tl;dr
• Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, calls crypto "a complete sideshow" and "pet rocks"• Elizabeth Warren may not realize she is doing the bidding of Wall Street with her crypto bill• New National Defense Authorization Act requires the State Department to report on crypto payments to whistleblowers• Rep....
• Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, calls crypto "a complete sideshow" and "pet rocks"
• Elizabeth Warren may not realize she is doing the bidding of Wall Street with her crypto bill
• New National Defense Authorization Act requires the State Department to report on crypto payments to whistleblowers
• Rep. Madison Cawthorn “improperly marketed a crypto in which he held a financial stake in defiance of conflict of interest regulation”
• Silvergate Capital Corporation is still dealing with liquidity rumors
• Gemini promises to report twice weekly on the status of their Earn service on a new status page
• ConsenSys, the parent company of MetaMask, now says they will only hold the data collected for 7 days and never had intentions on selling the data. Sure!
There may not be anything new, but we are still dealing with the effects from the FTX collapse. Here is what is on my mind today.
1. Let's start with the interview Jamie Dimon gave yesterday where he once again thumbed his nose at cryptocurrencies, saying they are "a complete sideshow" and "pet rocks". He also stated the American banking system sound in a million ways. That last statement I believe, but that system is not meant to work for anyone other than a specific class of people. This is why cryptocurrencies exist, to help level the playing field a little bit. I also want to note Dimon has also said the regulators should focus on crypto and not big banks. Some of us just don't listen to the CEO of JPMorgan when he talks about certain things like crypto, but does the exact opposite of what he is spewing. Follow the money and what that money does!
2. Senator Elizabeth Warren is said to be working on a bill placing ultimate control over the crypto industry to the SEC. This seems to play right into the hands of Wall Street. While having the SEC focuses on the crypto space, Wall Street would be basically free to do whatever they want until they get told to stop. We all know what didn’t happen during the whole thing the last time this happened. Nothing! A few fines amounting to nothing.
3. Meanwhile, the State Department must inform the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate rewards it pays out in crypto to whistleblowers, according to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The lawmakers want to know if crypto will encourage more whistleblowers. Getting paid in crypto affords them an extra layer of protection. A CBDC would definitely NOT offer the same protection as crypto.
4. In more awesome US government news, representative Madison Cawthorn has violated congressional ethics according to a report published on yesterday. Apparently, he “improperly marketed a crypto in which he held a financial stake in defiance of conflict of interest regulation”, specifically the "Let's Go Bradon" Coin.
5. Silvergate Capital Corporation is still dealing with liquidity rumors continuing to swirl about Silvergate Bank. It was already noted they have exposure to BlockFi and FTX. They are pointing to a September 2022 report that says they had a total of $11.9B in digital assets deposited by customers with only 10% represented by FTX. Silvergate responded citing FUD being spread by short sellers.
6. Gemini, looking to stay above the FTX fray, created a page on their site so customers can track the goings on of their Earn program. More importantly, they are promising to update the page twice a week at a minimum. No company is perfect, but this is at least a step in the right direction.
7. ConsenSys, the parent company of MetaMask, fucked around and found out. They are rethinking their approach to privacy, saying they weren't going to sell customer information and are only holding data for 7 days.