Texas Senate passes Bitcoin reserve bill, New York targets memecoin rug pulls: Law Decoded
The Texas Senate passed the Bitcoin strategic reserve bill SB-21 on March 6. This followed a debate in which State Senator Charles Schwertner, who introduced the bill, argued that it would help Texas add a valuable and scarce asset to its balance sheet.
Amid fears of Bitcoin (BTC) contending against the US dollar as a global reserve currency, Pro-Bitcoin lawmakers argued that Bitcoin was similar to gold and a hedge against inflation.
If SB-21 is enacted, Texas will be the first state in the US to have a digital asset reserve. However, the governor must still sign the bill before it becomes law.
New York bill aims to protect crypto investors from memecoin rug pulls
New York lawmakers introduced a bill to protect crypto users from memecoin rug pulls, where insiders abandon a project after investors have purchased their token. These scams usually end up with token prices plummeting, causing millions in losses to crypto investors.
On March 5, Assemblymember Clyde Vanel introduced the legislation to establish criminal penalties for offenses that involve “virtual token fraud.” This explicitly targets deceptive practices associated with crypto.
Fideum co-founder and CEO Anastasija Plotnikova told Cointelegraph that scams and rug pulls should be more thoroughly regulated. “In my view, these activities should fall firmly within the jurisdiction of law enforcement agencies,” Plotnikova added.
SEC’s Crypto Task Force to host roundtable on crypto security status
The Crypto Task Force of the US Securities and Exchange Commission will host a series of roundtables to discuss the “security status” of crypto assets, with the first set for March 21.
Crypto Task Force lead Commissioner Hester Peirce said she is looking forward to “drawing the expertise of the public” to develop a workable framework for crypto.
The roundtable series is called the “Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity,” and the first topic of discussion is dubbed “How We Got Here and How We Get Out — Defining Security Status.”
Utah’s Senate passes Bitcoin bill — but scraps key provision
Utah lawmakers passed a Bitcoin bill after removing a section that would have allowed its state treasurer to invest in Bitcoin. While the HB230 bill passed the state Senate, it removed a key reserve clause that would’ve authorized the state treasurer to invest in digital assets with a market cap of over $500 billion.
The clause passed the second reading but was scrapped in the third and final reading. Still, the bill provides citizens basic custody protections, the right to mine, run a node and stake, among other things.
Argentine prosecutor aims to freeze assets in LIBRA memecoin fraud case
Argentine Federal Prosecutor Eduardo Taiano, the lead prosecutor investigating Argentine President Javier Milei’s alleged role in the LIBRA crypto scandal, requested the freezing of almost $110 million in digital assets related to the memecoin case.
Taiano also requested the recovery of Milei’s deleted social posts and detailed records of all LIBRA transactions since its launch. The prosecutor aims to reconstruct the financial operations of Feb. 14 and 15, when the project’s trade volume peaked.
Donald Trump is set to announce that America will agree a trade deal with the UK, Sky News understands.
A government source has told Sky’s deputy political editor Sam Coates that initial reports about the agreement in The New York Times are correct.
Coates says he understands a “heads of terms” agreement, essentially a preliminary arrangement, has been agreed which is a “substantive” step towards a full deal.
Three sources familiar with the reported plans had earlier told the New York Times that the US president will announce on Thursday that the UK and US will agree a trade deal.
Shortly after the report emerged the value of the British pound rose by 0.4% against the US dollar.
Mr Trump had earlier teased that he would be announcing a major trade deal in the Oval Office at 10am local time (3pm UK time) on Thursday without specifying which country it had been agreed with.
Writing in a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, he said the news conference announcing the deal would be held with “representatives of a big, and highly respected, country”.
He did not offer more details but said the announcement would be the “first of many”.
A White House spokesperson has declined to comment on the New York Times report.
Senior Trump officials have been engaging in a flurry of meetings with trading partners since the US president announced his “liberation day” tariffs on both the US’ geopolitical rivals and allies on 2 April.
Mr Trump imposed a 10% tariff on most countries including the UK during the announcement, along with higher “reciprocal” tariff rates for many trading partners.
However those reciprocal tariffs were later suspended for 90 days.
Britain was not among the countries hit with the higher reciprocal tariffs because it imports more from the US than it exports there.
However, the UK was still impacted by a 25% tariff on all cars and all steel and aluminium imports to the US.
A UK official said on Tuesday that the two countries had made good progress on a trade deal that would likely include lower tariff quotas on steel and cars.
Read more:
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Trump Tariffs: How the 10 days unfolded
Mr Trump said the same day that he and top administration officials would review potential trade deals with other countries over the next two weeks to decide which ones to accept.
Last week he said that he has “potential” trade deals with India, South Korea and Japan.
Asked on Sky News’ Breakfast programme about the UK-EU summit on 19 May and how Mr Starmer would balance relationships with the US and EU, Coates said: “I think it is politically helpful for Keir Starmer to have got the heads of terms, the kind of main points of a US-UK trade deal, nailed down before we see what we have negotiated with the EU — or, more importantly, Donald Trump sees what we have negotiated with the EU.”
Coates said there was “always a danger” that if it happened the other way around, Mr Trump would “take umbrage” at negotiations with the EU and “downgrade, alter or put us further back in the queue” when it came to a UK-US trade deal.
US and Chinese officials to discuss trade war
It comes as the US and China have been engaged in an escalating trade war since Mr Trump took office in January.
The Trump administration has raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 145% while Beijing has responded with levies of 125% in recent weeks.
US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and US trade representative Jamieson Greer are set to meet their Chinese counterparts in Switzerland this week to discuss the trade war.
China has made the de-escalation of the tariffs a requirement for trade negotiations, which the meetings are supposed to help establish.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has signed a bill into law allowing the US state to keep unclaimed crypto and establish a “Bitcoin Reserve Fund” that won’t use any taxpayer money or state funds.
Hobbs signed House Bill 2749 into law on May 7, which allows Arizona to claim ownership of abandoned digital assets if the owner fails to respond to communications within three years.
The state’s custodians can stake the crypto to earn rewards or receive airdrops, which can then be deposited into what Arizona has called a Bitcoin and Digital Asset Reserve Fund.
“This law ensures Arizona doesn’t leave value sitting on the table and puts us in a position to lead the country in how we secure, manage, and ultimately benefit from abandoned digital currency,” the bill’s sponsor, Jeff Weninger, said in a May 7 statement.
“We’ve built a structure that protects property rights, respects ownership, and gives the state tools to account for a new category of value in the economy,” Weninger added.
On May 3, Hobbs vetoed a similar Bitcoin (BTC) reserve bill, Senate Bill 1025, which would have allowed the state to invest seized funds into Bitcoin, citing concerns over using public funds for “untested assets.”
Hobbs’ move gives hope for future crypto bills
Bitcoin Laws founder Julian Fahrer said on X that Hobbs’ signing of HB 2749 offers more hope that she may also sign Senate Bill 1373, which is currently on her desk.
Related: Bitcoin bros at ‘the club’ may stop US gov’t from buying BTC — Arthur Hayes
SB 1373 would authorize Arizona’s treasurer, currently Kimberly Yee, to allocate up to 10% of Arizona’s Budget Stabilization Fund into Bitcoin.
The bill’s passage in Arizona follows New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte on May 6 signing House Bill 302 into law, allowing her state’s treasury to use funds to invest in cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization of more than $500 billion.
Bitcoin is currently the only cryptocurrency that meets that threshold.
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Binance founder and convicted felon Changpeng Zhao says that he applied for a pardon from US President Donald Trump shortly after denying reports that he was seeking one.
Zhao, also known as CZ, said on a Farokh Radio podcast episode aired May 6 that he “wouldn’t mind” a pardon and that his lawyers have already filed the paperwork on his behalf
“I got lawyers applying,” Zhao said, adding that he submitted the request after Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported in March that he was seeking a pardon from Trump amid discussions of a business deal between the Trump family and Binance.US.
Zhao denied the reports at the time, but said on the podcast that he thought “if they’re writing this article, I may as well just officially apply.”
He added that Trump’s pardon of three BitMEX founders, including Arthur Hayes, also motivated him to submit an application.
Zhao said the application was submitted about two weeks ago.
Zhao said at the time of the Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal reports that “no felon would mind a pardon,” and claimed he is the only person in US history to serve prison time for a Bank Secrecy Act charge.
Zhao pleaded guilty to a money laundering charge in November 2023 as part of a deal Binance reached with US authorities, which saw it pay a $4.3 billion fine, to which Zhao contributed $50 million. He was also forced to step down as CEO.
Zhao was later sentenced to four months in prison and was prohibited from working at Binance as part of his plea deal.
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According to the US Department of Justice, a pardon would not erase Zhao’s money laundering conviction; however, it could potentially allow him to assume a management or operational role at Binance.US.
Zhao has no plans to return as Binance CEO
While Zhao remains a Binance shareholder, he said in November at Binance Blockchain Week that he has “no plans to return to the CEO position.”
“I feel the team is doing well and doesn’t need me back,” Zhao said.
Since leaving prison, Zhao has commenced advisory roles in Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan, assisting on matters related to crypto regulation and implementing blockchain solutions.
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