What happened in crypto this week

General

It’s
been
busy
in
the
crypto
market
this
week:
Singapore
blocks
Polymarket,
Tether
is
to
relocate
to
El
Salvador,
a
judge
orders
the
SEC
to
explain
lack
of
crypto
regulations,
BitMEX
is
hit
with
an
additional
penalty,
Oklahoma
is
to
introduce
a
Bitcoin
strategic
reserve,
Nasdaq
files
for
a
Canary
Litecoin
ETF,
and
Trump
will
prioitize
crypto
with
an
executive
order.

Singapore
blocks
Polymarket

Singapore’s
gambling
regulator

blocked
prediction
marketplace
Polymarket,
defining
it
as
an
“illegal
gambling
site.”

Singapore’s
Gaming
Regulatory
Authority
(GRA)
issued
a
warning
to
users
that
Singapore
Pools
is
the
only
licensed
gambling
operator
in
the
country
and
that

Polymarket
is
considered
illegal,
adding:

“Under
Section
20
of
the
Gambling
Control
Act
2022,
a
person
convicted
of
gambling
with
unlicensed
gambling
service
providers
is
liable
for
a
fine
of
up
to
$10,000,
or
a
jail
term
of
up
to
six
months,
or
both.”

This
was
the
latest
action
taken
against
Polymarket.
In
August,
Polymarket
was
scrutinised
as
US
lawmakers

intensified
efforts
to
ban
gambling
in
American
elections.

In
November,
Polymarket
faced
regulatory
action
in
France
after
an
anonymous
trader
netted
nearly
$50
million
wagering
on

Donald
Trump’s
victory
in
the
US
presidential
election.
French
authorities,
particularly
the
Autorité
Nationale
des
Jeux
(ANJ),

blocked
the
platform
after
breaching
local
gambling
laws.

Also
in
November,

the
FBI
seized
Polymarket’s
CEO
Shane
Coplan’s
phone
and
electronics
after
raiding
his
home.

Tether
is
to
relocate
to
El
Salvador

Tether
is
set
to

establish
its
headquarters
in
El
Salvador.

The
USDT
issuer
published
a

blog
post
earlier
this
week
highlighting
its
intentions.

The
relocation
of

Tether
follows
the
acquisition
of
a
Digital
Asset
Service
Provider
(DASP)
registration
in
the
crypto-friendly
country.

In
a
post
on

X,
Paolo
Ardoino,
CEO
of
Tether,
said
the
company
was
“very
excited,”
adding
that
“El
Salvador
is
the
beacon
of
freedom
and
@nayibbukele
is
an
inspiring
leader
driving
the
country
with
love,
passion
and
intelligence.”

Judge
orders
the
SEC
to
explain
lack
of
crypto
regulations

The
US
Court
of
Appeals
for
the
Third
Circuit
has

ordered
that
the
US
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC)
explain
itself
for
refusing
to
set
clear
crypto
regulations
when
Coinbase
requested
them.

According
to
one
of
the
judges,
“Rather
than
force
the
agency
to
make
a
rule,
we
order
it
to
explain
its
decision
not
to.”
Another
cautioned
the

SEC
against
rendering
a
poor
explanation
like
it
has
been
doing.

The
SEC’s
case
against

Coinbase
began
in
March
2023
when
it

issued
the
exchange
with
a
Wells
Notice
for
violating
securities
regulation
through
its
staking
services
and
asset
listings.

Coinbase
responded
with
confidence
in
the
legality
of
its
operations
and
attempted
to
engage
with
the
regulator
to
clarify
the
basis
of
its
Wells
Notice
and
set
clear
regulations.

The
SEC,
however,
maintained
that
current
securities
regulations
were
sufficient
to
regulate
crypto
and
filed
a
lawsuit
in
June
2023.

In
recent
developments,

Coinbase
was
granted
an
interlocutory
appeal,
temporarily
pausing
its
ongoing
court
case
against
the
SEC.
It
means
Coinbase
can
proceed
to
the
Second
Circuit
Court
of
Appeals
to
receive
guidance
and
to
determine
if
the
SEC’s
complaints
against
it
are
valid.

BitMEX
is
hit
with
an
additional
penalty

BitMEX’s
operator,
HDR
Global
Trading
Limited,
has
been

ordered
to
pay
a
$100
million
fine
following
BitMEX’s
guilty
plea
in
2022
for
violating
the
US
Bank
Secrecy
Act.

Judge
John
Koeltl
of
the
US
District
Court
for
the
Southern
District
of
New
York
also
handed
down
a
sentence
on
January
15,
2025,
that
included
two
years
of
unsupervised
probation
for
the
exchange.

The
charges
stem
from

BitMEX’s
operation
without
a
meaningful
Anti-Money
Laundering
(AML)
program.

In
2020,
the
CFTC

charged
BitMEX
owners
with
illegally
operating
a
cryptocurrency
derivatives
trading
platform
and
AML
violations.
BitMEX

introduced
AML
checks
on
the
platform
and
pleaded
guilty
to
the
charges
in
2022.

However,
in
early
2023,

BitMEX
was
hit
with
a
new
lawsuit
filed
by
BMA
LLC,
claiming
that
BitMEX
had
been
illegally
offering
services
to
users
in
the
US
through
ABS
Global.
This
is
controlled
and
operated
by
HDR,
despite
being
unregistered
as
a
money-transmitting
company.

In
a
statement
to
its
users
after
the
court
issued
the
sentence,
BitMEX

expressed
disappointment
over
the
additional
financial
penalty.

Oklahoma
is
to
introduce
a
Bitcoin
strategic
reserve


Oklahoma
has
become
the
latest
US
state
to
propose
a
Bitcoin
strategic
reserve.
Earlier
this
week,
Representative
Cody
Maynard
proposed
the
introduction
of
the
Strategic
Bitcoin
Reserve
Act.

Speaking
about
this,
Maynard

said:
“Bitcoin
represents
freedom
from
bureaucrats
printing
away
our
purchasing
power.
As
a
decentralized
form
of
money,
Bitcoin
cannot
be
manipulated
or
created
by
government
entities.
It
is
the
ultimate
store
of
value
for
those
who
believe
in
financial
freedom
and
sound
money
principles.”

This
would
make
Oklahoma
the
sixth
US
state
with
a
Bitcoin
reserve.
The
announcement
follows
similar
plans
in
New
Hampshire,
North
Dakota,
Ohio,
Pennsylvania,
and
Texas.

Maynard
added:
“This
bill
is
about
protecting
the
hard-earned
money
of
Oklahoma’s
citizens.
By
diversifying
our
state’s
savings
and
pension
funds
into
digital
assets,
we
are
not
only
securing
a
stronger
financial
future
for
our
state
but
also
demonstrating
Oklahoma’s
leadership
in
adopting
innovative
fiscal
policies.”

Nasdaq
files
for
a
Canary
Litecoin
ETF

Nasdaq
has

filed
a
19b-4
form
for
the

proposed
‘Canary
Litecoin
ETF,’
with
the
US
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC).
By
doing
so,
it
signals
the
start
of
the
review
process.

The
19b-4
form
outlines
that
US
Bancorp
Fund
Services,
LLC
will
act
as
the
administrator
for
the
ETF,
with
US
Bank
N.A.
tasked
with
managing
the
fund’s
cash
assets.
The
custody
of
the
actual
Litecoin
for
the
ETF
will
be
handled
by
Coinbase
Custody
Trust
Company
LLC.

This
is
the
latest
filing
and
is
part
of
a
broader
trend
among
companies
pushing
for
various
spot
crypto
ETFs.
In
January
2024,
the

SEC
approved
the
first
spot
Bitcoin
ETFs,
paving
the
way
for
other
crypto-related
products.

With
a
new
incoming
US
administration,
many
in
the
crypto
industry
believe
Trump
will
be
more
favorable
toward
crypto
regulations.

Bloomberg
Senior
ETF
analyst
Eric
Balchunas
expressed
optimism
about
the
Litecoin
ETF’s
prospects.
He

stated
on
X
that
feedback
from
the
SEC
bodes
well
for
approval
and
that
“Litecoin
is
most
likely
to
be
the
next
coin
approved.”

Trump
will
prioritize
crypto
with
an
executive
order

US
President-elect

Donald
Trump
is
reportedly
planning
to
sign
an

executive
order
designed
to
prioritize
crypto
as
his
inauguration
day
approaches.

The
order
enables
industry
insiders
to
work
with
agency
regulators,
according
to
people
familiar
with
the
matter.
It
could
also
create
a
crypto
advisory
council.

An
earlier
report
from

The
Washington
Post
suggests
Trump
is
expected
to
sign
executive
orders
–
on
the
first
day
of
his
presidency
–
focusing
on
crypto
de-banking
and
the
repeal
of
crypto
accounting
policies
requiring
banks
holding
digital
assets
to
count
them
as
liabilities.

Trump,
who
will
be
inaugurated
on
January
20,
has
enjoyed
strong
support
from
the
crypto
industry.
During
his
campaign
trail,
he
promised
to
make
the
US
the
“crypto
capital”
of
the
world,
and
was
the
recipient
of
a

$2
million
Bitcoin
donation
from
Cameron
and
Tyler
Winklevoss
and
a

$1
million
Ethereum
donation
from
Jesse
Powell,
co-founder
of
Kraken.

Since

winning
the
US
election
in
November,
the
crypto
market
has
rallied
with
Bitcoin
hitting
a
new
all-time
high
of
over
$108,000.

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