Law & Policy

/law-policy1384

A space to discuss Blockchain, Crypto, and Web3 Law & Policy

New Glitch is out! We examined two new papers focused on Section 1960 and what constitutes “money transmitting.” Also: a normie’s guide to Anoncast https://www.projectglitch.xyz/p/the-high-stakes-fight-to-define-money?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Was hoping that this would happen!
https://x.com/L0laL33tz/status/1870064859661926835?t=0CMP5BldkdunoAWNDJjluA&s=19

If you do an ICO but the coin is a custom stablecoin...does that make it outside of the scope of securities laws given the price of the token is pegged...?

Here’s this weeks’s newsletter covering a couple commerce-related blockchain bills that made it into an initial gov funding draft, a bill to combat scams involving Bitcoin ATMs, & SEC noms: https://ckarchive.com/b/p9ueh9h2kz4k9sm6ggw6kapz86933hr …Also, gm from Mulberry, Texas 🐂

Governments going full on CBDCs, they're going for crypto control

Re-channeling

Sharing an insightful report by @danielkaltman and the McDermott Crypto team on how government enforcement efforts could shift under the Trump administration.

https://www.mwe.com/insights/peering-into-the-crystal-ball-crypto-enforcement-in-a-second-trump-term/

Interesting report from Coinswitch, on how India invests in crypto.

It's clear now that India’s crypto market is booming, driven by Delhi-NCR, which leads investments with nearly double the activity of Bengaluru, followed by Mumbai, Hyderabad, and emerging cities like Jaipur, Patna, Ludhiana, and Surat. Delhi investors prefer bluechip and large-cap cryptos, while smaller cities diversify into small caps.

On the asset front, BTC and ETH dominate portfolios, but India's growing love for meme coins is striking, with $DOGE leading at 55% of meme coin investments. $PEPE emerged as the year’s star performer with a staggering 1373% gain, followed by $BONK and others. L1 tokens continue to attract the most interest, making up 37% of investments, while meme and gaming tokens are gaining significant traction.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/cryptocurrency/delhi-and-bengaluru-lead-in-indias-crypto-investments-as-bitcoin-crosses-100000-in-2024/article68995671.ece

Adding to law/policy because it’s an important North Star for attorneys in the space too. It goes against lots of traditional legal thoughts on risk, and the level of decentralization will vary by product/service. But if we aren’t working towards it, wtf are we doing?

Coinbase got sued for some allegedly naughty anti-trust behavior, Congress winds down for the winter, and the FDIC got a stern talking to for hiding the ball.

Here's everything that happened in Web3 legal last week: https://nfttorney.com/2024/12/17/off-the-blockchain-december-9-16-2024/

CyberKongz Smart Contract Migration leads to New Battle: SEC vs. CyberKongz. https://www.cryptopolitan.com/sec-serves-cyberkongz-with-a-wells-notice/

BTC is property.. at least for capital gains purposes. Seems kinda obvious, but good to have it confirmed.

Nice article on the latest developments in this regard ( I'm quoted in it.. so gentle self plug :)

https://decrypt.co/297049/india-tax-regulator-crypto-capital-gains-tax

The Blockchain Association Policy Summit

#OOH

Happily holding my Genkai since mint.

Not cool SEC, not cool

https://x.com/CyberKongz/status/1868746903053127941

While India waits and watches... it's neighbors Thailand zooms ahead, A wise sage once said " one must risk it, to the the the biscuit' ! Words to live by.

https://www.cryptotimes.io/2024/12/14/thailand-to-accept-bitcoin-boosting-crypto-tourism-globally/

The Govt of India answers a parliamentary Qs. regarding the introduciton of web3 regs in India. Takeaways:
(1) legacy laws re- IT, income tax, GST, PMLA, companies already amended;
(2) waiting for international consensus and coordination (G20, etc);
(3) might see a discussion paper;
(4) formal and informal consultations with industry ongoing(can attest to this);
(5) no specific timeline.

Not sure how I feel about this, its something... Where do your jurisdictions compare? Where is the regulatory arbitrage today?

Last week in crypto regulation (December 9–15):

I'm sure intentions are good, but the results are mixed. It seems when it comes to direct taxes, the Indian is standing on a whale fishing for minnows!

https://www.esyacentre.org/documents/2024/12/9/the-impact-of-indias-vda-tax-policy-an-update

Here’s this week’s newsletter covering key House committee chairs next Congress, SEC Commissioner Crenshaw’s renomination fight, and some updates on the OCP 2.0 & tax fronts:
https://ckarchive.com/b/wvu2hghk94407c9r552rqtn38mkxxa8

For most.. CBDCs = transparency, yet surveillance fears abound... unlike cash, there’s no anonymity. For India, where cash is king for millions, adoption depends on trust. Will people trade convenience for privacy?

https://cointelegraph.com/news/shaktikanta-das-vision-india-digital-rupee-cbdc

Last week in crypto regulation (December 2–8):

We now know who Trump intends to nominate as the next SEC Chair, as the agency continues its litigation against Binance, and the House Financial Services Committee talks FinTech.

Here's everything that happened in Web3 law last week: https://nfttorney.com/2024/12/10/off-the-blockchain-december-2-9-2024/

Hi everyone, I’d like to introduce myself. I’m Brendan. I’m a partner at YK Law where I focus on blockchain, crypto and Web3. I also serve as an adjunct at Suffolk Law and co-founded a DAO. Excited to see what you are all working on.

started an explainer series on the hyvmind whitepaper using notebookLM: https://www.youtube.com/@hyvmind_xyz

give it a listen, let me know what you think :)

Recaps of a House Financial Services hearing on innovation, lawmakers’ reactions to new debanking reports, OCP-related legislative proposals, and President-elect Trump’s picks for SEC Chair & White House AI & Crypto Czar are focus of this week’s newsletter. Check it out: https://www.caphillcrypto.com/newsletter.

/Law & Policy