ not an update — The Block

Rosario Dawson to star in NFT-backed anime series from Gala — Decrypt