A supervisory letter issued by the Federal Reserve Board specified the banks it oversees should alert the Board before engaging with digital assets. This will be to assess risk and determine whether regulatory filings are necessary.
Why this Matters: This is likely more fuel to the flame of the government shortening the reins of crypto in the wake of Tornado Cash. While this doesn’t mean specific regulation, it may be an avenue for government intervention.
Head of the Colombian Tax and Customs Office confirmed a new tax program to explore CBDCs as a method for combatting tax evasion. The same tax program also banned cash transactions exceeding 10 million pesos.
Why this Matters: As we’ve discussed, introducing CBDCs allows governments to have tighter control over the movement of their money and their ability to monitor its flow.
Go Deeper. How are Stablecoins and CBDCs different?
Chinese multinational conglomerate Tencent announced it will stop selling NFTs through its year old NFT platform, Huanhe, as of Aug. 16. This follows repeated concerns from state media about rampant NFT speculation in China.
Why this Matters: Actions like those above point to a looming, overall ban of NFTs in China. Such a ban would mark the completion of China’s crackdown on crypto, following their ban of trading and mining last year.
The chief architect of Dragonchain was sued by the SEC for its initial coin offering (ICO)—during which they allegedly raised $16.5 million in unregistered "crypto asset” securities offerings.
Why this Matters: The SEC is back with another lawsuit for an ICO. In other words, they are making it known that altcoins qualify as securities, and are under their jurisdiction.
Go Deeper: Gensler’s statement on crypto as Commodity vs. Securities
Celsius Network, the crypto lender that previously filed for bankruptcy, received court approval to sell their mined Bitcoin for cash injections into the company.
Why this Matters: Celsius was on track to run out of cash by October, 2022. After filing for bankruptcy and facing multiple investigations, this is a big win for Celsius as they try to regain balance.