Autor Cointelegraph By Derek Andersen

Hester Peirce expresses strong support for crypto spot ETFs and regulatory structure

Hester Peirce expresses strong support for crypto spot ETFs and regulatory structure

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 16, 2022 |

United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner Hester Peirce, sometimes known as Crypto Mom for her ardent support of the industry, spoke Tuesday at a conference hosted by the conservative-libertarian Federalist Society titled “Regulating the New Crypto Ecosystem: Necessary Regulation or Crippling Future Innovation?” Her lengthy remarks – over 4,00 words in the prepared version, which was augmented extemporaneously as she presented it – contain some of the bluntest criticisms of SEC policy she has made yet.Peirce characterized the SEC’s attitude toward the crypto market as “refusal to engage” and suggested that the SEC’s refusal so far to approve a spot-traded Bitcoin (BTC) product showed the agency’s determination to hold everything related to Bitcoin to a higher standard than other products it regulates. Related: Bitcoin investment giant Grayscale debuts ETF in EuropePeirce pointed to an ETP disapproval order issued last month as an example of the SEC’s “standard denial rationale,” demanding a higher level of resistance to fraud and manipulation than traditional markets are held to. It is difficult to see how approval can be gained, Peirce said, and the agency’s position becomes more entrenched with every disapproval. Peirce adds:“Why does this matter? Investors might prefer a spot bitcoin ETP to other options, and we ought to care about what investors want.”Peirce continued this line of thought as she considered those who do not want to see cryptocurrency “dragged” into a traditional financial regulatory structure. She countered:“The concern for liberty and personal autonomy that drives you to prefer ‘we-at’ to fiat ought also [to] cause you to reject a government that arbitrarily limits people’s investment options.”Peirce linked the SEC’s resistance to approving a Bitcoin spot product to a general unwillingness to create a regulatory infrastructure for crypto. She pointed out a variety of initiatives that have been suggested to move forward with regulation.Messari co-founder and CEO Ryan Selkis, Center for American Progress director of financial regulation and corporate governance Todd Phillips and Coin Center executive director Jerry Brito were panelists for the ensuing discussion.

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US House Ways and Means chairman asks the GAO to check out crypto in retirement plans

US House Ways and Means chairman asks the GAO to check out crypto in retirement plans

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 15, 2022 |

Chairman of the United Sates House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Richard Neal sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a legislative branch watchdog, asking the agency to weigh in on the use of cryptocurrency in retirement plans. Defined contribution plans, such as the 401(k), are increasingly allowing savers to incorporate cryptocurrency in their plans, the lawmaker said, and concerns have arisen over crypto’s volatility and limited oversight. Neal asked the GAO to compile a list of firms offering crypto options in their 401(k) plans, with an indication of the extent of utilization of those options. He also asked for a description of the administration of cryptocurrency in those plans and an assessment of the regulatory oversight and guidance they receive. The GAO publishes analyses and recommendations on a wide variety of issues of importance to the U.S. legislature. Its findings do not have the force of law.Neal’s letter comes a day after Labor Secretary Marty Walsh told the House Education and Labor Committee that his department is considering a rulemaking on crypto in retirement plans. The Labor Department (DOL) issued a Compliance Assistance Release in March that promised the department would “conduct an investigative program aimed at plans that offer participant investments in cryptocurrencies and related products.”Despite the DOL’s words, Fidelity Investments, a major 401(k) provider, began offering crypto options in its retirement plans in April. That move brought a sharp reaction from prominent crypto skeptic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who demanded an explanation of how Fidelty would address the risks related in crypto and imply that the company had a conflict of interest due to its previous involvement with cryptocurrency. Related: Yellen doubts crypto’s place in 401(k), says Congress could regulateIn May, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville introduced the Financial Freedom bill to prevent the DOL from intervening in plan providers’ inclusion of cryptocurrency. In early June, 401(k) provider ForUsAll sued the DOL to have the March Compliance Assistance Release rescinded, citing the Administrative Procedure Act.ForUsAll CEO Jeff Schulte commented in a statement on Walsh’s testimony Tuesday, “While we’re heartened to see the Department of Labor is considering following the proper rulemaking process for a change, […] the DOL has no authority to pick winners and losers by attempting to ban entire asset classes.”

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Atlantic Council looks at how to maintain central bank digital currency cybersecurity

Atlantic Council looks at how to maintain central bank digital currency cybersecurity

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 15, 2022 |

The U.S. thinktank Atlantic Council released a report Wednesday on cybersecurity issues related to central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The authors provide a generalized discussion of CBDC security, but with a clear focus on the United States and issues specific to it.They determined that the security risks presented by a CBDC depend heavily on its design, with performance, security and privacy being balanced variously in different designs. The report looked at six design options, only three of which are being considered or deployed in real life. Privacy was identified as the main risk from a CBDC for consumers. In some designs, a CBDC could store a record of user activity and transactions, leading to the risk not only of thetheft of funds but also the theft of users’ personal information. The report says that:“A CBDC could contain large volumes of personally identifiable information ranging from what prescription drugs you buy or where you travel each day.”Reduced regulatory oversight was seen as a risk from the introduction of a CBDC of any type as well. Nonetheless, increased privacy can enhance security, the report said, while still providing “some level” of regulation. The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, protecting against unreasonable search and seizure, should apply to the CBDC ledger, the report noted, forcing prosecutors to obtain a court-issued warrant before accessing it. Related: ‘CBDCs are the natural evolution,’ says HyperLedger director BarbosaThe report provided a range of recommendations for the design of a CBDC. It emphasized that the current system of wholesale and retail payment systems faces significant and complex risks, many of which are the same as a CBDC would face and recommended using existing security systems to safeguard CBDCs when possible.The fast recovery of payment volumes on Fedwire, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s domestic funds transfer system, after the attacks on September 11, 2001, which knocked out critical infrastructure, was cited as evidence of the system’s resilience. The hacking of the Bangladesh Bank in 2016 was held up as an example of the vulnerability of the public-private wholesale payment system as a whole. The report also summarized the 20 pieces of CBDC-related legislation now before the U.S. Congress.

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NFT ticketing may catch on faster in France after UEFA championship debacle

NFT ticketing may catch on faster in France after UEFA championship debacle

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 14, 2022 |

The disorder before the UEFA Champions League final game may lead to the widespread adoption of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) for ticketing at sports events in in France. The country previously stated that it intends to use NFT tickets during the 2023 Rugby World Cup and 2024 Paris Olympics. Mass ticket counterfeiting was one of the causes of chaotic scene at the May 28 soccer championship. It turned into a major embarrassment for the country after police used tear gas to restore order and the match between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid was delayed. French Government Olympics envoy Michel Cadot submitted a report to the office of the French prime minister last week that recommended steps to prevent disorder at sporting events in the future, including the universal use of NTF ticketing. Implementing the new ticketing system in advance of the rugby event and Olympics “would make it possible to prefigure the planned systems and to break in the working methods, as well as the reflexes of multi-actor management to face difficulties,” Cadot was quoted as saying in the report.The French system foresees issuing nontransferable digital-only tickets using blockchain technology and QR codes. Tickets would be distributed by SMS not long ahead of events and activated within a security zone around the venue.Related: Spotify reportedly tests NFT galleries on musician profilesPrevention of ticket counterfeiting and scalping is one of the big draws for NFT ticketing, as it increases security at events and profits for their sponsors. Other functions, such as VIP area access or receipt of souvenir items, can be programmed into NFT tickets as well. Ticketing is just one of the ways NFTs have penetrating the sporting world. NFT collectibles have been part of many teams’ marketing strategies since 2020 and are growing in popularity. They can even be programmed to include fan engagement tactics like voting and access to physical collectibles.

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Scientists claim to have designed a fully decentralized stablecoin pegged to electricity

Scientists claim to have designed a fully decentralized stablecoin pegged to electricity

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 13, 2022 |

Researchers at the federally-funded Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have combined statistical mechanics and information theory to design a stablecoin they call Electricity Stablecoin (E-Stablecoin) that would transmit energy as a form of information. Livermore’s Maxwell Murialdo and Jonathan L. Belof say their innovation would make it possible to transmit electricity without physical wires or a grid and create a fully collateralized stablecoin pegged to a physical asset – electricity – that is dependent on its utility for is value. According to the scientists, the E-Stablecoin would be minted through the input of one kilowatt-hour of electricity, plus a fee. The stablecoin could then be used for transactions the same way as any stablecoin, or the energy could be extracted by burning it, also for a fee. The entire process would be controlled by smart contracts with a decentralized data storage cloud. No trusted centralized authority would be needed to maintain or disburse the asset.Related: Crypto crash wreaking havoc on DeFi protocols, CEXsThis would be a first for a hard-pegged stablecoin, that is, one that is directly exchangeable for a specified quantity of a physical asset, the scientists said. They suggested that electricity has a highly stable price and demand, and the electricity used in minting E-Stablecoins would be easily sustainable. Investors would be able to mint E-Stablecoins in regions where electricity prices are low, and burn the tokens where electricity is more expensive. Murialdo and Belof described their work as a proof of concept and made extensive use of advanced mathematics for their reasoning. To make a working E-Stablecoin, “further advances that increase the speed, transfer entropy, and scalability of information engines will likely be required.”Improved cloud storage, or an alternative to it, would also be needed. In the meantime, their research has theoretical implications for the way in which cryptos derive their value, the authors said. Their work was published in the peer-reviewed journal Cryptoeconomic Systems on Monday.

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