📅 👀 Mark Your Calendars, ETF Watchers

In today’s edition: 🚀 A potential boost for crypto volumes, 🚨 Blockchain Association sues SEC, 💻 Chivo Bitcoin ATM source code exposed, 💼 Nexyst Digital to launch new vehicles, and more!

April 24, 2024

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The US vs. Crypto: Jake Chervinsky on Crypto's Legal and Regulatory Status - Ep. 635

Jake Chervinsky, chief legal officer of Variant, discusses the current state of crypto regulation, touching on several ongoing legal and regulatory issues in the crypto space, including Uniswap’s Wells notice, the Coinbase case, the Tornado Cash case, the Ethereum Foundation investigation and more. Chervinsky argues that the government’s approach to these cases is often misguided, particularly in instances where they hold software developers liable for how third parties use their software. He also discusses the potential implications of the government’s case against Tornado Cash, suggesting that it could have far-reaching consequences for all open-source software developers.

Chervinsky also delves into the SEC’s ongoing investigations into the Ethereum Foundation, as well as the recent IRS draft form that lists unhosted wallets as a type of broker. He expressed concern about the potential impact of these investigations on the crypto industry, but remained optimistic about the future of DeFi in the US.

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

What’s Poppin’?

by Sam Sriram, Sage Young, and Michael Bodley

Rather than creating competition for crypto, the NYSE operating overnight could increase trading volumes for both types of assets. 

The Blockchain Association is suing the SEC over its enactment of rulemaking that expands the definition of a securities dealer to include those who act as liquidity providers in DeFi protocols.

The Hong Kong Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs will reportedly begin trading on April 30, using an in-kind redemption mechanism.

Cybercrime group CiberInteligenciaSV has published some of the source code related to El Salvador’s Bitcoin ATM network on a public black hat-hacking crime forum.

Nexyst Digital is gearing up to launch two new crypto vehicles in mid-May that seek to reduce volatility and risk by employing multiple managers.

Daily Bits…✍️✍️✍️

  • 🔒 Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan's bail hearing in Nigeria has been postponed to May 17, following his arrest on charges of money laundering and tax evasion on Feb. 26.

  • 💬 The SEC is seeking public comments on BlackRock's amended proposal for a spot Ethereum ETF, following a delay in decision and recent amendments focusing on the ETF's creation and redemption process.

  • 👨‍⚖️ The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking a three-year prison sentence for Binance founder Changpeng Zhao following his November guilty plea on charges of anti-money laundering and violating sanctions.

  • 🇻🇪 Tether announced plans to freeze wallets used to circumvent Venezuelan sanctions, particularly following the increased use of USDT by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA to bypass US oil export sanctions.

  • 🔧 Jack Dorsey's company, Block, developed a three-nanometer Bitcoin mining chip and plans to offer its own mining systems, aiming to decentralize and innovate in the mining technology sector.

  • 🛡️ A critical vulnerability in the IBC protocol could have allowed exploiters to replay a bug to redeem infinite IBC tokens, potentially impacting multiple chains including Osmosis. A patch has since been released and the vulnerability was resolved without any malicious exploitation.

  • 🌍 An internal research team at PayPal proposed a new scheme to encourage greener Bitcoin mining by providing extra bitcoin rewards in transactions for miners using low-carbon energy, aiming to incentivize environmentally friendly mining practices.

  • 🔒 The Bitcoin community is considering the OP_CAT proposal for enabling smart contracts and secure bridges on the network, reflecting ongoing discussions about advanced scripting and covenants in Bitcoin.

  • 🔥 The Injective community approved a proposal to significantly increase the deflation of its native token, INJ, aiming to enhance its economic model by reducing minting and increasing deflationary measures.

  • 🔑 Safe Protocol's governance token SAFE became transferable, with a fully diluted valuation now standing at over $2.8 billion, despite a price drop following its market debut.

The $$$ Corner…

  • 💼 Turnkey, started by former Coinbase employees, secured $15 million in Series A funding led by Lightspeed Faction and Galaxy Ventures to enhance blockchain wallet infrastructure for developers.

  • 💵 Prime Intellect, a decentralized artificial intelligence firm, garnered $5.5 million in a seed round led by CoinFund and Distributed Global to build a scalable decentralized AI development infrastructure.

  • 📲 Solana DEX aggregator Jupiter acquired self-custody wallet firm Ultimate Wallet, aiming to expand its mobile user base with a new app beta scheduled for May.

What Do You Meme?

Recommended Reads

📈 Your Market Update 📉

  • BTC is up .1%, trading at $66,385

  • ETH is up 2.4%, trading at $3,259

  • BTC dominance: 50.7%

  • Crypto market cap: $2.58T

*All data as of today, 06:41 am ET. Source: CoinGecko

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