Welcome to?This Week in Crypto,?a newsletter covering the most important crypto news for the week.?If you want this update sent to your email every Friday morning, subscribe at www.thecryptolegalhandbook.com/newsletter.
- ETF Haircut??? - The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation announced it would not back loans or allocate collateral against crypto ETFs. While some saw the move as discriminatory against crypto,?others lauded it for curtailing market leverage risk.?
- Consensys Commentary?- Last week, MetaMask developer Consensys made headlines by suing the SEC, accusing it of overreach and classifying ether as a security. Attorney Laura Brookover discussed the bold legal strategy on this week's Unchained Podcast with Laura Shin.
- Political Fallout?- Several pro-crypto legislators have raised concerns that if Consensys’s allegations are true, the SEC's determination of ether as a security contradicts statements made by its Chair to Congress.
- CZ Sentenced?- Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s former CEO, was sentenced to 4 months in prison following a plea deal on money laundering and other charges.?CZ famously loves?the number 4, so the internet had fun with the outcome.
- “No Authoritative Effect”?- The DOJ argued in a motion against the creators of bitcoin mixer Tornado Cash that FinCEN’s 2019 guidance that developers of non-custodial wallets were not money services business was of “no authoritative effect.”?
- “A Threat to Liberty and the Rule of Law”?- The fallout from last week’s Samauri Wallet indictment and ongoing case against Tornado Cash has elicited a new round of concerns about the extent to which rights to financial privacy are being further eroded.
- ?Bitcoin Jesus Wept?- The U.S. government arrested Roger “Bitcoin Jesus” Ver for tax fraud. The article provides interesting details on Ver’s attempt to renounce his citizenship and pay the U.S. exit tax.
- Lightning Strikes?- Coinbase had a very good week, both integrating the Lightning Network into its app and dropping its?quarterly earnings report, which exceeded expectations.?
- Taxing Times?- A bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress that, if passed, would clarify that staking rewards would be taxed at the point the assets are sold and not when they are earned.?
- No Movement on Interest Rates?- Finally, the Fed announced it would keep interest rates steady at a 20+ year high of 5.25-5.5%
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