Crypto Politics, SEC's Next Steps, and More!

This Week on Unchained: Don't miss the interviews with Sheila Warren on crypto politics, and Jason Gottlieb on what's next for the SEC.

June 01, 2024

After some big wins for the crypto industry (and big losses for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission), Jason Gottlieb, partner at Morrison Cohen, delves into how the upcoming US elections could reshape the SEC’s crypto agenda, the political pressures influencing SEC decisions, and the potential impact that a new SEC Chair could have.

Gottlieb provides insights into ongoing court battles involving major crypto firms like Coinbase and explores the broader political implications of the Democrats’ recent outreach to the crypto industry.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Or watch it on YouTube.

Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, joins Unchained to explore the dramatic shift by Democrats in the last few weeks on crypto. She explains why she believes the overturning of SAB 121 and the House vote for the FIT21 bill were both instrumental to the White House’s changing view on crypto and may have played a role in the SEC’s surprising approval of spot ETH ETFs.

Having worked for years on passing crypto legislation and as a lifelong Democrat, Sheila describes what kinds of arguments were persuasive to Democratic members of Congress, addresses some criticisms of the FIT21 bill, and gives her perspective on the debate about single-issue voters.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Or watch it on YouTube.

In Case You Missed It 👀

Here are some articles you will probably want to read:

The SEC’s approval for Ethereum spot ETFs may help clarify ether’s commodity status, but it still leaves room open for the agency to put staked ether, and staking, in its crosshairs.

The SEC’s approval for Ethereum spot ETFs may weaken its case in its ongoing legal battles with crypto companies, but the agency may not succumb easily.

A dispute has arisen regarding what bridge has the cheapest transaction fee in DeFi, with Hart Lambur, co-founder of the interoperability protocol Across, referring to the situation as ‘Bridge Wars.’

Polyhedra and zkSync are at odds over the “ZK” token ticker, with the community largely supporting zkSync. Will this dispute impact future token ticker practices?

DWF Labs’ public statement and onchain activity are additional signs of institutions broadening their exposure to the mainstream but once niche area of the crypto ecosystem.

A validator-only vote has concluded in favor of a proposal to reward validators with the full priority fee — but some critics have argued that removing the burn mechanism could increase SOL’s inflation rate and have a net negative impact on the network.

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