Renowned cryptocurrency lawyer John Deaton has shared his perspective on the ongoing lawsuit between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple, suggesting that a settlement amount of $20 million or less would represent a significant legal victory for Ripple.
In a recent post on a social media platform, Deaton firmly dismissed the notion that the lawsuit’s outcome is evenly balanced, instead asserting that it tilts heavily in favor of Ripple, with an approximate 90/10 advantage.
Deaton’s comments were prompted by a post from Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, who highlighted another legal setback for the SEC.
Deaton’s viewpoint aligns with the sentiment prevailing in the cryptocurrency community, where many see the proposed $20 million settlement as a favorable resolution for Ripple.
This assessment takes into account the potential ramifications of the XRP lawsuit and the broader regulatory landscape surrounding digital currencies.
Stuart Alderoty’s post further contributes to this narrative by pointing out yet another setback for the SEC. In the SEC vs.
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Govil case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that the SEC cannot demand a substantial disgorgement award without first demonstrating actual financial harm to investors.
Essentially, this implies that in the absence of harm, there should be no penalty imposed.
The SEC initiated legal action against Ripple Labs in December 2020, alleging that the company conducted an unregistered securities offering by selling its native cryptocurrency, XRP.
The case took a significant turn when Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP was not a security when traded on the secondary market. Additionally, charges against Ripple executives were reduced during the course of the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, Judge Torres has recently approved an order regarding a joint request from the SEC and Ripple to propose a briefing schedule to address institutional sales of XRP.
This pertains to the portion of the XRP lawsuit where the company was found to have violated securities laws.
Judge Torres has instructed both parties to submit a joint briefing schedule no later than November 9th, indicating ongoing developments in this high-profile legal battle.
The United States Supreme Court is currently addressing a critical legal dispute involving cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and its users.
The core issue at hand revolves around a procedural matter: determining whether a judge or an arbitrator should have the authority to decide which contractual agreement governs disputes between Coinbase and its clients.
The source of this dispute arises from conflicting agreements that Coinbase has with its users. One agreement advocates for dispute resolution through arbitration, while another supports traditional courtroom litigation.
The complexity emerged when Coinbase introduced a sweepstakes agreement directing dispute resolution to California courts, which clashed with the previously established arbitration clauses.
The genesis of this legal tussle can be traced back to allegations of deceptive advertising, which prompted customers to initiate a class-action lawsuit against Coinbase, challenging the company’s customary arbitration process.
In response, Coinbase sought to have the dispute moved to arbitration, but it faced resistance in the lower courts.
A federal judge in California, supported by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, upheld the sweepstakes agreement’s preference for courtroom resolution.
Consequently, Coinbase’s request to transfer the dispute to arbitration was denied.
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This judicial reluctance contrasts with a recent Supreme Court decision that narrowly favored Coinbase in a related matter.
In that case, the court ruled 5-4 in favor of allowing Coinbase to pause customer lawsuits while it sought to move disputes into arbitration.
Throughout this legal battle, Coinbase has continued to expand its services, introducing new trading options for its users.
Notably, eligible retail customers now have the opportunity to engage in cryptocurrency futures trading, with contracts that are more accessible and represent a fraction of the value of Bitcoin and Ether.
The Supreme Court’s decision to take up this case signifies a significant development for companies employing arbitration clauses in their user agreements.
It underscores the court’s ongoing role in shaping the boundaries between arbitration and traditional legal proceedings.
The ultimate verdict is expected to have a substantial impact on the formulation and enforcement of user agreements, especially in the dynamic realm of digital currency trading.
This case could set a precedent for similar disputes in the future, making it a matter of great importance for the cryptocurrency industry and beyond.
Marathon Digital has embarked on a groundbreaking initiative to mine Bitcoin using eco-friendly power generated from methane gas harvested from a landfill site.
This off-grid pilot project, boasting a 280-kilowatt (kW) capacity, is currently operational in the state of Utah.
Collaborating closely with Nodal Power, a company established in November 2022, Marathon has taken the lead in harnessing energy from landfill gas across the southeastern United States and Texas.
Notably, Nodal Power successfully secured $13 million in funding during an August seed round to manage two prominent sites, one of which houses a cutting-edge data center.
Marathon’s visionary mission extends beyond this pioneering project, as the company aims to validate its ability to capture methane emissions from landfills, convert these emissions into electricity, and subsequently employ this electricity to power Bitcoin mining operations.
Marathon’s CEO, Fred Thiel, expressed his optimism regarding the venture, stating, “Should the results of the pilot project meet our expectations, we look forward to expanding our footprint in this area and helping landfill operators and others meet their environmental targets.”
This endeavor aligns with a growing trend in the Bitcoin mining industry, where green energy solutions are highly sought after.
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For instance, Genesis Digital Assets Limited established an 8-megawatt facility in Sweden in August that relies on hydropower, further highlighting the industry’s commitment to sustainability.
Marathon’s commitment to sustainability doesn’t stop at landfill projects. In late October, the company inaugurated a state-of-the-art 200-MW immersion-cooled facility in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, a model of sustainable living.
Additionally, a report released by Marathon in the same month emphasized the practicality and advantages of crypto mining at landfill sites, not only for miners and landfill owners but also for the environment.
This initiative gains significant importance considering that methane emissions, as per the United Nations, have a far more detrimental impact on the environment than carbon dioxide emissions.
Despite reporting second-quarter earnings that fell short of expectations, Marathon achieved a milestone by mining a record 2,926 Bitcoins in the same period.
Their Q2 revenue also surged, with a year-on-year increase of 228% to reach $132.8 million.
Marathon Digital’s commitment to sustainable and environmentally conscious Bitcoin mining marks a promising step towards a greener and more responsible future for the cryptocurrency industry.
In 2022, the cryptocurrency world experienced a seismic event when FTX, a prominent exchange, suffered a catastrophic collapse, sending shockwaves throughout the industry.
Among those hit hardest by this turmoil was the Solana ecosystem, a layer-1 smart contract blockchain protocol.
Anatoly Yakovenko, the co-founder and CEO of Solana, shared his concerns during an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph at the Solana Breakpoint conference in Amsterdam.
Yakovenko expressed his worries about the numerous projects that had been building on Solana.
The aftermath of FTX’s bankruptcy saw Solana’s native token, SOL, plummet in value from $36 in early November 2022 to as low as $12 in the days following the exchange’s collapse.
Solana’s leadership and investors took immediate action, reaching out to hundreds of teams working on products, services, and decentralized applications within the ecosystem to assess the extent of the damage.
Approximately 20% of Solana-based projects had received investments from FTX or Alameda Research, and just 5% of ecosystem startups had funds tied up in the now-defunct exchange.
This loss of funding severely impacted many startups’ ability to continue their work, causing their runway to evaporate.
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One notable case was Armani Ferrante, who had secured around $20 million to develop Coral, a Solana-based cryptocurrency infrastructure company.
Ferrante estimated a loss of approximately $14.5 million due to the FTX collapse.
Despite such setbacks, founders like Ferrante displayed resilience, using the failure as motivation to rebuild their companies from the ground up.
While SOL’s price drop was distressing, Yakovenko emphasized that the real tragedy was the harm done to ecosystem projects.
He expressed relief that the majority of teams managed to survive despite the challenging circumstances.
As the one-year anniversary of FTX’s collapse approaches, some positive developments have emerged.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, faced a high-profile criminal trial and was found guilty on all seven charges on November 3, with sentencing scheduled for March 2024.
There is a silver lining for the Solana ecosystem, as investors have recognized that FTX’s influence had hindered the growth of the new generation smart contract layer 1.
Ethereum venture capital investor Chris Burniske played a crucial role in highlighting the value proposition of Solana, encouraging people to explore the platform as a viable alternative.
This influence has contributed significantly to the ecosystem’s recovery and resurgence, demonstrating its resilience in the face of adversity.
MicroStrategy, a prominent business intelligence firm, has witnessed a remarkable paper gain of $900 million on its substantial holding of 158,400 Bitcoins.
This significant surge in value has been primarily driven by the growing optimism surrounding the potential approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The company, founded by Michael Saylor, has continued to bolster its Bitcoin reserves, acquiring an additional 6,067 BTC since the third quarter, including a substantial purchase of 155 Bitcoins in October, as outlined in MicroStrategy’s November 1st financial report.
CEO Phong Le expressed the company’s unwavering commitment to its Bitcoin strategy, emphasizing that they have no plans to deviate from this path, especially with the promising prospect of increased institutional adoption on the horizon.
Despite a 3% year-on-year increase in revenue, reaching $129.5 million in the last quarter, MicroStrategy found itself in the red, reporting a net loss of $143.4 million.
This outcome highlights the company’s strong focus on accumulating and holding Bitcoin as a core part of its financial strategy.
During the third quarter (July 1 to Sept. 30), Bitcoin experienced a temporary dip, falling by 11.5% from $30,480 to $26,970.
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MicroStrategy seized this opportunity to increase its Bitcoin holdings by purchasing 6,067 BTC at an average price of $27,590.
In addition to their Bitcoin investments, MicroStrategy is also confident in the positioning of their artificial intelligence-integrated business analytics products.
Their software licenses and subscription services demonstrated impressive growth, rising by 16% and 28% year-over-year, respectively.
Phong Le expressed his belief in MicroStrategy’s ability to benefit from both the positive trends in the Bitcoin market and the expansion of their business intelligence (BI) offerings, stating,
“We believe MicroStrategy is well situated to capitalize on both the tailwinds in Bitcoin and growth in our BI business.”
Following the release of these financial results, MicroStrategy’s stock price (MSTR) surged by 2.7% in after-hours trading, reaching $438 according to Google Finance.
This upward movement underscores the market’s approval of the company’s strategic direction and its bullish stance on Bitcoin.
Bastion, a recently established cryptocurrency startup founded by former executives from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), has achieved a significant milestone by obtaining two Money Transmitter Licenses (MTL) within the United States.
On October 31, Bastion proudly announced that it had successfully secured MTLs in New Hampshire and Arkansas, marking the first licenses the company has acquired.
These licenses, officially granted by the New Hampshire Banking Department and Arkansas Securities Department, empower Bastion to provide services related to fungible digital assets within these states.
The firm also revealed that it has pending applications for MTLs in various other U.S. states, indicating its intention to expand its operations nationwide.
With these licenses in hand, Bastion gains the ability to engage in activities such as the sale or issuance of payment instruments, stored value, prepaid access, and the receipt of money and digital currency to facilitate transactions with individuals and businesses in New Hampshire and Arkansas.
You can find further details about these licenses on the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) official website.
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This accomplishment comes a mere month after Bastion’s initial launch in September 2023, underscoring the company’s dedication to providing U.S. businesses with compliant exposure to digital assets like Bitcoin.
Bastion’s genesis can be attributed to two former a16z crypto division executives, Nassim Eddequiouaq and Riyaz Faizullabhoy, who embarked on a mission to integrate Web3 infrastructure with their existing enterprise technologies.
The company’s launch coincided with a successful $25 million seed funding round, spearheaded by a16z crypto.
Co-founder Nassim Eddequiouaq expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “The acquisition of MTLs in New Hampshire and Arkansas is a consequential step in realizing our long-term vision.”
He emphasized that this achievement is a testament to Bastion’s strength and rapid progress, and he looks forward to further expanding the company’s operational footprint.
By securing these MTLs, Bastion joins a growing list of cryptocurrency-related firms that have obtained such licenses, including Alchemy Pay, Coinbase, Block (formerly Jack Dorsey’s Square), MoonPay, and the bitFlyer exchange.
Additionally, in July 2023, Elon Musk’s payment subsidiary, X (formerly known as Twitter), reportedly received its first MTLs in Michigan, New Hampshire, and Missouri.
The CEO and founder of Mintable, Zach Burks, has raised concerns about the United Kingdom’s approach to regulating nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, Burks expressed his belief that a recent report from a U.K. parliamentary committee exaggerates the role of NFTs in copyright infringement and fails to recognize their broader potential beyond volatile digital images.
Burks highlighted the transition phase that NFTs are currently undergoing, shifting away from the speculative craze of profile picture NFTs (PFPs) towards more practical applications by brands across various domains.
He argued that NFT platforms should prioritize copyright protections and intellectual property rights for artists, much like Mintable’s own IP protection algorithm.
However, he emphasized that these issues are not unique to NFTs and are prevalent across the broader internet landscape.
He pointed out that established internet giants like Google have grappled with combating copyrighted material on platforms like YouTube, despite their vast resources.
Burks, who regularly communicates with U.K. government officials about NFTs, urged regulators to adopt a more nuanced perspective on NFTs and recognize their diverse applications beyond artwork and finance.
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In his view, NFTs represent a versatile technology that can be used for various purposes, including managing car records, property records, bank settlement documents, supply chain systems, and more.
He likened NFTs to websites, subject to the relevant laws based on their specific use cases.
Burks criticized the U.K. committee’s suggestion to implement the EU 17 copyright directive for NFTs, emphasizing that such a broad regulatory umbrella might not suit the multifaceted nature of NFT technology.
He cautioned against applying overarching regulatory frameworks that do not consider the unique characteristics of each NFT use case.
Instead, Burks advocated for an approach similar to Singapore, where regulators assess NFTs based on their specific functions and purposes. This approach allows for tailored regulation, treating NFTs as either securities or illicit goods depending on their actual use cases.
In conclusion, Burks urged the U.K. government to adopt a more flexible and case-specific approach to NFT regulation, acknowledging the technology’s potential beyond digital art and the importance of protecting intellectual property rights while avoiding overly broad regulations.
Thailand’s prominent financial institution, Kasikornbank, commonly known as KBank, is venturing into the cryptocurrency sector through its acquisition of a significant stake in the local crypto exchange, Satang.
This strategic move involves the purchase of 97% of shares in Satang’s operator, as revealed in an official announcement posted on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) website on October 30th.
Kasikornbank has valued the acquisition at 3.7 billion Thai baht, equivalent to $103 million.
This transaction is being executed through KBank’s recently established subsidiary, Unita Capital, which specializes in investments within the digital asset industry.
Upon completion of the acquisition, Satang Corporation will undergo a rebranding and be known as Orbix Trade Company Limited.
Kasikornbank’s foray into the crypto domain will comprise three key divisions: Orbix Custodian, a secure custody platform; Orbix Invest, a venture arm; and Orbix Technology, dedicated to blockchain technology development.
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Satang holds a prominent position in Thailand’s cryptocurrency landscape, offering services such as a cryptocurrency exchange and other digital asset-related solutions.
The founder of Satang, Poramin Insom, is renowned for launching Firo (formerly Zcoin), a cryptocurrency focused on privacy.
Poramin Insom confirmed the acquisition by Kasikornbank on October 30th via Facebook, expressing his continued commitment to the company and its future.
He also revealed that Satang operates other businesses, including Satang Technology, a blockchain service platform, and Satang Space, a space-related enterprise.
This development follows closely on the heels of KBank’s September 2023 launch of a $100 million fund aimed at investments in Web3, fintech, and artificial intelligence.
KBank stands as Thailand’s second-largest lender by assets, trailing only behind Bangkok Bank.
According to data from the SET, the largest shareholder of KBank is Thai NVDR Company Limited, with the Stock Exchange of Thailand owning a substantial 99.9% of NVDR’s shares.
Kasikornbank’s entry into the cryptocurrency sector through the acquisition of Satang signifies a significant step in the evolution of the financial landscape in Thailand, bridging the traditional banking sector with the rapidly expanding digital asset market.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has voiced strong criticism of former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Jay Clayton’s recent statements concerning the agency’s regulatory approach.
The SEC has been actively pursuing regulatory actions against crypto exchanges and companies since the beginning of 2023.
In an interview with CNBC on June 29, 2023, Jay Clayton expressed his belief that the SEC should only take legal action against specific companies when there are solid legal grounds to do so.
He emphasized the importance of regulatory agencies introducing regulations and pursuing legal cases that they are confident will successfully withstand judicial scrutiny.
Brad Garlinghouse seized the opportunity to remind everyone that it was Jay Clayton who had initiated a lawsuit against Ripple, himself, and Ripple co-founder Christian Larsen in December 2020.
The SEC’s lawsuit alleged that the company and its two executives had engaged in an “unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering,” having raised over $1.3 billion through the sale of XRP tokens.
Garlinghouse pointed out that Clayton had brought the case against them and then abruptly left his position the very next day.
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Clayton’s remarks from June 2023 have drawn significant attention, especially in light of the recent developments in the lawsuit involving Garlinghouse and Larsen.
As previously reported, the SEC made a move to dismiss the charges against the two executives in October.
This decision by the SEC follows a significant ruling by Judge Analisa Torres in July.
The ruling partially favored Ripple, declaring that the retail sales of XRP tokens did not meet the legal definition of a security.
However, the court did find Ripple in violation of securities laws for directly selling XRP tokens to institutional investors.
In essence, Garlinghouse’s criticism underscores the ongoing tension between crypto companies and regulatory bodies like the SEC.
The case against Ripple has been a focal point of this tension, with key figures like Clayton at the center of the controversy.
As the crypto industry continues to evolve, these regulatory challenges will likely remain a subject of intense debate and legal scrutiny.
Bitcoin saw a steady performance on October 27th, with its price hovering around $34,000 during the Wall Street open.
Investors’ attention had shifted towards assessing Bitcoin’s performance against macroeconomic assets.
As the weekly and monthly closing dates approached, BTC/USD maintained its stability, safeguarding the gains it had made earlier in the week.
Traders like Daan Crypto Trades predicted that Bitcoin would likely remain within the range of $33,000 to $35,000 for some time, emphasizing the importance of monitoring potential price sweeps within this range for quick trading opportunities.
Daan also highlighted that open interest (OI) had recovered to levels seen before the recent surge that propelled Bitcoin to its 17-month high.
Historically, elevated open interest levels had often preceded significant price moves, creating what experts referred to as “squeezes.”
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On the other hand, Material Indicators, an on-chain monitoring resource, identified a downside signal in one of its proprietary trading indicators.
With two consecutive daily bearish signals, Material Indicators suggested that only a rise to $34,850 would invalidate the bearish implication.
However, the report acknowledged that this move might still occur before the monthly candle close.
Some traders took a more optimistic stance, looking at Bitcoin’s performance relative to macroeconomic factors.
Social media trader Kaleo pointed out that Bitcoin had significantly outperformed the S&P 500 since September, indicating the potential for further price increases.
He noted that BTC had risen by 36% against the USD while increasing by 48% compared to the S&P 500.
Kaleo presented a chart illustrating the BTC/USD performance against the S&P 500, emphasizing that there was still room for Bitcoin to move higher, possibly reaching $40,000.
Others focused on the significance of recent resistance levels, which were on the verge of transforming into weekly and monthly support.
Crypto and macro analyst Matthew Hyland argued that breaking through the $32,000 resistance level was a noteworthy achievement.
He suggested that bears had limited options left, and their last hope was for Bitcoin to close below this level on a weekly and monthly basis.