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The Protocol: Movement Labs Develops Dev Mainnet
Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I'm Ben Schiller, CoinDesk’s Opinion and Features editor. In this issue: Movement Labs rolls out dev mainnet Cardano hard forks to decentralized governance SSV DAO unveils SSC 2.0 Musk pushes blockchain in government Network News MOVEMENT LABS ROLLS OUT DEVNET: Blockchain firm Movement Labs has deployed a developer mainnet to advance its goal of bringing Facebook (META)'s Move Virtual Machine (MoveVM) to Ethereum. The developer mainnet's launch will begin the deployment of Movement's core infrastructure and allow selected partners to start implementing decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, according to an emailed announcement on Tuesday. The release follows the initial mainnet launch of Movement in December and precedes the planned public mainnet beta release next month. Move was developed as a part of Facebook's ill-fated digital currency project Diem, which was shelved at the start of 2022 . The technology was also used to create the Sui and Aptos layer-1 networks. Movement Labs, with the help of a $38 million Series A funding round led by Polychain Capital , is extending the programming language to an Ethereum layer 2 for the first time. Coinciding with the public mainnet's deployment, Movement will also unveil a multi-asset liquidity program to provide the foundation for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Read more. CARDANO HARD FORKS TO DECENTRALIZATION: Proof-of-stake blockchain Cardano was due to switch to decentralized governance Jan. 29 after the Plomin hard fork takes effect, Cardano Foundation, a non-profit organization backing the project, said on X. "The Plomin hard fork takes effect, marking the transition to full decentralized governance. ADA holders gain real voting power – on parameter changes, treasury withdrawals, hard forks, and the blockchain’s future," Cardano Foundation said . "[It's] A milestone in blockchain governance." Cardano's ADA token changed hands at 93 cents at press time, up 1.4% on the day, according to data from CoinDesk and TradingView. A hard fork is a non-backwards compatible change to the blockchain's programming. The Plomin hard fork needs Stake Pool Operators to upgrade their nodes and approve the upgrade with a 51% vote. As of last week, nearly 80% of nodes had elevated to the new version. Read more. SSV DAO 2.0: The SSV DAO, the decentralized autonomous organization behind the decentralized staking protocol SSV Network , unveiled a new framework, called “SSV 2.0,” allowing applications to make use of “based” technology by leveraging Ethereum validators. SSV 2.0 will be the most ambitious project for the SSV Network, according to a press release shared with CoinDesk, and will bring based applications (bApps) to Ethereum. “Based” applications, especially “based rollups,” are a new type of technology attracting the attention of Ethereum developers as it allows for better interoperability while improving the security of networks on top of Ethereum. Based rollups specifically can be seen as a solution to the many layer-2 networks on Ethereum today, which have caused much fragmentation across the space. By leveraging “based” technology, those protocols or applications can “base” their security and execution operations off of Ethereum’s layer-1 validator set. Currently, layer-2 networks use “sequencers” to order transactions and post those back to Ethereum. Sequencers are criticized for being single points of failure. By using layer-1 validators to do the execution and security work, networks can avoid the downfalls of using centralized sequencers. Ethereum developers agree that based rollups allow for better interoperability in the network. Ethereum ecosystem members have gathered over the last few weeks to find ways to solve this issue, and based rollups are seen as a major breakthrough for that. Now the SSV Network will also tackle these issues by bringing applications with based technology to Ethereum. Read more. MUSK PUSHES BLOCKCHAIN: in his role leading the new Department for Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.), Elon Musk suggested that using a digital ledger would be a cost-efficient way to track federal spending, secure data, make payments and manage buildings, according to people familiar with the matter. Several representatives of public blockchains have met with affiliates of D.O.G.E., the people said. The department was created in response to the federal government’s spending of $6.7 trillion in fiscal 2024, which Musk in October called “wasted” money . He promised the department — whose acronym is a nod to Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin (DOGE) — would slash the figure to at most $2 trillion. Given the department’s name and Trump’s determination to establish crypto-friendly policies in the U.S., Musk’s plan to incorporate blockchain technology doesn’t come as a surprise. In addition to creating D.O.G.E. on Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order to create a working group on digital assets led by venture capitalist David Sacks with a mandate to identify all regulations that currently touch crypto within 30 days, among other things. Read more. Money Center XRP Strategic Reserve Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse has ignited a debate about a putative national crypto reserve, saying “I believe it should be representative of the industry, not just one token (whether it be BTC, XRP or anything else)." Bitcoiners hope it will be a bitcoin-only reserve. DeepSeek Hits Tokens China’s answer to ChatGPT has sent prices for AI tokens tumbling . Regulatory and policy Electronic Frontier Foundation calls for dismissal of the long-running Tornado Cash case , which pits developers of the mixer software against the U.S government. Calendar Jan. 30-31: PLAN B Forum , San Salvador, El Salvador. Feb. 1-6: Satoshi Roundtable , Dubai Feb. 19-20, 2025: ConsensusHK , Hong Kong. Feb. 23-24: NFT Paris Feb 23-March 2: ETHDenver March 18-19: Digital Asset Summit , London May 14-16: Consensus , Toronto. May 27-29: Bitcoin 2025 , Las Vegas.

2025-01-29 23:59
The Dawn of PolicyFi
Are we witnessing the dawn of PolicyFi? In an earlier article on why memecoins matter , I argued that memecoins are ushering in a new era of civic engagement by forming speculative markets in which citizens are able to trade coins tied to government policies. I suggested that holder distributions and market caps in those markets would signal popular support for underlying policies to lawmakers, who would then take them into account when crafting public policy, fostering a new form of political dialogue between citizen and state. I called this dynamic PolicyFi and presented it as a constructive use of memecoins. With the Trump administration coming into office and the President-Elect and First Lady launching memecoins , it is a good time to ask if we are entering the PolicyFi era and, if so, whether we should welcome it. I believe the answer to each of these questions is yes. The convergence of a meme administration, a meme citizenry and meme advocacy has created fertile conditions for PolicyFi and, perhaps counter-intuitively, for better policy making. Meme Admin, Meme Citizenry, Meme Advocacy PolicyFi requires the installation of meme-sensitive government actors, or a “meme admin.” In the original piece, I suggested that the incoming administration fit the bill because it understood and respected the power of memes. When I wrote that, I was thinking mainly of Elon Musk and his affinity for dogecoin but also of Trump’s own adeptness at creating and harnessing memes on the campaign trail and while in office. Admittedly, the President-Elect’s issuance of his own Solana memecoin ( Trump ), soon followed by his wife’s ( Melania ), a few days before he took the oath of office surprised even me. (I suspect the timing was driven by concerns over the Emoluments Clause .) The Trump memecoins immediately soared, draining liquidity from every crypto ecosystem and almost breaking the Solana blockchain. If you are a crypto-native, you will always remember where you were when the President-Elect and soon-to-be First Lady announced the launch of their memecoins. The Trump coins sharply divided the crypto industry. But, more importantly for present purposes, they put beyond doubt that Americans had elected a “meme admin” that was prepared to engage with financialized memes, and was therefore more likely to engage with them while in office. The Trump coins contributed another essential ingredient for PolicyFi: the en masse onboarding of the citizenry to memecoins and, in particular, political coins. The stats around the Trump and Melania memecoins, which were explicitly marketed as a form of political expression, are staggering and telling. Most holders were new retail buyers. Around 50% had never bought a Solana altcoin (i.e. tokens on the Solana blockchain excluding SOL and stablecoins) before. Nearly half of buyers created their wallets on the day that they purchased the tokens, and more than 80% of Trump and Melania holders hold less than $1,000 worth of assets on Solana , further suggesting retail popularity. Many of these meme recruits seem puzzled about what to do next with their crypto. (I expect they’ll figure it out.) Alongside this meme admin and meme citizenry is the proliferation of more (and more innovative) policy-focused memecoins. Many of the policy memecoins that I mentioned in the original piece, such as D.O.G.E. (Department of Government Efficiency) and SBR (Strategic Bitcoin Reserve), attracted substantial trading volume as the new admin took office and investors began to speculate on its initial policy steps. Read more: Ivo Entchev - Why Memecoins Matter However, these policy tokens are still relatively primitive from the perspective of PolicyFi because they place more emphasis on attention flows or prediction (like a prediction market) than on engagement with government actors. Another token, MILK , fits the PolicyFi thesis better. The express purpose of the MILK meme token is to change U.S. food policy to allow for the sale of unpasteurized milk. The MILK community advances that tangible policy position through its token holdings (2,000 people hold MILK), the market cap of the token (as high as USD $1M) and the community’s production of MILK memes on social media (constant). In an era of PolicyFi, we would expect to see a Cambrian explosion of tokens in the mold of MILK. A Dialogue with Leviathan The expression of political will through meme policy markets is necessary but not sufficient for PolicyFi. Governments must also begin conversing with those markets when crafting policy. We may be seeing early indicators of this as well. President Trump has long viewed public markets and especially the stock market as a barometer of his performance and has tried to satisfy them. More recently, he has adopted a similar stance towards the price of bitcoin (which is itself a brand of financial policy) and is doubtless monitoring the price of his own memecoin, which represents the majority of his net worth on paper. Other members of the political establishment from Elon Musk to Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY.) have engaged with memes that bear on government policy. Policymakers have yet to engage with narrowly prescriptive memecoins, such as MILK. If this were to change, I would expect it to arise in disruptive areas that have spawned more general memes, such as government efficiency (e.g. D.O.G.E.), industrial policy (e.g. e/acc) and health policy (e.g. MAHA). Is PolicyFi Good for Governance? Assuming we are advancing towards PolicyFi, is that a good thing? There are a few strong reasons to believe that it is. First, introducing speculative markets into government decision-making improves the quality of the most important input in decision-making: information. Speculative markets can process a large volume of information by motivating people to acquire it, share it via trades and crystallize it into consensus prices that persuade a wider audience. A form of government known as “ futarchy ” leverages speculative policy markets specifically towards improving information flows within government and overall policymaking. Second, PolicyFi creates positive externalities, in the form of civic engagement and education, despite being driven by greed. Indeed, anyone hoping to make money in PolicyFi will need to become an expert on how the government works, how policy is made, and which emerging policies are undervalued and why. It is difficult to imagine a stronger incentive for ordinary Americans (who are already prodigious sports gamblers) to engage constructively with politics. The PolicyFi degen is, paradoxically, a model citizen. Third and finally, PolicyFi is engaging an expanding class of citizens who are internet-native and accustomed to expressing himself through speculative markets. That was the citizen drove the GameStop frenzy , which was about income inequality and sticking it to Wall Street, just as it’s currently driving the price of memecoins like SPX and Fartcoin , which lampoon traditional finance. In short, public financial markets have become the medium of ridicule, satire and political expression for a new generation that would much rather buy a memecoin or send a stock to the moon than write their congressman. A common objection to PolicyFi markets is that they are susceptible to manipulation by our enemies. This is a concern but perhaps not as big as assumed. The same argument was applied to Polymarket, the permissionless prediction market that consistently favored a decisive Trump win in the election. Despite the strong incentive for foreign interference, Polymarket was not only the best barometer of voting sentiment leading up to the election but also the best predictor of election results, affirming the information processing-power of speculative markets. My aim here is not to advocate for PolicyFi, or to be an apologist for memecoins in general. However, I believe memecoins represent a powerful viral capital formation technology that matters and will impact a range of domains, including politics. I will be watching closely, and so should you.

2025-01-29 23:48
Cardano’s Plomin Hard Fork Goes Live, Ushering in On-Chain Governance
Cardano, the layer-1 blockchain launched in 2017 by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson, activated its highly anticipated “Plomin” upgrade on Wednesday, ushering in the ecosystem's long-awaited move towards a decentralized governance system. With the Plomin upgrade now live, ADA token holders will be able to shape Cardano's future, including voting on treasury measures and hard forks. Plomin comes just four months after Cardano implemented the “Chang” hard fork , which put in place many of the mechanisms that went into effect on Wednesday. (Hard forks are major updates made to a chain that render older versions of that blockchain as obsolete). The biggest change coming to Cardano with Plomin is the full implementation of Delegate Representatives (dReps), who will vote on governance issues on behalf of ADA token holders. Previously, Cardano's three founding entities—the Cardano Foundation, Input Output Global (IOHK) and Emurgo—were in charge of governance changes and triggering chain upgrades. Moving forward, the keys they held and those responsibilities are delegated to new Cardano governance groups. Ahead of Plomin, Stake Pool Operators needed to upgrade their nodes and approve the upgrade with a 51% vote. As of this week, roughly 85% of nodes were with the new version, allowing the network to proceed with the changes. As for what’s next with Cardano, the community is already tackling a series of new issues to implement. “In short, we want to make Cardano faster, we want to add some privacy preserving features and we want to add more utility for developers,” said Giorgio Zinetti, CTO of the Cardano Foundation, in an interview with CoinDesk. “So the development will be what the community wants.” Read more: Cardano’s Chang Hard Fork Goes Live, Introducing On-Chain Governance

2025-01-29 23:47
Tesla Marked Up Bitcoin Holdings Valuation in Q4, Booking a $600M Gain
Elon Musk's Tesla (TSLA) appeared to take advantage of a new accounting rule allowing for holdings of digital assets to be marked-to-market each quarter. The company's fourth quarter earnings report shows its 9,720 bitcoin valued at $1.076 billion as of the end of 2024. That's up from what had been $184 million for several quarters prior. Alongside that change, Tesla also recorded a GAAP income boost of $600 million on its digital holdings. For perspective, the company had overall GAAP income of $2.3 billion in the fourth quarter. A new rule from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) requires corporate holders of digital assets to begin marking those assets to market each quarter, no later than the first quarter of 2025. Companies could take advantage of the new rule prior to that at their own discretion, which Tesla has appeared to do. Prior to this new rule, corporate holders of digital assets were required to report those holdings at what was their lowest valuation during the time of ownership. Tesla overall reported adjusted EPS of $0.73 in the fourth quarter, missing estimates for $0.76. The gain on its bitcoin holdings was for GAAP purposes and would have had no effect on adjusted EPS. Shares are higher by 3.5% in after hours trading. Tesla holds 9,720 BTC, according to Bitcoin Treasuries , making it the sixth largest publicly traded company to hold bitcoin on its balance sheet.

2025-01-29 23:35
Sandboxes Are a Way Out of the Regulatory Sandstorm
Regulation by enforcement is beginning to crumble , with a court recently ruling that the SEC’s refusal to issue a crypto rule was unlawful. A new crypto-friendly administration stands ready to create crypto clarity through new appointments at the SEC and the CFTC. New acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham has proposed an uncommon approach, namely the regulatory sandbox. A regulatory sandbox is a waiver of regulations but in a supervised environment. Projects can test innovative ideas outside rigid regulatory frameworks. Federal digital asset sandboxes may come sooner than you think, but current state sandbox models fall short in the digital assets context, with extremely limited scopes and durations. We propose a “Sustainable Sandbox” and develop Pham’s idea, along with similar proposals from SEC Commissioner Peirce, and various initiatives in states and the Federal Reserve . The Sustainable Sandbox will give regulators enough time and information to draft thoughtful and sensible rules governing digital assets. Without such a stopgap, the digital assets industry would end up in the same place–trying to work with rules that do not make sense. How sandboxes work At its core, a regulatory sandbox allows businesses to conduct live experiments with innovative technologies while regulators observe and gather data. Businesses apply for waivers from certain laws that may technically apply to their activities but do not align with the unique nature of their innovations. For example, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform might be exempted from securities regulations that were designed for traditional financial intermediaries. This exemption provides the freedom to innovate without being hamstrung by outdated rules. Importantly, regulatory sandboxes do not equate to a regulatory free-for-all. Participants must adhere to baseline standards for consumer protection and financial stability, ensuring that accountability is not sacrificed in the name of innovation. In practice, regulatory sandboxes have proven to be valuable tools for identifying outdated regulations. By generating real-world data, they enable lawmakers to assess whether certain rules should be reformed or repealed. Without such mechanisms, unnecessary or impractical regulations risk stifling progress and innovation. Lessons from the U.K. and beyond The U.K. has been a pioneer in implementing regulatory sandboxes. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) introduced its sandbox in 2016, offering a structured environment for businesses to test new ideas. Participants have ranged from large law firms to cryptocurrency projects, reflecting the sandbox’s inclusivity and flexibility. In terms of digital assets innovation, the U.K.’s success can be attributed to its focus on fostering both collaboration and innovation. By allowing businesses to experiment within a regulated framework, the sandbox has attracted a diverse array of participants and provided critical insights into how emerging technologies interact with existing laws. Other regions, such as Singapore and the UAE, have also embraced sandboxes as tools for driving innovation. Singapore’s Monetary Authority (MAS) has used its sandbox to advance tokenization in financial services, while the UAE has leveraged its framework to attract blockchain startups. These examples highlight the potential of sandboxes to position countries as global leaders in the digital asset space. Challenges facing regulatory sandboxes Despite their benefits, the existing regulatory sandboxes face several limitations: Narrow scope: Most sandboxes are restricted to specific industries or activities, limiting their applicability to broader regulatory challenges. Participants must also apply and be accepted, so not all projects are treated equally. Short duration: Sandboxes often have fixed timelines, requiring businesses to exit the program without long-term regulatory clarity. High costs: Participating in a sandbox can be resource-intensive for both businesses and regulators, deterring smaller players from applying. To address these challenges, we propose the "Sustainable Sandbox" – a redesigned framework tailored to the unique needs of the crypto industry. Designing the 'sustainable sandbox' The "Sustainable Sandbox" builds on the strengths of existing models while addressing their shortcomings. Here’s how it would work: 1. Simplified automatic enrollment Participants that complete a form filing process will be automatically enrolled, and will not be subject to an application and acceptance process by the regulator. Businesses that don’t fit the default form, such as DAOs or decentralized exchanges, could propose their own compliance frameworks (subject to regulatory approval) aligned with broad policy goals set by regulators. 2. Data-driven decision-making Regulators would collect and analyze data from sandbox participants to evaluate the effectiveness of waived regulations. This information could inform broader reforms, creating a feedback loop that aligns regulation with innovation, and enabling regulators to write new sensible rules. 3. Seamless transitions At the end of the sandbox period, participants could transition to a tailored safe harbor (which SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has long envisioned ) or receive no-action letters (but remain subject to light oversight), providing long-term regulatory clarity. This ensures that businesses do not face a regulatory cliff, which could disrupt operations and deter participation. Why now? The need for a "Sustainable Sandbox" in the U.S. has never been greater. Innovative industries like blockchain and AI are evolving rapidly, but outdated legal frameworks threaten to stifle their potential. At the same time, many regulators lack a deep understanding of these technologies, making it difficult to craft effective rules. By setting broad policy goals and collaborating with industry stakeholders, regulators can bridge this knowledge gap and create a more adaptive legal framework. The recent Supreme Court decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo further underscores the urgency of regulatory innovation. By removing courts’ deference to agency interpretations of their authority, the ruling shifts power toward regulated industries, emphasizing the need for more collaborative governance. The "Sustainable Sandbox" offers a path forward, balancing the needs of regulators and innovators in a rapidly changing landscape. Final thoughts As the crypto industry continues to grow, so does the need for regulatory frameworks that can keep pace with innovation. The "Sustainable Sandbox" provides a blueprint for balancing experimentation with accountability, fostering a collaborative environment where both regulators and businesses can thrive. By embracing this model, the U.S. has an opportunity to lead the world in crypto innovation while ensuring consumer protection and market stability. For the full version of this article, click here .

2025-01-29 21:36
Fed Holds Rates Steady, Takes Note of Elevated Inflation
As expected, the U.S. Federal Reserve has kept its benchmark fed funds range rate steady at 4.25%-4.50%, the first pause since the central bank began easing policy last September. The accompanying policy statement noted that the unemployment rate had stabilized at a "low level" and inflation remained "somewhat elevated." The wording was hawkish as it removed reference to "progress" on inflation moving to its 2% target. Under pressure for most of this week, the price of bitcoin (BTC) dipped to $101,800 shortly following the news. U.S. stocks added to the day's losses, with the Nasdaq down 1.1% and the S&P 500 lower by 0.9%. The dollar and gold were little-changed and the 10-year Treasury yield rose 5 basis points to 4.59%. Since the Fed's first September rate cut, the fed funds rate has been slashed by 100 basis points. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield, however, has gone in the opposite direction, rising to 4.6% fro 3.6% — a divergence between short-term and long-term rates that rarely has been seen. That divergence as well as a series of stronger than expected reports on the economy and inflation has not been lost on the Fed. Following the bank's December meeting, Chair Jerome Powell made clear that any further rate cuts — at least for the moment — were on hold. Powell's post-meeting press conference begins shortly, at which market participants will look for further guidance about future policy.

2025-01-29 21:05
Robinhood CEO Warns Lack of U.S. Regulation Stifles Security Tokenization Efforts
Current U.S. regulations are blocking a major financial shift that could open up private-market investments to everyday investors through tokenization, CEO of digital brokerage Robinhood Vlad Tenev said. In a Wednesday opinion piece for the Washington Post, Tenev said that many high-growth companies like OpenAI, SpaceX and Stripe are increasingly avoiding going public, limiting investment access to a small circle of wealthy investors, widening the investment gap between retail investors. Tokenizing private equity through blockchain technology that underpins crypto markets would allow retail to access companies early in their growth phase, lowering barriers while keeping proper disclosures and investor protections, Tenev argued. "The world is tokenizing, and the United States should not get left behind," Tenev wrote. "It’s time to update our conversation about crypto from bitcoin and meme coins to what blockchain is really making possible: A new era of ultra-inclusive and customizable investing fit for this century." However, U.S. regulators, particularly the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), have yet to provide a clear framework and rules for registering security tokens, while other key markets such as the EU, Singapore and Abu Dhabi are already advancing in this area, he said. He proposed creating a security token registration framework as an alternative to IPOs, providing clear guidelines for exchanges and broker-dealers to support tokenized assets and updating accredited investor rules to allow access based on financial knowledge instead of wealth. Tokenization is a booming sector at the intersection of crypto and traditional finance that could become a multitrillion-dollar market this decade, per forecasts by McKinsey , BCG , 21Shares and Bernstein . Institutions and even governments are increasingly exploring placing real-world assets like bonds, funds and commodities and real estate on blockchain rails in a digital token form to achieve speedier settlements and broader investor accessibility. Tenev is the latest high-profile leader in the financial world touting tokenization and calling for clear rules for tokenized securities. Larry Fink, CEO of $10 trillion asset manager BlackRock, recently said that tokenization is the next frontier that will change markets, and urged the SEC in a CNBC interview to "rapidly approve" tokenization of stocks and bonds.

2025-01-29 20:33
Canary Capital's ETF Plans Took Shape Thanks to Trump
Canary Capital didn’t even exist when the spot bitcoin or even the spot ethe rexchange-traded funds launched last year. But the company quickly made a name for itself in the business. Founded only last October, Canary Capital has quickly pushed out several applications for crypto ETFs, including ones for Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), Litecoin (LTC) and Hedera (HBAR), with the latter two being the first ETF applications of their kind. From the outside, it seemed as though the firm had it all planned out perfectly. “We really had no idea that we would be getting back into the ETF game,“ said Steve McClurg, founder and CEO of Canary Capital. His name might sound familiar to some. McClurg co-founded and served as chief investment officer at Valkyrie Investments, an alternative asset manager which in March 2024 was acquired by CoinShares. After about six months at CoinShares, McClurg left the ETF provider to start Canary Capital as a hedge fund, an idea that he had been working on during his time at Valkyrie. “Essentially what happened was there was an assassination attempt on Trump, the markets rallied around it, politics rallied around it, and we started thinking, well, he could actually win,” McClurg recalled. “If he wins, then there'll be changes in regulatory agencies and it's probably likely that other crypto ETFs will get approved, so why don't we file some ETFs and see what happens.” Since the spot bitcoin and ethereum ETFs had already been launched and well-received by investors, Canary decided to pass on those assets. Instead, they looked further down the list of the top 20 tokens by market capitalization, specifically those that they believed weren’t securities, ultimately deciding to file for LTC, HBAR and XRP ETF. The XRP move was a speculation that the crypto would be deemed a non-security in court — which it was. None of Canary Capital’s applications have been approved yet by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Several Solana ETF filings had been denied — or not acknowledged by the SEC — under previous agency leadership in 2024. Following the Trump inauguration, though, Cboe BZX Exchange resubmitted 19b-4 documents for the SOL vehicles, hoping to get an approval under the new administration. The SEC is required to respond to the new submissions within the next 45 days or, if officially delayed, 240 days. Canary has also submitted a 19b-4 for its Litecoin ETF, which requires a response from the SEC on Feb. 29. Canary Capital has not yet filed 19b-4s for its XRP and HBAR ETFs. While an S-1 is considered a first-step to launch an ETF, it is not actionable if it isn’t followed by a 19b-4, which is required to inform the SEC of a proposed rule change by a self-regulatory entity, such as an exchange. McClurg described Canary’s efforts as a call option on Trump winning the presidency. “Oddly enough, it worked,” he said. As for the future, the firm doesn’t currently have plans to launch more ETFs, McClurg said, but doesn’t rule out that it could see potential in other tokens in the future.

2025-01-29 20:31
As Lutnick Faces U.S. Senate, Elizabeth Warren Scrutinizes His Tether Ties
Howard Lutnick, who is President Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of Commerce, is drawing scrutiny on his relationship with Tether from Senator Elizabeth Warren — the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee and one of Congress' most reliable critics of the digital asset sector. As CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, the Wall Street firm that acts as the U.S. banker for leading global stablecoin issuer Tether, the Massachusetts Democrat said Lutnick backed a crypto operation with "clear ties to criminal activity." "You played a critical role in the rise of Tether, a shadowy crypto firm with profits exceeding $7.7 billion in 2024," Warren wrote in a letter to Lutnick , who is making his case Wednesday to the Senate Commerce Committee that's considering his confirmation to Trump's cabinet. As Tether's U.S. Treasuries dealer and the main custodian of its Treasury reserves, she suggested Lutnick's firm shares responsibility for illicit abuse of its stablecoin ( USDT ) by criminals and terrorists. She also contended that Cantor Fitzgerald owns part of Tether, though Lutnick testified on Wednesday that the firm has a convertible bond but not a direct equity stake. "The use of Tether’s stablecoin has been the subject of over 150 investigations across four continents, including here with the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury," Warren wrote to Lutnick, who led Trump's transition team as he returned to the White House. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has sought to defend his company's reputation and said of the political rise of Lutnick, "We don't expect any political favors by anyone." Lutnick said in the confirmation hearing that he supports greater U.S. auditing demands on stablecoin issuers. Read More: Howard Lutnick: Tether’s Big Backer

2025-01-29 19:47

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