SEC - Page 112

Jamaal Bowman, a House Representative for New York’s 16th Congressional District, has lost the Democratic primary, which could have allowed him to retain his seat in 2025.

According to a June 26 projection from NBC News, Democratic challenger George Latimer will defeat Rep. Bowman by roughly 58% to 42%, with 84% of the vote reported at the time of publication.

The Fairshake political action committee (PAC) spent more than $2 million on a media campaign opposing Bowman’s reelection, not for his voting record against pro-crypto bills, but for claims of “pushing dangerous conspiracy theories.”

During his time in Congress, Rep. Bowman voted against the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, and a joint resolution overturning a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule on banks handling crypto.

Latimer, in contrast, has not made any notable statements on crypto or blockchain.

Bowman had the support of many members of his party.

However, interest groups, including Fairshake and the United Democracy Project — a PAC reportedly tied to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — spent $17 million to oppose the Democratic incumbent.

Bowman has been openly critical of Israel following the nation’s military actions in Gaza.

Before the primary election, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) called out Fairshake and the United Democracy Project for “dump[ing] nearly $15 million to unseat a member of Congress” as “corruption” and “a core threat to American democracy.”

On June 25, AOC won the Democratic primary for New York’s 14th Congressional District.

Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss, who recently pledged $1 million to support Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, said on X on June 25 that “this is what happens when you pick a fight with the crypto army.”

His comments were likely alluding to Latimer’s primary victory.

READ MORE: Bitcoin and Ether Transaction Fees Plunge Amidst Crypto Market Turmoil

In Utah, John Curtis, a Representative for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, won the June 25 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. According to filings with the Federal Election Commission,

Fairshake’s affiliate PAC Defend American Jobs spent more than $3 million on media buys supporting Curtis and roughly $1.2 million to oppose challenger Trent Staggs.

While Staggs’ position on crypto is unclear, Rep. Curtis cosponsored the FIT21 Act and the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act and voted in favor of the joint resolution to overturn the SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121.

He also supported the SEC’s efforts to approve spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and said, “crypto has become a significant part” of the U.S. economy.

With roughly $169 million in its coffers contributed by crypto firms, including Coinbase and Ripple, Fairshake’s media campaigns may have already influenced U.S. voters.

In March, California Representative Katie Porter lost a primary race for the U.S. Senate after a Fairshake ad claimed she took campaign contributions from “big pharma, big oil, and the big bank executives.”

Protect Progress, another Fairshake affiliate, backed Democratic candidates Shomari Figures and Julie Johnson, who won their respective primaries in California and Texas.

---

To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.

The IRS finalized its new crypto broker reporting requirements on June 28, delineating the affected industry participants while addressing widespread concerns.

Decentralized exchanges and self-custody wallets, pivotal components of the crypto ecosystem, were excluded from these rules.

The IRS clarified this exemption, acknowledging the complexities inherent in fully decentralized networks after reviewing extensive feedback.

However, the scope of the regulations encompasses stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets, treating them equivalently to other digital assets.

This decision underscores the IRS’s commitment to enhancing tax compliance across all sectors of the digital asset landscape.

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel emphasized the necessity of these measures in combating potential tax evasion facilitated by digital assets:

“We need to make sure digital assets are not used to hide taxable income, and these final regulations will improve detection of noncompliance in the high-risk space of digital assets.

“Our research and experience demonstrate that third-party reporting improves compliance.”

READ MORE: Bitcoin Activity Hits Lowest Levels Since 2010 Amid Retail Investor Retreat

This sentiment aligns with earlier warnings from IRS criminal investigation chief Guy Ficco, who anticipated heightened crypto tax evasion in the upcoming tax season of 2024.

The IRS’s approach has sparked vigorous opposition from industry advocacy groups like The Blockchain Association and The Chamber of Digital Commerce.

These organizations have long contested the IRS’s broker reporting rules, arguing against their applicability to decentralized finance networks and highlighting significant compliance costs.

In 2023, The Blockchain Association voiced its objections, citing fundamental discrepancies between the IRS’s proposals and the operational realities of decentralized systems.

Recently, the association reiterated concerns over regulatory overreach and projected an annual compliance cost of $256 billion, arguing that the rules violated the Paperwork Reduction Act.

The Chamber of Commerce echoed these apprehensions, particularly regarding potential privacy infringements arising from the extensive documentation requirements, including the filing of billions of 1099-DA tax forms.

In summary, while the IRS has exempted certain decentralized entities from its new reporting rules, its comprehensive approach to digital asset taxation faces substantial resistance from industry stakeholders, who assert that these regulations impose undue burdens and threaten privacy rights.

---

To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.

Kazakhstan’s Financial Services and Regulatory Committee (AFSA) has given its approval for Toncoin (TON) to commence trading on regulated exchanges, following a thorough audit that confirmed the digital asset met the regulator’s listing standards.

Toncoin now stands among 107 cryptocurrencies endorsed by the Kazakhstan government, including notable names such as TRON, Polygon, Aptos, Stellar, Avalanche, Bitcoin, and Ether.

The Open Network, featuring its native asset TON, is gaining traction as a preferred medium for value transfer in emerging economies.

Leveraging Telegram’s extensive user base of 800 million daily active users, the Open Network facilitates Mini Apps and in-app payments, according to TGStat, with 55 million active users in Kazakhstan alone.

Within the TON ecosystem, blockchain gaming remains pivotal, with titles like Hamster Kombat, Notcoin, Yescoin, and TonPotato captivating users seeking additional income.

Hamster Kombat, in particular, has garnered significant attention, prompting cautionary advisories from governmental bodies.

READ MORE: Cardano Developers Thwart DDoS Attack, Plan Node Upgrade to Enhance Security

Uzbekistan’s National Agency for Perspective Projects (NAPP), responsible for online business and digital commerce regulation, issued warnings regarding the game’s tokens.

The regulator clarified that because Hamster Kombat tokens are not currently classified as onchain digital assets, they do not fall under its jurisdiction.

While playing the game remains permissible, the NAPP cautioned citizens that if tokens transition to onchain status in the future, withdrawal complexities could arise.

Despite its growing popularity, the TON network faces challenges, noted blockchain security expert Yu Xian, founder of SlowMist.

Xian highlighted a rise in phishing attacks on The Open Network, exacerbated by its integration with the Telegram messaging app. Scammers exploit this integration to disseminate malicious links within groups.

In summary, Toncoin’s approval for trading on regulated exchanges in Kazakhstan underscores its integration into the country’s cryptocurrency landscape.

However, challenges such as regulatory oversight of emerging blockchain applications and security concerns remain pertinent as the ecosystem evolves.

---

To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.

The much-anticipated native token of the Ethereum layer-2 network, Blast (BLAST), saw a 40% surge following its launch, outperforming other recent high-profile airdrops.

BLAST started at $0.02 per token, giving it a fully diluted value (FDV) of $2 billion at launch, based on data from Ambient Finance and Aevo, a perps trading platform.

Since its debut, BLAST’s price has risen over 40% to $0.0281, according to CoinMarketCap.

This performance contrasts with other recent token launches, such as Ethereum layer-2 network zkSync (ZK) and cross-chain interoperability LayerZero (ZRO), which have dropped 46% and 43% from their launch prices, respectively.

The BLAST airdrop released 17% of its total supply.

Users who bridged Ether or USD on Blast (USDB) to the network starting late last year received 7%, another 7% went to those who contributed to the success of decentralized applications (DApps) on the network, and the remaining 3% was allocated to the Blur Foundation for future community airdrops.

Despite its strong performance, the airdrop faced criticism from crypto market commentators on X, particularly from those who felt the launch valuation was lower than expected.

READ MORE: Trump Emerges as Pro-Innovation Candidate with Key Endorsements from Crypto and Finance Leaders

Arthur Cheong, co-founder of DeFiance Capital, expressed surprise at BLAST’s $2 billion FDV, having anticipated a value closer to $5 billion.

Blast, co-founded by Blur creator Tieshun Roquerre, known as PacMan, faced criticism from its seed investors last November.

They argued that the network lacked sufficient features to justify a one-way bridging mechanism, which required users to lock up their ETH for several months.

The Blast airdrop, like other major airdrops this year, attracted numerous scammers on X.

These events are prime targets for scammers who create convincing copycat profiles, as airdrops typically require users to connect their wallets and sign transactions to claim their tokens.

The crypto security service Scam Sniffer reported that one user lost over $217,000 after falling victim to a Blast airdrop scam, having signed multiple phishing signatures.

This highlights the ongoing risks associated with large-scale airdrop events in the crypto space.

---

To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.

Jamaal Bowman, a House Representative for New York’s 16th Congressional District, has lost the Democratic primary, which could have allowed him to retain his seat in 2025.

According to a June 26 projection from NBC News, Democratic challenger George Latimer will defeat Rep. Bowman by roughly 58% to 42%, with 84% of the vote reported at the time of publication.

The Fairshake political action committee (PAC) spent more than $2 million on a media campaign opposing Bowman’s reelection, not for his voting record against pro-crypto bills, but for claims of “pushing dangerous conspiracy theories.”

During his time in Congress, Rep. Bowman voted against the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, and a joint resolution overturning a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule on banks handling crypto.

Latimer, in contrast, has not made any notable statements on crypto or blockchain.

Bowman had the support of many members of his party.

However, interest groups, including Fairshake and the United Democracy Project — a PAC reportedly tied to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — spent $17 million to oppose the Democratic incumbent.

Bowman has been openly critical of Israel following the nation’s military actions in Gaza.

Before the primary election, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) called out Fairshake and the United Democracy Project for “dump[ing] nearly $15 million to unseat a member of Congress” as “corruption” and “a core threat to American democracy.”

On June 25, AOC won the Democratic primary for New York’s 14th Congressional District.

Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss, who recently pledged $1 million to support Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, said on X on June 25 that “this is what happens when you pick a fight with the crypto army.”

His comments were likely alluding to Latimer’s primary victory.

READ MORE: Bitcoin and Ether Transaction Fees Plunge Amidst Crypto Market Turmoil

In Utah, John Curtis, a Representative for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, won the June 25 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. According to filings with the Federal Election Commission,

Fairshake’s affiliate PAC Defend American Jobs spent more than $3 million on media buys supporting Curtis and roughly $1.2 million to oppose challenger Trent Staggs.

While Staggs’ position on crypto is unclear, Rep. Curtis cosponsored the FIT21 Act and the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act and voted in favor of the joint resolution to overturn the SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121.

He also supported the SEC’s efforts to approve spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and said, “crypto has become a significant part” of the U.S. economy.

With roughly $169 million in its coffers contributed by crypto firms, including Coinbase and Ripple, Fairshake’s media campaigns may have already influenced U.S. voters.

In March, California Representative Katie Porter lost a primary race for the U.S. Senate after a Fairshake ad claimed she took campaign contributions from “big pharma, big oil, and the big bank executives.”

Protect Progress, another Fairshake affiliate, backed Democratic candidates Shomari Figures and Julie Johnson, who won their respective primaries in California and Texas.

---

To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.

Spot Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States could potentially drive up the price of SOL by a factor of nine, according to crypto market maker GSR Markets.

In a June 27 report, GSR described Solana as part of “crypto’s big three” and investigated whether Solana would be the next spot cryptocurrency ETF to receive U.S. regulatory approval.

Coincidentally, the report came out the same day VanEck filed to issue a spot Solana ETF, surprising many.

GSR, which holds a long position on SOL, estimated an “8.9x” price increase assuming the spot Solana ETFs would attract 14% of the flows that spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen since their January launch, based on their relative market cap size.

In GSR’s “blue sky scenario,” Solana’s current price of $149 could soar to over $1,320, boosting Solana’s market cap to $614 billion.

In contrast, GSR’s “bear” and “baseline” scenarios would see spot Solana ETFs capturing 2% and 5% of Bitcoin ETF flows, leading to 1.4x and 3.4x price increases for SOL, respectively.

The firm noted that these estimates might be even higher if spot Solana ETFs included income from staking rewards, although staking wasn’t allowed in the approved spot Ether ETFs.

GSR stated, “Solana is poised for a spot ETF if and when additional spot digital asset ETFs are allowed in the US, and the impact on price may just be the largest yet.”

READ MORE: Bitcoin ETF Outflows Hit $1.3 Billion Amid Price Decline; Analysts Predict Stabilization and Long-Term Growth

Despite GSR’s optimism, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas and others believe that a change in the U.S. presidency and the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would be necessary for a spot Solana ETF to be seriously considered.

The SEC and its Chair, Gary Gensler, labeled SOL as a security in lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, arguably making the pathway to approval more challenging than for the now-approved spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs.

VanEck’s application follows cryptocurrency asset manager 3iQ’s filing for a spot Solana ETF in Canada, marking a North American first.

The Solana ecosystem and network have also received praise from $1.5 trillion asset manager Franklin Templeton, although the firm hasn’t confirmed plans for a spot Solana ETF in the future.

Globally, over $1 billion worth of Solana exchange-traded products are already available.

---

To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.

Curve Finance has revised its fee distribution mechanism, transitioning from the 3crv token to its native stablecoin, crvUSD, to enhance the stablecoin’s utility within the Curve Finance ecosystem and incentivize users.

According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph, switching the fee distribution to crvUSD will create “an additional supply sink for the stablecoin,” primarily due to uncollected fees contributing to this “supply sink” and potentially boosting the total value locked (TVL) in the ecosystem.

Michael Egorov, founder of Curve Finance, discussed the switch’s impact on users with Cointelegraph:

“The transition to crvUSD means that users will now obtain fees in a dollar-denominated stablecoin.

“This shift simplifies the process significantly, as crvUSD doesn’t have to be converted to anything else to be utilized in Curve Finance products.”

The press release highlights that distributing fees in crvUSD will incentivize stablecoin usage, encouraging users to engage more with products and services that use it.

On community incentives through this transition, Egorov explained that Curve users could deposit crvUSD into the ecosystem using the fees earned.

“The value of 3crv, although generally increasing, has a variable conversion rate (currently around 1.03).

“This variability necessitated additional steps for users to convert 3crv into a more stable or usable form of currency for other activities.”

READ MORE: Binance Tightens Security Measures to Combat Account Misuse and Enhance Platform Integrity

Curve Finance acknowledges potential liquidity concerns and risks associated with the transition.

Egorov elaborated on the risks, mentioning operational risks and asset age:

“The 3crv token has been operational for over four years and has shown no issues. […] CrvUSD is just one year old and has yet to fully establish its reliability.

“It underwent multiple audits and has been deemed fit for deployment, but it is inherently less time-tested compared to 3crv.”

Egorov also addressed operational risks during the “preparation phase” for on-chain votes required for the change, stating that these risks have been mitigated since “all relevant votes” have passed.

Overall, the switch to crvUSD aims to streamline user experience and boost the stablecoin’s role within the Curve Finance ecosystem, despite some inherent risks and the need for further community adaptation.

---

To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.