Most DePIN projects barely even use blockchain: True or false?  

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed to drop another of its crypto lawsuits, this time its unregistered securities sales case against crypto influencer and YouTuber Ian Balina. The SEC said in a May 1 joint stipulation with Balina to an Austin federal court that it “believes the dismissal of this case is appropriate,” citing the work of the agency’s Crypto Task Force.The agency didn’t give a reason for wanting to dismiss its case, but said its decision “does not necessarily reflect the Commission’s position on any other case.”Balina told Cointelegraph in March that the SEC had informed him it would recommend the court dismiss the case and claimed the agency’s actions were based on a shift in the agency’s priorities.“Obviously, the new administration is pro-crypto,” Balina said. The SEC has seen a change in leadership under US President Donald Trump, who appointed former crypto lobbyist Paul Atkins to chair the agency.The joint stipulation argued a dismissal would also conserve the court’s resources “without costs or fees to either party.”Balina is the CEO of Token Metrics, a crypto influencer with 140,000 followers on X, and a YouTuber who the SEC accused of improperly promoting crypto projects, particularly during the initial coin offering (ICO) boom circa 2017.The SEC sued Balina in 2022, alleging that he conducted an unregistered securities offering of Sparkster (SPRK) tokens when he formed an investing pool on Telegram in 2018.The SEC claimed that US-based investors participated in Balina’s investing pool, using Ether (ETH), which was validated by a network of nodes “which are clustered more densely in the United States than in any other country.”Related: SEC drops investigation into PayPal’s stablecoinThe court sided with the SEC and, in May 2024, ruled that SPRK was an investment contract under US securities laws, where investors pooled money into a common enterprise expecting profits due to the efforts of others.Edit the caption here or remove the textShift in crypto policyThe move is the latest in a long list of crypto-related court actions that the SEC has quashed under the Trump administration’s favorable stance toward the industry. Over the past month, it has dropped several cases and abandoned multiple investigations against crypto firms, including against Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, Opensea, and PayPal’s stablecoin. Magazine: Japanese porn star’s coin red flags, Alibaba-linked L2 runs at 100K TPS: Asia Express

Avraham Eisenberg was sentenced to more than four years in prison on child sexual abuse material charges, unrelated to his role in the 2022 exploit that drained the decentralized exchange Mango Markets of roughly $100 million.According to reporting from Inner City Press, a judge sentenced Eisenberg to 52 months in prison at a May 1 hearing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The case was filed in April 2024 after Eisenberg’s 2023 indictment on fraud for the Mango Markets exploit.Eisenberg was initially scheduled to be sentenced in July 2024 following his guilty plea on the child porn charge. In May 2024, the judge suggested the sentencing for both cases would occur simultaneously in a consolidated proceeding. However, as of May 1, the fraud sentencing remains pending. The prosecution in the Mango Markets case reflects the growing probability of apprehension for hackers and cybersecurity exploiters plaguing the crypto industry with malicious attacks on platforms and users.Related: SafeMoon boss cites DOJ’s nixed crypto unit in latest bid to toss suitThe case of Avraham EisenbergMango Markets, a former decentralized crypto exchange, was exploited in October 2022 through a price oracle manipulation, losing $100 million in user funds as a result.The exchange’s native token, Mango (MNGO), also plummeted immediately following the hack, shedding 52% of its value within 24 hours and leading the Mango Markets team to suspend deposits.Eisenberg defended the exploit, arguing that the $100 million heist was done through “legal open-market actions” and claimed that he negotiated a settlement for the return of user funds after the exchange’s insurance fund failed to cover the shortfall.In December 2022, US federal law enforcement authorities arrested Eisenberg in Puerto Rico. FBI officials charged the hacker with one count of commodities fraud and one count of commodities manipulation.A jury found Eisenberg guilty of wire fraud, commodities fraud, and commodities manipulation in April 2024. The defense argued that the exploit was not a cybercrime and represented a “successful and legal trading strategy.”Following the conviction, the Mango Markets exploiter’s attorneys filed a motion for acquittal in September 2024, which was heavily opposed by US prosecutors, who argued that Eisenberg was correctly convicted through careful evaluation of a “mountain of evidence.”Magazine: Influencers shilling memecoin scams face severe legal consequences

Despite reports in February suggesting that 2 million pro-crypto voters could decide the outcome of this week’s Australian Federal Election, crypto has barely rated a mention during the campaign.“I think it’s a missed opportunity,” Independent Reserve founder Adrian Przelozny told Cointelegraph. “Neither side has made crypto a headline issue because they’re wary of polarizing voters or sounding too niche.”But the good news is that after more than a decade of inaction, both the ruling Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the opposition Liberal Party are promising to enact crypto regulations developed in consultation with the industry. In April, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor promised to release draft crypto regulations within the first 100 days after taking office, while the Treasury itself has draft bills on “regulating digital asset platforms” and “payments system modernization” scheduled for release this quarter.Amy-Rose Goodey, CEO of the Digital Economy Council of Australia, said that both parties “are equally invested in getting this draft legislation across the line.” “Irrespective of who gets in, we’re in a better position than we were about a year ago.”Pro-crypto voters have choices in the Senate, too, with the Libertarian Party issuing a 23-page Bitcoin policy in March — calling for the creation of a national Bitcoin (BTC) Reserve and the acceptance of Bitcoin as legal tender. The minor party is fielding five Senate candidates in different states, including former Liberal MP Craig Kelly, but doesn’t currently have anyone in the Senate. The progressive left-wing Greens party has not outlined a position on crypto, while the conservative right-wing One Nation party has campaigned against debanking and CBDCs.The Libertarian Party’s Bitcoin Policy Whitepaper. Source: The LibertariansMore than a decade of inaction on cryptoAustralia’s first parliamentary inquiry into digital assets was held back in 2014, but there’s been more than a decade of regulatory inaction since. The industry says this has led to stagnation and a brain drain of talent to jurisdictions like Singapore and the UAE.The former Liberal Government was considering the landmark Digital Services Act, based on the 2021 Senate Committee’s crypto recommendations, when it lost office in 2022. Despite ongoing consultations since, the ALP government, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, hasn’t put forward any legislation to parliament.But there has definitely been a vibe shift from the ALP recently, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers telling Cointelegraph that digital assets “represent big opportunities for our economy.””We want to seize these opportunities and encourage innovation at the same time as making sure Australians can use and invest in digital assets safely and securely with appropriate regulation.”His office said exposure draft legislation would be released “in 2025” for consultation, introduced into Parliament “once that feedback has been considered” with the subsequent reforms “phased in over time to minimize disruptions to existing businesses.”The shadow assistant treasurer, Luke Howarth, said the ALP has been slow to act because it didn’t have a blockchain policy when it was elected.“It wasn’t until the FTX collapse that they acknowledged the need for regulation,” he told Cointelegraph. “The Albanese government initially promised it would put in place regulation by 2023 but have failed to draft legislation or give a clear time-frame for action. After three years, all that was offered to industry was a six-page placeholder document.”He’s referring to Treasury’s March statement “on developing an innovative Australian digital asset industry.” It provides for the licensing of Digital Asset Platforms (DAPS), a framework for payment stablecoins and a review of Australia’s Enhanced Regulatory Sandbox.Related: A guide to crypto trading bots: Analyzing strategies and performanceWhile short on detail, those aims are broadly similar to the crypto regulation priorities that Howarth outlines to Cointelegraph — the big difference being that the opposition has committed to a faster time frame. Przelozny praised the 100-day promise as “exactly the kind of urgency we need.”If elected, the Liberal Party’s legislation is expected to take some of its cues from Senator Andrew Bragg’s private members bill in 2023 and some from the more recent work done by the Treasury.Shadow Assistant Treasurer Luke Howarth. Source: Luke HowarthThe government steps up effortsThe Treasury has been quietly drafting legislation this year, which Goodey understands is “almost complete.”“There’s been prioritization within Treasury, and I know that their team has almost doubled — the digital asset team — for writing that draft legislation. So, there has been an investment in that over the past six months.”Przelozny characterizes the ALP’s approach as “cautious and methodical, but it’s been slow,” prioritizing consumer protection and risk management. BTC Markets CEO Caroline Bowler said the election of a pro-crypto Trump administration and the UK’s draft regulations (released this week) likely forced both sides of politics to finally get serious. ”Australia has ground to make up, and I would anticipate this also being a factor in the savvy move by both parties,” she said. Sydney is the 10th most crypto-friendly city according to a recent poll.Stand With Crypto campaign and ASICThe Stand With Crypto campaign is active in Australia but has been fairly low-key during the campaign, with a focus on debanking.Coinbase managing director for APAC John O’Loghlen called on whoever wins the election to launch a “Crypto-Asset Taskforce (CATF) within the first 100 days.” This would include industry and consumer representatives to finally get crypto regulations over the line.“If Australia doesn’t move now, we risk falling even further behind,” he told Cointelegraph. “The next government must move beyond consultation and into legislation.”The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is the local equivalent of the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). It released its own crypto regulatory proposals in December. Related: Trump’s first 100 days ‘worst in history’ despite crypto promisesJoy Lam, Binance’s head of global regulatory and APAC legal, told Cointelegraph she doesn’t expect ASIC to suddenly change direction if a new government comes in, as the SEC did.“ASIC doesn’t make the law,” she said. “I don’t expect a complete kind of 180 because ASIC, it is independent, and it does have its own mandate, but it obviously operates within the legislative framework that the government is going to be setting.”April 20 poll. Source: YouGovWho should single-issue crypto voters back?In February, a poll by YouGov and Swyftx found that 59% of crypto users would vote for a pro-crypto candidate in the federal election above all other issues. That equates to around 2 million Australians and would be enough to determine the outcome of the election one way.But the similarities between the major parties on crypto regulation are much greater than the differences. Goodey said both sides of politics have genuinely engaged with the industry about its concerns and priorities.“You can see in some of the language with their media releases that they both released in March, April this year, that they are in agreement on what the industry issues are,” she said. Owing to Senator Bragg’s campaigning on crypto, the industry sees the Liberal Party as more enthusiastic about digital assets, but after three years in government, the ALP looks to have arrived at roughly the same place. Recent YouGov and Resolve polls suggest the government is likely to be reelected.While internal Liberal polling suggests an ALP minority government is a genuine possibility, the major parties would have enough votes between them to pass bipartisan crypto legislation. Whatever happens, 2025 looks like the year Australia will finally provide the crypto industry with the certainty it needs.“For industry, the timing is really quite critical now because obviously it’s something that has been discussed and kicked around for quite a few years,” Lam said. “I would say that we are cautiously optimistic.”Magazine: ZK-proofs are bringing smart contracts to Bitcoin — BitcoinOS and Starknet