US needs competitive moat around tokenized RWA — Sergey Nazarov  

Update March 22, 2025, 10:08 a.m. UTC: This article has been updated to include an embed of the Chainreaction episode.The cryptocurrency industry may still be facing debanking-related issues in the United States, despite the recent wave of positive legislation, according to crypto regulatory experts and industry leaders.The collapse of crypto-friendly banks in early 2023 sparked the first allegations of Operation Chokepoint 2.0. Critics, including venture capitalist Nic Carter, described it as a government effort to pressure banks into cutting ties with cryptocurrency firms.Despite numerous crypto-positive decisions from US President Donald Trump, including the March 7 order to use Bitcoin (BTC) seized in government criminal cases to establish a national reserve, the industry may still be facing banking issues.“It’s premature to say that debanking is over,” according to Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Custodia Bank. Long said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction daily X show on March 21:“There are two crypto-friendly banks under examination by the Fed right now and an army of examiners was sent into these banks, including the examiners from Washington, a literal army just smothering the banks.”The Crypto Debanking Crisis: #CHAINREACTION https://t.co/nD4qkkzKnB— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 21, 2025“The Fed is the outlier and the Fed is still controlled by democrats,” explained Long, adding:“Trump won’t have the ability to appoint a new Fed governor until January. So therefore you can see the breadcrumbs leading up to a potentially big fight. Because if the OCC and FDIC overturn their anti-crypto guidance but the Fed does not, where does that leave us?”Long’s Custodia Bank was repeatedly targeted by the US debanking efforts, which cost the firm months of work and “a couple of million dollars,” she explained.Industry outrage over alleged debanking reached a crescendo when a June 2024 lawsuit spearheaded by ​​Coinbase resulted in the release of letters showing US banking regulators asked certain financial institutions to “pause” crypto banking activities.Related: FDIC chair, ‘architect of Operation Chokepoint 2.0’ Martin Gruenberg to resign Jan. 19Crypto debanking is the biggest operational problem in EU: blockchain regulations adviserCryptocurrency debanking is also among the biggest challenges for European cryptocurrency firms, according to Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum.“We’re living in 2025 and debanking is still one of the main operational issues for both small and large crypto firms,” said Plotnikova, adding:“Crypto debanking is also a problem here in the EU. I had my accounts closed in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022, but 2024 was a good year. Operationally these problems exist for both users and crypto firms operating.”Related: Paolo Ardoino: Competitors and politicians intend to ‘kill Tether’The comments come two weeks after the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) eased its stance on how banks can engage with crypto just hours after US President Donald Trump vowed to end the prolonged crackdown restricting crypto firms’ access to banking services.Trump’s remarks were made during the White House Crypto Summit, where he told industry leaders he was “ending Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”Source: Elon MuskAt least 30 tech and crypto founders were “secretly debanked” in the US during Operation Chokepoint 2.0, Cointelegraph reported in November 2024.Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Stablecoin issuer Tether is reportedly engaging with a Big Four accounting firm to audit its assets reserve and verify that its USDT (USDT) stablecoin is backed at a 1:1 ratio.Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino reportedly said the audit process would be more straightforward under pro-crypto US President Donald Trump. It comes after rising industry concerns over a potential FTX-style liquidity crisis for Tether due to its lack of third-party audits.Tether to produce first full audit after scrutiny“If the President of the United States says this is top priority for the US, Big Four auditing firms will have to listen, so we are very happy with that,” Ardoino told Reuters on March 21.“It’s our top priority,” Ardoino said. It was reported that Tether is currently subject to quarterly reports but not a full independent annual audit, which is much more extensive and provides more assurance to investors and regulators.However, Ardoino did not specify which of the Big Four accounting firms — PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, or KPMG — he plans to engage.Tether recorded a profit of $13.7 billion in 2024. Source: Paolo Ardoino Tether’s USDT maintains its stable value by claiming to be pegged to the US dollar at a 1:1 ratio. This means each USDT token is backed by reserves equivalent to its circulating supply. These reserves include traditional currency, cash equivalents and other assets. Earlier this month, Tether hired Simon McWilliams as chief financial officer in preparation for a full financial audit.Industry concerns over Tether’s lack of auditsIn September 2024, Cyber Capital founder Justin Bons was among those in the industry who voiced concerns about Tether’s lack of transparency.“[Tether is] one of the biggest existential threats to crypto. As we have to trust they hold $118B in collateral without proof! Even after the CFTC fined Tether for lying about their reserves in 2021,” Bons said.Related: Tether freezes $27M USDT on sanctioned Russian exchange GarantexAround the same time, Consumers’ Research, a consumer protection group, published a report criticizing Tether for its lack of transparency.Just three years prior, in 2021, the United States Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fined Tether a $41 million civil monetary penalty for lying about USDT being fully backed by reserves.Meanwhile, more recently, Tether has voiced disappointment over new European regulations that have forced exchanges like Crypto.com to delist USDT and nine other tokens to comply with MiCA.“It is disappointing to see the rushed actions brought on by statements which do little to clarify the basis for such moves,” a spokesperson for Tether told Cointelegraph.Cointelegraph reached out to Tether but did not receive a response by time of publication.Magazine: Dummies guide to native rollups: L2s as secure as Ethereum itself

John Reed Stark, the former director of the Office of Internet Enforcement at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), pushed back against the idea of regulatory reform at the first SEC crypto roundtable.The former regulator said the Securities Act of 1933 and 1934 should not be changed to accommodate digital assets and urged that digital assets do not escape the definition of securities under the current laws.The first-ever SEC crypto roundtable. Source: SEC“The people buying crypto are not collectors. We all know that they are investors, and the mission of the SEC is to protect investors,” Stark said. The former official added:”The volume of case law has developed so quickly because of all these crypto firms. They went for this sort of delay, delay, delay, idea, and they hired the best law firms in the world, and these law firms all fought the SEC with incredible briefs.”“I have read every single one of them. And they lost just about, I would argue, every single time,” he continued. Stark concluded that he saw no innovation in digital assets or cryptocurrencies compared to previous online revolutions, such as the debut of the iPhone.John Reed Stark, pictured on the far right, arguing against comprehensive regulatory reform. Source: SECRelated: SEC’s deadline extension is a ‘fork’ in case against Coinbase — John Reed StarkJohn Reed Stark: one of crypto’s staunchest criticsStark has been one of the most vocal opponents of cryptocurrencies and the digital asset industry, often criticizing the industry for a lack of transparency and accountability.In February 2024, the former SEC official characterized a sponsorship deal between the Dallas Mavericks — a National Basketball Association (NBA) team — and crypto firm Voyager as an agreement with a “heroin manufacturing firm.”Stark later said that the government agency’s regulation by enforcement under former chairman Gary Gensler was warranted and added that cryptocurrency must conform to existing laws rather than the law evolving to embrace the future of money.Stark’s anti-crypto stance has been criticized by industry executives and investors as unhinged. In June 2023, notable investor Mark Cuban called out Reed’s views as “crypto derangement syndrome.”Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered