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Bittrex challenges SEC’s authority in crypto lawsuit, seeks dismissal

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Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex has submitted a motion to dismiss in its legal dispute with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In its recent court filing, Bittrex argues that the SEC does not have the authority to regulate cryptocurrencies as securities unless explicitly granted by Congress. This assertion challenges the SEC’s interpretation of existing securities regulations and seeks to establish a more defined regulatory framework accommodating digital assets.

In its motion to dismiss, Bittrex has adopted a similar approach to Coinbase, aligning its arguments closely with those made by the larger cryptocurrency exchange. This alignment indicates a strategic move by Bittrex to capitalize on the robust legal framework established by Coinbase and construct a unified defense against the SEC’s lawsuit.

Bittrex’s motion to dismiss (screenshot). Source: CourtListener

Like Coinbase, Bittrex’s legal team identifies what they perceive as shortcomings in the SEC’s allegations regarding the trading of investment contracts. While both defendants acknowledge that the initial sale of certain crypto assets could be classified as securities contracts, they contend that the same classification does not extend to assets traded on secondary markets.

They argue that once an asset is launched and actively traded on secondary markets, it should no longer be considered a security but rather categorized as a commodity or another class of digital asset.

Moreover, Bittrex contends that the SEC did not adequately communicate that its actions were prohibited, emphasizing a defense strategy commonly employed by crypto defendants who challenge the SEC’s allegations.

Related: Bittrex withdrawals set to resume after bankruptcy court gives green light

In April, the SEC charged Bittrex and its co-founder, William Shihara, with running an unregistered national securities exchange. As per the complaint, Bittrex enabled the trading of digital assets that met the securities criteria outlined in U.S. federal securities laws without obtaining SEC registration as an exchange.

In the same complaint, the SEC also charged Bittrex Global — the foreign affiliate of Bittrex — with not registering as a national securities exchange.

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Cryptocurrency

Cronos (CRO) Surges 11% After SEC Closes Crypto.com Investigation

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Cronos (CRO) has seen a significant uptick of nearly 11% over the past 24 hours, as it briefly surged above $0.11 on March 28th. While it has currently stabilized at around $0.10, the latest price action has pushed its weekly gains to nearly 40%.

This rise in CRO’s value comes on the heels of a major development involving Crypto.com, the parent company behind the cryptocurrency.

SEC Ends Probe into Crypto.com

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially closed its investigation into the crypto exchange and has informed the company that no enforcement action would be taken against it.

This marks a major moment after months of tension between the two entities. In October 2024, Crypto.com filed a lawsuit against the SEC after receiving a Wells notice, which indicated the regulator’s intent to sue the platform for operating as an unregistered broker-dealer and securities clearing agency.

The lawsuit argued that the SEC had unlawfully extended its jurisdiction and imposed an overreaching rule classifying nearly all crypto transactions as securities trades, regardless of how they were sold. Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek publicly condemned the regulator’s actions and called for an end to its overreach.

However, by December 2024, Crypto.com dropped its lawsuit, a month after the re-election of Donald Trump as US President. The SEC, under the Biden administration, had previously targeted various cryptocurrency companies, including Kraken, Coinbase, and Uniswap, with enforcement actions and lawsuits. However, after Trump returned to office, the legal landscape for crypto companies shifted dramatically, with many cases being shut down.

Following the development, Nick Lundgren, Chief Legal Officer of Crypto.com, accused the SEC of weaponizing and attempting to expand its congressionally granted power to harm an industry that its former chair “disfavored.” The exec even went on to add,

“It is unfortunate that we were forced to endure this years-long investigation and file our own suit against the SEC to protect the rule of law. Compliance and integrity are core to Crypto.com’s business and we are excited to work with soon-to-be-confirmed Chair Atkins and the rest of the Commission on our long-awaited desire for legislation and rulemaking.”

Backlash Over Re-Issuance of 70 Billion CRO Tokens

Crypto.com was recently under fire for the re-issuance of 70 billion CRO tokens, which sparked fierce criticism from the crypto community. For instance, ZachXBT, a prominent blockchain investigator, accused the company of betraying its users, and claimed the move was no different from a scam. This controversial decision resurrected tokens that had been burned in 2021 to decrease the total supply.

Critics argue that it goes against the community’s wishes for decentralization and transparency, with reports indicating that Crypto.com’s validators control a large portion of the voting power. Despite this, Marszalek defended the decision, stating that it was necessary to support the company’s growth strategy.

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Here’s What Can Restart Ripple’s (XRP) Bull Run: Analyst

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TL;DR

  • Ripple finally got the news it had anticipated for over four years, but the price impact on XRP has been little to no.
  • A popular analyst on X outlined what needs to happen for the asset to kickstart its bull run, but XRP is not very close to it now.

$2 or $3 Next?

The price movements from XRP in the past several weeks have been quite underwhelming aside from a few brief spikes after Brad Garlinghouse’s announcement in mid March as well as when Trump mentioned it to be potentially included in the States’ strategic crypto reserve.

As of now, XRP struggles at $2.25 after a 4% daily decline. This is far off the $3.4 local peak reached in mid January, ahead of Trump’s inauguration, when the cryptocurrency came just 1% away from breaking its 2018 all-time high.

Despite the hype, the regulatory changes, the SEC lawsuit conclusion, and everything in between, XRP has not only failed to remain above $3 but it has lost its position as the third-largest digital asset to Tether’s USDT. With its price now sitting 33% lower than this cycle’s high, Ali Martinez outlined what needs to happen for XRP to restart its bull run.

To invalidate the current head-and-shoulders pattern, Ripple’s cross-border token needs to surge past $3, which seems like a distant target now.

In contrast, Martinez highlighted $2 as a critical support level that needs to hold; otherwise XRP risks dumping toward $1.25.

What’s Holding XRP Back?

As CryptoPotato recently reported, everything seems to be going Ripple’s way. It’s not just the SEC lawsuit ending, or the hype around a potential US-based spot XRP ETF, or the friendlier administration. There’s more as the company considers an IPO while it also racks up new partnerships.

However, XRP has failed to feel the positive impact in terms of price actions. It is closer now to the $2 support than the $3 resistance. Trading volumes have declined as even whales seem to be sitting on the sidelines, unlike what happened after the US elections.

This could all be attributed to the overall market stagnation and the global economic uncertainty prompted by Trump’s controversial actions ever since he took office. Or, there could be more to the story that is yet to be unveiled to the public.

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PI Token Jumps While Crypto Market Bleeds – What’s Fueling its Sudden Surge?

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TL;DR

  • Pi Network’s native token has defied the overall crypto market trend today as its price has risen by 4% since yesterday and has defended the $0.8 support.
  • PI’s community quickly picked up the positive price actions, which came after weeks of consecutive retracements, and outlined bullish predictions.

Less than a week after its official launch on February 20, PI skyrocketed to a fresh all-time high at $3 on February 26. However, its momentum quickly evaporated, and the asset went south hard.

In the following month, PI plunged by over 70% and dumped to under $0.75, which many analysts highlighted as an important support zone that could lead to a price reversal.

This seems to be the case so far, as PI has risen by over 14% since that local bottom. On a daily scale alone, the asset is up by 4.1%, according to data from CoinGecko.

PI Token Price. Source: CoinGecko
PI Token Price. Source: CoinGecko

Although 4% doesn’t sound like much, especially when considering its overall crash in the past month, it’s particularly impressive given the fact that almost the entire crypto market is in the red today. BTC is down below $86,000 once again, while alts such as DOGE, LINK, SHIB, DOT, APT, and ICP have dropped by over 5%.

PI’s growing community praised the price reversal, and some projected an immediate surge to $1.2. Others highlighted the growing trading volume, which could be considered a good sign as well in an environment of low activity in the broader market.

Perhaps what’s most bullish in regards to PI’s price movements is the fact that the token’s exchange deposits have slowed down to roughly a million, compared to the massive numbers registered over the past month.

At one point, there were over 300 million PI tokens transferred to centralized exchanges, which increases the selling pressure immediately.

Certain positive developments are also happening in the Pi Network ecosystem, such as Telegram wallet integration for PI. You can find more on the matter in our frequent Pi Network News section.

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