Prager Metis to pay $745K to settle SEC charges over FTX audit misconduct

US state Vermont has dropped its “show cause order” against crypto exchange Coinbase for allegedly offering unregistered securities to users through a staking service.Vermont’s Department of Financial Regulation said in a March 13 order that in light of the US Securities and Exchange Commission tossing out its case on Feb. 28, it would follow suit and rescind its action against Coinbase without prejudice.“The SEC has announced the formation of a new task force to, among other things, provide guidance for the promulgation of rules regarding the regulation of cryptocurrency products and services,” the department said.Vermont’s financial regulator has decided to drop its legal action against Coinbase. Source: Vermont’s Department of Financial Regulation“In light of the dismissal of the Federal Action and likelihood of new federal regulatory guidance, the Division believes it would be most efficient and in the best interests of justice to rescind the pending Show Cause Order, without prejudice.”On the same day the SEC filed its lawsuit in June 2023, the US states of Alabama, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin said they were launching legal proceedings against Coinbase.The show cause order asserted that Coinbase was violating securities laws by offering staking to its users without a license and demanded the exchange provide a reason why the courts shouldn’t hit them with an order directing them to halt the service. Now that Vermont has opted out, Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal said in a March 13 statement to X that the other states with staking actions should take a “page from Vermont’s playbook.”Source: Paul Grewal“As we have always said: staking services are not securities. We applaud Vermont for embracing progress and providing clarity for its citizens who own digital assets,” he said.“Our work isn’t over. Congress must seize the bipartisan momentum we’re seeing across the House and Senate to pass comprehensive legislation that takes into account the novel features of digital assets, such as staking,” he added.Related: YouTuber says SEC will recommend dropping lawsuit over 2018 token ICOA growing number of firms facing legal action from the SEC have had their cases dismissed in the wake of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who took a hardline stance toward crypto, resigning on Jan. 20.Crypto trading firm Cumberland DRW was among the latest to have its case dropped on March 4, while the regulator is reportedly wrapping up its enforcement action against Ripple Labs after more than four years.Grewal has also launched a request under the Freedom of Information Act to find out how many enforcement actions were brought against crypto firms under Gensler’s tenure between April 17, 2021, and Jan. 20, 2025, and the cost to the taxpayer. Magazine: Elon Musk’s plan to run government on blockchain faces uphill battle

The upcoming launch of Solana (SOL) futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), a US derivatives exchange, signals that the first US SOL exchange-traded fund (ETF) listings are coming soon, Chris Chung, founder of Solana-based swap platform Titan, told Cointelegraph. On March 17, CME is preparing to launch SOL futures contracts. They will be among the first regulated Solana futures to hit the US market after Coinbase’s launched in February. The listing “paves the way for the eventual approval of SOL ETFs,” Chung told Cointelegraph.Chung said he expects the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve asset managers VanEck and Canary Capital’s proposed spot Solana ETFs as soon as May.The existence of regulated Solana futures “signals to regulators that Solana is maturing as an asset, making it easier for them to greenlight additional financial products of similar risk and type,” Chung said. Futures contracts are standardized agreements to buy or sell an underlying asset at a future date. They play a crucial supporting role for spot cryptocurrency ETFs because regulated futures markets provide a stable benchmark for measuring a digital asset’s performance.CME already lists futures contracts for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). US regulators approved ETFs for both of those cryptocurrencies last year. CME already lists crypto futures, including Bitcoin contracts. Source: CMERelated: CME Group reports record crypto volumes for Q4Beyond memecoinsAdditionally, Solana futures and ETFs will help expand Solana’s growth story beyond memecoins, which were central to the blockchain network’s success in 2024, Chung said.These products “will bring more serious, sticky capital and pave the way for the development of other real-world use cases, such as payments and remittances,” according to Chung. Those use cases are “[f]ar more boring than memecoins, perhaps, but a reliable source of long-term revenue that will buoy Solana’s price in the next bear market.”Memecoin trading, largely tied to the popular Pump.fun platform, comprises roughly 80% of the Solana blockchain network’s revenues, according to asset manager VanEck.However, activity on the Solana network declined in February after a series of memecoin-related scandals soured sentiment among retail traders. Solana vs. Ethereum price chart. Source: TradingViewRivaling EthereumStill, cryptocurrency trading volumes on Solana continue to rival those of the entire Ethereum ecosystem, including its layer-2 scaling chains, VanEck said on March 6. Chung said he expects Solana ETFs to take off among retail investors, partly because of the challenges facing rival smart contract platform Ethereum. Solana’s native SOL token has performed about twice as well as Ether since early 2024, according to TradingView. Ethereum’s spot price has struggled since March 2024, when the network’s Dencun upgrade cut transaction fees by approximately 95%. “With the extremely weak price action we’re seeing in ETH, Solana is now the only option for retail investors wanting to get exposure to crypto beyond Bitcoin, but not willing to go full degen,” Chung said.Bloomberg Intelligence has set the odds of the SEC approving spot Solana and Litecoin ETFs at 70%. Magazine: What Solana’s critics get right… and what they get wrong

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is reportedly proposing cutting the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) workforce by 20% in a change expected to take effect by May 15, 2025.According to CNN, the cuts would impact an estimated 6,800 employees at the government agency, in addition to the 6,700 probationary employees who have already been let go and 4,700 IRS agents who were given severance packages to retire.However, a recent ruling from US district judge William Alsup ordering federal agencies to reinstate probationary workers terminated due to the DOGE cost-cutting programs could hinder the layoffs if the order is not overturned.President Trump has promised comprehensive tax reform in the United States, including potentially eliminating the federal income tax and funding the federal government exclusively through tariffs on foreign goods.President Trump discussing his policy proposals with reporters inside the Oval Office. Source: The White HouseRelated: Crypto taxes, DOGE, Trump and avoiding an IRS audit: Taxbit exec spills the teaDOGE pursues cost-cutting and efficiency strategiesThe Department of Government Efficiency, headed by businessman Elon Musk, is exploring methods to reduce the $36 trillion US national debt by substantially reducing the size of the federal bureaucracy and introducing cost-cutting measures.One of the more unique measures proposed included putting all public spending onchain to reduce deficits and ensure transparency.On Feb. 21, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it was cutting its regional office directors to comply with the Trump administration’s cost-saving directives.However, under the reorganization plan, the regional offices, which are spread out across major US cities, would stay open, and the SEC recently submitted its 2025 budget proposal to Congress requesting $2.6 billion.The US national debt has exploded to over $36 trillion. Source: US Debt ClockPresident Trump and Elon Musk have considered passing on 20% of the DOGE savings to Americans in a stimulus check or potential tax credits.Research from accounting automation company Dancing Numbers argued that Trump’s plan to eliminate federal income tax could save the average American $134,809 in taxes throughout their lives.The company added that these lifetime tax savings could extend to as much as $325,561 per person if other wage-based taxes at the state level are also repealed.Despite this, not everyone is convinced by DOGE’s cost-cutting tactics, including US Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is highly critical of Elon Musk, Trump, and DOGE.In January 2025, the Massachusetts Senator sent a letter to the DOGE proposing increasing taxes and federal spending to make the government more efficient.Magazine: Elon Musk’s plan to run government on blockchain faces uphill battle