SEC Chair Gary Gensler has commented on the recent ruling in the agency’s case against Ripple, stating that the SEC is still assessing the opinion. While Gensler declined to provide further details, he mentioned that the commission is pleased with the court’s decision regarding XRP’s status as a security when sold to institutional investors. However, the ruling for retail investors and other XRP distributions was disappointing to the SEC. The agency’s comments in a July 21 lawsuit hinted at a possible appeal, but some in the crypto community believe this is unlikely to happen due to the SEC benefiting from the current confusion.
In a bipartisan move, a bill was introduced in the US Senate to tighten regulations and sanctions requirements for decentralized finance (DeFi). The bill aims to subject DeFi operations to the same requirements as other financial companies, including crypto trading platforms, casinos, and pawn shops. It also holds anyone who controls a DeFi project liable for its use by sanctioned individuals. Additionally, the bill imposes new requirements on operators of crypto ATMs to prevent money laundering by mandating identity verification for both parties in a transaction.
Bitcoin’s dominance in the market increased during the second quarter of the year while altcoins experienced losses, according to a report by CoinGecko. Bitcoin and Ether continued to gain market share, while Binance Coin, XRP, and Cardano suffered double-digit losses. DeFi tokens, such as Uniswap, Chainlink, and Lido, also faced significant losses. The top five metaverse and play-to-earn tokens by market cap recorded losses of up to 40%.
Several applications for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) have been published in the Federal Register, moving them one step closer to SEC approval. Applications from BlackRock, Fidelity, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, and WisdomTree have been officially registered, giving the SEC the option to accept or reject the requests or extend the process for public comment. While the SEC has an initial 45-day window to reach a decision, it can extend the process for up to 240 days for final approval or denial.
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pledged to back the US dollar with Bitcoin if he is elected. Kennedy believes that backing the dollar with hard currency, including gold, silver, platinum, or Bitcoin, could help stabilize the American economy. He also plans to make Bitcoin-to-dollar conversions exempt from capital gains taxes to encourage investments in the country.
In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin is currently valued at $29,883, Ether at $1,894, and XRP at $0.78. The total market cap is $1.2 trillion. The top three altcoin gainers of the week are Maker, XDC Network, and Stellar, while the top three losers are Rocket Pool, GMX, and Lido DAO.
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