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GM. This is Milk Road, your daily dose of crypto, more reliable than your old flip phone's battery life. |
Hereβs what we got for you today: |
Coinbase vs. the SEC βοΈ How Bitcoin miners are stabilizing Texasβ energy grid πͺ« Bitcoin just lapped silver πͺ |
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COINBASE VS. THE SEC βοΈ |
Crypto is a lot like a video game - before leveling up, thereβs a boss fight. |
Except in crypto, itβs the same big, bad boss every timeβ¦ the SEC. |
Right now, the fight is the SEC vs Coinbase. |
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Hereβs whatβs going on: |
The SEC sued Coinbase for βoperating as an unregistered broker, exchange, and clearing agencyβ last year. In the process, the SEC accused Coinbase of selling securities and namedropped 13 cryptocurrencies including SOL, ADA, MATIC, etc. The SEC is arguing those tokens are securities because people buy them as a way to invest in a common βenterpriseβ and possibly profit from its success. (According to the Howey Test, that makes it a security). Coinbase is arguing that buying tokens doesnβt guarantee the buyer any rights (or profits) as part of the purchase. The exchange compared buying tokens to buying Beanie Babies, which arenβt securities. |
Earlier this week, both sides were able to make their oral arguments in court, in front of a judge. |
The bad newsβ¦ the Judge hasnβt made any official ruling yet. |
The good newsβ¦ many people think Coinbase is the βfavoriteβ to win and can get the case dismissed after this week's arguments. |
Here are some of the best reactions from Twitter: |
| Favorite moment of argument so far: SECβ βthe tokens themselves are not a securityβ Faillaβ βthatβs what the folks in the back table think (Coinbase). And they are wondering why we are hereβ | Rodrigo @RSSH273 Oral arguments for the SEC's case against Coinbase are starting now! Listen in here: (888) 363-4749, access code 5123533 |
| | | Jan 17, 2024 | | | | | | 1.5K Likes 260 Retweets 46 Replies |
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| Luke Martin @VentureCoinist | |
| The SEC's rΓ©sumΓ© vs crypto: β’Did not protect investors from FTX
β’Did not protect investors from Luna
β’Lost court case vs Ripple
β’Lost court case vs Grayscale Now getting mogged by a Federal Judge in Coinbase case today. Gensler's career rapidly approaching liquidation. | | | | Jan 17, 2024 | | | | | | 297 Likes 39 Retweets 34 Replies |
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| MartyParty @martypartymusic | |
| SEC vs Coinbase trial update: Judge Katherine Polk Failla says to the SEC lawyer: "These 1933 laws had a great run for 90 years but we have new tools now and new things and we need to readdress." !!!!!! YES!!!! BULLLLLISH!!!!!! | | | Jan 17, 2024 | | | | | | 2.61K Likes 349 Retweets 63 Replies |
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| β³iLLiΞ X @llamaonthebrink | |
| If Coinbase wins this motion I think we enter a full blown bull market For context Coinbase filed a motion to dismiss the charges of operating an unlicensed securities exchange If the SEC loses here it would be a massive win for the industry tbh | Lewis Cohen @NYcryptolawyer How significant is the combination of exchange, clearing and brokerage? The SEC explains the *potential* for conflicts. Court: but you donβt allege that in your Complaint? SEC: No. Ouch. |
| | | Jan 17, 2024 | | | | | | 85 Likes 6 Retweets 4 Replies |
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| Jake Chervinsky @jchervinsky | |
| 1/ Today's @coinbase hearing revealed a key flaw in the SEC's legal theory: it turns nearly every asset on the planet into a security. That can't be true. The SEC was created to regulate markets for *financial* instruments, not digital goods or the technologies empowering them. | | | Jan 17, 2024 | | | | | | 3.22K Likes 675 Retweets 85 Replies |
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Why this case matters: The judge's decision in this case will likely clarify the SEC's jurisdiction over the crypto sector and could set a precedent for how crypto is regulated in the U.S. |
If Coinbase wins, it could put a lot of tokens βin the clear.β If the SEC wins, it could further muddy the waters around what tokens are securities and which ones arenβt. |
Weβll be keeping a close eye on this one. |
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HOW BITCOIN MINERS ARE STABILIZING TEXASβ ENERGY GRID πͺ« |
Texas is one of the weirdest places on Earth... |
In the summer, it gets so hot you can go outside and fry an egg on the sidewalk (not recommended, but it is possible). In the winter, it gets so cold you donβt even need a fridge/freezer - just leave your food outside and itβll stay cool (againβ¦ not recommended, but possible). |
You get the best worst of both worlds in Texas. |
Right now, itβs getting hit by an βArctic Blastβ. Which sounds like a new drink at Taco Bell, but it just means itβs cold as f*ck. |
The problem: when Texas gets hit by extreme weather, the energy grid goes through a lot of stress. |
The solution: Bitcoin miners are helping stabilize the energy grid. |
Miners get paid to curtail their operations and shut off their machines. As a result, it frees up energy on the grid that can be used elsewhere (i.e., homes, hospitals, local businesses). |
Itβs a win-win for everyone. |
| Bitcoin Archive @BTC_Archive | |
| A Bitcoin miner in Texas switched off machines to support the grid during extreme cold weather. Bitcoin mining is the only industry that can respond immediately in times of emergency, while being a "buyer of last resort" to improve viability of energy projects. | | | | Jan 18, 2024 | | | | | | 1.09K Likes 183 Retweets 92 Replies |
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BITE-SIZED COOKIES FOR THE ROAD πͺ |
Dopex is a decentralized options exchange focusing on calls and puts across Arbitrum and Polygon. In addition to a wide range of options vaults, Dopex offers advanced speculation instruments, including concentrated liquidity options and synthetic yield-bearing tokens. Check out our review of their platform here! |
Bitcoin surpasses silver to become the second-largest ETF commodity in the U.S. In the words of the great Ludacrisβ¦ βmove, b*tch, get out the way!β |
dYdX passed Uniswap as the largest decentralized exchange (DEX) by volume. The DEX recently migrated from Ethereum to Cosmos and just saw $757M in volume over 24 hours. |
The total value of crypto received by βillicit addressesβ has dropped from $39B β $24.2B. This only made up about 0.34% of all on-chain transaction volume last year. |
Tether bought $380M worth of Bitcoin. The stablecoin issuer now owns 66,464 BTC (worth ~$2.8B). |
Bitcoinβs hash rate dropped 25% this week. The big reason why? Thereβs a huge winter storm in Texas, so miners there are curtailing power to help strengthen the local power grid. |
BlackRock says its spot bitcoin ETF is attracting a diverse investor base. BlackRock Head of U.S. iShares Product Rachel Aguirre said both retail and new investors are interested in the firmβs spot bitcoin ETF. |
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MILKY MEMES π€£ |
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| Friday = date night | | | | Jan 19, 2024 | | | | | | 0 Likes 0 Retweets 0 Replies |
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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research. |
