France considers ban on crypto betting platform Polymarket  

New York Attorney General Letitia James has sent a letter to US congressional leaders urging “common sense” federal crypto regulations and to keep digital assets out of US pensions.“I am urging Congress to pass legislation that would strengthen federal regulations on the cryptocurrency industry to protect investors, strengthen financial markets, and stop fraud,” James said in a 14-page letter shared on April 10, outlining six major risks if the sector remains unregulated.She said that without appropriate safeguards, the “unchecked proliferation of digital assets” undermines US dollar dominance, weakens national security due to criminal activity, and “undermines the stability of financial markets.” Unregulated crypto also subjects investors to “price manipulation and rigged markets,” facilitates fraud that “drains billions of dollars from hardworking Americans, and extracts assets and investments from the American economy,” she said. An excerpt of James’ letter to Congress. Source: Office of the New York State Attorney GeneralJames made a number of recommendations and pushed Congress for legislation that would require stablecoin issuers to have a US presence and regulatory oversight and mandate backing stablecoins with US dollars or treasuries. She also wants regulations that require platforms to work only with anti-money laundering-compliant entities, establish registration requirements for issuers and intermediaries, protect against conflicts of interest and promote price transparency and require fraud prevention measures.No crypto assets in pension funds The New York’s top lawyer also aired her concerns about including crypto in pension funds. “Digital assets are uniquely unsuitable for retirement savings due to their high volatility,” she said, claiming that they have no value.“The underlying value of cryptocurrency is unpredictable and not determined by true price discovery because they have no intrinsic value on which their prices are based.”James also urged against retirement funds investing in crypto-tracking exchange-traded funds, stating that “unlike traditional exchange-traded funds backed by stocks and bonds, cryptocurrency held to back cryptocurrency ETFs are at risk of permanent theft.” Related: US lawmaker will reintroduce crypto retirement bill to help Trump agenda“As Congress takes the mantle to propose legislation governing the cryptocurrency industry, we hope it also takes action to mitigate the risks posed by the industry to America’s national security, financial stability, and citizens,” James said. The call for regulation follows the US Department of Justice’s reported dismantling of its federal criminal cryptocurrency fraud enforcement division.Magazine: 3 reasons Ethereum could turn a corner: Kain Warwick, X Hall of Flame

New Hampshire’s House and Florida’s House insurance and banking committee have respectively advanced bills allowing their states to create Bitcoin reserves.New Hampshire’s House passed its Bitcoin reserve bill, HB302, in a 192-179 vote on April 10 which will now head to the Senate. The state is now the fourth to pass a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve bill through one chamber, joining Arizona, Texas and Oklahoma.If HB302 clears New Hampshire’s Senate and Governor Kelly Ayotte signs it into law it would allow the state’s treasurer to use 10% of the state’s general fund and other authorized funds to invest in precious metals and certain digital assets. The bill also sets out how they should be custodied.The bill specifies that only cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization of over $500 billion would be eligible for investment, a criteria that only Bitcoin currently meets.New Hampshire’s House votes to pass HB302, the state’s Bitcoin reserve bill. Source: New Hampshire House of RepresentativesIn a debate prior to the vote, Democrat Representative Terry Spahr argued that the bill is unnecessary and could undermine the future security of the state’s digital assets stockpile. “Unbeknownst to the committee and to the sponsor the treasurer testified that they already have that authority,” Spahr said. He added that cryptocurrency is “constantly shifting and changing, and it’s sort of dangerous to be kind of locked into certain types of security measures, and I think that bill does this.”Republican Representative Jordan Ulery countered that the bill was necessary as it could create the “potential for a large amount of money being earned by the state in these investments.”New Hampshire has two other blockchain-related bills working their way through the legislature — HB310, which covers stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization (RWA) and HB 639, which deals with blockchain regulation and dispute resolution.Florida House Committee passes Bitcoin reserve bill Meanwhile on April 10, Florida’s House Insurance and Banking Committee passed the state’s Bitcoin reserve bill, HB487, with a unanimous vote.The bill has three committees to clear before it progresses to Florida’s House.WATCH: Florida House Committee PASSES Bitcoin Reserve BillThe Insurance and Banking Committee passed HB 487 unanimously todayIncluding moving testimony from bill sponsor Rep. Webster Barnaby pic.twitter.com/myAlNvtFl9— Bitcoin Laws (@Bitcoin_Laws) April 10, 2025Similar to New Hampshire’s bill, HB487 would allow Florida’s chief financial officer and the State Board of Administration to invest up to 10% of certain state funds — including the General Revenue Fund and the Budget Stabilization Fund — into Bitcoin.The bill’s sponsor, Republican Representative Webster Barnaby pleaded with the Committee before the vote “to vote up on this very important bill” which he claimed would “put Florida in the leading edge of this very new technology.”Related: US federal agencies to report crypto holdings to Treasury by April 7Florida’s bill gives the state’s financial chief the ability to invest in digital assets directly, through certain qualified custodians, or through exchange-traded products and details security and custody requirements.According to Bitcoin Laws, which tracks the progress of digital assets legislation, Arizona is currently leading the race to become the first US state to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Source: Bitcoin LawsOn March 24, two digital assets reserve bills, SB1373 and SB1025, cleared Arizona’s House Rules Committee and are now headed to the state’s House for a full floor vote. If passed by the House, the bills would then need the signature of Arizona’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs to become law.Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

US Securities and Exchange Commission staff have given guidance on how federal securities laws could apply to crypto, saying companies issuing or dealing with tokens that could be securities should give better details about their business.The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance said in a staff statement on April 10 that it was giving its views “to provide greater clarity on the application of the federal securities laws to crypto assets.” The Division said its statement was made of observations of disclosures given in existing disclosure requirements and “addresses our views about certain specific disclosure questions that market participants have presented to the staff.”The guidance, which the Division noted had “no legal force or effect,” said crypto companies who are giving disclosures about their business have typically shared a host of information about their operations, such as what the company specifically does, how any issued tokens work and how the business generates — or intends to generate — revenue.Companies have also disclosed whether they plan to remain engaged in a crypto network or app after they launch it and, if not, whether any other entities will take over.Crypto firms should also explain their technology, such as if their product is a proof-of-work or proof-of-stake blockchain, its block size, transaction speed, reward mechanisms, the measures to ensure network security and whether the protocol is open-source or not.The SEC staff also noted that registration or qualification is not required in connection with crypto offerings that aren’t securities and aren’t part of an investment contract. However, the statement didn’t provide clarity on what digital assets could be securities.Commercial litigator Joe Carlasare told Cointelegraph the statement was “a welcome and refreshing step toward clearer regulatory guidance.”“Adhering to the guidelines will help entities not only position themselves more favorably with regulators but also demonstrate a commitment to transparency and credibility,” he said.Crypto firms should share all risksThe SEC staff statement said that issuers usually clearly disclose risks related to price volatility, network and cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and custody risks, in addition to standard business, operational, legal and regulatory risks.A “materially complete description” of a security is also typically required from an issuer, which includes the mechanism behind paying dividends, distributions, profit-sharing and voting rights, including how those rights are enforced.Related: No crypto project has registered with the SEC and ‘lived to tell the tale’ — House committee hearingIt added a company should share if a protocol’s code can be modified, and if so, who can make such changes and whether the smart contracts involved have been subjected to a third-party security audit.Other disclosures the statement mentioned are whether the token’s supply is fixed and how it was or will be issued along with identifying executives and “significant employees.”The Division said its guidance intended to build on the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, which is planning to host a series of roundtables with the crypto industry to discuss how it should police crypto trading, custody, tokenization and decentralized finance.Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered