Crypto may see second wind in the US as courts 'rein in the SEC'

There are hopes that the United States could see a new crypto resurgence after several rulings this year have seen court judges “rein in the SEC,” according to a digital asset lawyer from K&L Gates.

On Aug. 31, Jeremy McLaughlin, a partner at the global law firm, noted that multiple U.S. court cases have stomped on arguments from Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler — who has said that almost all digital assets are securities.

McLaughlin was speaking on a panel at Intersekt23 in Melbourne alongside payment services firm Novatti chief Effie Dimitropoulos and Invest Hong Kong fintech head King Leung.

He said early crypto regulation happened at the state level and was “pretty clear what you needed to do” but after the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission got involved “a lot of the market started to close up.”

“People delisted tokens, some companies pulled out of the U.S. because they saw how aggressive the SEC was being, and continues to be,” McLaughlin said.

#news #US #crypto

SEC’s first deadlines to approve 7 Bitcoin ETFs coming over the next week

Analysts say the best-case scenario for crypto is that the Securities and Exchange Commission approves the batch of spot Bitcoin ETFs, but the agency may exercise its right to an appeal.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission is facing its first deadlines to decide on seven spot Bitcoin
BTC tickers down $27,439 exchange-traded fund applications, with the latest being Sept. 4 amid its defeat to Grayscale Investments in a U.S. federal appeals court.

Investment firm Bitwise will learn if its ETF will win the SEC’s approval on Sept. 1 while BlackRock, VanEck, Fidelity, Invesco and Wisdomtree will all be awaiting the SEC’s decision for their funds by Sept. 2, according to several SEC filings.

The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled on Aug. 29 that the SEC’s rejection of Grayscale’s application to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin ETF was “arbitrary and capricious” — but this doesn’t mean the SEC must approve Grayscale’s application or others in the future, says Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart.

In an Aug. 29 Bloomberg interview, Seyffart explained that Grayscale’s win “definitely” increases the odds of a successful outcome for the next wave of applicants.

He isn’t sure when that day may come, though, as the SEC can delay its decisions and has two more proposed deadlines for each fund before being forced to make a final decision on the 240th-day post-filing.

#news #crypto #US

Added Tether USD (ERC20) Binance USD (BEP20)

The Galionex platform has added cryptocurrencies:

Tether USD (USDT) on the Ethereum (ERC20) network and Binance USD (BUSD) on the Binance (BEP20) network.

The new assets USDT (ERC20) and BUSD (BEP20) are available for participation in Galionex Earn products.

Note: On the Galionex platform, every replenishment of your account is automatically converted from cryptocurrency to US dollars.
This is to preserve the value of your investment and protect you from high market risk associated with price volatility.

New tax rules for crypto in the US: Law Decoded

The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which is responsible for tax collection in the United States, has released proposed regulations on the sale and exchange of digital assets by brokers. Under the rules, brokers would be required to use a new form to simplify tax filings and cut down on tax cheating. According to the U.S. Treasury, the regulations bring digital asset reporting into line with reporting on other types of assets.

The proposed rules would go into effect in 2026 to reflect sales and exchanges carried out in 2025. Written comments on the proposal are being accepted through Oct. 30, with at least one public hearing to be held after that date.

Several prominent crypto commentators have criticized the new crypto tax reporting rules. Kristin Smith, the CEO of the Blockchain Association, highlighted the difference between the crypto ecosystem and traditional finance. DeFi Education Fund CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine called the rules “confusing, self-refuting, and misguided.” Messari CEO Ryan Selkis stated that President Joe Biden’s reelection would mean no future for the crypto industry in the country. Representative Patrick McHenry, the House Financial Services Committee chairman, called the proposal “another front in the Biden Administration’s ongoing attack on the digital asset ecosystem.”

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Breakthrough growth’ will be driven by Web3: Hong Kong financial secretary

Hong Kong’s financial secretary, Paul Chan Mo-po, has reiterated his support for blockchain technology, calling it the next wave of “breakthrough growth” in the digital technology industry.

In an Aug. 27 blog post, Chan wrote that emerging sectors within Web3, such as NFTs, GameFi, Play-to-Earn gaming, and immersive entertainment, are set to lead the next generation of digital entertainment.

“The core blockchain technology of Web3, with its characteristics of disintermediation, security, transparency, immutability and low cost, can be applied in many fields such as finance, commerce, trade, supply chain management, and even daily life.”


Chan’s statements came in the wake of his visit to a three-day blockchain-focused event called the Digital Entertainment Leaders Forum, hosted in Cyberport in Hong Kong.

Cyberport is a 25 hectare, mixed-use tech and multimedia hub which provides grants, funding and office space to a wide range of companies across the tech, digital entertainment and finance sectors.

Notably, Chan mentioned he had allocated an additional $50 million from this year’s budget to Cyberport earlier this year— to help it accelerate the development of a “vigorous” Web3 ecosystem.

#news #web3 #china

Mastercard and Binance end crypto card partnership in Latin America

Global payment giant Mastercard is reportedly ending its cryptocurrency card partnership with Binance crypto exchange next month, according to a Bloomberg report. The report didn't divulge the reason for the change, but implied it might be due to increased regulatory scrutiny of the beleaguered crypto exchange.

Mastercard and Binance will end their four crypto card programmes in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia starting Sept. 22, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 24.

The decision to end the program will not impact any of Mastercard's other crypto card programmes, the firm reportedly said. The wind-down period will allow cardholders to convert any holdings in their Binance wallets, it added.

The Mastercard and Binance’s prepaid crypto card allows users to make payments in local fiat currencies, funded by their crypto holdings on the exchange.

The end of the collaboration comes about one year after Binance and Mastercard first partnered last August to launch a prepaid card for the residents of Argentina. In early 2023, the firms expanded the partnership with another prepaid crypto card in Latin America.

The report hints that the end of the partnership comes in response to renewed regulatory issues of Binance worldwide.

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