Connect with us

Law and Order

South Dakota Seeks to Establish Bitcoin Reserve as More States Join the Trend

Published

on



South Dakota is expected to begin debating a bill that seeks to add Bitcoin to its financial reserves, a move that would officially recognize the crypto as part of the state’s assets.

“I am proud to say I will be bringing a bill in the South Dakota House that would create a strategic Bitcoin reserve,” Logan Manhart, South Dakota’s State Representative, wrote on X on Tuesday. “Now is one of the few chances government has at being proactive.”

A timeframe for when the bill would be introduced into the state’s House of Representatives was not provided. Decrypt has reached out to learn more about the timing and details of the bill.

The state-level push for Bitcoin reserves is closely tied to President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance, which has led to renewed interest in integrating Bitcoin into U.S. financial policy. 

South Dakota’s move comes as at least a dozen other states plan to introduce or have proposed similar legislation, including Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Arizona. 

Pennsylvania was one of the earliest to introduce a proposal in November 2024, followed by Florida, Texas, and Ohio in December. 

More states have since joined the effort, with North Dakota, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Wyoming, and Utah submitting Bitcoin reserve proposals in January 2025. 

Arizona has gone a step further, approving the first leg of a Bitcoin reserve bill in its legislature that will allow up to 10% of public funds to be allocated should it pass. 

On his campaign trail in November, Trump pledged to establish a national Bitcoin stockpile to position the U.S. as the crypto capital of the planet.

That promise took a concrete step forward last week when Trump signed his first crypto-focused executive order, creating the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets—a team tasked with exploring policies, including a national crypto reserve.

The group, led by the White House Crypto & AI Czar, will assess the reserve’s feasibility alongside other crypto-related policies.

Sacks recently commented on the possibility of a Bitcoin reserve, stating, “Yeah, we’re going to evaluate that. We have not decided to do it yet, but we need to study that.”

With Trump’s administration actively supporting crypto adoption, expectations are high that more states—and even other nations—will follow suit. 

Meanwhile, countries such as Brazil, Japan, Poland, and Russia are exploring similar reserve strategies as Bitcoin’s role continues to rise on the global financial stage.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

Daily Debrief Newsletter

Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.



Source link

Law and Order

Grayscale XRP ETF Countdown Begins as Filing Hits Federal Register

Published

on



The filing for Grayscale’s proposed XRP exchange-traded fund has officially hit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Federal Register, bringing it one step closer to becoming a reality.  

The publication, which entered on Thursday, has triggered a 21-day comment period, with the regulator expected to approve, deny, or further review Grayscale’s filing by October 18.

If approved, the ETF would provide a regulated vehicle for exposure to XRP, one of the most talked-about cryptos in the market, amid optimism surrounding its legal and regulatory status.

Speaking to Decrypt, Saravanan Pandian, CEO and founder of crypto exchange KoinBX, said while the review process will involve assessing market risks, investor protections, and legal classifications, a potential approval could set a “transformative precedent for XRP and the broader crypto ecosystem.”

“In the long run, approvals of crypto-based ETFs, like Grayscale’s XRP ETF, could significantly impact the crypto community by legitimizing digital assets as a recognized investment class,” Pandian added.

The crypto’s recent resurgence has been fueled by reports such as the potential use of the token by Bank of America for internal transactions, alongside speculation about the SEC’s stance on Ripple’s long-standing legal battle. 

While XRP is down 1% on the day to $2.66, it’s up by more than 381% over the past 12 months, CoinGecko data shows.

The SEC’s lawsuit, filed in December 2020, accused Ripple of raising over $1.3 billion through unregistered XRP sales, classifying the token as a security under the Howey Test

“There is a high likelihood that an XRP ETF will launch this year,” Arthur Azizov, CEO of crypto payment solution B2BINPAY, told Decrypt. “How soon will depend on how quickly the legal disputes with the SEC are resolved.”

He added: “Since an ETF would provide institutional investors with easier access to XRP, it would significantly increase capital inflows into the asset, driving its price higher.”

It comes as several issuers are vying to push through crypto ETFs now that Acting Chair Mark Uyeda is in charge, with crypto participants eyeing a change in the regulator’s stance on the industry.

The agency has already acknowledged multiple XRP ETF filings in the past few weeks from Canary Capital, WisdomTree, Bitwise, CoinShares, and 21Shares

Grayscale’s proposal joins others in a list of altcoin ETFs published in the Federal Register as Solana (SOL) ETF filings from asset managers VanEck, 21Shares, Bitwise, and Canary Capital were added to the Federal Register on February 18.

“These approvals signal increasing institutional and governmental recognition, which boosts credibility and fosters trust in the broader financial ecosystem,” Pandian said.

In any case, the path to approval for Grayscale’s ETF depends on public feedback and its compliance with SEC investor protection standards.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

Daily Debrief Newsletter

Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.



Source link

Continue Reading

Law and Order

SEC Launches New Crypto Crime Fighting Unit

Published

on



The Securities and Exchange Commission is launching a new organization tasked with combatting crypto-related crime. 

In a Thursday announcement, Wall Street’s top regulator said the new Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit will work with the SEC’s crypto task force to “root out those seeking to misuse innovation to harm investors and diminish confidence in new technologies.”

It will replace the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit and will be made up of around 30 fraud specialists and lawyers from across the SEC, the statement noted. SEC attorney Laura D’Allaird will lead the new unit. 

Back in 2020, D’Allaird was one of the attorneys who worked on the SEC’s case against messaging service Kik Interactive, which the SEC alleged offered its Kin digital tokens in violation of the federal Securities Act.

Back in 2017, Kik sold $50 million in Kin tokens as part of a private pre-sale to 50 investors. As part of this “Simple Agreement for Future Tokens,” or SAFT, investors understood they were getting in at a discount. They explicitly agreed that they were buying a security.

Now, D’Allaird’s new crypto unit will work with the regulator’s new crypto task force dedicated to working on digital asset regulation. Under the Biden Administration, the SEC cracked down hard on the space as its former Chair Gary Gensler repeatedly said that the vast majority of digital assets fell under the definition of a security.

But following the election of Republican President Donald Trump—a far more crypto-friendly candidate—the regulator has said it wants to take a different approach to overseeing the industry. 

Acting SEC Chairman Mark T. Uyeda said in Thursday’s statement that “the [Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit] will not only protect investors, but will also facilitate capital formation and market efficiency by clearing the way for innovation to grow.”

The statement added that the new unit will combat fraud involving blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, and artificial intelligence; fight hackers working to obtain material nonpublic information; and target criminals using social media, the dark web, or false websites to con retail investors.

Crime in the crypto space is rife. Last year, the SEC brought 33 enforcement actions against companies and individuals related to cryptocurrency fraud. In fact, a $4.5 billion of $8.2 billion the SEC secured in penalties came from its one case against blockchain project Terraform Labs and its founder, Do Kwon.

Commissioner Hester Peirce, who leads the SEC’s crypto task force, said earlier this month that the regulator would work hard to clear up the “mess” created by the previous administration’s chair in an emphatically new approach to managing the fast-moving and complex industry.

Edited by Stacy Elliott

Daily Debrief Newsletter

Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.



Source link

Continue Reading

Law and Order

Argentina Stock Market Tanks Following Milei Meme Coin Mess

Published

on



Argentina’s stock market took a sharp nosedive Monday morning after the country’s president was hit with fraud charges for promoting a meme coin late Friday.  

The S&P Merval dropped by over 5% when markets opened in Buenos Aires Monday, data from Yahoo shows

The index, which tracks the biggest companies in the South American country, has since rebounded slightly but is still trading 3% lower than when it closed Friday. 

Argentina’s markets have been thrown into chaos after President Javier Milei on Friday pointed his followers on X (formerly Twitter) to a Solana-based token called LIBRA. 

The president had said in a now-deleted tweet that the project would be “dedicated to encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy by funding small Argentine businesses and startups.” A link to a website allowed investors to buy the token. 

But after LIBRA surged in market value to over $4 billion, it crashed by nearly 90% within hours of the launch. 

Firms tracking blockchain movements warned that data showed a small handful of wallets to be holding most of the LIBRA token—typical of a rug pull. In the crypto industry, rug pulls are when developers raise funds to deliver a project but then abandon it only to quickly cash out and keep investor funds. 

Milei’s advisor on the LIBRA project, Kelsier Ventures CEO Hayden Davis, admitted in an interview with YouTuber CoffeeZilla that he removed roughly $100 million from the LIBRA liquidity pool and is in control of the funds. 

Davis said, however, that he has no intention of personally profiting from those funds and is now waiting on word from Milei and the Argentine government before deciding what to do with the money.

The president’s office has since ordered an investigation and denied advanced knowledge of the LIBRA project. Lawyers in the South American nation have filed fraud charges against Milei and expect a judge to take action on the case as early as Monday, according to the Associated Press.

Daily Debrief Newsletter

Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement [ethereumads]

Trending

    wpChatIcon