On August 29, 2023, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals delivered the most recent blow to the SEC’s crypto crackdown with its ruling in Grayscale Investments, LLC v. SEC. The decision was a big win for Grayscale and a clear repudiation of the SEC’s handling of Grayscale’s (and, implicitly, others’) spot Bitcoin ETF application under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”). By way of background, in 2013, Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss first sought to…
It was no surprise when the SEC recently denied the most recent request for a spot Bitcoin ETF. That has been the SEC’s response to every such application ever made to it. This particular request was by VanEck, which had already had an earlier request denied as well. According to the SEC, generally speaking, the submission was not sufficiently structured to prevent fraud and manipulation. In language it has used before, the SEC said: The…
Just last week we wrote about the oft-visited subject of the refusal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF, even though it has approved futures Bitcoin ETFs. And we noted that Grayscale Investments LLC (Grayscale) has appealed to the D.C. Circuit the SEC’s decision in its case, stressing the arbitrary nature of the SEC’s position concerning spot ETFs; oral argument is scheduled for March 7. On January 30,…
We have followed for years the saga of the many applications for a spot Bitcoin ETF that have been denied by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). See here and here. In April 2022, however, the SEC approved the Teucrium ETF — resting its decision on the fact that it was a futures ETF. But, unlike the earlier approved funds that had been filed under the 40 Act, Teucrium had filed under the Securities…
On November 23, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation that imposes a two-year moratorium on certain crypto-mining operations that run on carbon-based power sources. The “Purpose or General Idea” portion of the legislation provides: To establish a moratorium on air permit issuance and renewal for electric generating facilities that utilize a carbon-based fuel and that provides, in whole or in part, behind-the-meter electric energy consumed or utilized by cryptocurrency mining operations that use…
On November 7, 2022, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced that James Zhong (“Zhong”) plead guilty to one count of wire fraud for stealing over 50,000 Bitcoin (valued at the time of seizure at over USD 3.36 billion) from the now defunct Silk Road dark web marketplace. Zhong has not yet been sentenced but could face a maximum of 20 years in prison. This marks yet another major victory for…
We have followed for years the saga of the many applications for a spot Bitcoin ETF that have been denied by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). See here and here. This included the hope, when current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler was originally appointed, that the SEC might view things differently, but it was not meant to be, as the string of denials continued. There was one bright spot, in October 2021, when the…
On April 27, 2022, lawmakers in the Central African Republic unanimously approved legislation that made Bitcoin legal tender. Bitcoin can now be accepted alongside the CFA Franc. The CAR is one of six central African countries (Cameroon, Chad, Republic of Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea ) that share the CFA franc — a regional currency that is backed by France and pegged to the Euro. Opposition leaders are apparently challenging the move and are concerned…
We have written often about how the US SEC has, to date, refused to authorize a spot Bitcoin exchange traded fund (click here), while other countries such as Canada have done so (click here). Australia’s main market, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), has now given the green light for its first Bitcoin ETF, as reported by the Australian Financial Review. Cosmos Asset Management could launch its bitcoin ETF as early as April 27. Interestingly, however,…
On February 8, 2022, the U.S. government arrested Ilya Liechtenstein and Heather Morgan and charged them with conspiracy to launder the proceeds of 119,754 Bitcoin which had been stolen from cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in a 2016 hack. The present value of the theft is approximately $4.5 billion and the U.S. government has seized approximately 94,000 Bitcoin thus far. The seized Bitcoin is valued at $3.6 billion and represents the DOJ’s largest ever cryptocurrency seizure. The…