The United States Securities and Exchange Commission and its chair Gary Gensler were the targets of many lawmakers and witnesses at a hearing exploring the crash of the crypto market. In a Feb. 14 hearing at the Senate Banking Committee titled ‘Crypto Crash: Why Financial System Safeguards are Needed for Digital Assets’, ranking member Tim Scott said Gensler should appear before Congress before September to address additional enforcement actions in the crypto space, calling out the SEC chair for doing “rounds on the morning talk shows” rather than testifying. According to the South Carolina senator, the SEC had not provided …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled with Kraken on Feb. 9 for an action taken against the exchange’s staking rewards program. Kraken paid a $30 million fine and agreed to halt the program. Set aside for a moment the irony that the SEC is going after a solvent firm in the crypto space with a decade-long reputation as a good actor. Kraken has been helping settle verified Bitcoin (BTC) claimants from the hacking of rival exchange Mt. Gox over a decade ago. It invented the use of Merkle Root data to create verifiable proof of reserves. It …

After twenty days of holding the $22,500 support, Bitcoin (BTC) price finally broke down on Feb. 9. Bullish traders had placed their hope on a sustained rally, but this has been replaced by a tight trading range with resistance at $22,000. The downtrend is even more concerning since the S&P 500 is trading near its highest level in six months, yet the wider crypto market continues to correct. Regulatory pressure, mainly in the United States, can explain Bitcoin's recent lackluster performance. For starters, on Jan. 9, Kraken exchange reached an agreement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) …

This week on The Market Report, the resident experts at Cointelegraph discuss why the United States Securities and Exchange Commission is going after crypto staking and why stablecoins have been in the news recently. We start off this week’s show with the latest news in the markets: SEC lawsuit against Paxos over BUSD baffles crypto community On Feb. 13, the SEC issued a Wells Notice to Paxos Trust Company, which issues the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin, alleging that the stablecoin is an unregistered security. On the same day, the New York Department of Financial Services ordered Paxos to halt the …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly planning to propose new rule changes this week that could impact what services crypto firms can offer their clients. According to a Feb. 14 report from Bloomberg citing “people familiar with the matter,” the securities regulator is working on a draft proposal that would make it difficult for crypto firms to hold digital assets on their client’s behalf as “qualified custodians.” This may, in turn, affect the many hedge funds, private equity firms and pension funds that work alongside such crypto firms. According to those cited, a five-member SEC panel …

Crypto financial services Matrixport's head of research believes the recent scrutiny of Paxos and its Binance USD (BUSD) token is not a direct attack on stablecoins themselves. In a Feb. 14 analysis, Matrixport's Markus Thielen suggested that Paxos Trust Company, the issuer of the Binance USD (BUSD), may not have been stringent enough with its oversight of the token. He added that the issue "does not appear to be around stablecoins" in itself. "Paxos had violated its obligation to conduct tailored, periodic risk assessment and due diligence of Binance and Paxos-issued BUSD customers," Thielen argued. On Feb. 13, the New …

A New York judge has granted a request from prosecutors to defer civil proceedings from the Commodities Futures Trading Commision (CFTC) and the Securities Exchange Commision (SEC) until after Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial in October. U.S. District Judge of Manhattan Kevin Castel on Feb. 13 granted the motions to stay the civil proceedings “without prejudice,” meaning the cases will now be halted until after the Department of Justice's (DOJ’s) criminal trial concludes. The motion was first submitted on Feb. 7 by Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, requesting to defer both civil cases against the …

Paxos Trust Company has released a statement noting that it "categorically disagrees" with the United States securities regulator which has painted Binance USD (BUSD) as a security. In the Feb. 13 statement, the BUSD issuer confirmed recent reports that it had received a Wells notice from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over BUSD and its alleged failure to register the offering under federal securities laws. END/ Paxos remains dedicated to the development of stablecoins, tokenization & #blockchain technology. We’ll continue serving the world’s most respected and established companies to create a more open financial system. — Paxos …

Last week, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached an agreement with cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. The latter will stop offering crypto staking services to American customers and pay $30 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties. While the sum of fines could hardly get an entity like Kraken off balance, the future of staking concerns the crypto market. The court agreement attracted the ire of not only the general crypto community but of investors, politicians and industry executives, with Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran calling SEC Chair Gary Gensler “an agent of an anti-crypto agenda” rather than …

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance plans to continue supporting its Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin despite its issuer Paxos facing a stop order from American regulators. As reported by Cointelegraph, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has ordered blockchain firm Paxos to cease issuing dollar-pegged stablecoin BUSD. Paxos has also received a wells notice from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging that BUSD is an unregistered security. Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao has moved to assure users that funds are safe despite the intended enforcement action. A Twitter thread on Feb. 13 noted that Paxos is regulated by …

Paxos and Binance USD (BUSD) being in the sights of United States regulators sparked various reactions from the crypto community. On Feb. 13, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Wells Notice to Paxos, alleging that BUSD is unregistered security. On the same day, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) also ordered Paxos to halt the issuance of BUSD. As Paxos faces regulatory scrutiny on several fronts, various members of the crypto community went to Twitter to give their takes on the situation. From disregarding the issue as “FUD” to calling it an attack against the …

Recently reported planned enforcement action against Paxos by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over Binance USD (BUSD) has many in the community questioning how the regulator could see a stablecoin as a security. Blockchain lawyers told Cointelegraph said that while the answer isn't black and white, there exists an argument for it if the stablecoin was issued out in the expectation of profits or are derivative of securities. A report from the Wall Street Journal on Feb. 12 revealed that the SEC is planning to sue Paxos Trust Company in relation to its issuance of Binance USD, …