What the numbers say: Ether (ETH), the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap after Bitcoin (BTC), has reached an 11-month high by surpassing the $2,100 level for the first time since May 2022. The rise in the ETH price was mainly triggered by the recent Shanghai upgrade on the Ethereum network. Relevance: Ethereum's long-awaited Shanghai upgrade, also known as Shapella, went live on April 12 after several months of delay. The event was considered the most significant upgrade on the Ethereum network since the Merge in September 2022 and a historic milestone in making Ethereum a fully functional proof-of-stake (PoS) network. The upgrade also made it possible for users who staked their ETH to withdraw their tokens from the Beacon Chain. Within four days after the hard fork, the number of unlocked Ethers hit 1 million, accounting for $2.1M. Brands that should care: The sharp decline in Ether price first started in May 2022, with the popular cryptocurrency reacting to the collapse of the multi-billion dollar Terra ecosystem. The downfall wiped over $60B of money off the crypto industry, leading to major cryptocurrencies seeing clear price declines. The subsequent unfortunate events, including the crypto exchange FTX's bankruptcy, also paved the way for a prolonged crypto winter, causing a steady decline in values and, hence, the crypto industry's market cap.
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The U.S. House of Representatives has published a new draft bill that presents a framework for regulating stablecoins. The proposed law marked the first major crypto legislation in 2023. More: - The draft suggests that insured depository institutions seeking to issue stablecoins are supervised by an appropriate federal banking agency.
- The legislation also proposes that the Federal Reserve (Fed), the U.S. central banking system, oversee non-bank issuers such as Tether and Circle.
- According to the document, those failing to register will be fined $1M and spend up to five years in prison.
- Stablecoin issuers outside of the U.S. will have to register with the appropriate regulator to operate in the country.
- The draft bill also bans issuing, creating, or originating stablecoins not backed by a tangible asset for two years, hinting at an upcoming study for the endogenous stablecoin by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
- The document defines the endogenous stablecoin as a digital asset whose value is pegged to another digital asset created or maintained by the same issuer to sustain a fixed price.
- In the proposed legislation, the U.S. government is tasked with establishing standards for interoperability between stablecoins.
Zoom Out: - A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to another reference asset, mostly a fiat currency.
- Stablecoins first showed up in 2014 with the release of BitUSD.
- Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), and Binance USD (BUSD) are all among the popular stablecoins with higher market caps.
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The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), the U.S. state’s financial regulator, has enforced new rules that would be adopted while assessing crypto companies. The new regulations force virtual asset firms to adhere to strict guidelines in terms of capitalization, cybersecurity, and anti-money laundering (AML) measures. More: - NYDFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris said the adopted framework sets the highest standards for safety, soundness, and consumer protection.
- Harris also underlined that the guideline still boosts responsible growth.
- The regulation only affects the companies with BitLicense issued by the state.
- Currently, 22 companies in total have BitLicense.
Zoom Out: - BitLicense has been issued by the NYDFS for eight years to let a company run virtual currency activities under regulations in the state.
- The license has been criticized many times over the last few years for restrictive measures, long wait times, and high compliance costs.
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against the crypto exchange Bittrex over the violation of U.S. investor protection laws. The firm recently announced that it would gradually halt its operations in the U.S. by the end of April due to the current regulatory environment. More: - The lawsuit also named former Bittrex CEO Bill Shihara and Bittrex Global GmbH as defendants.
- The SEC claims that the Seattle-based crypto exchange violated investor protection laws by running as an exchange, broker-dealer, and clearinghouse at the same time without registration.
- Bittrex general counsel David Maria recently disclosed that the agency's enforcement unit informed Bittrex about a potential action through a Wells notice before the crypto exchange started the process of halting U.S. operations.
- Maria added that Bittrex would make a counterclaim if SEC takes legal action and does not come with a reasonable settlement offer.
- The general counsel also revealed that Bittrex had already negotiated with the SEC in late 2022 and then decided to wind down its operations in the U.S. since the agency did not provide clear regulations for registration and the crypto industry.
Zoom Out: - A Wells notice refers to a letter sent by the SEC after an investigation to inform about a possible enforcement action and does not always result in charges.
- The popular crypto exchange Coinbase was also recently served a Wells notice by the SEC about further action over a potential violation of securities laws through its exchange and staking services.
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Singapore-based crypto lender Amber Group plans to sell its Japan unit as part of its strategic decision to focus more on institutional services rather than a retail business. The plans were recently disclosed by the firm's managing partner, Annabelle Huang. More: - Huang said the regulations are strict in Japan, though the country is a very high-quality market.
- According to the statements by Huang, the firm also plans to apply for a virtual asset trading platform license in Hong Kong.
- The company's managing partner stated that the regulatory environment in Hong Kong is quite attractive for Amber now.
- Last year, the firm raised $300M in a Series C funding round led by the venture capital (VC) firm Fenbushi Capital US.
- However, the prolonged crypto winter triggered by the crypto exchange FTX's bankruptcy and the multi-billion dollar Terra ecosystem's collapse forced Amber to cut costs, make mass layoffs, and shut down its retail customer operations.
Zoom Out: - Hong Kong has become bullish for crypto service providers in recent months due to its crypto-friendly approach arising from its plans to turn the region into a crypto hub.
- In March, Hong Kong's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christopher Hui, said more than 80 crypto-related firms sought a presence in the region as of the end of February, and 23 crypto companies already revealed their plans to establish their presence.
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Lawyers at the Moskowitz Law Firm have revealed that they were finally able to serve papers to former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal over his role in promoting the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. The attorneys, representing investor Edwin Garrison in a class-action lawsuit regarding the bankruptcy, initially claimed that their multiple attempts to deliver papers in person had been unsuccessful over the past several months. More: - The suit, filed in November 2022 following the bankruptcy, also named American football player Tom Brady, comedian Larry David, and several other athletes like Stephen Curry and Naomi Osaka as defendants.
- The lawsuit claims that those celebrities played an active role in FTX's sale of unregistered securities.
- Some defendants requested the dismissal of the case last week, arguing that FTX should be the addressee of the allegations instead of celebrity endorsers.
- Lawyer Adam Moskowitz said Shaquille O'Neal was basically the largest man hiding from the lawsuit.
- The papers were served to O'Neal outside his house, and the home security cameras recorded the incident.
- The delivery in person will pave the way for the lawsuit to proceed.
- In the advertisement, the famous NBA legend said he was all in on the exchange and excited to partner with FTX to help make crypto accessible for everyone.
Zoom Out: - FTX, previously the third-largest crypto exchange, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022, with all the entities under the roof of FTX Group consisting of around 130 firms.
- The downfall followed the claims that former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) used customer funds in FTX to compensate for losses at FTX's sister company Alameda Research.
- In March, another $1B class-action lawsuit led by Edwin Garrison also sued YouTubers who promoted FTX, including Kevin Paffrath, Brian Jung, and Ben Armstrong, consolidating several cases.
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 |  | Doga is a tech and science editor who has been writing news for nearly 10 years. She worked for leading tech platforms and mainstrem media channels as an editor and presenter throughout his career. Then, she carried her know-how to more than one platform. She is a part-time cat lover and binge-watcher, and also fond of science, space, and emerging tech. She always has a story to tell. She is a bit addict to the laughter and -unfortunately- the '90s culture. |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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