Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 days ago
Some pro-crypto Senate Democrats have reportedly blown up at the crypto executives in these meetings, urging them: “Don’t be an arm of the Republican Party — they used you and your megaphones to fuck us.”15 This was likely in response to the recent leak by Senate Republicans of a Democratic draft proposal to regulate decentralized finance, which sparked dramatic backlash from crypto industry figures who fear it would effectively outlaw defi. Paradigm lobbyist Alexander Grieve bashed the proposal as “worse than anything Gensler cooked up”,16 and industry advocate Jake Chervinsky described it as “basically a crypto ban”.17 Other Democrats have expressed annoyance at Republicans for pushing them to agree to a markup date without having had much time to negotiate the draft. “Democrats have shown up ready to work but our Republican counterparts are crashing out,” said a staffer for Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego. “Their demand to set a markup date before text is agreed to is like setting a wedding date before the first date. It’s nonsensical.”18 But the Republicans are feeling the time crunch. A source familiar with the meetings, speaking to Decrypt, said, “[T]he Republicans are like: ‘If we don't move this in November, we don't get it done by the end of the year, then the whole thing derails.’”19
Some pro-crypto Senate Democrats have reportedly blown up at the crypto executives in these meetings, urging them: “Don’t be an arm of the Republican Party — they used you and your megaphones to fuck us.”15 This was likely in response to the recent leak by Senate Republicans of a Democratic draft proposal to regulate decentralized finance, which sparked dramatic backlash from crypto industry figures who fear it would effectively outlaw defi. Paradigm lobbyist Alexander Grieve bashed the proposal as “worse than anything Gensler cooked up”,16 and industry advocate Jake Chervinsky described it as “basically a crypto ban”.17 Other Democrats have expressed annoyance at Republicans for pushing them to agree to a markup date without having had much time to negotiate the draft. “Democrats have shown up ready to work but our Republican counterparts are crashing out,” said a staffer for Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego. “Their demand to set a markup date before text is agreed to is like setting a wedding date before the first date. It’s nonsensical.”18 But the Republicans are feeling the time crunch. A source familiar with the meetings, speaking to Decrypt, said, “[T]he Republicans are like: ‘If we don't move this in November, we don't get it done by the end of the year, then the whole thing derails.’”19
Some pro-crypto Senate Democrats have reportedly blown up at the crypto executives in these meetings, urging them: “Don’t be an arm of the Republican Party — they used you and your megaphones to fuck us.”15 This was likely in response to the recent leak by Senate Republicans of a Democratic draft proposal to regulate decentralized finance, which sparked dramatic backlash from crypto industry figures who fear it would effectively outlaw defi. Paradigm lobbyist Alexander Grieve bashed the proposal as “worse than anything Gensler cooked up”,16 and industry advocate Jake Chervinsky described it as “basically a crypto ban”.17 Other Democrats have expressed annoyance at Republicans for pushing them to agree to a markup date without having had much time to negotiate the draft. “Democrats have shown up ready to work but our Republican counterparts are crashing out,” said a staffer for Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego. “Their demand to set a markup date before text is agreed to is like setting a wedding date before the first date. It’s nonsensical.”18 But the Republicans are feeling the time crunch. A source familiar with the meetings, speaking to Decrypt, said, “[T]he Republicans are like: ‘If we don't move this in November, we don't get it done by the end of the year, then the whole thing derails.’”19
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 days ago
Some pro-crypto Senate Democrats have reportedly blown up at the crypto executives in these meetings, urging them: “Don’t be an arm of the Republican Party — they used you and your megaphones to fuck us.”15 This was likely in response to the recent leak by Senate Republicans of a Democratic draft proposal to regulate decentralized finance, which sparked dramatic backlash from crypto industry figures who fear it would effectively outlaw defi. Paradigm lobbyist Alexander Grieve bashed the proposal as “worse than anything Gensler cooked up”,16 and industry advocate Jake Chervinsky described it as “basically a crypto ban”.17 Other Democrats have expressed annoyance at Republicans for pushing them to agree to a markup date without having had much time to negotiate the draft. “Democrats have shown up ready to work but our Republican counterparts are crashing out,” said a staffer for Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego. “Their demand to set a markup date before text is agreed to is like setting a wedding date before the first date. It’s nonsensical.”18 But the Republicans are feeling the time crunch. A source familiar with the meetings, speaking to Decrypt, said, “[T]he Republicans are like: ‘If we don't move this in November, we don't get it done by the end of the year, then the whole thing derails.’”19
Some pro-crypto Senate Democrats have reportedly blown up at the crypto executives in these meetings, urging them: “Don’t be an arm of the Republican Party — they used you and your megaphones to fuck us.”15 This was likely in response to the recent leak by Senate Republicans of a Democratic draft proposal to regulate decentralized finance, which sparked dramatic backlash from crypto industry figures who fear it would effectively outlaw defi. Paradigm lobbyist Alexander Grieve bashed the proposal as “worse than anything Gensler cooked up”,16 and industry advocate Jake Chervinsky described it as “basically a crypto ban”.17 Other Democrats have expressed annoyance at Republicans for pushing them to agree to a markup date without having had much time to negotiate the draft. “Democrats have shown up ready to work but our Republican counterparts are crashing out,” said a staffer for Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego. “Their demand to set a markup date before text is agreed to is like setting a wedding date before the first date. It’s nonsensical.”18 But the Republicans are feeling the time crunch. A source familiar with the meetings, speaking to Decrypt, said, “[T]he Republicans are like: ‘If we don't move this in November, we don't get it done by the end of the year, then the whole thing derails.’”19
Some pro-crypto Senate Democrats have reportedly blown up at the crypto executives in these meetings, urging them: “Don’t be an arm of the Republican Party — they used you and your megaphones to fuck us.”15 This was likely in response to the recent leak by Senate Republicans of a Democratic draft proposal to regulate decentralized finance, which sparked dramatic backlash from crypto industry figures who fear it would effectively outlaw defi. Paradigm lobbyist Alexander Grieve bashed the proposal as “worse than anything Gensler cooked up”,16 and industry advocate Jake Chervinsky described it as “basically a crypto ban”.17 Other Democrats have expressed annoyance at Republicans for pushing them to agree to a markup date without having had much time to negotiate the draft. “Democrats have shown up ready to work but our Republican counterparts are crashing out,” said a staffer for Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego. “Their demand to set a markup date before text is agreed to is like setting a wedding date before the first date. It’s nonsensical.”18 But the Republicans are feeling the time crunch. A source familiar with the meetings, speaking to Decrypt, said, “[T]he Republicans are like: ‘If we don't move this in November, we don't get it done by the end of the year, then the whole thing derails.’”19
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 days ago
The Trump administration is also working to push the Federal Reserve in a more pro-crypto direction, interviewing various candidates for a shortlist of nominees for the central bank’s board of governors and, eventually, chair.24 Among them is Michelle Bowman, who’s criticized bank regulators of being “overly cautious” and recommended loosening restrictions on Fed staff investments to allow them to own crypto.25 Another candidate for the list of possible nominees is Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett, who served on Coinbase’s Academic and Regulatory Advisory Council and has disclosed holding $1 million–$5 million in Coinbase stock.26 Current Fed Governor Christopher Waller might also be a candidate for eventual chair. He’s recently made headlines for proposing issuing crypto firms “skinny” versions of master accounts, which grant financial institutions direct access to the Federal Reserve payment rails. The Fed has typically been hesitant to issue master accounts to crypto firms due to high risk, but Waller has urged the central bank to “embrace the disruption, don’t avoid it.”27
The Trump administration is also working to push the Federal Reserve in a more pro-crypto direction, interviewing various candidates for a shortlist of nominees for the central bank’s board of governors and, eventually, chair.24 Among them is Michelle Bowman, who’s criticized bank regulators of being “overly cautious” and recommended loosening restrictions on Fed staff investments to allow them to own crypto.25 Another candidate for the list of possible nominees is Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett, who served on Coinbase’s Academic and Regulatory Advisory Council and has disclosed holding $1 million–$5 million in Coinbase stock.26 Current Fed Governor Christopher Waller might also be a candidate for eventual chair. He’s recently made headlines for proposing issuing crypto firms “skinny” versions of master accounts, which grant financial institutions direct access to the Federal Reserve payment rails. The Fed has typically been hesitant to issue master accounts to crypto firms due to high risk, but Waller has urged the central bank to “embrace the disruption, don’t avoid it.”27
The Trump administration is also working to push the Federal Reserve in a more pro-crypto direction, interviewing various candidates for a shortlist of nominees for the central bank’s board of governors and, eventually, chair.24 Among them is Michelle Bowman, who’s criticized bank regulators of being “overly cautious” and recommended loosening restrictions on Fed staff investments to allow them to own crypto.25 Another candidate for the list of possible nominees is Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett, who served on Coinbase’s Academic and Regulatory Advisory Council and has disclosed holding $1 million–$5 million in Coinbase stock.26 Current Fed Governor Christopher Waller might also be a candidate for eventual chair. He’s recently made headlines for proposing issuing crypto firms “skinny” versions of master accounts, which grant financial institutions direct access to the Federal Reserve payment rails. The Fed has typically been hesitant to issue master accounts to crypto firms due to high risk, but Waller has urged the central bank to “embrace the disruption, don’t avoid it.”27
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 days ago
Meanwhile, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is sifting through a growing pile of applications for national trust bank charters from cryptocurrency firms. Circle, Ripple, BitGo, and Erebor applied for theirs earlier this year [I88], and Paxos followed not long after. This month, Coinbase, Stripe’s recently acquired stablecoin firm Bridge, and Crypto.com have all added their applications to the stack. Erebor’s is the first application of the lot to be granted preliminary approval. As I wrote in July: Another bank called Erebor, which as you might guess by the Lord of the Rings name is backed by Peter Thiel, Joe Lonsdale, and Palmer Luckey, has also applied for a bank charter. According to the Financial Times, the new bank will aim to “fill the gap left by Silicon Valley Bank” — the tech startup-focused bank that failed in March 2023. Around 85% of Silicon Valley Bank’s deposits, mostly belonging to venture capitalists and venture-backed tech companies, were uninsured; the FDIC nevertheless covered those uninsured depositors and spent $20 billion on the whole boondoggle. As is so often the case with “tech visionaries”, yesterday’s warning lesson is tomorrow’s blueprint. A statement by Comptroller Jonathan Gould suggests that the approval was at least partially motivated by a desire to cast off accusations from the crypto industry that government agencies had targeted it for “debanking”. In a statement, Gould announced that the approval “is also proof that the OCC u
Meanwhile, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is sifting through a growing pile of applications for national trust bank charters from cryptocurrency firms. Circle, Ripple, BitGo, and Erebor applied for theirs earlier this year [I88], and Paxos followed not long after. This month, Coinbase, Stripe’s recently acquired stablecoin firm Bridge, and Crypto.com have all added their applications to the stack. Erebor’s is the first application of the lot to be granted preliminary approval. As I wrote in July: Another bank called Erebor, which as you might guess by the Lord of the Rings name is backed by Peter Thiel, Joe Lonsdale, and Palmer Luckey, has also applied for a bank charter. According to the Financial Times, the new bank will aim to “fill the gap left by Silicon Valley Bank” — the tech startup-focused bank that failed in March 2023. Around 85% of Silicon Valley Bank’s deposits, mostly belonging to venture capitalists and venture-backed tech companies, were uninsured; the FDIC nevertheless covered those uninsured depositors and spent $20 billion on the whole boondoggle. As is so often the case with “tech visionaries”, yesterday’s warning lesson is tomorrow’s blueprint. A statement by Comptroller Jonathan Gould suggests that the approval was at least partially motivated by a desire to cast off accusations from the crypto industry that government agencies had targeted it for “debanking”. In a statement, Gould announced that the approval “is also proof that the OCC u
Meanwhile, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is sifting through a growing pile of applications for national trust bank charters from cryptocurrency firms. Circle, Ripple, BitGo, and Erebor applied for theirs earlier this year [I88], and Paxos followed not long after. This month, Coinbase, Stripe’s recently acquired stablecoin firm Bridge, and Crypto.com have all added their applications to the stack. Erebor’s is the first application of the lot to be granted preliminary approval. As I wrote in July: Another bank called Erebor, which as you might guess by the Lord of the Rings name is backed by Peter Thiel, Joe Lonsdale, and Palmer Luckey, has also applied for a bank charter. According to the Financial Times, the new bank will aim to “fill the gap left by Silicon Valley Bank” — the tech startup-focused bank that failed in March 2023. Around 85% of Silicon Valley Bank’s deposits, mostly belonging to venture capitalists and venture-backed tech companies, were uninsured; the FDIC nevertheless covered those uninsured depositors and spent $20 billion on the whole boondoggle. As is so often the case with “tech visionaries”, yesterday’s warning lesson is tomorrow’s blueprint. A statement by Comptroller Jonathan Gould suggests that the approval was at least partially motivated by a desire to cast off accusations from the crypto industry that government agencies had targeted it for “debanking”. In a statement, Gould announced that the approval “is also proof that the OCC u
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 days ago
In the states Nevada’s Financial Institutions Division (NFID) has issued a cease and desist order against Fortress Trust [W3IGG], a crypto custody company founded by Scott Purcell. Purcell had previously founded Prime Trust, which filed for bankruptcy in 2021 after raising tens of millions in seed funding, giving half of it to executives, and then promptly losing a hardware wallet storing customer funds [I31, 38]. The company’s bankruptcy filing came only after the firm was placed into receivership by NFID, which alleged they were insolvent and ordered them to halt operations. Now, NFID is ordering Fortress Trust to halt operations because — you guessed it — Fortress is “on the verge of insolvency”. NFID elaborates that Fortress has about $1.3 million in custodial assets, but they owe clients around $12.3 million; and have acknowledged that they “failed to safeguard assets under its custody and is unable to meet all customer withdrawals”. (I’m not quite sure why NFID describes this as merely “on the verge” of insolvency.)29 Fortress previously made it to this newsletter in September 2023 after suffering a $15 million theft. At the time, Fortress announced it would be acquired by Ripple, which had agreed to cover the losses; however, the deal fell through later that month [I39, W3IGG]. It’s not clear how — or if — Fortress ever plugged that hole. Fortress is a state-chartered trust company — the very same category of company that the SEC just greenlighted to serve as crypto
In the states Nevada’s Financial Institutions Division (NFID) has issued a cease and desist order against Fortress Trust [W3IGG], a crypto custody company founded by Scott Purcell. Purcell had previously founded Prime Trust, which filed for bankruptcy in 2021 after raising tens of millions in seed funding, giving half of it to executives, and then promptly losing a hardware wallet storing customer funds [I31, 38]. The company’s bankruptcy filing came only after the firm was placed into receivership by NFID, which alleged they were insolvent and ordered them to halt operations. Now, NFID is ordering Fortress Trust to halt operations because — you guessed it — Fortress is “on the verge of insolvency”. NFID elaborates that Fortress has about $1.3 million in custodial assets, but they owe clients around $12.3 million; and have acknowledged that they “failed to safeguard assets under its custody and is unable to meet all customer withdrawals”. (I’m not quite sure why NFID describes this as merely “on the verge” of insolvency.)29 Fortress previously made it to this newsletter in September 2023 after suffering a $15 million theft. At the time, Fortress announced it would be acquired by Ripple, which had agreed to cover the losses; however, the deal fell through later that month [I39, W3IGG]. It’s not clear how — or if — Fortress ever plugged that hole. Fortress is a state-chartered trust company — the very same category of company that the SEC just greenlighted to serve as crypto
In the states Nevada’s Financial Institutions Division (NFID) has issued a cease and desist order against Fortress Trust [W3IGG], a crypto custody company founded by Scott Purcell. Purcell had previously founded Prime Trust, which filed for bankruptcy in 2021 after raising tens of millions in seed funding, giving half of it to executives, and then promptly losing a hardware wallet storing customer funds [I31, 38]. The company’s bankruptcy filing came only after the firm was placed into receivership by NFID, which alleged they were insolvent and ordered them to halt operations. Now, NFID is ordering Fortress Trust to halt operations because — you guessed it — Fortress is “on the verge of insolvency”. NFID elaborates that Fortress has about $1.3 million in custodial assets, but they owe clients around $12.3 million; and have acknowledged that they “failed to safeguard assets under its custody and is unable to meet all customer withdrawals”. (I’m not quite sure why NFID describes this as merely “on the verge” of insolvency.)29 Fortress previously made it to this newsletter in September 2023 after suffering a $15 million theft. At the time, Fortress announced it would be acquired by Ripple, which had agreed to cover the losses; however, the deal fell through later that month [I39, W3IGG]. It’s not clear how — or if — Fortress ever plugged that hole. Fortress is a state-chartered trust company — the very same category of company that the SEC just greenlighted to serve as crypto
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 days ago
In elections and political influence Tens of millions of Americans are days away from losing lifesaving food, childcare, and utility support,30 and many are weighing the risk of going without health insurance next year as their premiums double (or more).31 In the middle of it, Trump has begun demolishing the East Wing of the White House to build a gold‑plated ballroom bankrolled by crypto industry and other benefactors — symbolism so blunt no novelist could get away with it. Heavy machinery dismantles the East Wing of the White House in October (CC BY-SA 4.0, Sizzlipedia) Among those funding the $300 million project are Coinbase, Ripple, Tether, and Gemini’s Winklevoss twins. The size of their contributions to this effort have not been published, but the contributions only add to the millions these groups have already poured into Trump super PACs, his inauguration fund, and other pet projects like the June military parade. Other donors funding the ballroom include tech megafirms like Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Palantir, as well as a motley crew ranging from weapons manufacturers to tobacco companies to sugar barons.32
In elections and political influence Tens of millions of Americans are days away from losing lifesaving food, childcare, and utility support,30 and many are weighing the risk of going without health insurance next year as their premiums double (or more).31 In the middle of it, Trump has begun demolishing the East Wing of the White House to build a gold‑plated ballroom bankrolled by crypto industry and other benefactors — symbolism so blunt no novelist could get away with it. Heavy machinery dismantles the East Wing of the White House in October (CC BY-SA 4.0, Sizzlipedia) Among those funding the $300 million project are Coinbase, Ripple, Tether, and Gemini’s Winklevoss twins. The size of their contributions to this effort have not been published, but the contributions only add to the millions these groups have already poured into Trump super PACs, his inauguration fund, and other pet projects like the June military parade. Other donors funding the ballroom include tech megafirms like Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Palantir, as well as a motley crew ranging from weapons manufacturers to tobacco companies to sugar barons.32
In elections and political influence Tens of millions of Americans are days away from losing lifesaving food, childcare, and utility support,30 and many are weighing the risk of going without health insurance next year as their premiums double (or more).31 In the middle of it, Trump has begun demolishing the East Wing of the White House to build a gold‑plated ballroom bankrolled by crypto industry and other benefactors — symbolism so blunt no novelist could get away with it. Heavy machinery dismantles the East Wing of the White House in October (CC BY-SA 4.0, Sizzlipedia) Among those funding the $300 million project are Coinbase, Ripple, Tether, and Gemini’s Winklevoss twins. The size of their contributions to this effort have not been published, but the contributions only add to the millions these groups have already poured into Trump super PACs, his inauguration fund, and other pet projects like the June military parade. Other donors funding the ballroom include tech megafirms like Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Palantir, as well as a motley crew ranging from weapons manufacturers to tobacco companies to sugar barons.32
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