Coinpri’s Post

Terraform And Kwon Challenge SEC's Lawsuit Over $40 Billion Loss According to Bloomberg, Terraform and its inventor Kwon are contesting the lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin. The firm's failure in 2022 reportedly wiped out $40 billion in investor assets and caused a significant disturbance in the cryptocurrency market. However, Terraform's lawyers argued in a recent filing that the firm's token offers and sales occurred predominantly outside the US. They also stated that the SEC failed to provide evidence that Terraform and Kwon's limited activities in the US directly led to any losses, let alone the billions the SEC is seeking in disgorgement. On April 5, Terraform and Kwon were found guilty of fraud following a two-week trial. The SEC subsequently urged the judge to impose a fine, which, if granted, would be the largest ever in the crypto industry. The SEC's push for this penalty comes as the crypto industry faces increased scrutiny from US regulators. The SEC alleged that Terraform and Kwon made over $4 billion in 'ill-gotten gains' from unregistered sales of tokens, including LUNA and UST. Terraform's UST, an algorithmic stablecoin intended to be pegged to the US dollar's price, wiped out $40 billion in market value when it collapsed in 2022. In a separate motion, Kwon's lawyers argued that the SEC failed to demonstrate that his work with Terraform had a 'foreseeable substantial effect' in the US. They stated that Kwon's role in the conduct that forms the basis of the SEC's requested judgment was performed entirely abroad, in Korea and Singapore. The civil case is currently being heard in the US District Court, Southern District of New York. Disclaimer: Includes third-party opinions. No financial advice. #SEC #ETF #DeFi #Metaverse #crypto #compliance #news #virtualcurrency #law #USA #India #Tokenization

This past Sunday, Launchy did our first weekly regulatory roundup. Crypto is becoming a truly global asset. As a result, it's now much more intertwined with the world's political landscape and with the actions of government agencies (and courts) around the world. Recognizing this, we have created this specialized newsletter issue to keep our readers informed and up-to-date on the evolving regulatory landscape in the crypto world. For this first issue, we discussed: - What are the implications of Ripple fines? - Are Tornado Cash sanctions effective? - New bill expanding Secret Service reach to crypto crime - Russia allowing crypto mining firms to register - US senators urging the CFTC to finalize a ban on election betting https://lnkd.in/egNevCuK #MICA #ETF #bitcoin

What a honeypot! The FBI created its own crypto token to take down market manipulators. Yeah it actually happened. Wash trading is a form of market manipulation where the same entity sells an asset to themselves, usually to generate trading volume and drive up market prices. We wrote an article with AnChain.AI, and researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Columbia University on techniques to identify wash trading onchain back in 2022. Incredible to see law enforcement today taking down some of these bad actors: https://lnkd.in/etNJptfe https://lnkd.in/eCiYfzwe

Uniswap Receives Enforcement Notice From SEC, Vows To Fight Uniswap, a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange, has disclosed receiving a notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) signaling its intention to pursue enforcement actions, as announced by CEO Hayden Adams on Wednesday. This notice, known as a Wells notice, serves as a preliminary indication of the charges under consideration by the regulator and typically precedes formal enforcement actions. Adams expressed a blend of frustration and determination, affirming readiness to "fight" the allegations. During a subsequent press briefing, Uniswap's COO Mary-Catherine Lader and Chief Legal Officer Marvin Ammori provided insights into the Wells notice's focus, highlighting concerns regarding Uniswap's potential role as an unregistered securities broker and exchange. However, the involvement of Uniswap's native token, UNI, in the SEC's notice remains unclear. Ammori emphasized his belief that Uniswap does not align with the SEC's current criteria for defining an exchange, citing a recent ruling in a case involving Coinbase as a positive precedent. Despite the impending legal battle, Adams expressed confidence in the legality of Uniswap's offerings and its alignment with broader industry trends. Expressing frustration with what he perceives as the SEC's priorities, Adams underscored the company's commitment to defending itself and the broader decentralized finance (DeFi) industry. Anticipating a protracted legal process, he emphasized the significance of the struggle for the future of financial technology and the principles of freedom that underpin DeFi. Uniswap Labs #uniswap #sec #defi image source: cybravo

MiCA is here, and the stablecoin deslistings have begun. Bitstamp exchange will delist Tether’s EURT and other euro-backed stablecoins that do not comply with the European Union’s new laws for crypto assets before June 30. Other E-money tokens that don't comply will be limited in some services. Bitstamp is not alone, other exchanges are also taking measures to comply with the Markets in Crypto-Assets first deadline. https://lnkd.in/eCBm5nti

 #UniSwap Decline Continues Ahead of Potential United States #SEC Legal Action The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Wells notice to the decentralized exchange on April 10 2024 signaling potential regulatory action or investigation. With a market capitalization of $7.6 billion, the $UNI token ranks as the 20th largest cryptocurrency by market cap with UniSwap being the biggest decentralized exchange with a 24-hour trading volume of $1.4 billion, according to CoinGecko. https://lnkd.in/dDqRub6a

SEC'S "CARPET BOMBING" CAMPAIGN TARGETS CRYPTO AND THE INDUSTRY REACTS - Crypto lawyers have expressed dismay over the SEC's extensive issuance of Wells Notices to prominent crypto firms, deeming it an "astonishing" focus on the crypto sector. - Concerns have emerged regarding the SEC's potential misuse of the Wells process as a tactic to intimidate crypto companies, with claims of disproportionate targeting compared to traditional markets. - Robinhood's recent revelation of receiving a Wells Notice further fuels criticism, prompting doubts about the SEC's enforcement strategy and the viability of legal actions against crypto entities. - Notably, DEXes Uniswap Labs and Ethereum development studio's Consensys join the list of recipients of Wells Notices, signaling a broader regulatory crackdown on the crypto industry. - The SEC's ongoing litigation against major crypto exchanges include Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken Digital Asset Exchange underscoring heightened regulatory scrutiny across the crypto market. - In response to the SEC's Wells Notice, Robinhood Crypto asserts confidence in its assets' non-security status, preparing to address any potential legal challenges with the SEC, despite concerns over regulatory overreach within the crypto industry.

Uniswap revealed that the SEC issued a Wells notice to the firm, citing that the regulatory body warns of potential enforcement action against the crypto exchange. Uniswap asserted that secondary market transactions of digital tokens, which comprise the majority of assets traded on the exchange, cannot be considered investment contracts. The exchange also noted that the Uniswap Protocol, web app, wallet, and UNI tokens do not fit the legal definition of a security Do you agree with Uniswap's statements? #uniswap #sec #cryptoregulation #cryptoexchange #wellsnotice #uni

Jonathan Galea comments here on a post that I saw yesterday, which I read with bemusement, then scrolled past without responding. I didn't comment on it even though I could see multiple factual errors, because I'm not a lawyer. So I'm relieved that Jonathan, who really knows his stuff when it comes to MiCA (the EU regulation for markets in crypto-assets), pulls Dimitrios Psarrakis up on a shocking number of factual errors in his post. But what are we, as developers and innovators in the blockchain and crypto space, meant to take away from the observation that even the legislators and advisors don't understand their own legislation or the subject that they're legislating for? On the positive side, at least the MiCA legislators weren't building passenger airplanes or preparing food for public consumption. See, you've always got to look on the bright side. #blockchaingandalf Because reposts of reposts are as confusing as pointers to pointers, here's a direct link to the offending post that Jonathan is commenting on: https://lnkd.in/dq-mUaMw