Elon Musk’s X-linked AI modeler xAI has an agreement for the private sale of $865.3 million in unregistered equity securities, according to a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made on Dec. 5. xAI filed the SEC’s Form D to allow it to engage in the private sale of securities without
Regulation
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on whether to approve or disapprove of a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund, or ETF, offering from asset manager Grayscale. In a Dec. 5 notice, the SEC said it would designate a longer period on whether to approve or disapprove of a proposed rule
The New Jersey General Assembly may consider a bill that would decide when a digital asset or virtual currency is a security under state law. All virtual currencies issued and sold to institutional investors would be considered securities in the U.S. state of New Jersey under the bill introduced by Democratic Assemblyman Herb Conaway, Jr.
Representative Patrick McHenry, chair of the United States House Financial Services Committee and a proponent of many pieces of crypto-focused legislation, will be retiring from Congress. In a Dec. 5 statement, McHenry said he would not seek reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives and is expected to leave Congress in January 2025. He will
Lawyers representing the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requested the judge in its civil case against Terraform Labs and co-founder Do Kwon determine whether certain crypto assets are securities rather than a jury. In a Dec. 4 filing in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the SEC argued that
A bill defining crypto assets as securities and featuring the capital gains tax on them made it through the Parliamentary Committee. It will be introduced to the lower chamber of Parliament as a next step. As the Kenyan newspaper Business Daily reported on Dec. 4, the Capital Markets (Amendment) Bill, 2023, has been approved by
The Singaporean government released its updated national strategy for artificial intelligence (AI) 2.0 on Dec. 4, in which it outlined how it plans to embrace innovation and tackle the challenges coupled with the technology. Singapore structured its AI strategy into three distinct systems, consisting of ten “enablers,” which drive those systems and then 15 action
Taiwan’s principal financial regulator, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), is considering allowing crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the country, but only after analyzing the product’s development in other markets worldwide. At the moment, the FSC considers itself to be “in the exploratory phase.” According to a Dec. 5 report in the Taiwanese newspaper, the Commercial
Smart contract development firm Thirdweb reported a security vulnerability that potentially “impacts a variety of smart contracts across the Web3 ecosystem.” On Dec. 4, Thirdweb reported a vulnerability in a commonly used open-source library that could impact certain pre-built smart contracts, including some of its own. However, Thirdweb’s investigations concluded that the smart contract vulnerability has
The Criminal Investigation (CI) Unit of the United Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reported an increase in the number of investigations around digital asset reporting. In its annual report released on Dec. 4, the IRS investigative arm said it had initiated more than 2,676 cases in which it had identified more than $37 billion related to
Last week, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) presented an unpleasant Christmas surprise to hodlers in the United Kingdom, demanding they declare any crypto holdings they failed to report in the last four, six or even 20 years. The tax authority also reminded taxpayers of the interest, charged daily from the date tax is due
The ‘Stand With Crypto’ campaign launched by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase plans to bring candidates for the 2024 United States Presidential Election together to discuss blockchain technology and digital assets. According to its website as of Dec. 4, Stand With Crypto confirmed that Republican candidates Asa Hutchinson and Vivek Ramaswamy, as well as Democratic candidate Dean
Two brothers, responsible for the theft of $8.5 million from decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Platypus, were allowed to walk free with no repercussions by a French court. On Feb. 16, hackers managed to drain and move $8.5 million from Platypus through a flash loan attack, forcing the protocol to suspend trading services until a resolution
Financial regulators in South Korea released an update on Dec. 4 asking users to report any unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges offering services to users in the region. The Digital Asset Exchange Association (DAXA) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of South Korea collaborated on the initiative. DAXA includes five of the major virtual asset exchanges operating
South Africa’s principal financial regulator, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), reviewed 128 applications from crypto service asset providers (CASPs) but intends to discuss only 36 during its next meeting in December. The numbers were published on Nov. 30 by the South African news outlet My Broadband. According to the publication, the FSCA plans to
The United States needs to formally investigate using proof-of-work networks such as Bitcoin (BTC) to protect the country from cyber-inflicted warfare, according to Jason Lowery, a member of the United States Space Force. In a four-page letter to the U.S. Defense Innovation Board on Dec. 2, Lowery explained that while Bitcoin is mostly seen as a “monetary
“As part of the settlement, CZ cannot be involved in the day-to-day running of the company’s operations,” Richard Teng explains. Despite that, the incumbent CEO of Binance cuts the figure of a man reveling in the challenges ahead. Speaking to Cointelegraph just two weeks after taking over from outgoing CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, Teng seems
Grayscale, a significant player in digital asset management, has expressed enthusiasm about the potential transformation of its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a Bitcoin ETF. This move could eliminate the current 8.09% discount of approximately $1.89 billion, aligning GBTC’s price more closely with the actual value of Bitcoin, offering significant benefits for investors. The company’s
Top Stories This Week Bitcoin ETF race gets 13th entrant, BlackRock revises ETF model Asset manager Pando Asset has become an unexpected late entrant into the spot Bitcoin ETF race in the United States. On Nov. 29, Pando submitted a Form S-1 — used to register securities with the agency — to the U.S. Securities
United States District Judge Robert Shelby has cautioned the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawyers, hinting at possible sanctions due to purportedly deceptive statements in a legal action against Digital Licensing Inc., also recognized as DEBT Box, a crypto company. Lodged in the federal court of Utah, the SEC’s legal action alleged that DEBT Box