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The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could approve all 12 pending spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications by Nov. 17. Beginning on Nov. 9, the SEC reportedly has a “window” to approve all 12 spot Bitcoin ETF filings, including Grayscale Investments conversion of its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust product.

However, even if the SEC approves spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs by Nov. 17, it could be more than a month before the products launch. The expected delay in launch following SEC approval would be due to the two-step process of launching an ETF. For an issuer to start a Bitcoin ETF, it must get approval from the SEC’s Trading and Markets division on its 19b-4 filing and its Corporate Finance division on the S-1 filing or prospectus. Of the 12 Bitcoin ETF applications, nine issuers have submitted revised prospectuses showing they have communicated with the Corporate Finance division.

Meanwhile, Nasdaq filed the 19b-4 form with the securities regulator on behalf of the $9 trillion asset management firm BlackRock for a proposed ETF, the iShares Ethereum Trust. The move signals BlackRock’s intention to expand beyond Bitcoin with its crypto ETF aspirations. The fund has already registered the corporate entity iShares Ethereum Trust in Delaware. At least five other firms are seeking SEC approval for a spot Ether (ETH) ETF: VanEck, ARK 21Shares, Invesco, Grayscale, and Hashdex.

CLARITY Act may forbid U.S. officials from engaging with Tether’s parent company

U.S. Representatives Zach Nunn and Abigail Spanberger have jointly introduced the Creating Legal Accountability for Rogue Innovators and Technology Act of 2023 — or the CLARITY Act of 2023. The legislation aims to prohibit federal government officials from conducting business with Chinese blockchain companies. The act would ban government employees from using the underlying networks of Chinese blockchain or cryptocurrency trading platforms. Furthermore, it would explicitly forbid U.S. government officials from engaging in transactions with iFinex, the parent company of USDT issuer Tether.

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Forty-seven countries pledge to start exchanging crypto tax data by 2027

Forty-seven national governments have issued a joint pledge to “swiftly transpose” the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) — a new international standard on automatic exchange of information between tax authorities — into their domestic law systems. Developed from an April 2021 mandate from the G20, the CARF framework requires reporting on the type of cryptocurrency and digital asset transaction, whether through an intermediary or a service provider. The statement’s authors intend to activate exchange agreements for information exchanges to commence by 2027.

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The European Banking Authority proposes its guidelines for stablecoin issuers

The European Banking Authority (EBA) — the European Union’s banking watchdog — has proposed new guidelines for stablecoin issuers to set minimum capital and liquidity requirements. Under the proposed liquidity guidelines, stablecoin issuers must offer any stablecoin backed by a currency that is fully redeemable at par to investors. The official proposal by the EBA noted that the stablecoin liquidity guidelines will act as a liquidity stress test for stablecoin issuers. The EBA believes the stress test will highlight any shortcomings and lack of liquidity for the stablecoin. This can help the authority approve only fully-backed stablecoins with enough liquidity buffer. 

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US judge slaps $36M fine on man for 5-year crypto investor fraud

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US judge slaps M fine on man for 5-year crypto investor fraud

The court order demands approximately 85% of the significant fine to be paid back to victims of William Koo Ichioka’s fraudulent scheme.

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Trump buys burgers with BTC, Arthur Hayes skeptical on rate cut, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Sept. 15 – 21

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Trump buys burgers with BTC, Arthur Hayes skeptical on rate cut, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Sept. 15 – 21

Donald Trump becomes the first former United States president to use crypto in a transaction, Arthur Hayes thoughts on rate cut: Hodler’s Digest

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Lisa Nandy says Sir Keir Starmer ‘very sensible’ to accept football tickets worth thousands

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Lisa Nandy says Sir Keir Starmer 'very sensible' to accept football tickets worth thousands

Lisa Nandy has said Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to accept thousands of pounds worth of football tickets was “very sensible”.

The minister for culture, media and sport also said she had never accepted free clothes from a donor.

Speaking to Sky News at the start of the Labour Party conference today, the MP for Wigan said: “The problem that has arisen since [Sir Keir] became leader of the opposition and then prime minister is that for him to sit in the stands would require a huge security detail, would be disruptive for other people and it would cost the taxpayer a lot of money.

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PM ‘pays for his season ticket’

“So I think he’s taken a very sensible decision that’s not the right and appropriate thing to do, and it’s right to accept that he has to go and sit in a different area.

“But I know that he’d much rather be sitting in the stands cheering people on with the usual crowd that he’s been going to the football with for years.”

Ms Nandy also said while she has not accepted free clothes – joking “I think you can probably see that I choose my own clothes sadly” – she doesn’t “make any judgements about what other members of parliament do”.

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She said: “The only judgement I would make is if they’re breaking the rules, so they’re trying to hide what they’re doing. That’s when problems arise.

“Because the point of being open and transparent is that people can see where the relationships are, and they can then judge for themselves whether there’s been any undue influence.”

She asserted there had not been an undue influence in gifts accepted by senior Labour figures, adding: “We don’t want the news and the commentary to be dominated by conversations about clothes.

“We rightly have a system, I think, where the taxpayer doesn’t fund these things. We don’t claim on expenses for them. And so MPs will always take donations, will always take gifts in kind.

“MPs of all political parties have historically done that and that is the system that we have.”

Read more:
Everything you need to know about Sir Keir’s freebies
Westminister Accounts: Search for your MP

She added: “I don’t think there’s any suggestion here that Keir Starmer has broken any rules. I don’t think there’s any suggestion that he’s done anything wrong.

“We expect our politicians to be well turned out, we expect them to be people who go out and represent us at different events and represent the country at different events and are clothed appropriately.

“But the point is that when we accept donations for that or for anything else, that we declare them and we’re open and transparent about them.”

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Sir Keir, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves said yesterday they will no longer accept donations in the future to pay for clothes.

The announcement followed criticism of Sir Keir’s gifts from donors, which included clothing worth £16,200 and multiple pairs of glasses worth £2,485, according to the MPs’ register of interests.

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The register shows Ms Rayner has accepted clothing donations to the value of £2,230.

Sky News also revealed the scale of Sir Keir’s donations this week as part of our Westminster Accounts investigation.

Sir Keir was found to have received substantially more gifts and freebies than any other MP – his total in gifts, benefits, and hospitality topped £100,000 since December 2019.

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