The Scenius Sync (Issue #41)
Coinbase Set to Take on SEC Post Wells Notice, Binance Sued by CFTC, Nasdaq is Eyeing Crypto Custody Launch, & Ticketmaster’s NFT-Gating Feature Goes Live
Scenius: The intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. The communal form of the concept of genius.
Welcome to The Scenius Sync.
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Share the essential stories driving the crypto industry and markets.
Highlight innovative applications and mainstream adoption of crypto and blockchain technology.
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Essential News 🗞
White House Takes Aim at Crypto in Scathing Economic Report
The report, authored by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, laid out a number of issues seen within the digital asset ecosystem. The report came out amid growing industry concern that federal regulators are looking to de-bank crypto companies, though state and federal regulators have thus far denied these claims. Still, the tone of the report is unlikely to assuage these concerns.
Meanwhile, the same day as the report was released, Texas Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill to prohibit the Federal Reserve from adopting a central bank digital currency (CBDC). While introducing the legislation, Cruz said, “The federal government has no authority to unilaterally establish a central bank currency. This bill goes a long way in making sure big government doesn’t attempt to centralize or control cryptocurrency and instead, allows it to thrive in the United States.”
SEC Warns Coinbase of Enforcement Over Its Staking Rewards Products
Coinbase received a Wells Notice from the SEC alleging that the company's staking products constitute unregistered securities. The notice also mentions "aspects of Coinbase's exchange... and Coinbase Wallet." A person familiar with the matter told Decrypt that Coinbase is "confident it will be able to defend its position in court." The source also said Coinbase leadership is frustrated that the SEC has allowed American investors to participate in crypto for years before "suddenly deciding to pull the rug out."
Here is Coinbase’s blog post regarding its receipt of the Wells Notice.
Do Kwon Charged With Fraud by US Prosecutors in New York
Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, who presided over a more than $40 billion cryptocurrency implosion last year, was charged with fraud by US prosecutors in New York. His indictment Thursday evening by the US attorney’s office in Manhattan capped a dramatic day that began with the news that Kwon, already a fugitive from charges in his native South Korea, had been arrested in Montenegro. It’s unclear if the arrest was at the request of US authorities, but federal prosecutors said they would seek his extradition to New York.
In its lawsuit, the CFTC alleged Binance offered unregistered crypto derivatives products and directed U.S. customers to evade compliance controls through the use of VPNs. According to the CFTC, the global exchange, which has a U.S. affiliate in Binance.US, created a system to hide its true reach and operations.
Judge Approves Celsius Custody Account Settlement to Return 72.5% of Crypto Assets
Celsius custody account holders can receive 72.5% of the cryptocurrency in their custody accounts after a federal judge approved a settlement in the defunct crypto lender's bankruptcy case. Individual custody account holders must opt into the settlement. In turn, the Celsius debtors will agree to settle all causes of action against custody account holders with respect to their custody assets, according to the terms of the deal.
Innovation & Adoption 💡📈
Nasdaq Eyes Crypto Custody Launch by End of Second Quarter
Nasdaq Inc. expects its custody services for digital assets to launch by the end of the second quarter as it joins a growing pool of traditional financial firms that could fill the role of crypto middlemen following a spate of bankruptcies in the industry.
Xapo Bank Becomes The First Fully Licensed Bank To Enable USDC Deposits and Withdrawals
Bitcoin custodian and licensed private bank Xapo Bank, based in Gibraltar, has partnered Circle to integrate USDC stablecoin payment rails as an alternative to SWIFT. Xapo says the new feature allows its members to bypass the cumbersome and expensive SWIFT payment system through “outrails” added to its existing USDC on-ramps. By utilizing the USDC stablecoin, members can deposit and withdraw funds from Xapo without fees and benefit from a one-to-one conversion rate from USDC to the U.S. dollar. In addition, all USDC deposits are automatically converted to the dollar, enabling members to earn an annual interest rate return of up to 4.1%. Here is Xapo’s Announcement.
German Dwpbank to Offer Bitcoin Trading to 1,200 Affiliate Banks on New Platform
Deutsche WertpapierService Bank (Dwpbank), which offers securities processing to around 1,200 banks in Germany, is creating a new platform, wpNex, that will offer Bitcoin to all of its affiliates’ retail customers in the second half of this year. The new service will feature crypto accounts alongside bank customers’ other accounts and will not require additional Know Your Customer procedures, according to local media reports.
Chinese Banks Court Crypto Firms in Hong Kong After Mainland Ban
Crypto firms rushing into Hong Kong after the city opened its doors to the battered sector are finding a surprising source of potential support: China’s state-owned banks. Chinese banks have been directly reaching out to crypto businesses over the past few months, adding to signs that the city’s push to become a major digital asset center has backing from Beijing, even though trading of crypto has been banned on the mainland for well over a year.
Ticketmaster Debuts NFT-Gated Ticket Sales, Starting With Avenged Sevenfold
Ticketmaster announced today that the Ethereum NFT token-gating feature is live for artists after being developed in partnership with popular metal band Avenged Sevenfold, which has its own Deathbats Club NFT collection and tested the token-gating feature ahead of the full rollout. In Avenged Sevenfold’s case, owners of the 10,000 Deathbats Club Ethereum NFTs were offered early access to buy tickets to the band’s upcoming New York City and Los Angeles arena shows in June.