Happy Saturday!
In today’s snapshot,
The US Securities and Exchange Commission continues to go after Coinbase with a new filing arguing the company knew years ago that federal securities laws may apply to its business, former NFL quarterback Tom Brady is finding that a lucrative deal to represent collapsed crypto exchange FTX has not worked out so well, and JPMorgan is not terribly impressed with the market potential of spot Bitcoin ETFs, even if pending applications are granted. All that and more!
These are some stories we’re looking at right now.
SEC pushes back against Coinbase
The US Securities and Exchange Commission argued in a court filing that Coinbase acknowledged some years back that federal securities laws may apply to its listings, and said it would oppose any motions for judgement filed by the company.
The SEC was responding to a Coinbase argument that the regulator does not have jurisdiction over it. The SEC sued Coinbase, the biggest US crypto trading platform, last month, accusing the company of operating as an unregistered brokerage.
Brady sacked in FTX collapse
Longtime NFL quarterback Tom Brady was paid $30 million, mostly in FTX stock, to serve as a representative of the now-bankrupt crypto exchange, according to The New York Times.
That stock is now worthless, Brady and his ex-wife are being sued by FTX customers, and they may even owe taxes on the stock, people familiar with the deal told the Times. Other celebrity crypto endorsers are encountering problems as well, including Kim Kardashian and Lindsay Lohan.
JPMorgan downplays spot Bitcoin ETFs
JPMorgan seems less than impressed with the potential to bolster markets of BlackRock’s intent to create a spot Bitcoin ETF.
The bank said in a report that even if applications by BlackRock, Fidelity, and others for spot Bitcoin ETFs are successful, they are “unlikely to be a game changer for crypto markets.”
Andy Murray’s Wimbledon becomes NFT
Past Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and digital artist Refik Anadol are launching a Wimbledon art NFT on Ethereum.
The digital art project uses 18 years of Murray’s Wimbledon data, including his victories there in 2013 and 2016, along with “motion-capture sessions,” Decrypt said. The open edition NFT went on sale today via manifold.xyz.
US centre of crypto industry
A report from K33 Research says 30% of crypto workers live in the US, the biggest count of any country. They participate in an industry of about 10,000 companies that employ 190,000 people and have a valuation of $190 billion.
Exchanges and brokerages account for about 62,400 workers. Many of the companies are small. “There’s such a large number of firms who have between 5 and 15 employees,” Anders Helseth, vice president at K33 Research, told Decrypt.
What we’re reading around the web
‘Most comprehensive proposal to date’: Lummis and Gillibrand to reintroduce landmark crypto bill — Fortune
UK’s measly 9% crypto firm approval rate casts doubt on Sunak’s hub goals — DL News
AI Will Choose Bitcoin as Its Native Currency, Predicts Arthur Hayes — Decrypt