Many anticipated that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) move to sue the world’s largest exchange, Binance, and its boss Changpeng Zhao, would have caused the crypto market to tank.
Instead, Bitcoin and Ethereum dropped briefly before recovering to trade at $28,120 and $1,821, respectively, as of this writing. BTC is up 3%, while ETH surged 4% over the past seven days.
Most top thirty coins recorded similar gains, but two surged massively: Stellar rose 22.1% to $0.11, while XRP increased by 20.4% to $0.53.
The CFTC accused Binance of offering unlicensed derivatives trading to its American clients. Other allegations mentioned in the agency’s lawsuit included inadequate anti-money laundering procedures and ineffective Know-your-customer controls. The CFTC has also accused Zhao of trading against Binance customers.
Coin Politics
On Wednesday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, where he claimed that clear rules already are in place, blaming crypto players for being non-compliant. He added that there was no chance for the agency to make the rules clearer.
Gensler also reiterated his belief that almost all existing cryptocurrencies are unregistered securities. He explained that any developer selling their tokens to the public to raise money should consider those tokens securities.
No Easy Way Out for Texas-Based Bitcoin Miners
On that day, the state of Texas submitted a Senate Bill intended to shield the state’s grid in times of peak electricity loads. The proposal means that mining activities in that region may soon lose the incentives that have caused the state to be appealing to miners for years.
In addition, the bill blocks Bitcoin miners from being involved in a state-organized demand response program, which encourages miners to give power back to the grid during peak times in exchange for rewards.
Further, the bill will restrict virtual crypto mining from tax reductions.
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the Bank of England’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) head Katie Fortune claimed on Thursday that CBDCs could bridge crypto and Traditional finance.
CBDCs are digital assets pegged to state currencies and are issued by central banks.
