#SEC

US House Financial Services Committee members, led by Chair Patrick McHenry, are seeking clarity from the SEC and FINRA about how Prometheum secured a special purpose broker-dealer (SPBD) license. They're probing if the SEC used Prometheum as a model firm to support Gary Gensler's stance that existing laws suffice for crypto regulation in the U.S. Despite Prometheum's claims of being pivotal for regulated digital asset offerings, the lawmakers pointed out that the firm hasn't served any customers yet. Also they raised concerns about potential ties between Prometheum and the Chinese Communist Party. The committee has requested related documents and communication records by Aug. 22.

John Reed Stark, ex-chief of the SEC's Office of Internet Enforcement, believes the current SEC won't approve a Bitcoin spot ETF due to various reasons. However, Stark suggests that if a Republican wins the 2024 presidential election, the SEC might ease its crypto-enforcement and be more open to a Bitcoin spot ETF. He also speculates that SEC chair Gary Gensler might resign, potentially paving the way for Hester Peirce, known as "Crypto Mom", to take a leading role.

US District Judge Analisa Torres in New York had previously indicated that XRP sales to sophisticated investors fulfilled the criteria for an investment contract under federal securities law However, this characterization didn’t extend to programmatic investors, which pertains to the general public buying crypto through exchanges.

She now believes that the SEC may approve multiple spot-Bitcoin ETFs simultaneously, instead of approving them one by one. This comes after her earlier expectation that her firm would be among the first to receive approval for a Bitcoin ETF. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart also shares the same opinion, stating that the path of least resistance for regulators is to approve multiple spot bitcoin ETFs at once or possibly all of them together.

During its second-quarter 2023 earnings call on August 3, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, expressed confidence that the exchange would win the court case, stating, “We do think we can win. We expect to win.” In terms of their financial performance: Coinbase reported a net loss of $97 million on $708 million in revenue for the second quarter of 2023. Trading volume fell by 37%, and operating expenses were down nearly 50% year over year, partly due to a 30% reduction in headcount.

Terraform Labs was looking to the positive verdict in the "SEC versus Ripple" litigation as a precedent for its own safeguard against allegations from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Yet, Judge Jed Rakoff has dashed such hopes. The crux of the matter is a substantial divergence in the judge's view concerning the Howey Test, which assesses whether an asset is a security. Terraform Labs' token purchases were clearly carried out by users with profit expectations - a paramount criterion for securities. Therefore, it renders the precise method of purchase irrelevant. The dichotomy between the two judges' decisions underscores the persisting uncertainty in the landscape of cryptocurrency regulations.

Amid the unresolved dispute between Coinbase and the SEC, a number of esteemed legal academics have weighed in, penning a court statement in support of the cryptocurrency exchange. Their stance is clear: an asset should only be deemed an investment contract if it promises profits, earnings, or assets from investments. Scholars assert that the court must strictly follow this legal definition, otherwise, it may jeopardize belief in existing securities laws.

This Sunday (August 13) marks the first deadline for the SEC to weigh in on ARK 21Shares' Bitcoin ETF application. Weekend deadlines are tricky, but some analysts suggest the decision could drop today. Analyst James Seyffart puts the odds of approval at less than 5%. Keep an eye out for the next milestone: BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF deadline is September 2.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has leveled charges against 11 Wall Street companies, alleging violations in the handling and retention of electronic communications. The cumulative fines have reached $289 million, with Wells Fargo and its subsidiaries contributing the largest amount of $125 million.These companies are now obligated to seek the expertise of independent consultants for policy checks.

The founder of CryptoLaw, John Deaton, argues that certain crypto enthusiasts might be overly buoyant about how XRP's price would respond to the court's verdict in the SEC dispute. XRP has indeed grown by a whopping 85% this year, but Deaton asserts that a fresh peak price would likely coincide with Bitcoin's bull run. "Until Bitcoin breaks it’s ATH, I don’t expect anything else to," he shared.

Both Coinbase and the SEC have denied reports claiming that the regulator requested the exchange to halt trading in all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. A Coinbase spokesperson has clarified to Blockworks that the supposed recommendation was an inaccurate representation of the facts. The interview published by the Financial Times earlier lacks important context regarding the conversations between Coinbase and the SEC.