The uncertain state of crypto regulation was on full display again this week. First, there was yet another Congressional hearing, this one featuring Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, who spoke on last week’s Unconfirmed about what he intended to say). Then, there was confusion over whether or not LedgerX really had been the first crypto company to launch physically settled Bitcoin futures (which occurred after COO Juthica Chou appear on Unchained). That might even result in a lawsuit between LedgerX and the CFTC, which I guess is a trend that Kik started?
Finally, Union Square Ventures’ Fred Wilson again lamented the US crypto scene is declining due to regulations. “The SEC has a way too restrictive view on crypto and it has hurt the sector in the US. NYS DFS has also been challenging to deal with. Add the IRS and other three letter orgs and we are screwed,” he tweeted.
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This Week’s Crypto News…
LedgerX Not the First to Launch Physically Settled Bitcoin Futures
A day after the episode of Unchained featuring LedgerX after the launch of its Omni platform for retail investors, CoinDesk reported that LedgerX was the first to deliver physically settled Bitcoin futures, beating Bakkt to the punch. Then a confusing series of updates transpired, including LedgerX CEO Paul Chou tweeting that he was suing the CFTC. (The confusion appears to stem from a 180-day deadline for the CFTC to approve or deny one of LedgerX’s registrations that passed without either and a prior email from the CFTC saying it didn’t need additional items.) When asked by email if LedgerX intended to sue the CFTC, Juthica Chou just said, the company is “working with lawyers.”
Meanwhile, ICE CEO Jeffrey Sprecher says Bakkt’s futures contracts will go live in the “very near future.”
Yet More Top Execs Leave Coinbase
VP of engineering, senior director of engineering, and director of design Connie Yang. (And in case you missed it last week, here is The Information article, which I shared last week, detailing the conflicts that led to a mass exodus of a bunch of top execs in the last year.)
Blockchain Launches an Exchange, the Pit
Surprise, surprise. After Blockchain CEO Peter Smith appeared on Unchained and threw shade at crypto exchanges and I asked why he didn’t jump on the opportunity himself, Blockchain launched an exchange called The Pit, which it calls the world’s fastest crypto exchange. Plus, check out this interview with Nicole Sherrod, head of retail products for Blockchain and the super-fun introductory video with William Shatner.
Square Crypto Holds AMA: The Product Is Bitcoin
It’s not easy to link to a Twitter AMA, but if you read one tweet from Square Crypto’s AMA this week, the one that clarified things was in response to the question, “When do you expect to have a working product?“ The answer, from Square Crypto product manager Steve Lee was: “The product we’re focusing on is Bitcoin. It has been up and running for over 10 years… but there’s still a lot that needs to be done before we reach mass adoption. – Steve.” Also, CEO Jack Dorsey said Bitcoin represented nearly half of Q2 revenue on the Cash app.
IEOs Looking Like the Hot, New Unsustainable Trend
Larry Cermak of The Block has out a series of depressing graphs on the trend in IEOs, which are raising money for their teams (and Binance) — but losing money for investors.
Zooko Gives Thoughts on Upcoming Zcash Dev Fund Decision
Should the developers of Zcash, such as the Electric Coin Company, which is headed by Zooko Wilcox, the creator of Zcash, continue to receive funds for the further stewardship of the network? Zooko weighs in. In recent months, Andrew Miller and investors Placeholder Capital have as well.
Happy Birthday, Ethereum (Classic)!
Hopefully the ETH maximalists won’t come after me. This tweet was hilarious.
