• Rep. Maxine Waters is critical of PayPal’s stablecoin and demands regulation that is on par with financial institutions.
• Jury trial in SEC v. Ripple Labs to be set for Q2 2024.
• Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 chain Base is now live to the public.
Rep. Maxine Waters Criticizes PayPal’s Stablecoin
Congresswoman Maxine Waters has expressed her disapproval of PayPal’s move into the cryptocurrency space, citing the need for increased regulation in order to protect consumers from potential risks posed by digital assets. She has called for regulation that would put these instruments on par with traditional financial institutions, such as banks and brokerages.
Jury Trial in SEC v. Ripple Labs Set for Q2 2024
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case against Ripple Labs will go before a jury trial in the second quarter of 2024, according to a ruling from U.S District Judge Sarah Netburn on August 13th, 2023. The SEC has alleged that Ripple Labs engaged in the sale of unregistered securities when it sold XRP tokens through its platform from 2013–2018, an accusation which Ripple Labs continues to deny.
Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer-2 Chain Base Live to Public
Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution known as “Base” is now available to the public after months of testing and development by its engineers and developers. The project aims to reduce gas costs associated with transactions on Ethereum while simultaneously increasing scalability by offloading some processing onto other networks or chains outside of Ethereum itself.
Federal Reserve Requires Banks Get Non-Objection Before Engaging With Stablecoins
The Federal Reserve Board announced that state banks must receive written non-objection from their respective central bank before engaging with any stablecoins or other forms of virtual currency payment systems, indicating a shift towards tighter regulations surrounding digital assets at a federal level within the United States banking system.
Bitstamp Halts U.S Trading Of Tokens Identified As Securities By SEC
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp announced it will halt trading services for seven tokens identified as securities by the SEC within two separate cases involving Coinbase and Binance US exchanges earlier this year, due to lack of clarity around regulations governing these particular digital assets in the United States market.