• Rep. Maxine Waters has criticized PayPal’s stablecoin, demanding that it be regulated like a financial institution.
• The jury trial in SEC v. Ripple Labs will take place in the second quarter of 2024.
• Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 chain Base is now live to the public.
PayPal’s Stablecoin & Regulation
Rep. Maxine Waters has criticized PayPal’s stablecoin, demanding that it be regulated on par with financial institutions. This comes as a response to the recent surge of digital currency and cryptocurrency projects entering the mainstream market, which could have potential implications on traditional banking systems if left unregulated or unchecked.
SEC v. Ripple Labs
A jury trial between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs is set for Q2 2024 following a lawsuit filed by the SEC in December 2020 claiming that Ripple had sold unregistered securities through its XRP token sale from 2013-2020. The case is still ongoing with both sides submitting their arguments and motions ahead of the upcoming trial date.
Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer-2 Chain Base
Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 chain Base is now live to the public after being launched in beta earlier this year, allowing users to transfer funds quickly and without incurring high fees due to congested networks on Ethereum mainnet. Additionally, Coinbase Pro announced support for trading tokens built on Base such as WBTC and DAI alongside other ERC20 tokens available on its platform already.
Federal Reserve & Stablecoins
The Federal Reserve will now require state banks to get written ‘non-objection’ from central bank before engaging with any stablecoins or digital assets related activities such as custody services or offering blockchain products. This reflects a growing trend towards increased regulatory scrutiny towards digital assets within traditional banking circles given their disruptive potential against existing monetary systems if left unchecked or unregulated completely.
Bitstamp Halting US Trading
Bitstamp announced that it will halt U.S.-based trading of seven tokens identified as securities by the SEC in its cases against Coinbase and Binance earlier this year, showing an increased level of caution amongst exchanges when dealing with potential security liabilities issues involving digital assets trading within the U.S..