September 20, 2021       /       Unchained Daily       /       Laura Shin

Daily Bits ✍️✍️✍️

  • Maki, the project lead at SushiSwap, is set to step asidefrom his position at the decentralized exchange.

  • NFT buyers and sellers could be affected by an overlooked section of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

  • Movie theater chain AMC now accepts Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.

  • A Wyoming-based DAO is looking to register with the SEC as a public company.

  • NFT marketplace OpenSea launched a mobile app.

  • Bakkt is set to go public next month.

  • SushiSwap was hacked for more than $3 million worth of Ethereum on Thursday.

What Do You Meme?

What’s Poppin’?

Here’s what you need to know about crypto regulation on this Monday morning:

1. Binance Is Being Investigated for Insider Trading

Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world, is under investigation regarding insider trading claims, according to a Bloomberg report. Per Bloomberg, the investigation involves the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which views Bitcoin as a commodity. As such, any cases of fraud or market manipulation concerning BTC would fall under the CFTC’s jurisdiction.

The exchange is already under investigation by the CFTC over Binance allegedly allowing US customers to use the service. The Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service are also investigating Binance as of May 2021.

2. New Jersey, Texas, and Alabama Made Moves Against Celsius

State regulators in New Jersey, Texas, and Alabama are looking into Celsius, a crypto lending platform. Specifically, the states seem to believe that Celsius’s interest-earning accounts, where customers stake crypto assets in return for yield, should be considered securities. The Alabama Securities Commission has ordered Celsius to explain how it is not violating securities laws, Texas announced a hearing in February to discuss a cease and desist for Celsius’s interest-earning program, while New Jersey has ordered Celsius to halt operation within the state.

The move against Celsius comes about two months after BlockFi, another crypto lender, encountered similar orders from New Jersey, Alabama, Texas, Vermont, and Kentucky.

3. Here Are Some Options for Possible Stablecoin Regulations

The New York Times published an article outlining how regulators may commence regulating stablecoins. “The rush to oversee stablecoins — and the industry’s lobbying push to either avoid regulation or get on its profitable side — might be the most important conversation in Washington financial circles this year,” wrote Jeanna Smialek, emphasizing just how mission-critical stablecoin regulation is to US regulators.

In the post, Smialek put forth five different techniques regulators could use to clamp down on stablecoins:

  • Designate them as systematically risky. 

  • Treat them as if they were securities.

  • Regulate them as if they were money market mutual funds. 

  • Treat them as if they were banks. 

  • Try to compete with central bank digital currency. 

  • Cooperate internationally. 

Recommended Reads

  • Arthur Hayes on NFTs:

  • Multicoin Capital on value capture in DeFi:

  • Brett Harrison, president of FTX.US, on NFT marketplace fees:

On The Pod…

Can Bitcoin Be Secured Only by Transaction Fees? Two Researchers Sound Off

 

Once the block reward diminishes greatly, can Bitcoin be secured only by transaction fees? On Unchained, Bitcoin writer Vijay Boyapati and Ethereum Foundation’s Justin Drake debate the merits of Bitcoin’s security model, which Drake says will largely rely on transaction fees as soon as within 20-30 years, not in 100+ years. Highlights:

  • Justin’s and Vijay’s professional backgrounds
  • why Justin thinks Bitcoin cannot survive solely on fees
  • how Bitcoin is currently secured
  • what makes Bitcoin’s security subjective rather than binary
  • how much it would cost in dollars to 51% attack Bitcoin
  • what the Bitcoin network could do in response to a 51% attack
  • how to calculate Bitcoin’s security budget
  • why Bitcoin’s price can’t go exponential forever
  • whether a “nuclear option” for Bitcoin miners could protect against a 51% attack
  • why nation-states could be either pro or anti-Bitcoin
  • why a Bitcoin Standard could be similar to the Gold Standard
  • how Bitcoin will change going forward, and why Vijay thinks transaction fees will increase
  • why Justin does not think transaction fees will increase enough to secure Bitcoin’s base layer
  • how Justin would fix Bitcoin’s security model — and why he thinks the 21 million hard cap is a meme
  • why Vijay does not think Bitcoin’s security model will ever change — especially the 21 million hard cap
  • what Justin thinks Ethereum is doing better than Bitcoin
  • why Vijay thinks Ethereum will fail

Book Update

My book, The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze, is now available for pre-order now.

The book, which is all about Ethereum and the 2017 ICO mania, comes out Jan. 18. Pre-order it today!

You can purchase it here: http://bit.ly/cryptopians