Bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi recently announced its plans to liquidate the platform, citing regulatory developments as one factor influencing its decision. The company believed that selling the business to a new owner would not generate enough value for its creditors. Despite engaging with potential buyers since January, a sale may not provide meaningful financial return. The BlockFi Creditors Committee, however, claimed in a recent court filing that the company’s failure was due to poor management and not failed crypto companies FTX and Alameda Research.
In other legal news, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dismissed Coinbase’s lawsuit against the agency as “baseless.” The SEC stated that the digital asset industry already has rules and regulations in place, although Coinbase has argued otherwise. Berenberg Capital Markets’ Mark Palmer estimated that at least 37% of Coinbase’s first-quarter net revenue came from non-Bitcoin related streams. As a result, these revenue sources are likely to be targeted by the SEC as part of an upcoming enforcement action.
Justin Sun, CEO of Tron (TRX) and Huobi stakeholder, accused Li Wei, the brother of Huobi founder Li Lin, of receiving millions of HT tokens for free during the initial distribution. Sun claims Li Wei has been consistently selling the tokens and cashing out, with negotiation for a refund and destruction of his remaining tokens currently underway.
In regulatory news, the European Union recently passed the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) legislation, which was unanimously approved in a voting process by all 27 Finance ministers representing EU member states. This groundbreaking action will shape the future of the European cryptocurrency industry.
Meanwhile, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in China, bordering Vietnam, will implement nine nationwide functions for China’s digital yuan and pilot eight locally unique scenarios. These include using the digital currency at the annual China-Asean Expo in September and for business dealings within the region’s free-trade zones and border trade.
Lastly, Asymmetry Finance, a liquid staking derivatives (LSD) protocol, announced a $3 million seed round alongside the official launch of its platform. The firm plans to use these funds for the development of its liquid staking protocol, talent acquisition, and onboarding decentralized finance (DeFi) enthusiasts and institutions.
In summary, legal and regulatory developments continue to shape the crypto industry’s future, even though some parties claim their impact is exaggerated. As businesses like BlockFi liquidate and others secure funding, it is clear that the regulatory landscape will remain a point of discussion while the sector evolves.
Source: Cryptonews
