The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, announced Nov 24 the title of the upcoming crypto panel for its Dec 2 Investor Advisory Meeting will be “Helping to Ensure Investor Protection and Market Integrity in the Face of New Technologies”. Previously on Nov 15, the Commission announced the meeting would be open to the public. Panelists and moderators will attend remotely. The crypto panel discussion agenda will focus on the regulatory framework covering digital assets, market structure issues, and defining risk in emerging technologies. Additional topics are expected to include blockchain technologies, crypto-based EFTs, and stablecoins. Half of the …

Investment funds from major U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley have increased their exposure to Bitcoin through purchases of shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. According to filings from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 23, the Morgan Stanley Insight Fund increased its holdings of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, or GBTC, shares more than 63%, from 928,051 in the second quarter of 2021 to 1,520,549 as of Sept. 30. In addition, filings on the firm’s Growth Portfolio show it holding 3,642,118 GBTC shares in the third quarter of 2021, an increase of 71% when compared with 2,130,153 shares as of …

Sherrod Brown, the chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, has called on several crypto firms to release information related to consumer and investor protection on stablecoins. According to a Nov. 23 announcement, Brown sent notices to Coinbase, Gemini, Paxos, TrustToken, Binance.US, Circle, Centre, and Tether requesting information on stablecoins by Dec. 3, suggesting that he and other lawmakers may be preparing to hold a later hearing on the subject. The senator said investors “may not appreciate the complexity and distinct features and terms of each stablecoin,” with crypto platforms not always providing users with the …

Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase reportedly continues to face some system difficulties after experiencing a major connectivity problem. Both Coinbase brokerage and its trading platform Coinbase Pro were unavailable on Nov. 23 due to connectivity issues on both platforms, Coinbase Support officially reported. “This may cause failed trades, delayed transactions, and unexpected behavior on the webpage and mobile apps,” Coinbase said. The exchange said it resolved the issue as of 2:00 a.m. UTC on Nov. 24 as the problem was no longer affecting Coinbase products and services. According to Coinbase’s incident and scheduled maintenance history, the firm took less than two …

Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, one of the lawmakers who supported amending the language around crypto in the recently passed infrastructure law, said the United States should lead the world in the adoption of a central bank digital currency. In a Nov. 23 interview with Bloomberg's David Westin, Toomey said the U.S. dollar should have “the most sophisticated capabilities of any currency in the world” as the country could benefit from a digital dollar. However, the senator said the rollout of any U.S. central bank digital currency should not rely on the Federal Reserve as a traditional bank for retail accounts, …

The United States Federal Reserve is planning to address ambiguities that they feel are plaguing digital asset regulation in the country following rapid analyses between government agencies. In a Nov. 23 announcement, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System said it recently worked with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on a series of “policy sprints” aimed at addressing regulatory clarity in the crypto space. The interagency effort included building a greater understanding of the terminology surrounding crypto assets, identifying potential risks, and analyzing existing regulatory frameworks to determine if any …

The long-standing feud between distributed ledger technology firm Ripple and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is nearing its end, according to Ripple’s CEO. Brad Garlinghouse highlighted the progress made in the case “despite a slow-moving judicial process.” Speaking to CNBC, he predicted that the Ripple case would likely conclude in 2022. “Clearly, we’re seeing good questions asked by the judge,” Garlinghouse said, adding his belief that “The judge realizes this is not just about Ripple, this will have broader implications.” Last year, the SEC charged Ripple with allegations of selling unlicensed securities in the form of XRP …

President Joe Biden has tapped Jerome Powell to serve another four-year term as the chair of the Federal Reserve System’s Board of Governors. In a Monday announcement, the White House announced President Biden would be nominating Powell as his pick to lead the Federal Reserve once his current term ended in February. The executive branch cited Powell’s “decisive action” in lessening the economic impact brought on by the pandemic, as well as in the creation of 5.6 million jobs and a 4.6% unemployment rate. In addition, Biden chose current Fed board member Lael Brainard to be vice chair of the …

The United States military continues to explore blockchain technology to improve its processes. The U.S. Navy has signed a $1.5 million contract with Consensus Networks to develop a blockchain-enabled logistics system named HealthNet back in May. The project, built on IoT-focused blockchain IoTeX, is halfway complete, counting the days for its pilot scheduled for early 2022. According to the information shared with Cointelegraph, Consensus Networks aims to provide real-time monitoring and logistics for nearly 700,000 sailors and marines via the HealthNet platform. The developer picked the IoTex blockchain to meet the security and scalability requirements of the Navy. Nathan Miller, …

Bitcoin (BTC) has been on an impressive price run since the announcement of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of ProShares’ Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) early in October, hitting a new all-time high of over $69,000 on Nov. 10, as per data from TradingView. However, the financial watchdogs soured the mood by rejecting VanEck’s proposal for a spot ETF on Nov. 12, which acted as a trigger for the price of the flagship cryptocurrency to drop to a 30-day low of $55,705 on Nov. 19. The token is trading in the $56,000 range at the time of …

As 2021 comes to a close, Bitcoin (BTC) has had a tumultuous ride this year, with wild price swings that have seen the pioneer cryptocurrency hit all-time highs only to retrace to lower prices — including a 50% drop that shook the market. Now, Bitcoin is once again back and stronger than ever, even recently going past its previous all-time high. Bitcoin’s dizzying market price swings aside, it seems some politicians have recognized Bitcoin’s potential, with a wave of mayors across the United States expressing bullish sentiments. From Florida to New York, there is a seemingly growing trend of politicians, …

As the perceived legitimacy of blockchain technology increases, politicians in the U.S. have shown a growing interest in turning this non-partisan technology into a topic of political divisiveness. Speaking via video to an audience of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore on Friday, former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said while cryptocurrencies were an “interesting” technology, they also had the power to undermine the U.S. dollar and destabilize nations — “perhaps starting with small ones but going much larger.” While no longer the leader of the Democratic Party, Clinton’s sentiment on crypto resembles that of top Democrat and senator Elizabeth …