5/13/22 Roundup

DeFi Weekly Roundup

May 13, 2022

Federal 

  • A decline in the  price of cryptocurrency prompted Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday to reiterate calls for Congress to authorize regulation of stablecoins.
  • Speaking with The Block, Democratic members of the Banking Committee are criticizing Republicans for downplaying risks that stablecoins pose. 

State 

  • Below is a summary of the latest legislative developments that have occurred this past week. Our master state legislative tracker can be found here. 
    • Five states issued emergency orders on Wednesday requiring a metaverse casino with alleged Russian ties to immediately halt the sale of its NFTs, citing fraud, deceit and registration violations.The five states are Alabama, New Jersey, Texas, Kentucky and Wisconsin.
    • Colorado: SB 22-025 –  Would require the state treasurer to study the feasibility of using security token offerings for state capital financing. The bill was passed on Tuesday and now will go to the governor to be signed. 
    • Missouri: HB 2672 – Defines an open blockchain token as intangible personal property and requires creators of such tokens to identify themselves to the state prior to launch. The bill entered committee on 5/13.
    • New York: S 9275 – Requires certain disclosures by a developer of virtual tokens in advertisements. The bill was introduced on 5/12.
    • Louisiana: HCR 104 – Would prompt the Dept. of Revenue to study and report on the feasibility of accepting virtual currency as a form of payment of taxes, licenses, fees, penalties, and interest due to the state. The bill entered committee on 5/9.

International

  • A joint body tasked with coordinating crypto regulation globally is sorely needed and could become a reality within the next year, according to Ashley Alder, chair of the International Organization of Securities Commissions, an association of market regulators.
  • The European Commission is considering hard curbs on the ability of stablecoins to become widely used in place of fiat currency..
  • Israel’s central bank said on Monday it had received public support for its plans to issue a digital shekel on grounds it would help the economy by supporting innovation.

Industry 

  • Binance on Wednesday named Joshua Eaton, a former Deputy U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of California, as the deputy general counsel of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Mining Capital Coin CEO and founder Luiz Capuci Jr. was indicted this week and accused by the DOJ of allegedly running a $62 million global investment fraud scheme. He’s the latest of severalcrypto company heads who have recently been similarly charged.