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Bitcoin, Ether Headed Toward Losing Months in Usually Upbeat July

BTC could suffer its second monthly downturn of 2023, while ether seems headed for its first losing month.

Bitcoin continued a month-long stagnancy, logging a fourth consecutive week of less than 2% in price movement. Directionally, the largest asset by market capitalization closed the week down 1.3%, after rising 0.3% the week prior. With 10 days remaining in July, Bitcoin is poised to log its second losing month of 2023.

Ether followed a similar trajectory though its trading range has been wider with this week’s 1.63% decline following f a 3.24% increase last week. Ether has yet to log a losing month this year, but will need to surpass $1,934 over the next 10 days to maintain its winning streak. ETH was recently changing hands at $1,897, up 0.2%. July has been a historically positive month for digital assets.

BTC and ETH’s seven-day performance ranked them 26th and 29th in a list of cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization of $1 billion or more.

The weekly leader was peer-to-peer lending platform Maker (MKR), which rose more than 30% over the most recent seven days, and is up more than 120% year-to-date. XLM performed strongly as well, increasing more than 20% over the identical period. The currency which tends to correlate tightly with XRP is up 117% year to date.

They also stood out among the CoinDesk Market Indices (CMI) weekly rankings within their respective sectors.

XLM ranked first in the CMI currency sector, while MKR led in the DeFi sector.

Overall Currency and DeFi sector performance within the CMI universe was muted this week, with DeFi finishing up 1.3% and the currency sector falling 0.5%. The computing sector led all sectors this week, increasing 6.4%.

The leading component within the computing sector was Chainlink (LINK), an oracle network which serves as a bridge between on-chain and off-chain environments. The asset, up 45% year-to-date, rose close to 20% this week.

The CMI weekly laggard was the Smart Contract Platform sector, which was held down by EthereumPoW (ETHW), and MultiversX’s (EGLD) underperformance.

What’s on tap for next week

Investors next week will be eyeing Wednesday’s Fed Interest Rate decision.

The CME Fedwatch tool is currently assigning a 99.8% probability that the central bank will boost rates 25 basis points (bps). .

Markets will also likely be scrutinizing Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Chair Jerome Powell’s comments following the rate decision. Given recent macroeconomic data, Powell is likely to echo his comments from the past month that while inflation has declined, it remains unacceptably high and that the Fed will have to renew its prescription of monetary tightening.

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Bittrex Faced Enforcement Action From Florida Regulator Ahead of Bankruptcy

The state’s financial regulator accused the U.S. firm of violating multiple state laws, and advised the company on how to explore settlement avenues, court filings show.

Çarşamba günkü mahkeme başvurularına göre, kripto borsası Bittrex Inc., Mayıs ayında platformun iflas başvurusu öncesinde ABD eyaletinin mali düzenleyicisi tarafından birden fazla Florida yasasını ihlal etmekle suçlandı.

Florida Mali Düzenleme Ofisi’nin (OFR) baş hukuk müşaviri yardımcısı Brandon Greenberg tarafından yapılan dosyalama, Bittrex Inc.’in belirli alacaklıların bir iflas masasına karşı işlem başlatmasını veya sürdürmesini engelleyecek olan Otomatik Kalma talebine karşı çıkıyor. Greenberg, düzenleyici kurumun ve ABD merkezli Bittrex Inc.’in iflas başvurusu öncesinde suçlamaları uzlaştırmak için yollar araştırdığını belirtiyor.

Platform, diğer şeylerin yanı sıra, müşteri varlıklarını şirketin işletme sermayesi ile ayırmamakla ve “her zaman doğru miktarda bir kefalet bonosu bulundurmamakla” suçlandı.

“Deciding which of those violations to charge or not charge in our Administrative Complaint falls squarely within the OFR’s administrative discretion,” Greenberg argued in his declaration.

The filing says that between October 2022 and March 2023, the OFR worked with financial regulators from Texas, Maryland and Michigan on a “multistate examination of Bittrex Inc.”

On March 31, Bittrex Inc. announced it was winding down its U.S. operations, citing an uncertain “regulatory and economic environment.”

Following its investigation, the OFR issued a three-count complaint to the exchange platform on April 17, Greenberg said in Wednesday’s filing. On the same day, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused the firm of violating federal laws by operating a securities exchange, broker and clearing agency. The OFR advised the company to follow administrative procedure if it was interested in “having a more substantive discussion and possibly explore avenues for settlement,” the filing said.

According to Greenberg, the exchange later expressed its “disappointment” that the OFR had taken enforcement action instead of letting the company surrender its license and leave Florida. The platform also did not reveal plans for file for bankruptcy at that time, Greenberg said.

Bittrex Inc. para aktarma lisansını 30 Nisan’da teslim ederken, platformun avukatı ayrıca “geçmişte yasal sorunlar yaşamış olsa da o zamandan beri Florida yasalarına uyumlu olduğunu” “keskin bir şekilde iddia etti”.

“Yanıt olarak, OFR’nin inceleme bulgularının, Bittrex Inc.’in Florida Tüzüğü’nün 560. bölümünün çeşitli hükümlerini ihlal eden, para hizmetleri ticaret yasalarımıza sürekli bir uyumsuzluk modelini gösteren ve bunun idari yetkimiz dahilinde olduğunu gösteren son davranışını nasıl ortaya çıkardığını açıkladım. Greenberg, “İdari Şikayetimizde hangi yasal ihlallerin ücretlendirilip ücretlendirilmeyeceğine karar vermede takdir yetkisine sahibiz” dedi.

8 Mayıs’ta platform, Delaware eyaletinde iflas başvurusunda bulundu.

Tether’s Banking Relationships, Commercial Paper Exposure Detailed in Newly Released Legal Documents

Obtained by CoinDesk under a Freedom of Information Law request, the documents offer a rare but limited window into the reserves behind USDT, the crypto market’s largest stablecoin.

CoinDesk tarafından elde edilen belgelere göre, Stablecoin ihraççısı Tether, fonlarını Mart 2021’de dört banka, iki yatırım yönetimi firması, iki altın deposu ve bir altın komisyoncusu ve kendi kardeş şirketi Bitfinex’te tuttu.

Ayrıca, Qatar National Bank QPSC, Barclays Bank PLC, Deutsche Bank AG, Emirates NBD Bank PJSC ve Natwest Group PLC dahil olmak üzere çeşitli kuruluşlar tarafından ihraç edilen ticari kağıtlarda fonları vardı. Ve ihraççılarının büyük bir yüzdesi çeşitli Çin bankaları ve finans kurumlarıydı.

Tether’in geçmişte ticari kağıtlara olan güveni haber değil. Piyasa değerine göre dünyanın en büyük stablecoin’ini çıkaran ve elinde bulunduran şirket, 2021’de ticari senete fon koyduğunu kabul etti. Ancak şirketin bu tür varlıklara ne ölçüde güvendiği daha önce bilinmiyordu.

Ziraat Bankası Çin Ltd, Bank of China Hong Kong, Bank of Communications Co Ltd, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, China Construction Bank, China Everbright Bank Co ve daha fazlası, Tether’in kullandığı ticari kağıt çıkardı. jeton.

Editörün notu: Bu makale, New York Başsavcılığı’na Bilgi Edinme Özgürlüğü Yasası talebiyle alınan belgelere dayanmaktadır. CoinDesk, kısmen hiç kimsenin özel bilgilerinin yanlışlıkla paylaşılmadığından emin olmak için belgeleri inceliyor ve tam olarak yayınlamadan önce uygun olduğunda düzeltiyor.

Belgelere göre 31 Mart 2021’de Tether, bu kurumlarda 35,5 milyar dolardan fazla ABD doları eşdeğeri olduğunu iddia etti. Haziran 2021’de yapılan bir eyalet Bilgi Edinme Özgürlüğü Kanunu (FOIL) talebine cevaben New York Başsavcılığı (NYAG) tarafından CoinDesk ile paylaşıldılar. Belgelerin 4 Ağustos 2021’de oluşturulmuş olduğu görülüyor ve Tether’in o günkü operasyonlarının anlık görüntüsü. 5,1 milyar dolar daha, “USDT kredileri” ve diğer varlıklar altında detaylandırıldı ve toplam 40,6 milyar dolarlık bir varlık için, kabaca o sırada dolaşımdaki 40,8 milyar USDT’ye denk geldi.

Bu nedenle, belgeler, kripto endüstrisinde uzun süredir tartışma ve varsayım konusu olan Tether’in finansmanına nadir ancak sınırlı bir pencere sunuyor. Başsavcı Letitia James, Şubat 2021’de ofisinin Tether ile anlaşmaya vardığını açıkladığında, 2017 ve 2018’de Tether’in stablecoin’i USDT’nin tam olarak desteklenmediği zamanlar olduğunu söyledi. NYAG’ın soruşturmasının sonuçlanmasından altı ay sonra oluşturulan yeni belgeler, bu iddiayı ne kanıtlıyor ne de çürütüyor.

Bununla birlikte, Tether’in belirteci destekleyen varlıkları depoladığı bulmacaya bir parça daha eklerler. Yıllar boyunca, şirketin bankacılık ilişkileri hakkındaki bilgiler yalnızca damla damla ortaya çıktı.

Tether (USDT), sayısız borsada kripto alım satımı için karşı taraf varlığı olarak önemli bir role sahip, dünyanın en büyük stablecoin’idir. Tether, dolaşımdaki her bir USDT tokeni için en az bir dolar değerinde varlık rezervi tuttuğunu iddia ederek, değerini ABD dolarına karşı tutacak şekilde tasarlanmıştır. Şirket uzun süredir USDT’nin tam olarak desteklenmediğine dair endişelerle boğuşuyor, New York Eyalet Başsavcılığı’nın Nisan 2019’da Tether’in kurumsal hisselerini paylaştığı bir borsa olan Bitfinex’e yaklaşık 850 milyon dolar borç verdiğini açıkladığında haklı çıktığı endişeleri. memurlar ve ebeveynlik ile. Bitfinex, ödeme işlemcisi yetkililer tarafından ele geçirildiğinde, kendi fonlarının bu miktarına erişimini kaybetti.

CoinDesk, FOIL talebinde, Tether’in rezervlerinin nelerden oluştuğunu ortaya koyan ilk kamuya açık belgesini yayınlamasının ardından USDT stablecoin’in desteğini detaylandıran belgeler istedi. O zamanlar, neredeyse yarısı belirtilmemiş ticari kağıttaydı.

Tether, 2021’de NYAG’ın ofisi ile anlaşmasını duyururken, NYAG ile paylaştığı bilgilerin aynısını rezervleri hakkında en az iki yıl boyunca yayınlayacağını iddia etti. Mayıs 2021’deki ilk halka açık sürümü, bir çift pasta grafik ve kısa bir açıklamaydı.

Yayınlanan belgelerdeki 7 Nisan 2021 tarihli bir portföy raporu, benzer pasta grafikler içeriyor ancak çok daha fazla bilgi içeriyor ve Tether’in rezervleri için belirli ABD doları miktarları sağlıyor. Gerçek sabit vadeli mevduatlara ilişkin bilgiler yeniden düzenlendi, ancak Tether’in mevduat sertifikalarında, tahvillerde ve özellikle ticari senetlerde milyonlarca rezerv tuttuğunu gösteriyor.

4 Haziran 2021 tarihli bir mektuba göre Tether, Ansbacher (Bahamas) Limited’de (bu yılın Şubat ayındaki Forbes raporunu onaylıyor) ve Bahamalar’daki Capital Union Bank’ta (ikinci ilişki daha önce Financial Times tarafından rapor edilmişti) ve Far’da fon bulunduruyordu. Tayvan’daki Eastern International Bank (Tether’in Tayvan bankalarını kullandığı daha önce Bloomberg tarafından rapor edilmişti, ancak isim verilmemişti). Bununla birlikte, varlıklarının büyük çoğunluğu Bahamalar merkezli Deltec Bank and Trust’taydı – o yılın Mart ayı itibariyle 26 milyar dolardan fazla. (Deltec ilişkisi, Kasım 2018’de Tether’in bankanın antetli kağıdında imzası olan ve çalışanın adını içermeyen bir mektup yayınladığından beri halka açık. Deltec’in başkanı daha sonra belgenin gerçek olduğunu CoinDesk’e doğruladı.)

CoinGecko’ya göre, 31 Mart 2021 22:30 ET itibariyle dolaşımda 40,8 milyar dolar değerinde USDT vardı.

Aynı belge, Tether’in önemli miktarda ticari senet rezervine sahip olduğunu doğrulayarak, ilgili kurumun elindeki her bir varlıkta hangi varlıkların bulunduğunu ayrıntılarıyla açıklayarak devam ediyor.

Ansbacher tarafından yayınlanan başka bir portföy raporu, Tether’in finans kuruluşundaki varlıklarının yaklaşık %85’inin ticari senet olduğunu göstererek bu ayrıntıları daha da detaylandırıyor. Tether’in varlıklarının %13,7’sinin bu şekilde olmasıyla şirket tahvilleri geri kalanının büyük bölümünü oluşturuyordu. Geri kalanı yüksek getirili tahviller, değişken faizli senetler ve kredi hesapları oluşturuyordu.

Belge imzalanmadı.

Benzer şekilde, Capital Union Bank, Tether’in varlıklarının yaklaşık %88’inin “likit varlıklar” olduğunu söyleyen bir rapor sunsa da, daha fazla bir döküm sağlamadı.

Bu belgelerin birçoğu, Tether hukuk ekibinin, düzenleyicinin Tether ile ilgili uzun süredir devam eden soruşturmasını sonuçlandırmasının hemen ardından NYAG’ın ofisi ile iletişimini detaylandırıyor.

Bu iletişimlerden birine göre, NYAG ofisinin anlaşmadan sonra Tether’in elindeki ticari kağıtlar hakkında soruları vardı.

“Tether’in ticari senet varlıklarını satın almasıyla ilgili olarak Tether, önceki mektubumuzda belirtildiği gibi farklı bankalarda hesaplar tutmaktadır. Tether, ticari kağıt teklifleri için teklifleri talep eden bankalardan, bunları doğrudan ticari kağıt ihraç etmek için ihraççılarla ilgilenen veya ticari kağıt satın almak için ikincil piyasalarda işlem yapan aracılardan ve diğer karşı taraflardan talep eder. Tether’in 25 Haziran 2021’de gönderilen dış danışmanından.

CoinDesk, Tether’in NYAG’ın belgeleri serbest bırakmasını engellemek için başvurmasının ardından yaklaşık iki yıllık bir hukuk mücadelesinin ardından belgeleri aldı. Klaris Law, CoinDesk’i mahkemede temsil ederek Şubat ayında bir zafer kazandı.

Bu makalenin yayınlanmasından önce Tether, şirketin belgelerin paylaşılmasını emreden bir mahkeme kararına itiraz etmek için gerekli adımları atmaması üzerine NYAG FOIL görevlisinin belgeleri serbest bıraktığını kabul eden bir bildiri yayınladı. Cuma günü yayınlanan ikinci bir bildiride, belgelerde nelerin yer aldığının ayrıntıları verildiği iddia ediliyor.

İlk açıklamada, “Tether, gizli müşteri verilerinin kamuya yayılmasını önlemek ve potansiyel olarak kötü niyetli kişiler tarafından istismar edilebilecek hassas ticari bilgilerin kullanılmasını önlemek için bu işlemleri ilk etapta başlattı” denildi. “Ancak, şeffaflığa olan devam eden ve kanıtlanabilir taahhüdümüz, dikkati toplumumuzun karşı karşıya olduğu gerçek sorunlardan uzaklaştıran daha fazla zaman alan ve verimsiz Amerikan davaları yerine açıklığa öncelik vermemiz gerektiği anlamına geliyor.”

Tether, bazı belgelerle ilgili ayrıntılı bir soru listesine hemen yanıt vermedi.

Tether ayrıca yaptığı açıklamada, New York hükümetinin belgeleri CoinDesk ile paylaştığı “aynı gün” merkezi olmayan finans havuzlarında milyonlarca dolar değerindeki milyonlarca doların satılmasının ardından USDT’nin depeg edilmesini “şüpheli bulduğunu” söyledi.

Aslında, stablecoin, NYAG FOIL görevlisinin belgeleri CoinDesk’in avukatlarıyla paylaşmasından en az beş saat önce, 15 Haziran’da 07:00 UTC’den (3:00 am ET) önce kısa bir süre için mandalını kaybetti.

CoinDesk Genel Yayın Yönetmeni Marc Hochstein, “CoinDesk, 12 Haziran’da avukatlarımızdan, Tether’in belgelerin ifşasını engellemeye çalıştığı uzun bir mahkeme anlaşmazlığının ardından belgeleri nihayet alacağımızı öğrendi” dedi. “Kazanma haberimizi, 15 Haziran sabahı New York’ta USDT’nin çıpasını kaybetmesinden saatler sonra belgeleri alana kadar yazı işleri kadromuz dışında kimseyle paylaşmadık. CoinDesk, raporlamamızın bütünlüğünün yanındadır.”

Merhaba arkadaşlar, bugün sizlere Prizmabet adlı bir bahis kitabından bahsedeceğim. Prizmabet, Betconstruct donanımları ile üyelerine kaliteli hizmetler veren ve uygulamanın önde gelen bahis sitelerinden bir tanesidir. 2009 yılında kurulan Prizmabet, lisanslı, güvenilir ve güvenilir bir site olarak dikkat çekmektedir. Prizmabet’te spor bahisleri, canlı bahisler, casino, canlı casino, slot oyunları, sanal sporlar ve daha pek çok seçeneği bulabilirsiniz. Prizmabet’te oyun oynamak için aranan ortam fazlasıyla bulunur.

Prizmabet’in en önemli özelliklerinden biri de Prizmabet TV kanalıdır. Bu kanal sayesinde bahis sitesinde bulunan müsabakaları üyeler bir ücrete katlanmadan zaman takip edebiliyor. Böylece hem heyecanlı hem de kazançlı bir bahis deneyimi yaşıyorsunuz. Prizmabet TV kanalında futbol, basketbol, tenis, voleybol gibi popüler spor dallarının yanı sıra daha az bilinen sporlara da yer verilmektedir. Prizmabet TV kanalını kullanmak için sadece siteye üye olmanız ve yatırım yapmanız yeterlidir.

Prizmabet ayrıca üyelerine bol miktarda bonus ve promosyon da sunmaktadır. Prizmabet’te ilk üyelik bonusu olarak 100 TL deneme bonusu alabilirsiniz. Bunun yanında yatırım bonusları, kayıp bonusları, arkadaş davet bonusu, doğum günü bonusu gibi farklı bonuslar da mevcuttur. Prizmabet bonusları sayesinde daha fazla oyun oynayabilir ve getirmenizi artırabilirsiniz. Prizmabet bonuslarının çevrim şartları da oldukça makul bir seviyededir.

Prizmabet para yatırma ve çekme işlemleri konusunda da araçlara kolaylık sağlar. Prizmabet’te banka havalesi, kredi kartı, papara, cepbank, QR kodu, bitcoin gibi farklı durumlarda para yatırabilir ve çekebilirsiniz. Para yatırma ve çekme işlemleri 7/24 yapılabilmekte ve kısa sürede hesaplara yansımaktadır. Prizmabet para yatırma ve çekme aksamı herhangi bir komisyon veya kesinti de yapmamaktadır.

Prizmabet müşteri hizmetleri de müşterilerine 7/24 canlı hizmet vermektedir. Prizmabet canlı destek ekibi sayesinde site ile ilgili her türlü soru, sorun veya önerilerinizi iletebilir ve anında çözüm bulabilirsiniz. Prizmabet canlı destek ekibi profesyonel, güler yüzlü ve yaklaşımıdır.

Sonuç olarak, Prizmabet performansının en iyi bahis sitelerinden biri olarak gösterilebilir. Prizmabet’te hem eğlenceli hem de kazançlı bir bahis deneyimi yaşıyorsunuz. Prizmabet’e üye olmak için güncel giriş adresi web sayfalarında bulabilirsiniz. Prizmabet’e girmek için tıklayınız! Prizmabet’e katıldığınıza pişman olmayacaksınız!

Judge Punts on FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s Efforts to Dismiss Some Charges

A U.S. federal judge in New York revealed skepticism of the arguments from SBF’s defense attorneys in a hearing on their motions to dismiss several counts.

The judge overseeing Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial seemed skeptical of his efforts to dismiss some of the charges he faces.

Judge Lewis Kaplan, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, asked the FTX founder’s defense team several questions about their motion to dismiss bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance charges, though he did not make a decision on the motions to dismiss during Thursday’s hearing.

“I’d like to congratulate you on an extraordinarily imaginative [defense],” the judge told one defense attorney who argued that the U.S. Department of Justice was trying to insert new legal theories into its prosecution.

Mark Cohen, another attorney for Bankman-Fried, argued before a packed courtroom that the campaign finance charge should be dismissed, or at least severed alongside other charges, on a technical detail.

“The operative document in extradition is the warrant of surrender,” Cohen said. “It does not list the campaign finance charge.”

Bankman-Fried never consented to be extradited on that charge, Cohen contended.

A prosecutor pushed back against this assertion later on, saying the U.S. had included the charge in its extradition request.

The warrant in question was addressed to Bahamian police, and while it may not have included the charge, the Bahamian court itself was aware of it, the prosecutor said.

Judge Kaplan seemed unconvinced. He seemed similarly skeptical about the defense’s efforts to dismiss bank and wire fraud charges.

Part of Thursday’s hearings focused on the possible timeline through the start of the criminal trial. While the DOJ shared a proposed timeline, the judge said it didn’t give him enough time to review all of the materials he’d have to look at.

The judge also denied a number of motions made by the defense tied to discovery, including an effort to have the DOJ review FTX documents and materials.

Bankman-Fried’s attorneys filed to dismiss most of the charges laid out against him last month, arguing that there were a number of different reasons to grant the motions. Several of the motions to dismiss focused on claimed legal issues, including failure to state an offence or allege valid property rights.

Bankman-Fried also sought to dismiss some charges brought after he was extradited to the U.S. on grounds that the Bahamas hadn’t consented to them.

Bankman-Fried was arrested last December on eight initial charges, but prosecutors have added another five through multiple superseding indictments. Bankman-Fried’s attorneys have argued that under the U.S.’s extradition treaty with the Bahamas, the Bahamas’ government needs to sign off on the charges brought post-extradition. On Tuesday, the Bahamas Supreme Court ruled that he should have an opportunity to argue against the country approving the additional charges.

Late Wednesday night, prosecutors agreed to hold off on these added charges until the Bahamas signed off.

Prosecutors pushed back against the other motions, saying the defense’s arguments didn’t carry enough weight on the procedural issues.

Ripple, SEC Seem to Agree About Not Taking Hinman Speech Seriously

SEC emails illuminated ex-official Hinman’s 2018 view on ETH, which Ripple’s top lawyer said was used to ‘destroy and disrupt’ U.S. crypto, but this probably won’t steer agency policy.

Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seem to be on the same page about the documents known as the Hinman Emails: The former official’s past remarks shouldn’t govern current policy.

Despite the rush of attention this week on the insider deliberations that went into writing a five-year-old speech from William Hinman – the former head of the SEC’s corporation finance division – the agency’s past uncertainty over the status of ether (ETH) never amounted to formal commission-approved rules or guidance. So the dialogue over the ex-official’s one-time remarks may offer some insights, but it’s unlikely to move the needle on the agency’s crypto policy.

“Nothing in these documents creates precedent or establishes law,” said Andrew Hinkes, a lawyer at K&L Gates who co-chairs its digital assets practice. At best, the emails give “a helpful snapshot of certain SEC staffers’ views on some issues at a point in time,” so it’s useful for those trying to understand where the agency has been coming from on the crypto-as-securities debate, but there’s nothing the SEC can be held to, Hinkes said.

Hinman, in his speech that’s still posted on the SEC website, had said he didn’t “see a need to regulate ether” – a view that was debated among officials inside the agency even as he said it. The remarks have been a particular focus of Ripple, in light of the parallels between ETH and the XRP token closely associated with Ripple’s business.

“The SEC fostered regulatory confusion in the marketplace,” Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty said Thursday in an interview on CoinDesk TV. “They knew the marketplace was confused, then they took steps to deliberately aggravate that confusion.”

Alderoty had also tweeted what he thinks the emails should mean: “Hinman’s speech should never again be invoked in any serious discussion about whether a token is or is not a security.”

As it happens, that seems fine with the SEC. The agency hasn’t relied on Hinman’s position in recent years and has moved on with other remarks from SEC Chair Gary Gensler that suggest a different view. After Ethereum’s high-profile move to proof-of-stake, Gensler said that such tokens may actually be securities, though he didn’t specify ETH.

Agency spokespeople declined to comment on the release of the emails this week, and Hinman didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Still, none of the issues debated around Hinman’s speech have legal bearing until the SEC’s five commissioners make a new rule, issue guidance or bring an enforcement action that explicitly makes the case that ETH is a security. That’s the chief point of interest for Ripple, which has been fighting with the regulator in court over whether the XRP token associated with its products is a security.

After the company also waged this fierce campaign to win access to the SEC’s emails, Ripple’s Alderoty would like to see them remain in the limelight, arguing that an investigation should be conducted into why Hinman said what he did. He said the SEC has relied on those remarks in its ongoing battles with the sector.

“They’ve weaponized it to bring a series of enforcement actions and trying – through regulation-by-enforcement, we now know – to really destroy and disrupt this crypto economy in the United States,” Alderoty told CoinDesk TV.

But others aren’t sure there’s anything in the messages to alter the high-stakes debate over how crypto will be regulated in the U.S.

“Those who expected bombshells were probably disappointed, but for those who work to understand these markets, there are helpful inclusions that merit further consideration,” Hinkes said.

“I don’t believe that the Hinman emails are particularly significant from a legal standpoint,” said Grant Gulovsen, an Illinois-based lawyer who works with crypto clients, in an email. “I don’t see how it helps Ripple/XRP. And if the Hinman speech is no longer (or never was) the view of the SEC, then it’s not good for crypto generally.”

Hinman – who noted during the 2018 speech that it was his personal view – took a position that crypto projects could become “sufficiently decentralized” that buyers wouldn’t expect anybody was at the helm, so they couldn’t be investment contracts regulated by the SEC. Gulovsen said that idea is still useful as “a reasonable application” of securities law for digital assets.

Custodia’s Suit Against Fed Over Denial of Master Account Can Proceed, Court Rules

The crypto-friendly bank was also denied immediate membership with the Federal Reserve, with the court saying Custodia could pursue membership through other channels.

Custodia’s challenge of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s decision to deny the crypto-friendly bank access to the Fed banking services can continue, a U.S. district court ruled Thursday, rejecting a Fed motion to dismiss the case.

The U.S. District Court of Wyoming, however, did reject Custodia’s request that the Fed be compelled to grant it a so-called master account and membership with the Fed, Instead, Custodia must continue its claims via normal channels.

“Custodia Bank will get its day in court,” Patrick Toomey, retired U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, tweeted about the decision on Friday afternoon. Toomey, along with the state of Wyoming, filed amicus briefs to support Custodia’s suit.

Even though the court declined to grant Wyoming-based Custodia’s request, it said that it was only rejecting the request because there was another avenue Custodia could pursue,

“Custodia has stated a plausible claim for relief … against FRBKC [Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas]. However, relief under the Mandamus Act is not available to Custodia against the Board of Directors because the APA (Administrative Procedure Act) provides an adequate remedy,” the ruling said.

The district court also said that if the Kansas City Fed had been alone in denying Custodia its master license, Custodia’s claim would fail. However, the court said Custodia’s claim that the Fed Board of Governors had weighed in on the decision was plausible.

“The alleged occurrence of certain events, and the timing of those events, plausibly suggest the Board of Governors had at least some hand in controlling the outcome of Custodia’s master account application,” the court wrote in its ruling.

In October 2020, Custodia applied to the Kansas City Fed for a master account. Without such an account, banks can’t offer the same services as institutions with such accounts. Then in August the next year, Custodia applied to the Fed Board of Governors for membership, which would subject the bank to the Fed’s oversight and regulations.

Eighteen months later, in January 2023, Custodia was rejected in every single category the Fed assesses, partly because of its crypto friendliness and part because it was a state-chartered bank, not a nationally chartered one.

In its rejection, the central bank claimed Custodia’s decision not to federally insure deposits and Custodia’s dependence on a vibrant crypto market made it a danger to itself and its customers.

Bitcoin Lingers Under $27K to Continue Its May Sluggishness Amid Inflation Concerns

BTC and ether both lost ground in May, the first monthly decline of 2023. LTC and RNDR were among the month’s big gainers.

May gray turned to June gloom on Thursday as crypto prices veered slightly into the red.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was recently trading at about $26,950, down 0.5% over the past 24 hours and the second consecutive day BTC dropped below $27,000, according to CoinDesk Indexes. The inauspicious beginning to June carried over the downward trend from May when bitcoin’s price dipped almost 4% to break a four-month streak of gains.

Bitcoin soared more than 60% from January, reaching to about $31,000 at one point in mid-April as crypto regained its luster as a safe-haven asset following a string of U.S. bank failures that raised concerns about traditional finance.

“Anytime you have an asset that has a significant volatility such as cryptocurrency, any real monthly move that is under a safe flat fee of 5% is relatively muted,” CoinDesk Head of Index Research Todd Groth told CoinDesk’s “First Mover” program on Wednesday. “The broad CMI was down about 2% to 3%. In the context of how much these assets can move over historical basis, it’s really a bit of a choppy month. Now we’re looking for that next big narrative to move higher.”

Groth noted optimistically that markets had recently priced in a resumption of more hawkish monetary policy after hopes rose in early May amid encouraging signs that inflation was waning enough to allow the U.S. central bank to halt its nearly year-long campaign of interest rate increases.

“We have repriced interest rate expectations to not be so dovish without any sort of big market correction lower, so that has been positive,” Groth said but added that the “repricing interest rates higher” has also been a sort of a headwind.”

Ether, the second largest crypto in market value, was recently trading at about $1,870, up slightly from Wednesday, same time. Other major digital assets were mostly down, albeit not by much, although litecoin was an exception as it recently rose more than 7% with investors seemingly buoyed by the network’s halving in two months and a jump in activity in May.

Groth noted that LTC and RNDR, the token of the Render Network, a provider of decentralized graphic processing units-based rendering solutions, ranked the CoinDesk Indexes biggest gainers for May. LTC and RNDR have risen roughly 20% and 7.5% over the past 30 days. “We’ve seen the narrative of GPUs broadly repurposed to be these big AI (artificial intelligence) clusters and Render is effectively a decentralized AI cluster,” Groth said. “So there’s no surprise that on a relative basis, it outperformed, given the buzz and hype over Chat GPT, all these LLMs. That caught some of that Nvidia bump up.”

The CoinDesk Market Index, a measure of crypto markets performance, recently sank 0.4%.

Meanwhile, stocks rose a day after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the debt limit ensuring the government could meet its financial obligations at least for the near-term and avoid a shutdown. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500, which has a hefty technology component, both rose about a percentage point. Gold inched up 0.6% to above $1,995, although it remains well below its near record high of nearly a month ago.

In an email to CoinDesk, Leo Mizuhara, CEO of institutional crypto management platform Hashnote, wrote that crypto markets had “dodged a bullet, thanks to the resolution to the debt ceiling crisis and a growing embrace of digital assets in Asia, particularly in Hong Hong, which has been trying to create easier access for retail investors.

But he added that he is “not expecting a huge breakout for Bitcoin at the moment, and compared the current stasis in markets to 2019 when investors were recovering from an extended bear market.

“We’re basically in a builder’s market,” Mizuhara wrote. “A lot of interesting protocols and companies are being launched. Venture funding is creeping back in. So, like in 2019, we’re likely in this build-up phase that sees a lot of positive energy flowing into the space that in turn sets the foundations for the next bull cycle. Despite the difficulties facing the crypto industry in the United States, what’s happening globally makes it hard not to feel optimistic right now.”

Russia launches pre-dawn attack on Kyiv, killing at least one resident

At least one person has been killed in a third successive night of drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s capital city. Although Kyiv’s air defences reportedly shot down most of the incoming missiles, fires were caused by falling debris.

Russia launched a pre-dawn attack on Ukraine’s capital Tuesday, killing at least one person and sending Kyiv’s residents again scrambling into shelters to escape a relentless wave of daylight and nighttime bombardments. Moscow authorities reported a drone attack on the Russian capital.

At least 20 Shahed drones were destroyed by air defence forces in Kyiv’s airspace in Russia’s third attack on the capital in the past 24 hours, according to the Kyiv Military Administration.

The buzzing of drones could be heard over the city, followed by loud explosions as they were taken down by air defence systems.

In Moscow, residents reported hearing explosions and Mayor Sergei Sobyanin later confirmed there had been a drone attack.

Sobyanin said in a Telegram post that the attack caused “insignificant damage” to several buildings and that no one has been seriously hurt, without elaborating.

Residents of two buildings damaged in the attack were evacuated, Sobyanin said.

There was no immediate comment on the attacks from Ukrainian officials.

It was the second reported attack on Moscow after authorities said two drones targeted the Kremlin earlier this month in what was labelled an attempt on President Vladimir Putin’s life.

In the attacks overnight on Kyiv, one person died and three were injured when a high-rise building in the Holosiiv district caught fire. It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze but frequently the falling debris from drones being hit and the interceptor missiles have caused damage on the ground.

The building’s upper two floors were destroyed, and there may be people under the rubble, the Kiyv Military Administration said. More than 20 people were evacuated.

Resident Valeriya Oreshko told The Associated Press in the aftermath that even though the immediate threat was over, the attacks had everyone on edge.

“You are happy that you are alive, but think about what will happen next,” the 39-year-old said.

Oksana, who only gave her first name, said the whole building shook when it was hit.

“Go to shelters, because you really do not know where it (the drone) will fly,” she advised others. “We hold on.”

Elsewhere in the capital, falling debris caused a fire in a private house in the Darnytskyi district and three cars were set alight in the Pechersky district, according to the military administration.

The series of attacks that began Sunday included a rare daylight attack Monday that left puffs of white smoke in the blue skies.

On that day, Russian forces fired 11 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kyiv at about 11:30 a.m., according to Ukraine’s chief of staff, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. All of them were shot down, he said.

Debris from the intercepted missiles fell in Kyiv’s central and northern districts during the morning, landing in the middle of traffic on a city road and also starting a fire on the roof of a building, the Kyiv military administration said. At least one civilian was reported hurt.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it launched a series of strikes early Monday targeting Ukrainian air bases with precision long-range air-launched missiles. The strikes destroyed command posts, radars, aircraft and ammunition stockpiles, it claimed. It didn’t say anything about hitting cities or other civilian areas.

‘Russian spy’ whale spotted off Swedish coast

A beluga whale previously accused of spying for the Russian navy was seen swimming near the Swedish coast on Sunday.

The several-metre-long white whale was first sited a few years ago wearing a camera harness near Norway, fuelling suspicions it was being used for espionage.

It has since been nicknamed Hvaldimir, combining the words hval (whale in Norwegian) and the common Russian first name Vladimir.

When first spotted in 2019, the whale’s harness was fitted with a base for a small camera with “Equipment St. Peterburg” printed on the plastic strap.

The biologists who found Hvaldimir were able to remove the harness fixed around his head.

The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries speculated at the time the whale had escaped from an enclosure where it was possibly trained by the Russian Navy since it was accustomed to human company and would approach ships.

Moscow has never officially commented on the case.

On Sunday, Hvaldimir was seen near Hunnebostrand in west Sweden, further south than its first appearance in 2019, according to OneWhale organisation’s Sebastian Strand.

Hvaldimir has been moving in the southern direction quicker than its normal pace, Strand said.

Strand noted the whale is moving away from the condition that Belugas naturally favour – the colder waters of Greenland and the Russian and Norwegian Arctic.

The Barents Sea and the North Atlantic are strategic areas for the Western and Russian navies, which have placed submarines in the zone.

“We don’t know why it’s moving so fast at the moment,” he said, acknowledging that Hvaldimir’s quest to find a partner could be one of the possible reasons.

“It could be hormones urging it to find a mate. Or loneliness, as belugas are very social, he could be looking for others,” he said.

Hvaldimir appears to have been in good health in recent years, according to Strand, and is feeding on fish attracted by the large salmon farms in Norway.

But OneWhale is concerned about his ability to fetch food, saying it has already identified signs of weight loss.

Culture Re-View: One of eight attempts on Queen Victoria’s life is made in London

On 30 May, 1842, Queen Victoria survived the second attempt on her life in as many days.

Many monarchs manage to avoid attempts on their lives for their entire reign, but Queen Victoria was not so lucky.

On 29 May, the British monarch was returning to Buckingham Palace after a church service with her beloved husband Prince Albert beside her in the royal carriage. Hiding as the horse-drawn vehicle made its way down The Mall in London, John Francis, a 20-year-old cabinetmaker – described by Albert as “a little, swarthy, ill-looking radical” pointed a gun at the Queen.

When the weapon failed to fire, Francis fled the scene and disappeared into crowds in nearby Green Park.

Immediately after the event, the then-Prime Minister Robert Peel – widely regarded as the father of modern British policing – agreed to help in identifying the culprit.

Clearly, that wasn’t enough as, when Victoria and Albert decided to ride out again the next day, escorted by only two outrider equerries, John Francis took his chance at killing the monarch once again.

While some may say the decision was foolish, the famously stubborn Queen Victoria refused to be confined to Buckingham Palace until the perpetrator was caught, rightly believing the best way to flush him out was to leave.

The royal pair were no doubt nervous but, unbeknownst to Francis, the crowds watching the royal pair pass by were infiltrated with plain-clothed Metropolitan police officers. After firing his gun and missing – again – the attempted-killer was wrestled to the ground by law enforcement, just five paces away from the carriage containing Victoria and Albert.

The hapless would-be-assassin was initially sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered but the Queen later showed mercy towards him, commuting the sentence to banishment for life. Francis lived out the rest of his 63 years in Australia, remaining there until his death in 1885.

Remarkably, Francis’ two attempts on the Queen’s life were not isolated incidents.

Just two years before, in June 1840, 18-year-old barkeep Edward Oxford fired his duelling pistol at Victoria, who was four months pregnant with her first child, also called Victoria. Just outside the gates of Buckingham Palace, Oxford fired twice at the monarch but missed both times – the second down to Victoria’s quick decision to duck from the assailant.

After the attack, a crowd surrounded the shooter and tackled him to the ground, while Victoria and Albert continued on their planned journey to Hyde Park. At the time, Prince Albert wrote, “We took a short drive through the park, partly to give Victoria a little air, partly also to show the public that we had not, on account of what had happened, lost all confidence in them”.

Edward Oxford, said to be seeking notoriety, was found guilty but insane and spent 24 years in an asylum, later to be deported to Australia.

Despite the concerning attacks, a further five attempts were made on the Queen’s life over her 63 year rule.

Just five weeks later, 17-year-old John William Bean, who was suffering from spinal deformity and was desperate for a new life – even if that meant a life in jail – also shot at the monarch. After his attempt was foiled, he was sentenced to 18 months of hard labour.

Possibly due to increased security around the Queen, the attempted assassinations became much further spaced out, with shots fired in 1849, 1872 and 1882. Only in 1850 did an assailant use something other than a gun while trying to kill Victoria – and, interestingly, it was the only occasion in which she was actually hurt.

On 27 June that year, former British Army officer Robert Pate, who struggled with his mental health and was widely known for his manic behaviour, approached the Queen outside Cambridge House in central London, striking her on the forehead with his lightweight cane.

As the crowd dealt with Pate, Victoria found her footing and told onlookers, “I am not hurt” – despite the bruising and black eye that were beginning to show on her face.

Robert Pate was sentenced to seven years in the penal then-colony of Van Diemen’s Land, now known as Tasmania.

Despite the numerous attempts on Queen Victoria’s life, she lived to the ripe old age of 81, dying at her residence on the Isle of Wight 22 January 1901. Her reign was longer than any of her predecessors and was only surpassed last year by Queen Elizabeth II, who spent 70 years and 214 days on the British throne.