Cryptocurrency regulation reached a new milestone last week, after The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will force large crypto companies operating in the North country to end issuance and reward systems in crypto assetsa measure that demonstrates its willingness to intervene in these markets and that could define the future of the industry.
The step to the action of the regulatory authorities occurs in the midst of the fear that the United States Treasury has for the calls “stablecoins” (stable coins), cryptocurrencies linked mostly to the value of the dollar, and whose market capitalization exceeds US$ 120,000 million.
The ease with which these assets can leave the crypto market and enter the traditional financial system creates a source of weakness about which, currently, neither the Federal Reserve (FED) nor other organizations can do anything.
Added to this is the public notoriety that the collapse of multiple crypto scam schemes for multi-million dollar figures took, such as the cases of FTX, Terra/Luna and other loan funds, which, given the fall in crypto asset prices in 2022, they declared bankruptcy and left millions of creditors around the world.
The Kraken Case
Hence, the president of the SEC, Gary Gensler, decided to go out to the crossroads of giants of the crypto industry, such as the exchange platforms Binance and Kraken -numbers 1 and 3 in volume of operations, according to Coinmarketcap-, to which forced to stop offering key services in its internal operation.
Kraken had to end its cryptocurrency “staking” program – a kind of crypto fixed term, which offered returns on that same asset in exchange for the immobilized deposit – and pay US $ 30 million to resolve an investigation by the SEC.
The agency accused the company of not having registered this yield program (staking), for which it granted returns of up to 21% in cryptocurrencies.and not having adequate protections for those investors.
“Whether through betting as services, loans or other means, crypto brokers, when offering investment contracts in exchange for investor tokens, must provide the proper disclosures and guarantees required by our securities laws,” Gensler said in a statement. release.
“Staking as a service providers must register and provide full, fair and truthful disclosure and investor protection,” the executive added.
Also days ago The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) ordered the Paxos company to stop issuing the BUSD token, the dollar stablecoin that BInance markets, but issued by its North American partner.
This came after it was reported that the SEC intended to sue Paxos for selling BUSD as an “unregistered security.”
The decision had a major impact on the company: it experienced a net outflow of $1.9bn in assets, according to Nansen data estimates, while BUSD holders “burned” some $3bn of tokens in the last week, which which involved the cryptocurrency losing almost 20% of its market capitalization.
Crypto leaders reacted strongly to decisions to regulate marketsas they interpreted that it could be another setback for the industry after several high-profile actors went under in 2022.
“The SEC continues its attack on US crypto companies and retail investors, regulating through enforcement and undermining the potential of public blockchain networks in the US,” Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, said in a statement. .
“It’s another example of why we need Congress, not regulators, to determine the appropriate legislation for this new technology,” Smith added.
Prices
However, unlike similar decisions in the past, which rocked the price of Bitcoin and other crypto assets, In recent days, the market has sustained the strong recovery that it has brought since the beginning of the year.
The price of the world’s main cryptocurrency rose almost 14% in the last week – to reach US$ 25,300, its best mark since June 2022 – and accumulates an advance of almost 50% since the beginning of the year, when Bitcoin it was trading around $16,500 a unit.
Analyst speculation is that, after having suffered a collapse of almost 80% between November 2021 and November 2022, the crypto market could have found a floor, in which long-term holders are not willing to sell and there is greater demand for these assets.
In Argentina, 17% of adults have ever bought cryptocurrencies as a form of savings or investmentcompared to 12% a year ago, according to a report by Americas Market Intelligence (AMI).
At the beginning of December, the Argentine Government established the creation of the National Blockchain Committee, whose objective is to determine the implementation of this technology in different areas of the State, such as: identity management, notarization, health, open government and transparency. ; immutable content and posts; and smart cities.
