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| Hey Insider! The week has kicked off with a jump start in the crypto market, filling the Inside Cryptocurrency newsletter with many interesting news on Monday. Today’s issue covers those thrilling stories, including Binance’s operational license in Dubai, French and German data watchdogs’ probe into OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s crypto project Worldcoin, Barbie star Margot Robbie’s Bitcoin interpretation, and more. Enjoy your reading! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | The CEO of the largest U.S. crypto exchange, Coinbase's Brian Armstrong, has disclosed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requested it to delist all crypto assets other than Bitcoin (BTC) before suing the platform in June. The renowned CEO also added that the SEC wanted to avoid explaining its interpretation of the law, stipulating its demand. More: - If accepted by Coinbase, the move could have been a precedent for all other crypto exchanges in the U.S.
- The SEC filed a 101-page complaint against Coinbase last month over alleged U.S. securities law violations, one day after suing rival exchange Binance.
- In its complaint, the agency labeled more than 10 tokens listed on Coinbase, except for BTC, unregistered securities.
- SEC Chair Gary Gensler has repeatedly argued that all crypto assets other than Bitcoin are securities over the years, laying out the SEC's approach to the industry participants.
- In its legal response, Coinbase said even if all the allegations in the lawsuit are true, they are beyond the SEC's legal authority, citing Gensler's testimony from 2021 when he said only Congress had the power to regulate the crypto industry.
- Besides, the company argued that the SEC approved the exchange going public in 2021 without requiring it to register with the agency or classify any tokens listed on the exchange as securities.
Zoom Out: - Over the last several months, many other crypto exchanges, including Kraken, Gemini, and Bittrex, also came under increased scrutiny by the SEC.
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| 2 | |  What the numbers say: A recent survey by Ripple and U.S. Faster Payments Council (FPC) with 300 finance professionals across 45 countries has revealed the main barriers withholding enterprises from using blockchain technology for payments. The results have shown that regulatory clarity is still the primary barrier to enterprises' blockchain use. In the top three, the regulatory clarity was followed by the limited industry acceptance and accounting treatment of digital assets, respectively. The poll also pointed out that 97% of respondents believe blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies will significantly enable faster payments within the next three years.
Relevance: Over the past years, the lack of regulatory clarity has become a significant tension between crypto-related firms and federal agencies, especially in the U.S. Within the last several months alone, many crypto exchanges, including Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Gemini, and Bittrex, came under increased scrutiny by U.S. regulators. To resolve this dispute, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee recently approved a crypto bill and advanced a stablecoin bill to establish a clear regulatory framework for the crypto industry. Many jurisdictions worldwide, including the European Union (EU) and the U.K., have recently passed regulations to oversee the crypto market and digital asset service providers. Brands that should care: Amid the increased crackdown on the crypto industry participants in the U.S., many crypto-related companies, including Coinbase and Ripple, repeatedly urged the country's lawmakers to establish a clear regulatory framework for the market. | | | |
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| 3 | | Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has obtained an operational license in Dubai from the region's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), becoming one step closer to full approval. The license will allow the company to offer its crypto services in the most populated emirate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a regulated manner. More: - The approval was granted to Binance FZE, the exchange's Dubai subsidiary.
- The grant moved Binance to the third stage of Dubai's four-stage licensing process.
- The company secured the first two approvals, provisional and preparatory licenses, in March 2022 and September 2022, respectively.
- The next step will see the company receiving a full market product license after demonstrating compliance with all the local regulations.
- The latest move also marked the first time a virtual asset service provider obtained an operational license in Dubai.
- The operational license will pave the way for Binance to offer digital asset services, including crypto custody, crypto payments, crypto exchange, and conversion between virtual assets and fiat currencies, initially to institutional and qualified retail investors.
Zoom Out: - The license in Dubai came amid a time Binance faced increased scrutiny by regulators in many countries, including the U.S., Australia, France, and Belgium.
- The company also recently withdrew from several markets in the West, including Canada, the Netherlands, Cyprus, the U.K., and Germany, mainly due to compliance issues.
- Dubai's market regulator, VARA, previously granted preliminary licenses to several rival crypto exchanges, including OKX, Bybit, Bitget, and Crypto.com.
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| 4 | | France's National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL), the country's data protection watchdog, has started investigating OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's crypto project Worldcoin. The regulator said the project's data collection practices seem questionable. More: - The Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision, a German data watchdog, also recently revealed that it has been investigating Worldcoin since November 2022.
- The French and German regulators' announcements came shortly after the U.K. Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the country's data watchdog, launched a similar probe into the project.
- At the time, a spokesperson for the ICO said organizations must have a clear lawful basis to process personal data.
- In response, Worldcoin stated that they adhere to strict privacy guidelines, adding that the project fully complies with all the biometric data collection and transfer regulations, including Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
- The regulators' scrutiny followed the official launch of Worldcoin's long-awaited WLD token and the project's migration to the Optimism network.
- Following the CNIL's announcement, Worldcoin reiterated its commitment to working with its partners across Europe to ensure that the project meets regulatory requirements and provides a safe, secure, and transparent service for verified humans.
- The firm also said it would continue cooperating with governing bodies on requests for more information about its privacy and data protection practices.
Zoom Out: - Worldcoin defines itself as a digital passport helping holders prove their identity, humanness, and uniqueness securely and privately through iris-scanning devices dubbed the "Orb."
- At the launch, the project already had two million users, who signed up and were verified through an Orb during the beta testing phase.
- The team behind the project plans to accelerate sign-ups by deploying the Orbs in over 35 cities across 20 countries worldwide, including the U.K., Germany, and France.
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| 5 | | Australia's Bendigo Bank has announced that it banned high-risk payments to crypto exchanges to protect its 2.3 million customers from investment scams and combat fraudulent payments. The bank has yet to specify the nature of high-risk payments and the crypto exchanges that would be affected by the new rules. More: - The move made the company join the country's other biggest banks, including National Australia Bank (NAB), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), and Westpac, restricting their customers from making payments to crypto trading platforms.
- In May, Westpac became the first Australian bank to block its clients from making payments to some crypto exchanges to reduce losses from scams.
- Last month, CBA, Australia's largest bank, also banned some payments to certain crypto exchanges as part of its new anti-scam policies.
- The Westpac and CBA's decisions were followed by ANZ and NAB, which brought similar restrictions to crypto exchanges.
- The U.S.-based blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis' Asia-Pacific (APAC) Policy Head Chengyi Ong warned that the consecutive restrictions would force the Aussie crypto community to interact with trading platforms overseas.
Zoom Out: - Aussie payments provider Cuscal also recently started imposing new banking restrictions on crypto exchanges in Australia through its partner Zepto.
- In June, Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, had to suspend Australian dollar (AUD) deposits and withdrawals through bank transfer since its local partners, Westpac and Zepto, halted support.
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| 6 | | Bitcoin (BTC) advocate businessman Michael Saylor has posted the video of Fandango's interview from June with Margot Robbie, who recently appeared in the Barbie movie. The video, shared with the note "Bitcoin is Big Ken Energy," has gone viral quickly among the crypto community on social media. More: - During the interview, Robbie revealed a memory in which the movie producers David Heyman and Tom Acklerly, who is also her husband, talked about Bitcoin while she was preparing for the movie with the director Greta Gerwig.
- Robbie pointed out that she and Gerwig would say, "They're being such Kens" when Heyman and Acklerly discussed Bitcoin.
- The renowned artist mainly referred to the enthusiasm and passion that people feel while talking about the leading cryptocurrency.
Zoom Out: - Barbie was released in theaters in the U.S. by Warner Bros. Pictures on July 21, following the premiere at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on July 9.
- In the movie, Barbie and Ken find joy and face challenges by venturing into the real world after experiencing a vibrant, colorful, and seemingly perfect life in Barbie Land.
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- U.S. lawmakers Gus Bilirakis and Jan Schakowsky have recently sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, asking whether the company's App Store policies hinder the progress of emerging technologies, such as blockchain and NFTs.
- Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati has partnered with XRP Ledger to launch its first NFT collection, marking its entrance into the Web3 space.
- Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission has reiterated its warning against Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, declaring that the platform's operations in the country are illegal.
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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 Christopher Hachey | |
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