Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Jury in Terraform Labs case shouldn’t decide whether crypto is a security — SEC

According to the SEC, tokens at issue in its civil case against Terraform Labs should be a “legal question” for a court, “not a factual question for the jury.”

Lawyers representing the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requested the judge in its civil case against Terraform Labs and co-founder Do Kwon determine whether certain crypto assets are securities rather than a jury.

In a Dec. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the SEC argued that the matter of cryptocurrencies as securities under the commission’s guidelines was a “legal question to be determined [by] the Court, not a factual question for the jury.” According to the SEC, sending the question of whether certain cryptocurrencies in the Terraform Labs case qualified as securities under the Howey test — the commission’s standard for determining what is a security — opened the matter up for discussion.

“[T]here is no genuine dispute of material fact that Defendants’ crypto asset offerings involved an investment of money, in a common enterprise, with an expectation of profit to be derived from Defendants’ efforts,” said the SEC.

Source: Courtlistener

Related: SEC faces sanctions threat as Judge questions DEBT Box case accuracy

The SEC has taken it upon itself to label different cryptocurrencies as securities in various lawsuits, including enforcement actions against Binance and Coinbase. In the commission’s case against Ripple, a federal judge ruled in July that the XRP token did not necessarily qualify as a security, potentially leading to the SEC dropping charges against CEO Brad Garlinghouse and executive chair Chris Larsen.

The question of which cryptocurrencies qualify as securities or commodities in the United States has been an ongoing debate among lawmakers and regulators, as is the role the SEC should play in regulating digital assets. Many experts are also speculating the SEC may soon decide on whether to approve a spot crypto exchange-traded product for the first time.

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Expect ‘records broken’ by Bitcoin ETF: Brett Harrison (ex-FTX US), X Hall of Flame

Brett Harrision (ex-FTX US) dishes the dirt on the “insecure, prideful” SBF and tips a spot Bitcoin ETF will shatter the futures ETF’s records

The former president of FTX US dishes the dirt on his falling out with former Jane Street colleague Sam Bankman-Fried and predicts the spot Bitcoin ETF will far outshine the record-breaking success of the Bitcoin Futures ETF.

Who is this guy anyway?

The ex-president of FTX US, Brett Harrison, tells Magazine that he didnt say a single word to Sam Bankman-Fried during the two-month notice period after he resigned, which was only months before the whole exchange blew up. Even getting a message to SBF to say he was resigning in the first place was hard work.

I had to talk to other people in the company to formally resign. I wrote one text to Sam and I got back a single heart emoji. That was the last I heard from him, Harrison declares.

Harrison and Bankman-Fried had been colleagues years earlier at quantitative trading firm Jane Street, where Harrison saw his potential while teaching SBF in a course on programming for traders. But things went south real quick between them at FTX.

Harrison claims it was due to Bankman-Frieds inflated ego and his reluctance to accept any feedback or advice.

Sam hated criticism and, as a result, refused to communicate with me. It drove my decision to quit even further, he says.

Yet, Harrison says he had no clue of the storm about to engulf the company with FTX declaring bankruptcy only a few months after he bailed from the U.S. arm of exchange.

The rest of us, especially in the U.S., were blindsighted. We were working with regulators, top lawyers, and to have the whole organization fail because of one persons greed, will stay with us for the rest of our life.

However, he feels justice was done in the recent fraud trial against his former boss.

I do feel the result was absolutely just, and I’m glad that justice was served quickly; I think it was essential that Sam was held accountable for his actions, he declares.

Meanwhile, Harrison wasted no time diving into a new project.

He co-founded Architect.xyz, a DeFi platform that focuses on bridging all the different opportunities in the digital asset space for both institutional and retail investors.

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Harrison is a bit of a brainiac and has a computer science degree focused on artificial intelligence (AI) from Harvard University. So, who better to ask about the potential for AI to take over the world?

I do not think AI is a threat to humanity, he declares, pointing out that AI has been in development for much longer than people think:

Lots of people are now seeing AI for the first time, they don’t appreciate the decades of progress that has gone into it.

Harrison is more concerned about humans using AI to pull off scams and swipe identities more effortlessly.

It truly is just linear algebra,” he says. “The idea that linear algebra is some existential threat to our survival just feels somewhat fanciful to people who have been practitioners in the field for a long time.

What led to Twitter Fame?

Harrison is a smart guy who drops interesting stuff on social media that people seem to dig.

But let’s not dance around the fact that the FTX connection is what blew up his follower numbers, with his count hitting its highest weekly peak when FTX took a nosedive in November 2022, when he gained 2,140 followers, according to data from Social Blade.

Back in January, his long rant about his departure from X got nearly 3 million eyeballs. He said he wasn’t canned from the FTX gig; it just wasnt his dream job, and SBF was an insecure, prideful manager.

Content people can expect

If you scroll through Harrisons timeline over the years, you’ll notice his glam lifestyle has toned down considerably since the FTX days. 

Back then, he was often seen hanging out with celebs and former prime ministers.

Nowadays, its way more low-key. Besides throwing in some market talk, Harrison’s been sharing snippets about his family life lately. 

He’s even flexing about saving toys from the FTX US office that somehow dodged the whole bankruptcy drama.

What type of content does he like?

Harrison loves the blend of genius and goofiness on Crypto X getting a daily fix of humor and high intellect.

One of the things I love about Crypto Twitter  is the perfect mix of highly intellectual cerebral, either Market structure or political commentary, and degenerate memes.

However, when we asked about the accounts he’s into, hes not that forthcoming. 

After doing some light digging, it turns out hes following 2,100 accounts, and guess who’s in the mix? None other than Bankman-Fried’s pal Tiffany Fong.

Bitcoin predictions?

Harrison used to avoid making predictions, saying hed never have predicted the events that happened to him. But that was when things were going too smoothly, and that’s all changed. 

Harrison declares there is a very high probability that a spot Bitcoin ETF will get approved in the first quarter of 2024.

As for price predictions? Harrison isn’t tossing out any six-figure numbers right away.

In Q1 assuming there is an ETF that’s approved. I think something in the $50,000 to $55,000 range feels pretty probable, he states.

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He doesnt see Bitcoin hitting six figures until toward the end of 2024 or early 2025 at the earliest.

He points to the first day of Bitcoin Futures ETF as just a little hint of how optimistic he is about the spot Bitcoin ETF:

If you remember the day when a Bitcoin Futures ETF was listed the inflows were some of the highest ever seen in the history of ETFs. I think we’re going to see even more records broken for a spot Bitcoin ETF.



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Monday, December 4, 2023

BTC price levels to watch as Bitcoin whales ‘lure’ market to $42K

Bitcoin analysis is getting more and more suspicious of the “up only” BTC price action in recent days.

Bitcoin (BTC) faces sharp volatility as the new week begins with BTC price action focusing on $42,000 — can it endure?

The largest cryptocurrency, fresh from weekend gains that topped 10%, is still keeping traders guessing over its next move.

While a trip to $40,000 was well anticipated, the question now is whether or not the latest move represents the beginning of a new trend or, conversely, a new bull trap.

Appraisals currently vary widely, with bullish and bearish perspectives battling for vindication.

Cointelegraph takes a look at the most important support and resistance levels now in play after recent BTC price performance reshapes the market landscape.

BTC/USD is currently trading at around $41,600, per data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, having hit 19-month highs of $42,160 earlier on the day.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart.

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Sunday, December 3, 2023

Bitcoin price surge toward $40K boosts sentiment in KAS, RUNE, MNT and RNDR

Bitcoin’s recent rally toward $40,000 could further fuel traders' bullish sentiment for KAS, RUNE, MNT and RNDR.

Bitcoin (BTC) finally broke above the formidable resistance of $38,000 in the past week and marched closer to $40,000.

The major tailwind for Bitcoin is the expectation that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund as early as January. Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten said in an interview with Bloomberg that the window for the approval for the spot Bitcoin ETF “seems to have been narrowed to January 8th, 9th, or 10th.”

Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360

Several analysts expect Bitcoin’s price to soar after one or more spot Bitcoin ETFs are greenlighted.

Could Bitcoin's rise near $40,000 boost buying in altcoins? Let’s look at the charts of the top 5 cryptocurrencies that may attract investors.

Bitcoin price analysis

Bitcoin rose and closed above the overhead resistance of $37,980 on Dec.

BTC/USDT daily chart.

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Arbitrum DAO passes $23M extra budget to fund all grant applicants

The Arbitrum community is expanding its grant program budget to over $70 million, supporting a total of 56 projects.

The Arbitrum DAO has confirmed the disbursement of millions in extra tokens to fund all projects approved on its latest Short-Term Incentive Program (STIP), boosting its budget by $23.4 million.

The proposal, voted by the Arbitrum community between Nov.

The supplementary capital was approved by 216.7 million votes in favor to 73.1 million against, bringing STIP's total budget to 71.4 million ARB tokens.

ARB holders approved the addition of 21.1 million tokens for funding grant applications. Source: Tally/Arbitrum

Arbitrum is a layer-2 networking designed to scale transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, allowing funds to be transferred more quickly and at a lower cost.

DefiLlama data shows that Arbitrum generated over $180,165 in fees and $43,342 in revenue just on Dec.

Layer-2 Arbitrum generated over $57 million in cumulative transaction fees. Source: DefiLlama

The new budget includes funding for Gains Network (4.5 million ARB), Wormhole (1.8 million ARB), and Stargate Finance (2 million ARB).

The approval of additional funding was not without controversy.

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Crypto Biz: UAE’s regulatory structure draws crypto firms, Canaan’s revenue slumps, and more

The United Arab Emirates increasingly attracts Web3 companies to its jurisdictions, becoming the center of global crypto innovation.

Behind the wave of companies moving or deploying initiatives in the UAE is regulation. The country has introduced regulatory frameworks for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), virtual asset providers, metaverses and other Web3-related entities.

By offering regulatory clarity and a clear path to compliance — amid a crackdown in the United States — the UAE is moving closer to fulfilling what it wants to be: an international financial hub for digital assets.

While predictions about how it will affect the future of the UAE or the crypto space itself vary, history shows how countries have used regulatory gaps to build new industries or curb existing ones.

This week’s Crypto Biz also explores Canaan’s revenue challenges, Wormhole’s massive fundraising and Banco Santander’s crypto moves.

Iota launches $100 million Abu Dhabi foundation for Middle East expansion

Open-source blockchain developer Iota announced the launch of the Iota Ecosystem DLT Foundation in Abu Dhabi, which is dedicated to expanding its distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the Middle East.

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How blockchain improves daily healthcare routine, explained

Blockchain enhances daily healthcare by securing patient data, streamlining coordination and minimizing errors for efficient care delivery.

The significance of blockchain in the daily healthcare routine

Blockchain has the potential to revolutionize healthcare by preserving data integrity, fostering better teamwork, and increasing patient care — even in the face of ongoing difficulties with scale and integration.

Blockchain technology has the potential to completely transform healthcare practices.

Blockchain makes it easier to create a decentralized ledger that safely keeps patient data private and permits authorized access.

Additionally, the technology can strengthen clinical trial integrity, guaranteeing the reliability of outcomes and advancing medical research.

How can blockchain prevent the counterfeiting of drugs in the pharmaceutical supply chain?

Blockchain technology’s intrinsic transparency and immutability are vital in the fight against drug counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical supply chain. 

Blockchain follows the movement of pharmaceuticals from production to distribution, providing an immutable record of every stage along the way by generating an unchangeable ledger of transactions.

Every drug batch is registered as a distinct block on the chain, holding important data, including quality certifications, shipment information and production details.

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