The industry got (some) breathing space from regulators, giving room for a recuperation period, with recent political events dictating the pace of things. There was a lot of institutional activity, with legal cases coming with the (usual) furor.
The headlines:
- There were not enough votes on Capitol Hill to overturn the President’s SAB 121 veto;
- In a rare move, the SEC pulled out of a few investigations;
- Core Scientific got new Bitcoin mining chips from Block;
- There was (some) drama in Texas over mining noise levels;
- Plus, North Carolina’s AG issued a new Bitcoin ATM scam warning;
- And much more!
As always, these are your decentralized diaries!
Bitcoin is at $63k
Following Mount Gox liquidations, Bitcoin prices hit a $63,207.10 high from a $56,168.91 low. Bitcoin is currently at $63,101.15 (as of 7/15/24). The altcoins have warmed up, too. Ethereum (ETH) is at $3,379.15, Solana (SOL) at $153.63, Avalanche (AVAX) at $27.03, Polkadot at $6.34, and Chainlink (LINK) at $13.91.
Capitol Hill’s Lower House Did Not Meet the Two-Thirds Threshold to Overturn the SAB 121 Veto
The move by the House of Representatives to overturn President Joe Biden’s veto of SAB 121 hit a roadblock. Consequently, the measure could have lived up to (earlier) expectations with a 228-184 vote on July 11.
Benham: 70% of Crypto Assets Are Not Securities
During a July 10 Senate testimony, CFTC Chair Rostin Benham iterated that 70% to 80% of crypto assets are non-securities. Furthermore, Benham indicated that regulators should shift their focus to centralized exchanges. Benham (also) called for an understudy of the DeFi industry.
The SEC Dropped Several Investigations
Several crypto operators got to breathe with the SEC, revealing its decision to end several (ongoing) probes. On July 11, crypto infrastructure firm Paxos revealed its receipt of a termination notice from the SEC over its BUSD stablecoin investigation.
The notice follows a decision by a Federal Judge that BUSD sales were not a securities offering. Additionally, the SEC (officially) ended its three-year investigation into the Stacks Blockchain and developer Hiro Systems.
Similarly, in related news, Coinbase’s efforts to subpoena SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s (personal) communications hit a brick wall. Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the District Court for the Southern District of New York recommended that Coinbase either drop its efforts or alter the subpoena.
Chainlink Integrated its Data Feeds with Starknet
Decentralized developers got a boost with a revelation from Oracle-focused Chainlink about the integration of crypto data feeds into the scalability framework Starknet. The deployment enables developers to improve access to live onchain data.
Paxful‘s Co-Founder Reached a Settlement With The Authorities
Artur Schaback, co-founder of the Paxful peer-to-peer crypto exchange, reached a plea deal with prosecutors over ineffective compliance provisions between July 2015 and June 2019. Following his guilty plea agreement, Schaback will pay a $5 million fine and step down from Paxful’s board of directors. Furthermore, the Courts will (expectedly) sentence Schaback on November 4.
He faces five years in prison (max).
Core Scientific Collaborated with Block
The Jack Dorsey-backed Block partnered with Bitcoin miner Core Scientific for their new 3nm mining chips. The chips, designed (locally) by the Proto team at Block, will (expectedly) deliver a 15 EH/S (exahash per second) hash rate with the new Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs).
Additionally, the cooperation requires Block to maintain compatibility with Core Scientific’s (current) hardware ecosystem.
A Court Acquitted a Marathon Digital Mine Manager of Noise Violations in Texas
Things are looking up for Marathon Digital mine manager Dave Fischer after officials in Hood County, Texas, found him not guilty of noise violations. Residents had accused Fischer of noise violations of over 85 decibels from Marathon Digital’s nearby facility.
Fischer’s and Marathon Digital’s lawyers highlighted improper noise tests and iterated that Fischer was the wrong individual to charge.
Riot Platforms Unveiled its Bitfarms Improvement Plans
Similarly, premier crypto miner Riot Platforms continued its (ongoing) efforts to acquire Bitfarms. Riot launched a new website revealing its strategy following Bitfarm’s July 8 decision to appoint a new chief executive officer.
Half of Crypto Black Money Ends Up on Centralized Exchanges: Chainalysis
The illicit funds’ fight for centralized crypto exchanges is far from over. That’s what a recently released report from Chainalisys suggests.
According to the report, criminals laundered almost $100 billion of funds laundered in the last five years, with about half of the amount ending up on centralized exchanges. Furthermore, mixers played a (significant) role, too.
In January 2023, the report identified $234 million (approximately) coming. Tornado cash accounted for a large part of the haul.
North Carolina’s Attorney General Issued a Bitcoin ATM Scam Warning
Alarmingly, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein issued an alert on July 12 about rising Bitcoin ATM scams. The announcement followed complaints on the issue.
Stein warned about criminals using unsolicited means to request payments for Bitcoin (and crypto). Additionally, Stein urged residents to be wary about such requests. He (also) advised residents to verify the identities of the (would-be) recipients before sending funds.
Exodus Launched an Embedded Wallet
The Web 3 space got another plus with a new wallet from crypto software firm Exodus. The new Passkeys Wallet allows developers to (fully) integrate the solution into apps without the need for seed phrases or browser extensions.
Additionally, the Passkeys Wallet supports the Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL) blockchains.
