SEC Concludes Ether Status Inquiry; Iran Initiates Digital Currency Pilot; Uphold and Italy Align with MiCA
Summary:
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has concluded its investigation into whether Ether is a security. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has launched a national digital currency pilot focused on domestic micropayments. In Europe, cryptocurrency exchange Uphold is delisting six stablecoins to comply with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), and Italy plans to increase surveillance of crypto markets to prevent insider trading and market manipulation in compliance with the MiCA regulation.
Claims suggesting that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may classify Ether as a security appear to be less robust than initially anticipated. The SEC completed their inquiry into Ether's status as a security on June 19. Laura Brookover, a lawyer at Consensys, expressed her belief that the SEC will concede that Ether is not a security, in response to the demand to suspend the subpoenas on Consensys following adjustments in their ETH rule for exchange-traded fund (ETF). Despite these claims, the SEC has yet to confirm Ether as a commodity as opposed to a security, and consistently refrains from commenting on potential investigations.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has launched a public pilot for a national digital currency, focusing on domestic micropayments. As part of the pilot, the digital currency referred to as the digital rial will be offered to bank customers and visitors on the island of Kish, operating one of Iran's free trade zones welcoming approximately 12 million visitors annually. The digital rial is designed for easy use via barcode scanning with specific software.
On the other hand, Uphold, a cryptocurrency exchange, announced to European users the removal of six stablecoins starting July 1 to comply with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). The stablecoins, including Tether and Frax Protocol, Fuse Dollar, among others, must be converted to another cryptocurrency before June 28, post which the platform will transfer them into USD Coin.
Lastly, Italy plans to enhance surveillance of crypto markets in line with the MiCA regulation. It aims to deter and penalize insider trading and market manipulation. Depending on the severity of the infringement, regulatory fines could range from €5,000 to €5 million. Entities using blockchain are forced to make difficult decisions regarding compliance, while decentralized finance mechanisms ponder over total decentralization or adhering to Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer regulations implied by the framework.
Published At
6/24/2024 10:02:00 PM
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