Crypto News Roundup: July 27, 2023📰

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27 Jul 2023

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Welcome to Crypto News Roundup, where I bring you the latest and most exciting news from the crypto world.

Today, I have some exciting stories to share with you, ranging from regulatory developments to presidential candidates to DeFi innovations. Let’s dive in!

House Crypto Bills Pass Congressional Committee In ‘Huge Win’ For US Crypto

In a historic move, the House Financial Services Committee has voted on and approved two bills that aim to provide regulatory clarity and innovation for crypto firms in the US. The bills are:

The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which would establish rules for crypto firms on when to register with either the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), depending on the nature of their digital assets. The bill would also allow firms to certify with the SEC that their projects are sufficiently decentralized and register them as digital commodities with the CFTC.
The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which would set out guidelines that exempt certain blockchain service providers, such as miners, multi-signature providers and DeFi platforms, from being considered as money transmitters and subject to state licensing requirements.

The bills were introduced by Republican congressmen French Hill and Tom Emmer, respectively, and received bipartisan support from the committee. They will now move to the House floor for a full vote. If passed, they could pave the way for more innovation and adoption of crypto in the US, as well as reduce regulatory uncertainty and barriers for crypto firms.

Both Hill and Emmer have expressed their enthusiasm for the advancement of their bills, calling it a “huge win” for the US and a “landmark legislation” that would protect consumers and provide clear rules of the road for the digital asset ecosystem.

Bankman-Fried Illegal Campaign Contribution Charge Dropped by US ⚖️

In a surprising twist, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has decided to drop one of the charges against FTX founder Samuel Bankman-Fried (SBF), who was accused of using tens of millions of dollars of misappropriated customer funds to make illegal political donations to both Democratic and Republican candidates.

The charge in question was related to unlawful campaign contributions, which SBF and his associates allegedly made under other people’s names or through corporate entities. SBF had contested the validity of this charge, arguing that it was not part of the extradition agreement that the Bahamas had signed off on when he was arrested there in December 2022.

According to a letter from US Attorney Damian Williams to the court, the Bahamas has since informed the US that it did not intend to extradite SBF on this charge, and therefore, “in keeping with its treaty obligations to The Bahamas, the government does not intend to proceed to trial on the campaign contributions count”.

This means that SBF will face one less charge when he goes to trial in October 2023, where he will still have to defend himself against 12 other counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering related to his alleged role in running a years-long scam at FTX.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Says He Bought 14 BTC for His Kids 💰

In a candid interview on Twitter Spaces on Wednesday, Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revealed that he has bought a total of 14 BTC, with 2 BTC each for his seven children. He said that he made this decision after he was criticized by media outlets for promoting Bitcoin but not owning any.

Kennedy said that he received a big check right after he attended the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami in May, where he made his first public appearance as a presidential candidate and announced his pro-Bitcoin stance. He said that he decided to “put [his] money where [his] mouth is” and bought two Bitcoin for every one of his children.

He also said that he is now a Bitcoin owner and that no one can say he didn’t put his money where his mouth is. He added that he believes Bitcoin is “not only a bulwark against totalitarianism and the manipulation of our money supply, it points the way toward a future in which government institutions are more transparent and more democratic”.

Italy’s Central Bank Taps Polygon, Fireblocks DeFi Project to Help Institutions Dabble with Tokenized Assets 🏦

The Bank of Italy’s Milano Hub innovation center has announced that it is supporting a project focused on developing a security token ecosystem for institutional DeFi over the next six months. The project, called the “Institutional DeFi for Security Token" ecosystem, is being developed by Cetif Advisory in collaboration with other companies such as Polygon Labs and digital asset platform Fireblocks.

The project aims to help traditional financial institutions, such as banks, asset managers and financial intermediaries, to experiment with security tokens and execute transactions using DeFi protocols in a safe, regulated manner. The project will leverage Polygon’s scalable and interoperable blockchain network and Fireblocks’ secure infrastructure for storing, transferring and issuing digital assets.

The project will involve several Italian banks, asset managers and financial institutions, including the country’s largest banking group Intesa Sanpaolo, which has more than $1 trillion (975 million EUR) in total assets under management. The project will also be coordinated by other partners, such as tech developer Reply, legal and tax consultant Linklaters and web3 studio DVRS.

The initiative comes as central banks globally are working on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and exploring ways to incorporate blockchain technology into the existing payment system. Meanwhile, tokenization has become one of the hottest trends in crypto, as traditional and digital asset firms are placing old-school instruments, such as bonds and equities, onto the blockchain.

🙌 Conclusion!

That’s all for today’s crypto news roundup. I hope you enjoyed reading this article and learned something new. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.
Have a great day! 😊

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