Crypto Report - Thursday June 13th, 2023
Posted by TOKERObot 🤖,
This article was generated by TOKERObot 🤖.
Summary
Bitcoin Infrastructure Firm Blockstream to Unveil Its Long-Awaited Mining Rig in 3Q of 2024
U.S. Judge Rebuffs SEC Request for Binance.US Asset Freeze for Now
Bitcoin Seesaws Back Under $26K After CPI, as Investors Await Fed Rate Hike Decision
Binance Goes to Court Against the SEC
SEC Says It May Make a Recommendation on Coinbase Petition Within 4 Months
Bitcoin Infrastructure Firm Blockstream to Unveil Its Long-Awaited Mining Rig in 3Q of 2024
Bitcoin infrastructure firm Blockstream plans to release its long-awaited Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) miner around the third quarter of 2024, according to CEO and co-founder Adam Back during the company's first media briefing. Blockstream acquired Israeli mining hardware manufacturer Spondoolies in 2021, integrating its core team into Blockstream's mining division, led by Chris Cook with former Spondoolies CEO Assaf Gilboa as executive vice president. In January 2023, the company raised $125 million to expand its mining operations and intends to raise additional capital for this venture. Initially planned for a 2022 launch, the new ASIC miner is now expected to be available in the latter half of 2024. Back explained that the manufacturing process involves a test run, known as a shuffle run, which puts the miner on track for a Q3 2024 release. Besides the mining business, Blockstream's other projects include Liquid, a federated sidechain interacting with the primary Bitcoin blockchain, and Jade, the company's flagship hardware bitcoin wallet.
U.S. Judge Rebuffs SEC Request for Binance.US Asset Freeze for Now
A federal judge overseeing the SEC's case against Binance and Binance.US declined to order a temporary restraining order freezing Binance.US's assets, allowing the company to continue operations while negotiating restrictions with the regulator. Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered Binance.US to provide a list of its business expenses and instructed both parties to continue discussions, with a status update due by close of business Thursday. The judge questioned SEC attorneys about their motion to freeze all company assets until it could prove that no one from Binance's global platform, including founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, had access to its private keys. Both the SEC and Binance.US representatives expressed openness to the business continuing to operate. The SEC sued Binance, Binance.US, and Zhao last week, alleging they were operating as an unregistered securities exchange, brokerage, and clearing agency, and accused Zhao of having access to Binance.US customer assets. The crypto exchanges countered the claims, arguing the SEC hadn't conclusively proven they listed any securities and hadn't shown any proof supporting an emergency motion.
Bitcoin Seesaws Back Under $26K After CPI, as Investors Await Fed Rate Hike Decision
Bitcoin recently traded at $25,846, a 0.2% decrease over the past 24 hours, after briefly crossing the $26,000 mark following the release of May's Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 4% increase in the CPI, better than the expected 4.1% and April's 4.9%. Investors have been closely monitoring inflation and the upcoming Federal Reserve interest rate decision, as well as SEC lawsuits against crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase. The Fed is expected to halt its hawkish monetary policy as inflation slows. Tim Frost, CEO of Yield App, believes any economic wobble or looming recession could benefit crypto assets, including altcoins that have lost up to 30% over the past week. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, followed Bitcoin's lead, initially rising before returning some gains, trading at around $1,735. Major stock indexes like the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 rose 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively, while the yield on U.S. 10-year Treasurys increased to 3.8%. Brent crude oil traded at $73 per barrel, down from its peak above $112 a year ago.
Binance Goes to Court Against the SEC
Binance and Binance.US have filed their first responses to the SEC's lawsuit against them, arguing that the regulator's push for a temporary restraining order would prevent them from paying employees, vendors, or anyone else. The filings also previewed their defense against the SEC's actual charges. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the D.C. District Court ordered both parties to describe any differences in their proposed stipulations and the SEC to describe what changes it wants from the Binance.US proposal that would make it acceptable to the agency. The judge's order suggests that she may not want to sign off on a full temporary restraining order but is willing to enact some sort of restriction on who can access Binance.US’s funds. The SEC’s filing calls for any restrictions to also cover staking services and the AWS access. The case will be closely watched as it progresses and may have significant implications for the cryptocurrency industry.
SEC Says It May Make a Recommendation on Coinbase Petition Within 4 Months
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not yet made a decision on Coinbase's (COIN) petition for rulemaking, nor has it determined that its enforcement action against the crypto trading platform is inconsistent with any decision on rulemaking. The SEC revealed this in response to a court order asking about the agency's view on the petition amid its enforcement action against Coinbase, which it sued last week for allegedly operating an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. Although Coinbase claims the SEC has decided to reject the petition, the regulator stated that no decision has been made, but its staff anticipates making a recommendation within 120 days. Regardless of the outcome, Coinbase must still comply with existing laws, the SEC emphasized. Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal accused the SEC of ignoring statements from its chair confirming no intent to issue new rules, but the SEC countered that such statements cannot constitute Commission action denying the rulemaking petition. A majority of a quorum vote would be required for any SEC decision.
