Judge urges Binance.US and SEC to compromise, SEC delays response to Coinbase, Saylor sees Bitcoin dominance

Judge urges Binance.US and the SEC to reach a compromise in regards to asset freeze

A judge urged Binance.US and the US Securities and Exchange Commission to compromise on the SEC’s push for a total asset freeze.

US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson referred the two entities to a magistrate judge to reach an accord, in a dispute that sees both sides claiming customer funds are at stake if the other gets its way, Bloomberg reported.

The SEC sued Binance.US and its founder Changpeng Zhao on June 5 for allegations of violating securities rules, misleading customers, and more.

Binance.US expressed concern over the weekend that an asset freeze would not only cripple the business, but place the entire digital market in danger.

SEC delays response to Coinbase petition

The SEC has put off an expected decision whether to respond to a petition put forth by crypto exchange Coinbase.

The SEC sued Coinbase last week on grounds the exchange was allegedly operating an unregistered securities exchange, clearing agency, and brokerage.

Coinbase maintained that the SEC rejected its petition, which was filed last year, and says that the agency is dragging out the process by refusing to commit to a deadline despite by a court order to provide one.

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MicroStrategy’s Saylor says Bitcoin will double to 80% of crypto market

MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor said that Bitcoin will double in cryptocurrency market dominance in a Bloomberg interview Tuesday, as investors seek haven from a US regulatory crackdown.

The industry will be “rationalised down to Bitcoin and a half dozen to a dozen other proof-of-work tokens,” Saylor said, a statement which writes off proof-of-stake tokens such as Ethereum’s ETH token as doomed would-be securities.

Saylor’s claim of increased Bitcoin dominance refers to the asset’s current 48% share of the entire cryptocurrency market, a number Saylor contends will rise as high 80% following a purge by regulators.

While Bitcoin has a history of increasing in market dominance during bearish periods, many proof-of-stake projects such as Ethereum have as-yet avoided SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s designation as securities, which is a key factor in Saylor’s prediction.

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Republican lawmakers request SEC to nix expanded ‘exchange’ definition

Republican members of the US House Financial Services Committee asked the SEC to dial back a proposed rule which would expand the definition of the term “exchange.”

Republicans sent a letter to the SEC on Tuesday which argued the SEC’s proposition would “harm digital market asset participants” and hamper innovation.

The letter was sent ahead of an HFSC hearing later in the day.

The new rule would potentially see DeFi protocols fall under the SEC’s legal umbrella, a possibility that has drawn opposition from crypto firms.

NOW READ: Crypto lobby rallies to stop SEC from forcing DEXs to register as exchanges

US Treasury official says US ‘has not yet determined’ CBDC goals amid low public support

A US Treasury official said Tuesday that the nation has not yet determined whether it will pursue a CBDC, as it leads an interagency group tasked with evaluating a possible central bank digital currency.

At Tuesday’s Transform Payments USA 2023 conference, assistant secretary for financial institutions Graham Steele said the interagency group was working “to strike the right balance” in possible development of a CBDC, considering factors such as national security, financial crime, and privacy.

Steele acknowledged risks of a retail digital dollar, and identified the heightened potential of bank runs due to faster transactions as one such example.

One poll shows as few as 16% of Americans support a CBDC — and Steele affirmed that it would be “important” to consider factors such as privacy and anonymity in introducing a national digital asset.

NOW READ: EU data bill threatens to upend smart contracts in potential blow for DeFi

More web3 news from around the web…

Binance goes to court against the SEC — CoinDesk

North Korea’s Lazarus Group reemerges with new $100 million crypto hack — The Block

Apple threatens to remove Web3 social network Damus from App Store if it doesn’t end Bitcoin tipping — Fortune