More Regulation Incoming!

[Zoomic]

Let's see how this will evolve https://www.theblock.co/post/251910/uk-bill-to-seize-illicit-crypto-moves-to-final-stages-of-approval

my opinion here
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5467451.msg62875021#msg62875021

I think the comparison with Forex is wrong.
It is very difficult to manipulate company shares or commodity prices in modern markets. The situation with Bitcoin is different, because most coins are not traded on markets but are stored somewhere.

It is very certain that we can't compare the forex market with cryptocurrency market based in some certain aspects but we need to understand that there are different means we can manipulate the market which might not be obvious like we could ever think about. The forex market has it own method manipulation can done which could be different from cryptocurrency. Since the crypto market is still in the infantry age, there will be a lot for adjustments and balancing for it to be well organized. The whales control the crypto to there advantage which could be difficult for an ordinary trader to make profits from the market without updates.

If it is known that there is 21 million bitcoin that is available by default and out the 21 million, 18 million is currently in circulation. This means that no bitcoin has been lost either by carelessness of the bitcoin owner or by hack and we are also sure that no bitcoin is hiding anywhere in private wallets as zasad@ has said. This will enable everyone know the volume of bitcoin in circulation and as such control manipulation.
This is the reason the stocks and including the forex is different from cryptocurrency discussion ongoing here.

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[zasad@]

More regulatory bodies are trying to fight over which of them will supposedly regulate crypto. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) was once also in one article on a crypto site demanding regulation in which crypto could also be their domain.

SEC,  FSOC, and CFTC have to make it clearer which of them is really going to regulate crypto. I guess all of them have thier own grand plan to have a grip on this industry, they got to take taxes. The problem is that crypto is borderless and US doesn't own the biggest CEX.

Coinbase Exchange operates in the USA. It is not the largest exchange in the world, but this exchange is certainly doing much better than Binance. And the USA is the largest financial market.
Control on the crypto market is already comparable to control over banking operations, and if there is no shadow market in the country, as in Russia, then most transactions will be under control.

[bbc.reporter]

They might not be doing this for the cryptospace however, it appears that this legal battle started by Elon Musk and Mark Cuban might help many projects in the cryptospace and protect it from uncle Gary's policy of regulation through enforcement.



Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, has teamed up with American investor Mark Cuban to challenge the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC]. Together, they have submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, aiming to highlight the SEC’s practice of conducting internal trials without juries. Their central argument revolves around the assertion that these administrative proceedings lead to disparate outcomes for individuals facing SEC charges.

Several argue that the SEC possesses an unfair edge when engaging in legal proceedings within its own jurisdiction.

Read in full https://watcher.guru/news/elon-musk-mark-cuban-join-forces-for-legal-battle-against-sec

[bbc.reporter]

News update.

This mignt be another good news hehe. It appears the argument can go on the opposite direction. The politicans who do not want self custody and argue that it is for everyone's safety can be argued that self custody is really for everyone's safety heheehe.



US Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) has introduced a new bill to protect the right of citizens to self-custody Bitcoin and other crypto. Indeed, Budd first introduced the bill to 118 Congress this week in a larger push for digital assets and financial freedom among United States citizens.

Dubbed the “Keep Your Coins Act”, the bill “protects an individual’s right to conduct transactions with cryptocurrency assets without the need to utilize a third-party intermediary.” Moreover, Budd has stated that the act seeks to prevent third-party risks to consumers amid the FTX collapse.

Source https://watcher.guru/news/us-senator-introduces-bill-to-protect-bitcoin-self-custody#google_vignette

[Poker Player]

~snip

It has all the logic in the world. Another thing is whether politicians follow the logic or follow other interests. Let me decide whether to assume the risks of self-custody or to leave my assets in the hands of a third party. This is more typical of totalitarian regimes than of democratic ones, wanting to impose that your Bitcoin holdings have to be guarded by third parties. Even if they don't force it, there will be a lot of people who will gladly leave their holdings in third parties, as it already happens, and as we have seen in cases such as the FTX mentioned above.

[zasad@]

News update.

This mignt be another good news hehe. It appears the argument can go on the opposite direction. The politicans who do not want self custody and argue that it is for everyone's safety can be argued that self custody is really for everyone's safety heheehe.



US Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) has introduced a new bill to protect the right of citizens to self-custody Bitcoin and other crypto. Indeed, Budd first introduced the bill to 118 Congress this week in a larger push for digital assets and financial freedom among United States citizens.

Dubbed the “Keep Your Coins Act”, the bill “protects an individual’s right to conduct transactions with cryptocurrency assets without the need to utilize a third-party intermediary.” Moreover, Budd has stated that the act seeks to prevent third-party risks to consumers amid the FTX collapse.

Source https://watcher.guru/news/us-senator-introduces-bill-to-protect-bitcoin-self-custody#google_vignette

I saw this news but did not attach any importance to it, because in the USA there are a lot of bills that will never become laws.
Cryptocurrencies in the United States will be controlled like bank deposits, or even more strictly if the cryptocurrencies have an unclear origin story.
According to him, such a bill simply does not have a chance.

[bbc.reporter]

@zasad. However, the importance of this news is that there are also politicians who are not against bitcoin and who are not against the people's right to self custody and also not against creating transactions in the cryptospace without a middleman. We should begin taking these politicians more serious, I reckon.

[bbc.reporter]

I am not quite sure where to share this news, however, if this proposal is passed and approved, this might cause uncle Gary to submit his registration and end his chairmanship of the SEC eariler. It will certainly be a bullish moment for bitcoin and all of the cryptospace.

The skeptical me is thinking that this lawmaker is one of Blackrock's politicians that they carry in their pocket like nickels and dimes heehehe.



Rep. Tim Burchett of the United States introduced an amendment to the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) bill that proposes to cut Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler's compensation to $1 per year.

The amendment was submitted as part of a larger campaign to defund the regulatory agency and to dramatically slash government expenditure.

Gensler's pay as SEC Chair is now reported to be more than $300,000 per year. Burchett's proposed amendment would reduce his compensation to a symbolic $1, emphasizing the legislator's desire to limit the regulator's authority.

Source https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-lawmaker-proposed-slash-gary-052849898.html

[bbc.reporter]

Uncle Gary's SEC mafia appears to have been scolded by a judge for giving false information. This type of trickery is beginning to become more noticeable and it appears that different judges have been not agreeing to their statements and their methods.

I speculate on 2024 we might witness more requests to remove Uncle Gary from office. There are lawmakers that have proposed to cut his salary to $1.



A judge rebuked the SEC over its conduct involving crypto firm DEBT Box, saying the agency had made “materially false and misleading representations” in order to freeze the company’s assets, Fortune reported.

In August, the SEC alleged DEBT Box had defrauded investors out of $50 million, obtained a temporary restraining order and seized company assets.

US District Judge Robert Shelby explained in a filing this week that he had granted the SEC’s urgent request because it claimed DEBT Box had closed bank accounts within the previous 48 hours in preparation to move beyond the reach of US regulators, the report said.

The claim regarding bank accounts turned out to be false. Shelby said that some of the SEC’s arguments were “entirely without merit and misstate the record.” Still, research from blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs supported the SEC’s central allegation that DEBT Box misled investors, according to the report.

Source https://www.dlnews.com/articles/snapshot/judge-scolds-sec-over-methods-in-freezing-crypto-assets/

[zasad@]

https://cointelegraph.com/news/jp-morgan-ceo-jamie-dimon-hypocrite-crypto-criminals-shut-down
"Crypto is for criminals? JPMorgan has been fined $39B and has its own token
Crypto proponents on X wasted no time pointing out the hypocrisy of JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s recent remarks about Bitcoin and crypto to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs."

https://twitter.com/JohnEDeaton1/status/1732474820078588309?
"Talk about being a fucking hypocrite! Who’s the criminal Jamie Dimon? Let me ask you a question: In the last 5 years when jpmorgan
has been FINED over THIRTY FIVE BILLION DOLLARS ($35,000,000,000) for illicit and fraudulent activities, did any of your staff use #Bitcoin or Crypto?"

[bbc.reporter]

More news from uncle Gary and the SEC. It appears for uncle Gary, he does not care that Binance has made a settlement with the department of justice. The cases filed by the SEC against Binance will continue.

The skeptical me thinks that because the DOJ has extorted $4 billion from Binance, uncle Gary wants his share also heheheh.



The Securities and Exchange Commission says Binance Holdings Ltd.’s recent $4.3 billion settlement with the Justice Department and other US authorities bolsters its own case against the world’s biggest crypto exchange.

Despite not being part of the agreement, the SEC argued on Friday that the federal court in Washington hearing its case should weigh admissions by Binance and the firm’s former chief executive, Changpeng Zhao, in the Nov. 21 settlement. The firm and Zhao have asked the court to dismiss the SEC’s lawsuit.

The agreement didn’t include the SEC, which sued the exchange and Zhao in June for allegedly mishandling customer funds, misleading investors and regulators, and breaking securities rules.

Source https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-08/sec-says-its-binance-case-should-advance-despite-doj-settlement


Why was uncle Gary's department not included with the deal?

[zasad@]

More news from uncle Gary and the SEC. It appears for uncle Gary, he does not care that Binance has made a settlement with the department of justice. The cases filed by the SEC against Binance will continue.

Maybe they realized that they could take more

https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-expands-coalition-of-banking-committee-support-for-bill-cracking-down-on-cryptos-use-in-money-laundering-drug-trafficking-sanctions-evasion
"Warren Expands Coalition of Banking Committee Support for Bill Cracking Down on Crypto’s Use in Money Laundering, Drug Trafficking, Sanctions Evasion
5 New Senators Join as Cosponsors, Including 3 Members of Banking Committee
Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act Closes Loopholes and Combats Money Laundering, Ransomware Attacks, Sanctions Evasion, Drug Trafficking, Elder Fraud, and Other Illicit Financial Activities Using Crypto "

[safar1980]

Statement on the Denial of a Rulemaking Petition Submitted on behalf of Coinbase Global, Inc

Existing laws and regulations already apply to the crypto securities markets.
There is nothing about the crypto securities markets that suggests that investors and issuers are less deserving of the protections of our securities laws. Congress could have said in 1933 or in 1934 that the securities laws applied only to stocks and bonds. Instead, Congress included a long list of 30-plus items in the definition of a security, including the term “investment contract.”

As articulated in the famous Supreme Court decision, SEC v. W.J. Howey Co., an investment contract exists when there is the investment of money in a common enterprise with a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the efforts of others. The Howey Court said that the definition of an investment contract “embodies a flexible, rather than a static, principle, one that is capable of adaptation to meet the countless and variable schemes devised by those who seek the use of the money of others on the promise of profits.” This test has been reaffirmed by the Supreme Court numerous times—the Court cited Howey as recently as 2019.

[bbc.reporter]

In India, it appears there might be no regulations incoming for the cryptospace hehehe. They will ban the websites of 9 of the most popular exchanges which will include Kucoin, Binance and Kraken. What I am afraid of is this might also start spreading in other jurisdictions and they also will start banning the websites of these exchanges from being accessed in their countries.



According to recent reports, India is set to ban 9 crypto exchange URLs in a move from the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit. indeed, they have called for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block the URLs for exchanges like Binance, Kraken, and others.

The move will also affect Huobi, Kucoin, Bittrex, Gate.io, Bitstamp, Bitfinix, and MEXC Global. Moreover, a press release revealed that the ban occurred after these virtual asset service providers (VASP) were not in compliance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Source https://watcher.guru/news/india-to-ban-9-crypto-exchange-urls-including-binance-kraken

[peaky-btc4]

“If we wish to prevent wash trading…is there any alternative to having both sides of every crypto transaction associated with a traceable digital identity and have that digital identity issued by a government with which we have extradition treaties and a common concept of financial fraud, is there any alternative to that?” Foster asked the panel of witnesses.

[gaserrayu]

Warren Buffett is still a Bitcoin sadist till today and he doesn't believe that Bitcoin have any monetary value at all but that one is left to him. There are many people that had been asking for the regulation of Bitcoin by the government because of so many big scams that had happened before now. If Bitcoin ever get regulated, it are not going to be the same again like we used to enjoy it.

[bbc.reporter]

It is these types of news articles that manipulate the minds of the people who do not participate in the cryptospace or are not part of the community. It is very head shaking because those types of people will believe anything they read from the manipulative and corrupt mainstream news industry.

My argument against this is, it might be because the cryptospace for finance is faster, cheaper, more anonymous, more private and much better to use for everyone including criminals.



US Treasury says criminals and scammers are increasingly turning toward crypto

Source https://www.theblock.co/post/276548/us-treasury-says-criminals-and-scammers-are-increasingly-turning-toward-crypto

[Mst.Wangdan$]

Warren Buffett is still a Bitcoin sadist till today and he doesn't believe that Bitcoin have any monetary value at all but that one is left to him. There are many people that had been asking for the regulation of Bitcoin by the government because of so many big scams that had happened before now. If Bitcoin ever get regulated, it are not going to be the same again like we used to enjoy it.

Bitcoin will never be at a fixed price because it is a crypto currency 💹 and every country's economy can never fix it to a fixed price so it will never be what you think it will be.

[zasad@]

Warren Buffett is still a Bitcoin sadist till today and he doesn't believe that Bitcoin have any monetary value at all but that one is left to him. There are many people that had been asking for the regulation of Bitcoin by the government because of so many big scams that had happened before now. If Bitcoin ever get regulated, it are not going to be the same again like we used to enjoy it.

I'm not a big fan of Warren Buffett, but I like his thoughts and sometimes agree with them. Warren Buffett said one brilliant phrase that "Bitcoin will someday cost $0". This should not be taken literally. He understands that the price of Bitcoin will be manipulated and says that the price of Bitcoin will first reach certain heights, and then will remain at the bottom for a very long time, because manipulators will no longer be interested in this asset. But he doesn't tell us when this will happen.

[bbc.reporter]

On the speculation that the government will only allow individuals that are on a certain wage bracket to trade cryptocoins, it appears Merril Lynch has already started this on their bitcoin ETF market desk. This might only be a rumor at present, however, there are people in social saying that if a client is not a high networth individual then he is not allowed to trade bitcoin ETFs.

The skeptical me thinks this is a method to restrict ordinary people from having entry to good investment opportunities. The SEC would use the reason that they are only protecting consumers, however, I reckon they are there only to protect the rich.