International Bodies
IOSCO Proposes Policy Recommendations for Crypto: The eighteen policy recommendations published by the International Organization of Security Commissions (IOSCO) cover a range of issues such as market abuse, conflict of interest, client asset protection, and disclosures and risks associated with crypto. The proposed recommendations mainly address “widespread concerns regarding investor protection and market integrity” within crypto markets. The consultation period for the global standard-setter’s first set of detailed recommendations for regulating crypto will close on July 31. More here.
FATF Speaks on G-7: The President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published a letter saying that the Group of Seven (G-7) advanced economies must take the lead in implementing FATF recommendations. More here.
IMF Speaks on CBDCs: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva voiced concern over retail CBDCs but said that wholesale CBDCs, on the other hand, have “fairly little space for undesirable surprises.” A myriad of unforeseeable “consequences” could be brought about by retail CBDCs, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund has claimed. More here.
BIS Continues Examination of Retail CBDC: The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and a group of central banks have published a paper detailing their “ongoing policy perspectives” on a retail CBDC. The new publication is the fifth from the same authors. More here.
United States
SEC Eliminates Digital Asset Definition: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) eliminated a definition for digital assets that was included in a proposal for disclosures for hedge funds. The Commission included a new footnote that says they are continuing to consider the definition of digital assets. More here.
House Democrats Consider New Stablecoin Bill Proposal: The Democrat version of the bill has a greater focus on consumer protection issues and would not allow non-bank stablecoin issuers to tap Federal Reserve programs. Like the Republican stablecoin draft, the bill also “payment stablecoins” as a specific classification of the digital asset type. The Democrat proposal also continues to call for a moratorium on algorithmic stablecoins and a report on CBDCs, both dropped from the Republican draft. More here.
Representatives Criticize CEA: House Financial Services Committee Reps. Warren Davidson (R-OH) and Mike Flood (R-NE) wrote a letter objecting to a chapter of the president’s annual report that they believe diminished the role of Congress and could damage the economy with its hostility to digital assets. More here.
White House Advisers Push for Mining Energy Tax: The Biden administration has renewed its push for a 30 percent tax on cryptocurrency miners as a part of efforts to minimize the industry’s alleged impact on climate change. The proposed crypto mining tax was first announced on March 9 as part of President Joe Biden’s FY2024 budget and seeks to impose a phased-in excise tax on electricity used by crypto-miners. More here.
NC House Passes CBDC Ban: The North Carolina House of Representatives has unanimously passed legislation aimed at prohibiting payments to the state using a CBDC. The latest version of the legislation aimed to prohibit individuals from using CBDCs for any payments to the state, as well as bar the Federal Reserve from using North Carolina as a potential testing ground for its own CBDC pilot. More here.
White House Releases KYC Standards: The Biden administration released a national standards strategy for critical and emerging technologies on May 4th. The strategy stated that the U.S. would prioritize standards development in eight areas, including “digital identity infrastructure and distributed ledger technologies, which increasingly affect a range of key economic sectors.” More here.
HFSC Criticizes SEC Custody Proposal: HFSC Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and six subcommittee chairs sent a letter to the SEC voicing concerns over the agency’s proposed advisory clients custody rule. More here.
Florida Signs CBDC Bill Into Law: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill restricting the use of CBDCs in the state, according to local news sources. The governor urged state lawmakers in March to draft the bill. More here.
SEC Says Filecoin is a Security: Grayscale said it received a comment letter from SEC staff on May 16 warning warn that Filecoin “meets the definition of a security” under federal law and asked them to withdraw their application for the trust product. Grayscale stated that in its view, Filecoin is not a security, and it would be sending an explanation to the SEC for its reasoning. More here.
Berkovitz Speaks: Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner and SEC General Counsel Dan Berkovitz said that it is legally possible for ETH to fall under the jurisdiction of both regulatory agencies. More here.