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Coinbase SEC investigation: Coinbase is deep into “shitcoins”

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is coinbase regulated by the SEC

The question of whether Coinbase is regulated by the SEC is off the table today. Especially in view of how much news is related to the proceedings between the exchange and the regulator. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is in the spotlight because of allegations of insider trading, but they aren’t the only ones under scrutiny. The SEC is also facing a backlash for failing to regulate the digital asset sector and prevent such misconduct. Against this backdrop, the conflict between Coinbase and the SEC has become the center of attention. 

Coinbase SEC investigation

Coinbase SEC disclosure is constantly in the news. Coinbase is currently experiencing regulatory difficulties. The Coinbase SEC annual report released this week says that the SEC is investigating the company for selling digital assets that should have been registered as securities. This circumstance has caused its stock price to plummet. Katie Wood has abandoned her position in the company’s stock. 

This news hurts Coinbase because the company has remained on the side of regulators since its founding. Bloomberg’s Max Chafkin lays the blame on Coinbase’s rash decision several years ago to “turn to shitcoins. A familiar term in the crypto world, shitcoins usually refer to digital tokens that have no apparent utility beyond speculative advertising.

Coinbase spent years building its reputation, but then squandered it all on “shitcoins.” This led to Coinbase SEC class actions. This included promoting new Dogecoin coins to small and unsophisticated investors, many of whom suffered losses of 80% or more. As a result, the SEC cracked down on Coinbase. Meanwhile, the decision to add shitcoins also opened the door to a fraudulent insider trading scheme by a Coinbase manager.

SEC Liability

It’s easy to blame Coinbase executives for this situation, but the main blame lies with the SEC. The situation has gotten much worse under current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. Gensler is a non-lawyer and has used his position to boost his credibility with the Democratic Party.

In doing so, Gensler has sought to hit major companies such as Coinbase, which has largely followed the rules, allowing the worst players to get out of control. Two of the biggest cryptocurrency crashes this year-the collapse of Terra, a Ponzi scheme-like project, and the bankruptcy of lender Celsius-occurred in front of Gensler, and the SEC could not intervene in time. As a result, small investors are losing billions of dollars.

Coinbase sued by SEC – what came of it?

How did the SEC investigation into Coinbase, which like all such investigations is supposed to be secret before charges are filed, even end up in the media? Some experts on Twitter have suggested that Gensler leaked the investigation to Bloomberg to punish Coinbase, which has publicly complained about the SEC’s behavior. An experienced crypto lawyer familiar with the customs of Washington, D.C., says this is almost certainly true, and adds that there are traces of Gensler in earlier leaks to the Wall Street Journal.

The SEC has also been criticized for the amateurism of high-ranking officials who leave the agency to cash in on private law firms. The most egregious example is laid out in a new revelation that shows how a lack of oversight allowed former SEC lawyers to use their connections at the agency to play up the whistleblower program and make themselves tens of millions of dollars.

Gensler may want to get his house in order before torturing the likes of Coinbase. Specifically, he should stop political machinations and create a structure to help crypto and blockchain, one of the most important technologies of this century, flourish on America’s shores.

It’s unlikely he’ll do that, but it may not matter. The debate about how to regulate cryptocurrency is moving beyond the SEC to other agencies, including the CFTC, which has recognized the importance of innovation as well as protecting consumers from harm. 

The bottom line is that shitcoins got Coinbase in trouble with the SEC, but looking at the aftermath of the shitcoins boom, it is the SEC that has the most to explain its inaction.

Cryptocurrency

Binance exit aftershock: Can one resignation tip the crypto trust scales?

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On Sept. 13, news broke of yet another high-level executive parting ways with Binance.US

This time, it was none other than Brian Shroder, the CEO and president of the exchange, who, after two years in the hot seat, was heading for a “deserved break,” as Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao was quick to announce on X (formerly Twitter) that same day.

The news coincided with the announcement that around 100 people had also lost their jobs that day — about a third of the workforce. 

A massive outflow of funds followed, with the highest being just over $66 million in a single transaction. Zhao was keen to underline that Shroder’s departure was amicable and that he had achieved everything he had set out to do.

“Ignore the FUD,” was the call from the parapets, the common plea for calm when any kind of disruption occurs.

In an industry strained and battered by tales of fraud and wrongdoing, however, this call went unheeded once again. The days since the news broke have seen significant outflows from Binance to platforms such as Jump, AU21 Capital, QCP Capital and Wintermute.

Once again, it raises issues that have long dogged the cryptosphere, chiefly those of influence and trust. There are few other sectors where layoffs or a change at the top of a company can have such an impact.

Such things are generally accepted as the natural ebb and flow of the business world, and while there may be a momentary blip, more often than not, things are back on track fairly soon afterward.

Transactions between cryptocurrency platforms in the days following the announcement. Source: Blockanalia/X

Even in this instance, from the chart, it is apparent that there were still sizeable inflows to Binance during the period. The two incidents may be completely unrelated. With so many factors involved, no one can say for sure.

Magazine: ‘AI has killed the industry’: EasyTranslate boss on adapting to change

Jim Graham, a cryptocurrency analyst at think tank PsyBold, told Cointelegraph: “While we can’t attribute the shift in funds wholly to last week’s announcement, we most certainly can’t reject it, either. There have been several key managerial changes in the past few months, and virtually all of them have been accompanied by a dip in holdings on the platform. Trust remains a massive obstacle for crypto platforms, and it’s an obstacle they are failing to overcome.”

Money is a valuable commodity, and even the hint that it may be in jeopardy is reason enough to react quickly and decisively.

As the saying goes, trust is earned, not given away, and the recent negative events involving crypto platforms have done little to raise that level of trust. Graham added:

“Crypto platforms need to be on par with banks regarding trust. Investors need to know that entrusting their money to them is a good, safe idea, not a risky one. Unfortunately, they are nowhere near that, and until we reach that level, these spikes are inevitable.”

So, how do the platforms get to that level of trust? Most people would simply say, stop doing bad things. Once crypto platforms act more like banks, people may trust them more. 

But this is much easier said than done. For one, most banks have been around for years, some even hundreds of years. Trust has an element of longevity to it, which people like. The general feeling is if something or someone has acted responsibly and transparently for a long time, there is more of a chance that they will continue to do so.

Crypto platforms don’t have that luxury, of course. Most can only look back on a few years of existence; the only pledge they can give is their word.

On top of that, there is the age-old discussion of regulation. Licensed banks are regulated. That means an authority monitors what they do and is there to step in if things go wrong.

The last thing such an authority or the bank wants is a bank run, as this represents a complete breakdown in trust for all concerned, with the consequences that go with that. Once that has happened, it is tough to win that trust back, as witnessed during the economic crisis of 2008.

In the unregulated world of crypto exchanges, there is currently a stalemate. Some investors are in the middle, clamoring for regulation, fearing for their investments. In contrast, others are vehemently opposed, stating regulation is the very thing cryptocurrency was created to avoid.

And on either side are the exchanges and the authorities, each accusing the other of this and that in what seems like an endless spiral, with neither ready to back down.Sandra McAllister, an attorney specializing in tech litigation with Clifford Chance, told Cointelegraph:

“The need to clarify the legalities around trading cryptocurrencies, particularly in the U.S., is vitally important for the future of the industry, but the protracted processes and tactics being employed are damaging, for both sides, and that, in turn, is turning investors away.”

“The power of social media is also a pressure on the market. The bounce in the Ripple price we saw in July following the court ruling on XRP underlines that perfectly. The decision was anything but conclusive and, in reality, nothing more than a step along the path, but it was blown up on social media as a huge victory that drove up prices. We only have to see where the Ripple price is today to see how much of a victory it actually was,” she said.

Recent: Stablecoin exodus: Why are investors fleeing crypto’s safe haven?

Moving assets around between different exchanges or different assets is nothing new or unusual, of course. In times of economic downturn, funds tend to flow toward the “safer” havens, such as bonds and gold, before reverting to more profitable areas when things pick up.

Graham commented, “While diversifying holdings and being ready to react to ensure you are not unduly affected by negative pressures is sound financial advice, the problem facing crypto holders right now is which platform is safer than another. The FTX demise showed us that ‘too big to fail’ does not apply, so what remains?”

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MicroStrategy buys $147M worth of Bitcoin, now holds 158K BTC

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MicroStrategy, a business intelligence firm and major Bitcoin (BTC) investor, is sending a bullish signal to the market by announcing the acquisition of another big stash of cryptocurrency.

Michael Saylor, co-founder and executive chairman of MicroStrategy, took to X (formerly Twitter) on Sept. 25 to announce a 5,445 BTC purchase by the firm. The coins were bought for $147.3 million in cash at an average price of $27,053 per BTC.

According to a Form 8-K filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, MicroStrategy and its subsidiaries acquired the amount between Aug. 1 and Sept. 24.

As of Sept. 24, MicroStrategy and its subsidiaries held an aggregate of approximately 158,245 BTC, which was acquired at an average purchase price of roughly $29,582 per coin, inclusive of fees and expenses, the filing notes. The aggregate purchase price for MicroStrategy’s total Bitcoin holdings amounts to $4.68 billion.

The new purchase comes as Bitcoin has traded sideways at around $26,000 over the past few weeks. After briefly touching $28,000 on Aug. 29, Bitcoin slipped to as low as $25,000 on Sept. 11. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $26,081, down 1.9% over the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinGecko. The cryptocurrency is also down around 4% over the past seven days.

Related: Bitcoin bought by corporate giants should not be feared — Michael Saylor

MicroStrategy’s latest purchase further reaffirms the company’s bullish stance on Bitcoin. The firm previously bought 12,333 BTC for $347 million in June 2023 at an average purchase price of $29,668 per coin.

In Q1 2023, MicroStrategy reported its first profitable quarter since 2020 due to a one-time income tax benefit. The company managed to retain profitability in the next quarter, reporting $22.2 million in net income in early August.

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Terra Classic community elects to cease USTC minting

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The Terra Classic community has voted to cease all minting and reminting activities related to TerraUSD Classic (USTC) to reestablish a stable peg between USTC and the United States dollar.

In a recent proposal, the community voted 59% in favor of discontinuing the minting of USTC, while approximately 40% opposed the change.

Terra Classic poll results. Source: Atom Scan

The move aims to safeguard the interests of both the community and external investors by reducing the supply of USTC, contributing to the goal of a repeg to the U.S. dollar.

In May 2022, USTC depegged from the U.S. dollar. Subsequently, it caused Terra to experience a catastrophic collapse, with Luna Classic (LUNC) closely tied to USTC. 

LUNC’s value plummeted by nearly 100%, setting off a broader downturn in the crypto markets, resulting in the loss of approximately $40 billion in total market capitalization.

The proposal stated that it would lead major crypto exchanges to burn USTC.

“Most importantly, this proposal opens the door for institutions like Binance to start burning USTC knowing that the minting and reminting is over,” the statement noted. 

Related: Lack of stablecoin regulation could push issuers out of US — Austin Campbell

This comes after reports that the Terra Classic community is concerned about an uptick in spam following a decline in LUNC prices.

On Sept. 10, Cointelegraph reported that the community is voting on multiple proposals, one of those being to raise the minimum deposit requirement from 1 million LUNC to 5 million LUNC.

The proposal ended on Sept. 16, with 93.22% in favor of increasing the minimum deposit requirement amount.

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