4/8/22 Roundup

DeFi Weekly Roundup

April 8, 2022

Federal 

  • U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke about her views on Crypto currency for the first time on Thursday, 4/7. Her statements were broad and largely echoed sentiments from the presidential executive order, signed last month. She also stated that crypto rules should match those of the traditional financial system. 
  • US Senator Patrick Toomey, a ranking member of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee has introduced the Stablecoin Transparency of Reserves and Uniform Safe Transactions Act of 2022 which would create a three-pronged regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers,  a new license specific to stablecoin issuers, and allow insured depository banks to issue payment stablecoins.

State 

  • Below is a summary of the latest state legislative developments that have occurred this past week. Our master state legislative tracker can be found here. 
    • Connecticut: HB 5320 – Would require the registration of virtual currency businesses, establish consumer protections concerning virtual currency, and allow the acceptance of credit and debit cards for the purchase of virtual currency. The bill has been reported out of committee and placed on the house calendar on 4/6.
    • Hawaii: S.B.2695 – Would empower the governor to create a crypto and blockchain task force which would study the implications of the industry and recommend legislation. This bill was placed on the House calendar for final passage on 4/7.
    • Missouri: H.B.1472 – Would amend the state’s money laundering laws to include cryptocurrencies. This bill passed the House and was placed on the Senate calendar on 4/6.
    • California: S.B.1275 – Would allow for state agencies to accept cryptocurrency as payment for provision of certain services. This bill failed to pass out of committee but was granted reconsideration on 4/5.

International

  • On Wednesday 4/7 Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s program which allowed users to hold and use crypto on its app was halted by regulators. It is unclear when or if it will be able to resume. 
  • The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade announced its intention to force crypto miners to use domestically produced hardware.
  • The Central Bank of Nigeria fined four banks this week for breaking the prohibition on cryptocurrency transactions. The nation represents the largest number of crypto transactions outside of the U.S. 

Industry 

  • The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR accepted its first stablecoin donation equivalent to USD 2.5m from crypto exchange towards the support for families forced to flee Ukraine to neighboring countries.
  • On Thursday, 4/7 the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced it will begin paying bonuses to fighters in cryptocurrency.