Hodder Law Weekly Crypto Newsletter - October 20, 2022
Hello everyone,
I hope you are all having a great week! The price of Bitcoin as of Thursday, October 20 at 10:00 EDT is $19,178.
HODLCast with Bill Wise - Cyber Crime & Censorship
This week I had the chance to interview my law clerk, Bill Wise. We discussed the SEC's investigation of Yuga Labs, Kanye's financial censorship, and the industry at large.
For further info check out my recent blog titled Cryptocurrency and Cybercrime.
Headlines.
Finally, Fair-Value Accounting for Crypto Assets.
The FASB, which oversees public companies, previously required bitcoin to be recorded at its lowest price in any given quarter. This move to fair value accounting will allow companies to consider the current market value, and will likely encourage more public companies to and hold bitcoin. #ThanksSaylor! #LobbyingWorks
Bittrex fined $29 million by FinCEN & OFAC.
From 2014 to 2018, Bittrex failed to maintain effective anti-money laundering policies and provided services to people from the OFAC sanctioned areas of Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria. Bittrex's estimated annual revenue for 2021 was $62 million. #MoreThanAWristSlap.
Trillion-dollar bank to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum — institutional investors to go all-in.
The 238-year-old giant, BNY Mellon, America’s oldest bank, now offers custodial Bitcoin and Ethereum. It's using Fireblocks for the wallets and Chainalysis for the compliance software.
Preparing for spot crypto trading, and non-securities digital asset oversight, the CFTC is creating new categories and tighter rules for retail investors. #SpotETFComingSoon?
Mastercard will help banks offer cryptocurrency trading.
Mastercard will partner with Paxos. It will be similar to the existing PayPal arrangement for buying bitcoin, where you can buy and sell, but you don't have an actual wallet and can't transfer the Bitcoin off the platform. Mastercard’s chief digital officer said polling still shows demand for Bitcoin, but roughly 60% of respondents said they would rather test the waters through their existing banks. #PaperBitcoin
Voyager CEO to pay $1million fine.
The co-founder and CEO of Voyager, who is the former E-Trade CEO, and otherwise decorated and well-respected 25-year capital markets veteran, admitted negligence in allowing Voyager to lend Three Arrows nearly $1 billion in crypto without enough due diligence. He has agreed to pay Voyager $1 million, subject to the bankruptcy judge's approval. This move allows their insurance policy to be activated for $20 million. #3NeverTrustNobody #ThreeArrowsBoughtGiantYacht
IMF Touts Tyrannical CBDC for Financial Inclusion for Unbanked.
Rather than financial inclusion, CBDCs could actually lead to extreme cases of financial exclusion where authoritarian governments and banks program a dystopian future for those not meeting their criteria. #BuyBitcoinInstead
I'll be Speaking at the FBBS Summit in Tampa Nov 4. Hope to see you there! The goal of the Summit is to make Florida the world leader in blockchain and financial technology. It will be a meeting of stakeholders, businesses, and political leaders from around the world. Use discount code Fbba1001 when purchasing your tickets. #FloridaBitcoinState
Make it a great week!
Sincerely,
Sasha Hodder
Hodder Law
sasha@hodder.law
www.hodder.law