FTX has outlined its intended reorganization plan, which will categorize claimants of the bankrupt exchange into specific classes and pave the way for it to become operational as an offshore entity. However, a body representing FTX customers said it is “extremely disappointed” by the plan.
FTX’s Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (UCC) said despite its repeated requests and previous promises from the team, it “did not have a single call or meeting” with FTX to discuss the plan. The UCC warned it would put forward its own plan for FTX customers to vote on if it continued to be ignored.
Meanwhile, the company has filed a motion in court to remove its Dubai unit from ongoing restructuring proceedings in the United States. In the filing, the crypto exchange noted that FTX Dubai is balance sheet solvent and, therefore, a voluntary “liquidation procedure in accordance with the laws of the United Arab Emirates would allow a timely distribution of the positive cash balance after payment of all outstanding liabilities and liquidation of all assets.“
IRS deems crypto staking reward taxable once received
U.S. crypto investors must report crypto staking rewards as gross income in the year it was received, according to a new ruling from the country’s top tax authority. Gross income includes income realized in any form, whether in money, property, services or staking rewards. The ruling applies to cash-method taxpayers who receive any crypto as remuneration for validating transactions on proof-of-stake blockchains and applies both when staking cryptocurrency directly and through a centralized crypto exchange.
U.S. Senators believe there are $50 billion of non-collected taxes on crypto
Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Bob Casey and Richard Blumenthal claim there is a “$50 billion crypto tax gap,” and that the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Treasury risk missing out on roughly $1.5 billion in tax revenue for the 2024 financial year if a tax policy update is delayed. The senators are referring to new tax laws outlined in the Senate’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed in August 2021. The bill aimed to increase the tax reporting requirements for businesses acting as crypto brokers.
DOJ is concerned about a run on Binance in the case of fraud charges
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly considering charging cryptocurrency exchange Binance with fraud but is hesitating due to the potential costs to consumers. DOJ officials are concerned about an indictment against Binance causing a run on the exchange similar to what happened with FTX in November 2022. Officials are reportedly considering fines or non-prosecution agreements for Binance rather than criminal charges in an effort to reduce the harm to consumers.
Binance was already reportedly the target of a criminal probe in the U.S. for allegedly violating the country’s sanctions on Russia. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also filed a lawsuit against the crypto exchange in June for allegedly offering unregistered securities and operating illegally. In March, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission targeted the exchange and its CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, for allegedly violating trading and derivatives regulations.
Asset manager Canary Capital has filed to list an exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding Pengu (PENGU), the governance token of the Pudgy Penguins non-fungible token (NFT) project, US regulatory filings show. The ETF is the latest in a slew of filings for new US investment products tied to spot cryptocurrencies, including altcoins and memecoins. According to the filing, the ETF is intended to hold spot PENGU as well as various Pudgy Penguins NFTs. It would be the first US ETF to hold NFTs if approved. Additionally, “[t]he Trust will also hold other digital assets, such as SOL and ETH, that are necessary or incidental to the purchase, sale and transfer of the Trust’s PENGU and Pudgy Penguins NFTs,” the filing said. Launched in December, PUDGY has a roughly $438-million market capitalization as of March 20, according to CoinGecko. On March 18, Canary filed to list the first US ETF holding Sui (SUI), the native token of the Sui layer-1 blockchain network. Pudgy Penguins is among the most popular NFT brands. Source: Cointelegraph Related: Canary Capital proposes first Sui ETF in US SEC filing The US Securities and Exchange Commission has acknowledged dozens of filings for new crypto investment products since US President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20. They include filings for proposed ETFs for native L1 tokens such as Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP), as well as for memecoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Official Trump (TRUMP). Some industry analysts are skeptical that ETFs holding non-core cryptocurrencies will see a meaningful uptake among traditional investors. “Pengu ETF announced. Price barely goes up. New ETFs for crypto assets have become an irrelevant joke,” crypto researcher Alex Krüger said in a March 20 post on the X platform. “Most crypto ETFs will fail to attract AUM and cost issuers money.” Since starting his second presidential term, Trump has reversed the US government’s stance on digital assets, promising to make America “the world’s crypto capital.” Under his predecessor, former US President Joe Biden, US regulatory agencies brought upward of 100 enforcement actions against crypto firms. On March 20, asset manager Volatility Shares launched two Solana futures ETFs, the Volatility Shares Solana ETF (SOLZ) and the Volatility Shares 2X Solana ETF (SOLT). They use financial derivatives to track SOL’s performance with one- and two-time leverage, respectively. Spot SOL ETFs are still awaiting regulatory approval. Magazine: Crypto fans are obsessed with longevity and biohacking — Here’s why
“Almost every” council the Conservatives won in 2021 could be lost in this year’s local elections, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has conceded. Speaking at the launch of her party’s campaign, Ms Badenoch said the votes four years ago followed the COVID vaccine rollout – helping her party to 14 council gains and holding another 49. Politics live: Badenoch has a dig at Farage On 1 May, across England, more than 1,600 council seats will be up for re-election, alongside six mayors. The Tories face being squeezed by Reform on their right, as well as a blend of Liberal Democrats and independents. Ms Badenoch warned party members: “It will be the first time since the general election, the greatest defeat in all parties’ history, that we fight these seats.” Map the 2024 election results on to the upcoming council ones, and the Tory leader admitted “we lose almost every single one”. ‘People have lost trust in politics’ Labour are also likely to perform poorly, as local election results tend to reflect public opinion towards the national governing party. Measures like inheritance tax on farms, benefit cuts, planning reform, reducing winter fuel payments and others could weigh heavily on Sir Keir Starmer’s chances. It was put to Ms Badenoch that lots of these protest votes look set to go to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Asked about the differences between the Tories and Reform by Sky News deputy political editor Sam Coates, Ms Badenoch said: “Loads of other parties just tell people what they think they want to hear. “We think through and make sure that we are providing a credible plan that can be delivered. “A lot of people have lost trust in politics because politicians make promises and do deliver.” Read more: Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Badenoch asked if she’s different to Reform ‘This is not a protest vote’ But the Tory leader acknowledged the party faces “a challenge on the right”, which she said was partly down to its record in government in recent years. “The protest votes are going to Reform,” she said. “But at the end of the day, this is not a protest vote – these are local elections.” The Tory leader instead urged people to vote for who will sort out bin collections, fix potholes and run local services well – which she said would be the Conservatives. She unveiled the slogan for her party’s campaign as “lower taxes, better services”. 👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈 Mr Farage described that as “comical”, saying the Tories’ track record was of “higher taxes and crumbling services”. The Reform leader is eyeing big gains in May, and said: “After decades of mismanagement, Conservative councils across the country are buckling under the pressure.” Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said Ms Badenoch’s speech was a “desperate attempt to shore up the crumbling Conservative vote as people in the home counties turn to the Liberal Democrats”. She said her party is focusing on the cost of living, river sewage, and the NHS and social care. XDAO, a protocol based on The Open Network (TON), has enabled over 367,000 decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to achieve legal status through its initiative that automates legal recognition for such organizations. In an announcement, XDAO said it had streamlined the DAO creation process to allow DAOs to achieve legal status. An XDAO spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the protocol offers a standard for other “sub-entities” within its legal framework. “Basically, those sub-entities exist both in relation to each other and outside entities that had acknowledged their existence and assented to some articles of the XDAO Labs’ Constitution,” the spokesperson told Cointelegraph. XDAO added that the parties recognize Singapore, where XDAO Labs is incorporated, as the primary jurisdiction where disputes may be resolved if necessary. The protocol also said it could enable the signing of legally binding documents using Web3 wallets. XDAO said DAOs could archive their transactions using a Telegram bot. When asked about the security and practicality of its Telegram bot-based legal framework, the XDAO spokesperson said agreements formed through the messenger work in “most jurisdictions.” However, the XDAO representative outlined its limitations, including “real estate, securities, and other matters that call for a prescribed procedure for the contract’s formation.” The spokesperson told Cointelegraph: “However, when making agreements through a Telegram bot, it is important to approach the recording of all details and specifics responsibly, as this can later facilitate dispute resolution.” The spokesperson added that the bot can store information that DAO participants consider significant. It can even be used to conduct basic Know Your Customer procedures. Related: Texas court issues judgment against Bancor DAO after it ignored summons When asked how their smart contract compliance models would work in arbitration scenarios, XDAO said the parties could form valid arbitration agreements through messenger or e-signature methods such as Docusign and Ethsign. This requires personalities to be firmly established and the “intention to adjudicate the dispute is clearly expressed.” “Arbitration is a commonly recognized dispute resolution procedure, which exists under influential international conventions. Those conventions do not specify the exact way of making an arbitration agreement, apart from it being in writing,” the spokesperson told Cointelegraph. The spokesperson added that if payment is required, an arbitrator can be added to the DAO with the right to a key vote. This would allow them to sign a transaction with their digital signature if the parties fail to reach a consensus. Magazine: Ridiculous ‘Chinese Mint’ crypto scam, Japan dives into stablecoins: Asia Express
‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series Story injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game Game 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history MLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup Japan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea Game-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike Bank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway
Policy reversal
Kemi Badenoch is not optimistic about her party’s chances. Pic: PA
Some local elections delayed by a year
Badenoch says net zero goal ‘impossible
Signing legally-binding documents through Telegram bots
How smart contract-based compliance would work in practice
