European cryptocurrency investment firm CoinShares is optimistic about cryptocurrency regulation in the United States as the firm enters the new market.
On Sept. 22, CoinShares officially announced the launch of its new division, CoinShares Hedge Fund Solutions, marking the first time the firm has introduced its offerings to qualified U.S. investors.
CoinShares’ entrance into the U.S. market comes at a time when many U.S. crypto firms are looking to expand their businesses outside the country due to regulatory hurdles at home. One such firm, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, has been actively pushing its expansion in Europe and the United Kingdom amid a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over allegedly violating of securities laws.
But unlike many U.S. crypto regulation critics, CoinShares believes that the U.S. is a global leader in terms of digital asset development, a spokesperson for CoinShares told Cointelegraph, stating:
“Contrary to the belief that the U.S. lags in crypto adoption and regulation, our perspective is shaped by the U.S. regulators’ approach to treating digital assets akin to traditional asset classes. This stance, we believe, will encourage and expedite the fusion of the two industries.”
CoinShares’ representative went on to say that the U.S. is home to 50% of globally managed assets and is a dominant financial market. “Our assertion on its leadership in the digital assets space is influenced by observable integrations between legacy and emerging financial players,” the spokesperson said, citing industry collaborations of BlackRock with Circle and Coinbase.
The expansion of CoinShares in the U.S. comes just a few months after CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti declared in July 2023 that Europe’s approach to crypto has been “even more problematic when compared to the financial might of U.S. institutions.”
“These financial behemoths — such as BlackRock and Fidelity, who each announced recently the filing of a spot Bitcoin ETF — are well-positioned to provide widespread crypto exposure,” Mognetti wrote in an op-ed a few months ago.
But while being specifically bullish about the crypto regulatory climate in the United States, CoinShares continues to be loyal to Europe. “CoinShares remains committed to Europe. Our HFS is registered both in the U.S. and the United Kingdom,” the spokesperson for the firm told Cointelegraph, adding:
“Our perspective stems from the observation that in the U.S., there is a more apparent merging of traditional finance — TradFi — and crypto, which isn’t as pronounced in Europe where the two sectors aren’t as interconnected.”
One of the world’s largest crypto investment firms, CoinShares is a major provider of crypto exchange-traded products, or ETPs. The firm debuted its first Bitcoin (BTC) ETP in 2015. However, CoinShares has yet to disclose whether it plans to join the spot Bitcoin ETF race in the United States.
“We must adhere to strict regulations regarding the disclosure of forward-looking information. Therefore, we cannot provide specific details on CoinShares’ future product launches,” the CoinShares representative stated. CoinShares has been registered with the SEC as an exempt reporting adviser, with CoinShares Limited acting as a general partner for the private investment funds created by CoinShares Hedge Fund Solutions.
New laws to reduce the use of short prison sentences and toughen up community punishments are expected to be introduced within weeks.
Ministers are expected to introduce the new legislation to the Commons after the summer recess.
The changes will abolish most short-term prison sentences and introduce an earned release scheme, based on a model used in Texas, where prisoners who demonstrate good behaviour can be freed earlier – while those who disobey prison rules are detained for longer.
This will include some prisoners jailed for violent offences, although those convicted of the most dangerous crimes and for terrorism will be excluded.
Image: Shabana Mahmood (left) was said to be impressed by the system in place in Texan prisons. Pic: PA
The new bill will introduce many of the changes recommended by the independent sentencing review, carried out by former Conservative justice minister David Gauke earlier this year. It represents one of the largest overhauls of sentencing in a generation and marks a cornerstone of the government’s effort to reduce the size of the prison population in England and Wales.
As well as reducing the use of short custodial sentences, the changes will also toughen up community sentences, introducing a wider range of punishments for those serving time outside of prison. This could include bans on going to stadiums to watch sports or music events, as well as restrictions on visiting pubs, and the wider use of drug testing.
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Becky Johnson speaks with Daniel, a former convict, who was released early after prisons reached capacity.
Other punishments could include driving and travel bans, as well as restriction zones – confining them to certain areas. Some of these can already be imposed for certain crimes, but the new laws will mean that these could be handed down by a judge for any offence.
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Under the legislation, which it is understood will be introduced in September, prison sentences of 12 months or less will be scrapped, except for in exceptional circumstances such as domestic abuse cases. Meanwhile, the length of suspended sentences – where an offender is not sent to prison immediately unless they commit a further crime – will be extended from two years to three.
The justice secretary is believed to have been inspired by the earned release scheme during a visit to the States, where she learned about the model being used in Texas to cut crime and bring their prison population under control.
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England is on course to run out of prison places for adult men by November, the Justice Secretary has warned.
Shabana Mahmood said that criminals who break the rules “must be punished” and that those serving their sentences in the community “must have their freedom restricted there, too”.
She added: “Rightly, the public expect the government to do everything in its power to keep Britain safe, and that’s what we’re doing.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice added: “This government inherited a prison system days away from collapse.
“That is why we are building 14,000 more prison places, with 2,500 already delivered, but we know we can’t build our way out of this crisis.
“Without further action, we will run out of prison places in months, courts would halt trials and the police [would] cancel arrests. That is why we are overhauling sentencing to make sure we always have the prison places needed to keep the country safe.”