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| Hey Insider! The crypto market witnessed a turbulent regulatory environment as the week nears to close, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) planning to appeal a precedent ruling regarding whether cryptocurrencies are securities. Today’s issue also covers several other prominent stories from the industry, including Futurama’s latest episode handling crypto, India’s plans to integrate crypto tokens into its national web browser, the jump in the APT price following the partnership between Microsoft and Aptos Labs, and more. Enjoy your reading, and if you find this newsletter useful, do not forget to share it with your friends and colleagues! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked the permission of U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres to seek immediate review from the appeals court for one of her recent rulings regarding the case against the payment protocol Ripple. The move has revealed the agency's intention to appeal Torres' ruling that Ripple's native token XRP is not a security when sold to the general public. More: - Torres' ruling was considered a partial victory for Ripple since the SEC classified XRP as a security in a lawsuit filed in December 2020.
- In the case, the agency accused Ripple and some of its executives of the unregistered sale of nearly $1.3B of XRP tokens, which it labeled as securities.
- In its latest motion, the regulator said a timely review of the ruling is significant since it may affect many other pending legal actions, resolve legal questions, and provide consistency to lower court decisions.
- Since Torres' ruling did not end the case against Ripple, the SEC had to seek permission from the judge to appeal.
- Torres' ruling was also expected to establish a precedent for other lawsuits filed by the agency since it contradicts SEC Chair Gary Gensler's argument that all crypto assets other than Bitcoin (BTC) are securities.
- Most recently, Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the SEC against it, citing Torres' ruling about XRP.
Zoom Out: - Whether cryptocurrencies are securities has long been a major issue in terms of determining the agency with jurisdiction over the crypto industry in the U.S.
- Within the last several months alone, many crypto exchanges, such as Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, and Bittrex, faced increased scrutiny by the SEC over alleged securities law violations.
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What the numbers say: Aptos network's native token, APT, jumped by over 15% in price within the day. The token's value increased to as much as $7.82 from the $6.70 level an hour earlier. Then, the popular cryptocurrency saw a slight decrease, though it remained above the levels seen in the previous day. Relevance: The jump in the APT price followed a partnership between the U.S.-based tech giant Microsoft and Aptos Labs, the firm behind the Aptos network founded by former Facebook employees. As part of the collaboration, the two companies pledged to develop new AI-based blockchain solutions. The pair also said they would jointly explore new financial solutions, such as asset tokenization, digital payments, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), to expand the use cases of blockchain. General manager of AI and emerging technologies at Microsoft, Rashmi Misra, stated that the partnership mainly aims to democratize the use of blockchain by allowing users to seamlessly onboard Web3 and developers to build new exciting decentralized apps (dApps) utilizing AI. Brands that should care: Over the last several months, Microsoft has accelerated its investments in the crypto and Web3 space. Most recently, the company also partnered with the cross-chain protocol Axelar to develop new blockchain interoperability solutions. Besides, in May, the tech giant revealed its plans to launch a new blockchain network dubbed Canton in collaboration with some of the most well-known finance and tech firms, such as Goldman Sachs, Deloitte, and Cboe Global Markets. Additionally, the firm is currently one of the participants in Brazil's central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot project. | | | |
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| 3 | | The Bank of England (BoE), the central bank of the U.K., has started hiring academics for a new Academic Advisory Group that would work on a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC), or the digital pound. The group will help the bank understand the practical challenges of designing, implementing, and operating a CBDC. More: - The advisory group will focus on various topics regarding the digital pound, including monetary policy, finance, competition economics, industrial organization, behavioral science, law, innovation theory, marketing, and business.
- The group will not have any decision-making responsibilities but act as a platform for a source of knowledge and research.
- The central bank launched a public consultation on a potential CBDC with the U.K. Treasury in February, concluding that the country will most probably need a digital pound in the future.
- The CBDC project recently moved to the design phase, and the BoE said it would explore the technology and policy requirements for a digital pound over the next two to three years.
- Last month, the bank also partnered with digital wallet provider Nuggets to investigate the design of a privacy layer for a digital pound.
Zoom Out: - In April, the BoE similarly published job postings for digital currency experts, revealing its plans to form a 30-person team that would help it develop a CBDC.
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| 4 | | South Korean police have recently arrested crypto exchange Bitsonic's CEO, Jinwook Shin, as part of an ongoing investigation against the exchange with the allegations of stealing customer deposits. The local reports pointed out that the platform's vice president will also be put on trial without preliminary detention. More: - South Korean prosecutors accuse Shin of stealing 10 billion won (~$7.5M) in crypto from users of the platform, manipulating the prices and trading volume of cryptocurrencies on the exchange from January 2019 to May 2021.
- While manipulating the tokens, the Bitsonic CEO allegedly used a paper company he opened in Singapore.
- The arrest came nearly two years after the investigation was launched.
Zoom Out: - South Korea-based Bitsonic halted its operations in August 2021, citing internal and external issues.
- Shin continued offering crypto to new clients even after the platform suspended withdrawals.
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| 5 | | India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has announced the launch of a new competition for the development of its national web browser, hinting at a detail regarding crypto tokens. The ministry urged developers from all corners of the country to create an indigenous browser. More: - The web browser will focus on accessibility and user-friendliness while ensuring built-in support for individuals with diverse abilities.
- In the announcement, the ministry also revealed its plans to integrate a crypto feature into the national web browser.
- The feature will allow Indian users to digitally sign documents using crypto tokens.
- The competition will comprise three rounds.
- The result of the first round will reduce the number of participants to 18 while the second one to eight.
- The MeitY will reward the winner with around $411,000.
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| 6 | | The rebooted animated science fiction show "Futurama" has handled crypto as the main topic in its latest episode titled "How the West Was 101001." The episode, aired on Hulu, tells the story of a professor borrowing money from an organized crime group, Robot Mafia, to invest in Bitcoin (BTC) before experiencing a crash and causing his crew to go bankrupt. More: - The latest episode takes place in 3023, and people are still mining Bitcoin.
- In the episode, the crew tries to find new ways to make money after bankruptcy and mines thallium, a toxic metal used to mine crypto, to sell it to the miners.
- As the story goes on, the characters also visit a crypto country dubbed Doge City, which is a reference to the popular cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE).
- While entering Doge City, one of the characters tells others that the crypto country is pretty lawless, so they should put on their protective headgear, making a reference to the lack of regulation in the crypto industry.
- The name of the episode was also interpreted as a reference to the 1962 Western movie "How the West Was Won," narrating how pioneers moved to the West to discover gold.
Zoom Out: - "Futurama" is an American animated sitcom whose first season was released in 1999. It was created by Matt Groening, famous for creating "The Simpsons."
- The show has been canceled and rebooted several times before its 11th season premiered on Hulu last month.
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- Coinbase has officially opened its Ethereum-powered Layer-2 blockchain network, Base, to the public, becoming the first publicly-traded company to launch its own decentralized blockchain.
- France's financial market regulator has amended its crypto licensing regime to better comply with the European Union's (EU) region-wide crypto regulations, the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA).
- U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has raised her concerns about the financial services giant PayPal's new stablecoin launched in the absence of a legal framework to regulate the digital asset market.
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 | Staff Writer | | 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. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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