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In order to close the deal, Crypto.com had to resurrect $7 billion in CRO tokens that were burned in 2021. This was decided by a “vote” in which Crypto.com validators controlled more than 70% of the voting power — nearly all other CRO holders opposed.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics
![Though the details were scarce, the press release suggested the crypto ETFs would “include a unique ETF basket of cryptocurrencies incorporating Bitcoin, Cronos, and other crypto assets.” (Cronos is the token issued by Crypto.com subsidiary Cronos Labs.) All of this will happen via the “Truth.Fi” brand, a business venture announced by Trump Media in February [I76]. There has been some controversy over this deal in the crypto world, centering around a decision by Crypto.com and Cronos to fund the deal by “reissuing” tokens notionally worth $7 billion that had been burned (ostensibly permanently destroyed) in 2021.7 The proposal was unpopular among many Cronos holders, and comments on the proposal were universally negative. “Veto. Reversing a burn is a violation of trust and integrity of the ecosystem,” commented one community member. “This is a disaster on so many levels—I don’t even know where to begin. This should be a firm NO, with a veto. It feels more like a rug pull from [Crypto.com], where they’re essentially seeking exposure to the US reserve using consumers' money,” argued another.8 Most Cronos validators voted no on the proposal. However, at the last minute, a sudden surge in yes votes came in from validators operated by Crypto.com, which controls 70–80% of the voting power in Cronos, forcing through the proposal.9](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/208105 "Though the details were scarce, the press release suggested the crypto ETFs would “include a unique ETF basket of cryptocurrencies incorporating Bitcoin, Cronos, and other crypto assets.” (Cronos is the token issued by Crypto.com subsidiary Cronos Labs.) All of this will happen via the “Truth.Fi” brand, a business venture announced by Trump Media in February [I76]. There has been some controversy over this deal in the crypto world, centering around a decision by Crypto.com and Cronos to fund the deal by “reissuing” tokens notionally worth $7 billion that had been burned (ostensibly permanently destroyed) in 2021.7 The proposal was unpopular among many Cronos holders, and comments on the proposal were universally negative. “Veto. Reversing a burn is a violation of trust and integrity of the ecosystem,” commented one community member. “This is a disaster on so many levels—I don’t even know where to begin. This should be a firm NO, with a veto. It feels more like a rug pull from [Crypto.com], where they’re essentially seeking exposure to the US reserve using consumers' money,” argued another.8 Most Cronos validators voted no on the proposal. However, at the last minute, a sudden surge in yes votes came in from validators operated by Crypto.com, which controls 70–80% of the voting power in Cronos, forcing through the proposal.9")
Trump is seeking to expand his personal crypto footprint, and his Trump Media company is looking to partner with Crypto.com to launch ETPs. The Singapore-headquartered company is an odd choice of partner for a plan with a “Made in America focus”.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics
Lead crypto adviser Bo Hines is already hard at work getting “a lot of high IQ people” to work on “countless ideas” for how the US can add more bitcoin to its reserve while remaining technically “budget neutral”.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics
![Any sense of relief that may have followed the March executive order’s stipulation that a “strategic bitcoin reserve” would not incur costs to taxpayers has melted away with news that White House are already looking for creative ways to acquire bitcoin in a “budget neutral” way.
Bo Hines, the baffling choice of executive director for the White House’s “crypto advisory council” [I72, 74], sat for an interview in which he commented that “there’s a lot of high IQ people working on ... countless ideas” to ~~pump bitcoin prices to profit bitcoin holders~~ acquire additional bitcoins for the reserve, including “realizing the gains” on US gold reserves. Asked by the interviewer if he might consider selling some of the country’s gold reserves to swap them for bitcoin, Hines answered, “if it's budget neutral and doesn't cost a taxpayer a dime”.5
In the same interview, he commented that bitcoin “is different” from the other crypto assets like Ether, Ripple’s XRP, Solana, or Cardano’s ADA. “It’s unique. It’s a commodity, not a security.” Evidently, Hines has not been briefed that they’re not supposed to admit anymore that these other crypto assets are securities.5](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/208101 "Any sense of relief that may have followed the March executive order’s stipulation that a “strategic bitcoin reserve” would not incur costs to taxpayers has melted away with news that White House are already looking for creative ways to acquire bitcoin in a “budget neutral” way.
Bo Hines, the baffling choice of executive director for the White House’s “crypto advisory council” [I72, 74], sat for an interview in which he commented that “there’s a lot of high IQ people working on ... countless ideas” to ~~pump bitcoin prices to profit bitcoin holders~~ acquire additional bitcoins for the reserve, including “realizing the gains” on US gold reserves. Asked by the interviewer if he might consider selling some of the country’s gold reserves to swap them for bitcoin, Hines answered, “if it's budget neutral and doesn't cost a taxpayer a dime”.5
In the same interview, he commented that bitcoin “is different” from the other crypto assets like Ether, Ripple’s XRP, Solana, or Cardano’s ADA. “It’s unique. It’s a commodity, not a security.” Evidently, Hines has not been briefed that they’re not supposed to admit anymore that these other crypto assets are securities.5")
Newsletter: As the US government lays a very favorable groundwork for the crypto industry, Trump positions himself for maximum personal profits. Meanwhile crypto companies write their own rules, and an adviser mulls swapping US gold reserves for bitcoin.
The Trump family has reportedly had conversations about acquiring a stake in Binance — as Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao is reportedly seeking a pardon from the president.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
Sadly, for now we remain in a very much not billionaire-proof world, so I will now update you on how that’s all been going.
Substantially all remaining enforcement cases from the SEC against cryptocurrency companies (and political megadonors) have been dropped, including the lingering cases against Ripple and Kraken I mentioned last issue.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
My conversation with @brianmerchant about “Speaking Truth to Crypto Power” at SXSW was one of the few crypto-related events. Crypto prices may be back up, but crypto excitement has not followed.
youtube.com/watch?v=WzqoukQoAo…
Speaking Truth to Crypto Power | SXSW 2025
Portuguese and Spanish language translations for SXSW 2025 Keynotes and Featured Sessions presented by ItaúAs the crypto industry amasses unprecedented wealt...YouTube
Newsletter: Crypto reserves: no public good, no principles
The formerly anti-government bitcoin movement abandons its principles in favor of number-go-up, applauds federal plan to stockpile seized crypto with no clear benefit to national interest
citationneeded.news/crypto-res…
#bitcoin #crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
Crypto reserves: no public good, no principles
The formerly anti-establishment bitcoin movement abandons its principles in favor of number-go-up, applauds federal plan to stockpile seized crypto with no clear benefit to national interestMolly White (Citation Needed)
Tucker Carlson explicitly acknowledges the purpose of political megadonations
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #SBF
![Tweet screenshot: Tucker Carlson
@TuckerCarlson
Sam Bankman-Fried is doing 25 years behind bars, and is now sharing a cell block with Diddy. He joins us from prison for an update on his new life.
(0:00) What Has Prison Been Like?
(2:28) Was SBF Ever on Adderall?
(4:42) SBF Meeting Diddy in Prison
(7:01) How Prison Has Changed SBF’s Perspective
[begin highlight] (9:37) The Democrats Refused to Rescue SBF Despite His Large Donations [end highlight]
(15:24) The Future of Crypto Under Donald Trump
(21:17) Does SBF Have Any Money Left?
(24:42) Tucker Confronts SBF About His Effective Altruism Cult
(31:13) Will SBF Ever Actually Get Out of Prison?
(36:41) Why All of SBF’s Friends, Family, and Co-Workers Abandoned Him
Includes paid partnerships.](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/131728 "Tweet screenshot: Tucker Carlson
@TuckerCarlson
Sam Bankman-Fried is doing 25 years behind bars, and is now sharing a cell block with Diddy. He joins us from prison for an update on his new life.
(0:00) What Has Prison Been Like?
(2:28) Was SBF Ever on Adderall?
(4:42) SBF Meeting Diddy in Prison
(7:01) How Prison Has Changed SBF’s Perspective
[begin highlight] (9:37) The Democrats Refused to Rescue SBF Despite His Large Donations [end highlight]
(15:24) The Future of Crypto Under Donald Trump
(21:17) Does SBF Have Any Money Left?
(24:42) Tucker Confronts SBF About His Effective Altruism Cult
(31:13) Will SBF Ever Actually Get Out of Prison?
(36:41) Why All of SBF’s Friends, Family, and Co-Workers Abandoned Him
Includes paid partnerships.")
The SEC has rapidly been pausing and dropping enforcement cases and investigations against crypto companies, including some of the largest crypto-focused political donors (and those paying Trump in more... creative ways).
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
![SEC
Trump’s nominee for SEC Chair, Paul Atkins [I71], has not even been confirmed yet, but that hasn’t stopped the agency from barreling ahead with the new administration’s promises to the industry that all their problems would go away.
Most notably, the SEC case against Coinbase was dismissed with prejudice, meaning the SEC cannot refile the case in the future. CEO Brian Armstrong was explicit with his thanks when announcing the dismissal on Twitter: “I have to give credit here to the Trump administration, for winning the election”. He insisted that he believed “we would have won this case in the courts either way”, but noted that Trump’s election “certainly helped accelerate the process”.23 Coinbase has spent $75 million on contributions to crypto-focused super PACs, some apparently in violation of federal election law, and contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
A case against Justin Sun and his Tron project, opened in March 2023 and alleging fraudulent market manipulation “through extensive wash trading”, “orchestrating a scheme to pay celebrities to tout TRX and BTT without disclosing their compensation”, and unregistered securities offerings, has been stayed as parties “consider a potential resolution”.24 As a foreign national, Sun is not permitted to make contributions to American political candidates or committees. However, he has spent $75 million purchasing World Liberty Financial’s WLFI tokens, and Trump personally gets a 75% cut of that project’s re](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/127861 "SEC
Trump’s nominee for SEC Chair, Paul Atkins [I71], has not even been confirmed yet, but that hasn’t stopped the agency from barreling ahead with the new administration’s promises to the industry that all their problems would go away.
Most notably, the SEC case against Coinbase was dismissed with prejudice, meaning the SEC cannot refile the case in the future. CEO Brian Armstrong was explicit with his thanks when announcing the dismissal on Twitter: “I have to give credit here to the Trump administration, for winning the election”. He insisted that he believed “we would have won this case in the courts either way”, but noted that Trump’s election “certainly helped accelerate the process”.23 Coinbase has spent $75 million on contributions to crypto-focused super PACs, some apparently in violation of federal election law, and contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
A case against Justin Sun and his Tron project, opened in March 2023 and alleging fraudulent market manipulation “through extensive wash trading”, “orchestrating a scheme to pay celebrities to tout TRX and BTT without disclosing their compensation”, and unregistered securities offerings, has been stayed as parties “consider a potential resolution”.24 As a foreign national, Sun is not permitted to make contributions to American political candidates or committees. However, he has spent $75 million purchasing World Liberty Financial’s WLFI tokens, and Trump personally gets a 75% cut of that project’s re")
While Bybit’s CEO immediately claimed that “all of client assets are 1 to 1 backed”, it was later disclosed that wasn’t true. Bybit papered over the stolen funds by taking loans from other exchanges and crypto VCs, but their ability to repay those loans will remain to be seen.
![Bybit CEO Ben Zhou was quick to try to reassure customers that “Bybit is Solvent even if this hack loss is not recovered, all of clients assets are 1 to 1 backed, we can cover the loss.”14 Many customers weren’t satisfied with his promises,b and they withdrew a combined more than $5.5 billion from the exchange after the theft was announced. Bybit was able to satisfy the withdrawals, and has since said they “closed the gap” in ETH supplies to back client assets through a combination of OTC purchases and loans from exchanges and crypto VCs.15
The lack of skepticism around Bybit’s solvency is a little odd to me. For one, it’s clear that the assets were not 1:1 backed at the time of Zhou’s tweet, given that 400,000 ETH had just been stolen. Bybit later issued a press release boasting that they were “Fully Backed Within 72 hours”, acknowledging themselves that customer balances weren’t fully backed for those three days.16 Furthermore, much of the “gap” has been papered over with loans rather than the firm’s own assets. As we saw with Genesis’s $1.1 billion “loan” to try to cover losses in 2022 [I74], a company’s ability to secure a loan to cover a hole does not magically make that hole disappear. While Bybit’s proof-of-reserves demonstrates that the company now holds a sufficient quantity of ETH to back customer balances, these reports do not evaluate Bybit’s ability to repay the loans or provide any information about the terms of those loans.](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/127859 "Bybit CEO Ben Zhou was quick to try to reassure customers that “Bybit is Solvent even if this hack loss is not recovered, all of clients assets are 1 to 1 backed, we can cover the loss.”14 Many customers weren’t satisfied with his promises,b and they withdrew a combined more than $5.5 billion from the exchange after the theft was announced. Bybit was able to satisfy the withdrawals, and has since said they “closed the gap” in ETH supplies to back client assets through a combination of OTC purchases and loans from exchanges and crypto VCs.15
The lack of skepticism around Bybit’s solvency is a little odd to me. For one, it’s clear that the assets were not 1:1 backed at the time of Zhou’s tweet, given that 400,000 ETH had just been stolen. Bybit later issued a press release boasting that they were “Fully Backed Within 72 hours”, acknowledging themselves that customer balances weren’t fully backed for those three days.16 Furthermore, much of the “gap” has been papered over with loans rather than the firm’s own assets. As we saw with Genesis’s $1.1 billion “loan” to try to cover losses in 2022 [I74], a company’s ability to secure a loan to cover a hole does not magically make that hole disappear. While Bybit’s proof-of-reserves demonstrates that the company now holds a sufficient quantity of ETH to back customer balances, these reports do not evaluate Bybit’s ability to repay the loans or provide any information about the terms of those loans.")
Rocky crypto markets have not exactly been steadied by a new theft from a crypto exchange that dwarfs other previous hacks. North Korea has added another $1.5 billion to its stash of stolen crypto — more than all of their (also substantial) thefts last year combined.
![The Lazarus group is an extremely sophisticated cybercrime group that has been responsible for many of the chart-topping attacks in the crypto world, including the previously recordbreaking thefts of $625 million from the Axie Infinity game in March 2022 [W3IGG], and the the $300 million and $235 million hacks of the exchanges DMM [W3IGG] and WazirX [W3IGG] in May and July 2024. Their expertise means that they know how best to launder the stolen funds without causing serious impacts to the ETH price or risking the funds being frozen by exchanges and other centralized entities, and they have successfully laundered more than half of the stolen assets thus far by swapping it across various chains and into different crypto assets.9 While a substantial $43 million in stolen assets was frozen and recovered by the mETH Protocol, as was around $181,000 in Tether, that amounts to less than 3% of the total.10
To put this theft in perspective, the $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit alone surpasses the North Korean cyberattackers’ entire 2024 profits from crypto heists: around $1.34 billion from across 47 separate attacks throughout 2024. It’s more than double what they stole the year prior.11 According to the United Nations and the US government, these thefts have been a substantial source of funding for the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.1213](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/127857 "The Lazarus group is an extremely sophisticated cybercrime group that has been responsible for many of the chart-topping attacks in the crypto world, including the previously recordbreaking thefts of $625 million from the Axie Infinity game in March 2022 [W3IGG], and the the $300 million and $235 million hacks of the exchanges DMM [W3IGG] and WazirX [W3IGG] in May and July 2024. Their expertise means that they know how best to launder the stolen funds without causing serious impacts to the ETH price or risking the funds being frozen by exchanges and other centralized entities, and they have successfully laundered more than half of the stolen assets thus far by swapping it across various chains and into different crypto assets.9 While a substantial $43 million in stolen assets was frozen and recovered by the mETH Protocol, as was around $181,000 in Tether, that amounts to less than 3% of the total.10
To put this theft in perspective, the $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit alone surpasses the North Korean cyberattackers’ entire 2024 profits from crypto heists: around $1.34 billion from across 47 separate attacks throughout 2024. It’s more than double what they stole the year prior.11 According to the United Nations and the US government, these thefts have been a substantial source of funding for the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.1213")
But the “announcement” doesn’t seem to actually announce anything new, and instead seems to be Trump’s attempt to apply some electroshock paddles to the easily swayed crypto markets.
Every time he does this, it seems to work less and less.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
![Besides the mention of specific crypto assets, Trump’s post doesn’t actually appear to announce anything new, and instead reiterates that his “Executive Order on Digital Assets directed the Presidential Working Group to move forward on a Crypto Strategic Reserve” [I75]. (I will note that the actual wording of the EO was more guarded, directing the working group not to “move forward on” a strategic reserve, but rather to “evaluate the potential creation and maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile”.) Nonetheless, crypto prices rallied a bit, with bitcoin returning to around $93,000. This was still somewhat of a subdued recovery, only juicing bitcoin back to around its February 25 price, leaving me wondering how many promises Trump has left in the tank to keep bitcoin prices pumped up as they are now. Without the actual government infusion of cash into bitcoin markets via this “strategic reserve” gambit — something that may yet be a ways off, could take various forms, and could fail to materialize entirely — words alone seem to be running out.](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/127853 "Besides the mention of specific crypto assets, Trump’s post doesn’t actually appear to announce anything new, and instead reiterates that his “Executive Order on Digital Assets directed the Presidential Working Group to move forward on a Crypto Strategic Reserve” [I75]. (I will note that the actual wording of the EO was more guarded, directing the working group not to “move forward on” a strategic reserve, but rather to “evaluate the potential creation and maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile”.) Nonetheless, crypto prices rallied a bit, with bitcoin returning to around $93,000. This was still somewhat of a subdued recovery, only juicing bitcoin back to around its February 25 price, leaving me wondering how many promises Trump has left in the tank to keep bitcoin prices pumped up as they are now. Without the actual government infusion of cash into bitcoin markets via this “strategic reserve” gambit — something that may yet be a ways off, could take various forms, and could fail to materialize entirely — words alone seem to be running out.")
Seeming to respond to the panicked pleas from the cryptocurrency industry, Trump rescued bitcoin from its below-$80,000 slide in a Sunday Truth Social post reiterating his plans for a “U.S. Crypto Reserve”.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
![Seeming to respond to the panicked pleas from the cryptocurrency industry, Trump rescued bitcoin from its below-$80,000 slide in a Sunday Truth Social post reiterating his plans for a “U.S. Crypto Reserve”, which he added would contain “XRP [Ripple], SOL [Solana], and ADA [Cardano]”. Further panic [I74, 75] from bitcoin maximalists likely prompted his quick addendum two hours later that “And, obviously, BTC and ETH, as other valuable Cryptocurrencies, will be the heart of the Reserve. I also love Bitcoin and Ethereum!” Nice save.4
These assets were certainly not chosen at random, and give us some insight into who’s got the ear of the president (at least at the current moment). Part of it has to do with Trump’s nationalist and also rather absurd insistence that the reserve feature assets that are “made in the USA”. But beyond that: Ripple’s XRP token is an unsurprising if controversial choice — it’s a divisive asset in the crypto world, but on the other hand, the company contributed $48 million to crypto-focused super PACs and another $5 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. The company’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, has been rumored to be on the shortlist of people to be named to the much awaited crypto advisory board,5 and both he and the company’s Chief Legal Officer dined with the president in early January.](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/127849 "Seeming to respond to the panicked pleas from the cryptocurrency industry, Trump rescued bitcoin from its below-$80,000 slide in a Sunday Truth Social post reiterating his plans for a “U.S. Crypto Reserve”, which he added would contain “XRP [Ripple], SOL [Solana], and ADA [Cardano]”. Further panic [I74, 75] from bitcoin maximalists likely prompted his quick addendum two hours later that “And, obviously, BTC and ETH, as other valuable Cryptocurrencies, will be the heart of the Reserve. I also love Bitcoin and Ethereum!” Nice save.4
These assets were certainly not chosen at random, and give us some insight into who’s got the ear of the president (at least at the current moment). Part of it has to do with Trump’s nationalist and also rather absurd insistence that the reserve feature assets that are “made in the USA”. But beyond that: Ripple’s XRP token is an unsurprising if controversial choice — it’s a divisive asset in the crypto world, but on the other hand, the company contributed $48 million to crypto-focused super PACs and another $5 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. The company’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, has been rumored to be on the shortlist of people to be named to the much awaited crypto advisory board,5 and both he and the company’s Chief Legal Officer dined with the president in early January.")
![Trump’s “Crypto Czar” David Sacks is a big Solana guy. Andreessen Horowitz has also heavily invested in Solana — both directly and in Solana-based projects — and in the Trump administration. Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has also clearly been trying to woo Trump, claiming very shortly after the election that he was “going to be spending quite a bit of time working with lawmakers in Washington DC and quite a bit of time with members of the administration to help foster and facilitate with other key leaders in industry the crypto policy”.6 While he has continued to boast vaguely about meetings with various influential figures, winkingly describing a “VIP dinner” where “diet coke will certainly be on [the menu]”, there’s been little outside confirmation that he’s had much access to the Trump administration. However, the inclusion of his ADA token on the shortlist certainly suggests some degree of success in his endeavors.](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/127851 "Trump’s “Crypto Czar” David Sacks is a big Solana guy. Andreessen Horowitz has also heavily invested in Solana — both directly and in Solana-based projects — and in the Trump administration. Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has also clearly been trying to woo Trump, claiming very shortly after the election that he was “going to be spending quite a bit of time working with lawmakers in Washington DC and quite a bit of time with members of the administration to help foster and facilitate with other key leaders in industry the crypto policy”.6 While he has continued to boast vaguely about meetings with various influential figures, winkingly describing a “VIP dinner” where “diet coke will certainly be on [the menu]”, there’s been little outside confirmation that he’s had much access to the Trump administration. However, the inclusion of his ADA token on the shortlist certainly suggests some degree of success in his endeavors.")
While cryptocurrencies were once viewed as a subversive financial instrument intended to be independent from governments, banks, or the traditional financial system, it’s become clear that the crypto world is deeply dependent on outside forces propping it up.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
Newsletter: President on brink of bailout for bitcoin
Trump tries to breathe life back into the crypto markets’ “Trump pump” while federal regulatory agencies wash their hands of any crypto industry oversight
A U.S. Crypto Reserve will elevate this critical industry after years of corrupt attacks by the Biden Administration, which is why my Executive Order on Digital Assets directed the Presidential Working Group to move forward on a Crypto Strategic Reserve that includes XRP, SOL, and ADA. I will make sure the U.S. is the Crypto Capital of the World. We are MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
source: truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTru…
😱💸🤑💲
#money #finance #usa #trump #bitcoin #crypto #news #politics
checking in on decentralized assets intended to be independent from governments and big banks
(Don’t forget that $50 million of those contributions appeared to be blatantly illegal, although Trump is already hard at work making the Federal Elections Commission even less effective than it previously was.)
citationneeded.news/coinbase-c…
#crypto #cryptocurrency #Coinbase #USpolitics #USpol
Coinbase appears to have violated campaign finance laws with a $25 million super PAC donation
Actively involved in contract negotiations with a federal government agency, Coinbase was likely prohibited from making its $25 million contribution to the Fairshake cryptocurrency-focused super PAC in May 2024.Molly White (Citation Needed)
Coinbase says that the SEC has agreed to drop the enforcement case against the company. It only cost them $75 million in political contributions.
The crypto industry has in the past claimed to have obtained firm proof of “OCP 2.0” via FOIA-ed FDIC documents, but as I wrote then, those documents did not support their bold claims.
hachyderm.io/@molly0xfff/11380…
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
Molly White (@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io)
Attached: 1 image Having failed to obtain proof of "Operation Chokepoint 2.0" with their FOIA requests, Coinbase is going with the second best option: loudly proclaiming that they have such proof, and hoping no one will bother to dig through the rat…Hachyderm.io
They have been making similar claims about a new, nearly 800-page dump of FDIC communications with banks, which I analyze in detail.
Once again, the industry conflates supposed crypto debanking with regulators scrutinizing banks planning to themselves offer crypto products.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
![Once again, the crypto industry is claiming that this lengthy trove of documents contains a smoking gun proving that the FDIC was forcing banks not to serve the crypto industry. Once again, the reality of the documents does not support such a claim.
As with the last release, many of these documents are communications between the FDIC and banks that were not to do with banks denying depository accounts to clients in or associated with the crypto industry (which could be categorized as debanking), but rather with banks trying to offer crypto services themselves, including by adding bitcoin purchases to their mobile banking apps or installing bitcoin ATM kiosks in their lobbies. Questions around these activities seem well within banking regulators’ remit, and it seems deeply misleading to me for crypto companies complaining that their industry is being debanked to, when asked for supporting evidence, point to documents describing banks being questioned about or asked to pause programs to sell customers bitcoin in their online banking portals. It’s also entirely understandable to me that the FDIC seems particularly concerned in multiple communications about various banks potentially implying that their crypto offerings are subject to FDIC insurance, given that victims of several companies that collapsed in 2022 had been under this false impression [I1, 41, several W3IGG entries].](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/113582 "Once again, the crypto industry is claiming that this lengthy trove of documents contains a smoking gun proving that the FDIC was forcing banks not to serve the crypto industry. Once again, the reality of the documents does not support such a claim.
As with the last release, many of these documents are communications between the FDIC and banks that were not to do with banks denying depository accounts to clients in or associated with the crypto industry (which could be categorized as debanking), but rather with banks trying to offer crypto services themselves, including by adding bitcoin purchases to their mobile banking apps or installing bitcoin ATM kiosks in their lobbies. Questions around these activities seem well within banking regulators’ remit, and it seems deeply misleading to me for crypto companies complaining that their industry is being debanked to, when asked for supporting evidence, point to documents describing banks being questioned about or asked to pause programs to sell customers bitcoin in their online banking portals. It’s also entirely understandable to me that the FDIC seems particularly concerned in multiple communications about various banks potentially implying that their crypto offerings are subject to FDIC insurance, given that victims of several companies that collapsed in 2022 had been under this false impression [I1, 41, several W3IGG entries].")
Some witnesses, including Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, have slammed the FDIC for asking questions of banks and crypto companies pertaining to their crypto activities.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
However, there is no shortage of extremely concerning replies from banks to these questions about the banks’ own planned crypto offerings and partnerships with crypto companies, suggesting the FDIC was more than justified in making these inquiries. Just a few highlights:
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
![The form's responses to principal ownership, length of time in business, and regulatory oversight of the company do not accurately reflect the entity that the bank is contracting with, the entity's organizational structure, or affiliate services. [begin highlight] The form states that [redacted] has been operating since [redacted]; however, [redacted], the entity that the bank contracts with did not exist in [redacted]. [end highlight] The form also states that the regulators](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/113574 "The form's responses to principal ownership, length of time in business, and regulatory oversight of the company do not accurately reflect the entity that the bank is contracting with, the entity's organizational structure, or affiliate services. [begin highlight] The form states that [redacted] has been operating since [redacted]; however, [redacted], the entity that the bank contracts with did not exist in [redacted]. [end highlight] The form also states that the regulators")
![these customer expectations were generated from [redacted] and included little to no support. [begin highlight] Furthermore, those projections were likely generated when bitcoin prices were rapidly appreciating in comparison to the US Dollar and did not consider any type of range or pullback in the market. [end highlight] Management should revisit the report and consider a range of results that incorporate different levels of adoption and transaction volume.](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/113576 "these customer expectations were generated from [redacted] and included little to no support. [begin highlight] Furthermore, those projections were likely generated when bitcoin prices were rapidly appreciating in comparison to the US Dollar and did not consider any type of range or pullback in the market. [end highlight] Management should revisit the report and consider a range of results that incorporate different levels of adoption and transaction volume.")
![The risk assessment is not commensurate with the potential risk exposure posed. Management approved a Bitcoin Program risk assessment prepared by [redacted] with minimal edits, which lacked independence, lacked a discussion of controls in key areas, or outlined controls/mitigants that did not exist or were inaccurate.](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/113578 "The risk assessment is not commensurate with the potential risk exposure posed. Management approved a Bitcoin Program risk assessment prepared by [redacted] with minimal edits, which lacked independence, lacked a discussion of controls in key areas, or outlined controls/mitigants that did not exist or were inaccurate.")