US crypto bills on the move, Worldcoin launches and Russia’s CBDC: Hodler’s Digest, July 23-29

Published

2 years ago

July 30, 2023

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Crypto bills pass congressional committee in ‘huge win’ for US crypto

A key United States House panel has approved a pair of bills that could finally deliver some regulatory clarity to crypto firms in the country. On July 26, lawmakers voted in favor of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which establishes rules for crypto firms on when to register with either the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or the Securities and Exchange Commission. The panel also approved the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which sets out guidelines that remove hurdles and requirements for “blockchain developers and service providers” such as miners, multisignature service providers and decentralized finance platforms. Despite the passage of these acts, a number of Republicans and Democrats refused to support another proposed piece of legislation dubbed the Digital Assets Market Structure bill.

Worldcoin token launch sparks response from Vitalik Buterin

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of the Ethereum network, released a long-form essay with his thoughts on the recently launched Worldcoin human identity verification system, addressing the larger concept in discussion with the release of the Worldcoin token — proof-of-humanity. Worldcoin initiated its public launch on July 25 after nearly two years of development and beta testing, but criticism of it erupted almost immediately. The United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner’s Office is deciding whether to investigate the project for violating the country’s data protection laws. The French National Commission on Informatics and Liberty also questioned Worldcoin’s legality. In response to criticism of its data collection practices, the project released an audit report on July 28.

Putin signs law on introduction of digital ruble in Russia

Russia is moving forward with its central bank digital currency as President Vladimir Putin signed the digital ruble bill into law on July 24. With this approval, the digital ruble law is officially scheduled to take effect from Aug. 1, 2023. Individuals in the country will have the choice to choose whether or not to use the digital ruble. According to Bank of Russia Deputy Governor Olga Skorobogatova, the government doesn’t expect mass adoption of the digital ruble in Russia before 2025.

Binance withdraws crypto license application in Germany

Binance has withdrawn its cryptocurrency custody license application in Germany, nearly a month after reports of concerns from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority. A spokesperson from Binance told Cointelegraph that it intends to reapply for a license in Germany, with changes to its application reflecting adjustments in the regulatory environment. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said it would focus on becoming compliant with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulations to offer its services in European countries. However, its European expansion plans have seen a setback amid its regulatory troubles in the United States.

FTX’s Bankman-Fried seeks gag order for all witnesses in criminal case

Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried has agreed to a gag order preventing him from making comments to third parties that may interfere with his trial — but argues other potential witnesses should be gagged as well, including current FTX CEO John Ray. The gag order against Sam Bankman-Fried was initially requested on July 20, when the U.S. government accused the FTX founder of attempting to interfere with a fair trial by publicly discrediting former business partner and witness Caroline Ellison in an interview with the New York Times. According to SBF’s lawyers, there has been a “toxic media environment” surrounding their client since the collapse of the exchange.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $29,331, Ether (ETH) at $1,876 and XRP at $0.71. The total market cap is at $1.18 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are XDC Network (XDC) at 45.69%, GMX (GMX) at 11.82% and Bone ShibaSwap (BONE) at 9.60%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Pepe (PEPE) at -12.36%, Gala (GALA) at -11.85% and Injective (INJ) at -11.58%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

“Our case and the decision rendered by our judge [Torres] will provide comfort to other judges that the SEC is just misguided.”

Stuart Alderoty, chief legal officer of Ripple

“In the months to come, we will add [to X] comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world. The Twitter name does not make sense in that context.”

Elon Musk, tech entrepreneur

“A world with no proof-of-personhood seems more likely to be a world dominated by centralized identity solutions.”

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum

“While the West continues to antagonize blockchain companies, Asia is welcoming us in with their arms wide open.”

Yves La Rose, CEO of the EOS Foundation

“We see it [Bitcoin] as an asset that has probably the best potential for growth of our capital reserves at the moment.”

Paul Brewster, CEO of Flooring Hut

“Companies creating AI technology have a responsibility to ensure that it is safe, secure, and remains under human control.”

Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft

Prediction of the Week

BTC price shrugs off strong PCE data as Bitcoin traders eye $28K range

Bitcoin stayed range-bound at the end of the week despite United States inflation data beating expectations. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price action getting only a modest boost from the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index print.

Among traders, there was still an appetite for BTC price downside, with the $30,000 resistance now in place for over a week. Popular pseudonymous trader Crypto Tony confirmed that he remained short on BTC below $29,600.

“I expect continuation down to $28,000 in time, but for sure we could range here for a little while before the drop,” he told Twitter (now known as X) followers on the day.

FUD of the Week

SEC files charges against Quantstamp for $28M initial coin offering

Blockchain security firm Quantstamp is set to return $28 million raised in a 2017 initial coin offering (ICO) following charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly conducting an unregistered ICO of “crypto asset securities.” The SEC’s order outlines that Quantstamp’s ICO, which took place in October and November 2017, raised over $28 million by selling its native QSP tokens to some 5,000 investors. According to the SEC, the company failed to register its tokens offering, which the agency deemed to be securities.

Alphapo payment provider hack now estimated at over $60M — ZachXBT

The Alphapo payments provider hack is now estimated to have caused losses exceeding $60 million, according to a report from pseudonymous on-chain sleuth ZachXBT. The loss was previously reported at roughly $31 million. The new report identifies an additional $37 million allegedly drained from the old addresses on the Tron and Bitcoin networks. Citing data from Dune Analytics, the ZachXBT argued that the Lazarus Group may be behind the attack. Neither company confirmed that the issues were caused by a hack, but security researchers have argued that the large outflows from known hot wallets, combined with stalled withdrawals, imply that the funds may have been moved by an attacker.

Pond0X token launch snafu leads to millions of dollars in losses

The launch of memecoin Pond0x (PNDX) has led to millions of dollars in losses for investors, according to multiple reports on social media on July 28. Data from the Maestrobots trading app shows that the token reached a price of $0.36 before collapsing to near zero in a span of five minutes. According to initial reports, PNDX had a faulty transfer function that allows users to transfer coins from any other user. Investors lost at least $2.2 million in the launch. The memecoin was announced on July 28 by pseudonymous Not Larva Labs founder Pauly, a developer of an NFT trading app for CryptoPunks and a separate parody collection called CryptoPhunks.

Best Cointelegraph Features

Journeys: Hervé Larren on Bitcoin, Apes and the psychology of ‘blue-chip’ NFTs

“My first crypto transaction, in 2013, was to wire Bitcoin from the U.S. to Venezuela. Due to the economic collapse, there was no functioning banking system between these two countries.”

6 Questions for Simon Davis of Mighty Bear Games

Mighty Bear Games CEO Simon Davis — AKA “Papa Bear” — gave us a look inside his Web3 gaming studio, and his thoughts on the future of gaming.

‘Elegant and ass-backward’: Jameson Lopp’s first impression of Bitcoin

Jameson Lopp says none of the developers “deep into Bitcoin” think the protocol should be allowed to ossify: “There’s so much work to be done.”

Editorial Staff

Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.

Politics

Potential candidates for Trump’s crypto council revealed: Report

Published

3 hours ago

February 6, 2025

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Potential candidates for Trump’s crypto council revealed: Report

US President Trump signed the executive order establishing the Working Group on Digital Asset Markets on Jan. 23, 2025.

Politics

Watchdog group defends US regulators’ approach to crypto firms

Published

4 hours ago

February 6, 2025

admin

Watchdog group defends US regulators’ approach to crypto firms

US lawmakers will hear from Coinbase and MARA executives testifying at a hearing regarding claims of debanking crypto firms.

Politics

Starmer has a battle on his hands – but when it’s green v growth, there’s only one winner

Published

4 hours ago

February 6, 2025

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Starmer has a battle on his hands - but when it's green v growth, there's only one winner

Keir Starmer was touring the UK National Nuclear Laboratory in Preston when the Bank of England halved its 2025 growth forecast, cut interest rates for the third time in six months, warned of an uptick in inflation and said the national insurance hike on employers would hit prices and jobs more than expected.

It was a blow to a prime minister and chancellor who have placed all their chips on growth, made all the more painful because of those budget decisions that – in the short term at least – have made matters worse.

Rachel Reeves said soon after: “I am still not satisfied with the growth rate.”

Keir Starmer, in Preston to talk up nuclear power generation, said “there’s more to do” as he extolled the virtues of small modular reactors – faster to build than existing larger power stations – as a way of speeding up the delivery of new nuclear power stations in England and Wales.

The government hopes the first one will be up and running by 2032.

He wants to do it by shaking up the planning system to “clear the path” for smaller reactors (there are currently just eight favoured sites for nuclear power plants in the UK).

This was a prime minister determined to channel his inner Donald Trump and – hat tip to Chris Mason at the BBC – “build baby build”.

This is a PM determined to take on the “blockers” and get Britain building again.

But what is fast emerging, as growth flatlines, is that he and Rachel Reeves – who once said she’d be the UK’s “first green chancellor” – will also take on the blockers in the cabinet and party if that is what it takes to get growth.

When it comes to green versus growth, the latter is going to win.

This is a prime minister who, for my money, is also prepared to “drill baby drill” in that hunt for growth.

Having signalled last month that the government is going to press ahead with a third runway at Heathrow in the face of fierce opposition from environmentalists, the prime minister all but confirmed to me on Thursday that he’s also minded to back the approval of a giant new oilfield in the North Sea.

At stake is a licence for the Rosebank development – approved by the last government, but now blocked by the courts on environmental concerns over huge carbon emissions.

When I asked the prime minister if he was minded to grant new permissions, he all but said yes: “The mindset is we know that oil and gas is going to be a big part of the future for many decades to come.

“We do need to transition to clean power, but in relation to this particular licence, it was granted in the first place, it is going back through a process.

“I can’t pre-empt the decision but, you know, we did say that where licences have already been granted, we wouldn’t interfere with them.

“But I’ll be open with you, oil and gas is part of the future mix for decades to come.”

The reality is that as growth comes hard to find, the prime minister and his chancellor are going to have to face down the environmentalists in the cabinet and the party.

Nuclear might be an example where green and growth can go hand in hand, but the third runway at Heathrow or the approval controversial licences for two major oil and gas sites in the North Sea are not.

This could get difficult.

The PM is intensely relaxed about taking on environmental “zealots” outside his party, but what about the fight within?

Just a couple of days ago on the Labour List website for activists and members, there was an article that said the PM must reject a proposal to develop this giant oil field or “risk imploding the party”.

Ed Miliband, the climate secretary, described Rosebank as “climate vandalism” when it was issued a licence by the last government.

Meanwhile, the Labour manifesto committed to no further oil and gas licences, so some will see allowing this development as a betrayal.

Note, in the response to my question, the PM was at pains to stress this was not a new licence and the government had said it “wouldn’t interfere” with licences already granted.