This Week In Crypto 5/17-5/24

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.

FIT21 Passes House Vote?- 71 Dems joined Republicans in the House to pass the Financial Innovation & Technology for the?21stCentury Act.?

• The Act would give the CFTC expanded jurisdiction over the spot market of non-security digital assets. However, the Act doesn’t fully clarify what constitutes a digital asset security.?
• Everyone predicted it would pass, but it was a surprise so many Dems (including Nancy Pelosi) supported it over calls from Biden and the SEC to vote against it.?
• Most folks don’t believe it will pass (or even be voted on) by the Senate but see it as a symbolic win for crypto.?

Ether Spot Market ETF Approved?- The SEC unexpectedly cleared the way for spot-market ether ETFs this week, although further approvals are needed before they can go live. The SEC’s approval appears to have been a last-minute decision, potentially caused by shifting politics and unexpected bipartisan support of the FIT21 Act and SAB121 repeal.?Some believe the decision prevents the SEC from credibly asserting that ether is a security in the future.

Anti-CBDC Bill Also Passes House?- A bill blocking the U.S. from issuing a CBDC also passed the House this week, although this one didn’t have Democratic support. Like FIT21, it is unlikely to make its way through the Senate.

Craig Wright is Not Satoshi?- A UK court has concluded that Craig Wright, who pretends to be Satoshi Nakamoto to promote a coin called “Bitcoin Satoshi’s Vision,” is not Satoshi Nakamoto. The order is blistering and sets forth how Faketoshi faked documents to support his lie.?

Genesis Blocked?- The NY Attorney General extracted a $2 billion settlement from bankrupt crypto lending platform Genesis and a commitment not to operate in NY in the future.?

Brief Update?- Uniswap made public its response to the SEC’s Wells Notice. I recommend reading it, as it raises several issues likely to be determined by a federal court regarding whether securities regulations are implicated by DeFi protocols.?

SEC Defeats YouTuber?- A Texas federal court ruled against YouTuber Ian Balina, finding he offered unregistered securities in the form of SPRK tokens. Ballina argued he was not subject to SEC jurisdiction as he was located out of the country when making the offer, but the court found his use of U.S. social media to solicit U.S. investors gave the SEC jurisdiction.?

SCOTUS Rules Against Coinbase—Finally, the Supreme Court ruled against Coinbase…in a case regarding contractual interpretations of arbitration provisions. It’s not crypto-related, so let’s not dwell on it.

I want to thank everyone again for supporting?The Crypto Legal Handbook?and this newsletter. It is honestly a very scary experience to put something you made out into the world. I have been blown away by how positive the feedback for my book has been and how many people picked up a copy and recommended it to their friends.

It isn’t doing Harry Potter numbers or anything, but for a book about perhaps the most esoteric topic imaginable, I couldn’t be happier. You can find the link above if you still haven’t picked up a copy.?

See you next Friday. Hit me up if you're in Austin for Consensus.

Justin