Over the weekend, the cryptocurrency market experienced a stable trend with Bitcoin maintaining its position around $26,200 and $26,300, while altcoins continued to lag behind. Ether started the weekend with approximately $1,700 in value and remained at the same level. Some altcoins, such as Chainlink’s LINK, Cosmos’ ATOM, and NEAR Protocol’s NEAR, underperformed both bitcoin and ether, losing 3% within the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, U.S. markets were closed in observance of Juneteenth, leaving the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market inactive.
In regulatory developments, a federal judge approved a temporary agreement between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the global crypto exchange Binance, including its U.S. affiliate Binance.US. The agreement aims to ensure that only Binance.US employees can access customer funds during the ongoing SEC lawsuit. The short-term deal, reached late Friday, was signed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the District Court Columbia on Saturday. Both parties were also directed to propose timelines for the broader lawsuit.
According to the proposed agreement, Binance.US will take the necessary measures to ensure that no officials from Binance Holdings have access to private keys for customers’ wallets or hardware wallets, as well as root access to the Amazon Web Services tools used by Binance.US. The U.S.-based crypto trading platform is expected to share detailed business expense information in the coming weeks, including estimated costs.
Last week’s release of the Hinman papers in the SEC’s case against Ripple has caused quite a stir in the crypto world, particularly regarding ether (ETH). In a research report published last Thursday, JPMorgan stated that the papers are likely to trigger a move towards greater decentralization in the cryptocurrency market. The report highlights that emails related to former SEC Director of Corporation Finance William Hinman’s 2018 speech, published by Ripple as part of its defense against an SEC lawsuit, stated that ether did not seem like a security. Furthermore, it points out that SEC officials acknowledged the existence of a regulatory gap due to “tokens on a sufficiently decentralized network” no longer being classified as securities.
Overall, the weekend’s market stability and the various legal developments within the crypto space emphasize the constant evolution and growth of the industry. With increased regulatory clarity, it is vital for stakeholders to stay informed and adapt accordingly in order to ensure maximum benefits for all parties involved.
Source: Coindesk
