The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has clarified that certain cryptocurrency liquid staking activities do not constitute securities offerings, a notable step in the agency’s ongoing effort to provide clearer guidance on digital asset regulation.

“The statement clarifies the division’s view that, depending on the facts and circumstances, the liquid staking activities covered in the statement do not involve the offer and sale of securities,” the regulator said Tuesday, referring to key sections of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

In its Staff Statement, the SEC defined liquid staking as the process of staking digital assets through a protocol and receiving a “liquid staking receipt token,” which serves as evidence of the staker’s ownership.

“Today’s staff statement on liquid staking is a significant step forward in clarifying the staff’s view about crypto asset activities that do not fall within the SEC’s jurisdiction,” SEC Chair Paul Atkins said in a statement. 

The SEC’s clarification comes amid rising institutional interest in liquid staking exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with firms like Jito Labs, VanEck and Bitwise urging the agency to approve liquid staking strategies for Solana (SOL)-based funds.

Liquid staking has become one of the largest subsectors in crypto, with total value locked (TVL) nearing $67 billion across all protocols, according to DefiLlama. Ethereum alone accounts for $51 billion of that total.

Related: Crypto Biz: Digital gold rush intensifies as Tether Gold surges, institutions double down on BTC

SEC adopts pro-crypto approach under Paul Atkins

The announcement follows the SEC’s launch of Project Crypto — a sweeping initiative to overhaul the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency trading in the United States. As SEC Chair Paul Atkins noted last week, the project was developed in response to recommendations from the White House’s Working Group on Digital Assets

Since taking office, Atkins has led a more lenient approach to digital asset regulation, moving away from the agency’s prior “regulation by enforcement” stance under former Chair Gary Gensler. That shift included a May clarification that proof-of-stake protocols do not constitute securities transactions.

Under Atkins’ leadership, the SEC has also taken meaningful steps to ease regulatory burdens on cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Notably, on July 29, the agency approved in-kind creations and redemptions for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) ETFs, allowing authorized participants to exchange ETF shares directly for the underlying assets rather than cash.

The US crypto industry is also gaining momentum from sweeping policy reforms designed to make digital assets more accessible. These include the passage of the GENIUS Act, a landmark stablecoin bill, and House approval of market structure and anti-CBDC legislation ahead of the August recess.

Related: SEC ends ‘regulation through enforcement,’ calls tokenization ‘innovation’

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/us-sec-says-certain-liquid-staking-activities-fall-outside-of-securities-laws/feed/ 0 51663 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/vpn-use-surging-in-uk-after-online-censorship-laws-kick-in/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/vpn-use-surging-in-uk-after-online-censorship-laws-kick-in/#respond Mon, 28 Jul 2025 21:10:45 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/vpn-use-surging-in-uk-after-online-censorship-laws-kick-in/

Canny kids are borrowing adult faces to get around the age checks now required to access popular websites in the U.K., but there’s an easier (if more expensive) method: just use a virtual private network to access the web from another country. A tried and tested method for use in other countries with heavy internet censorship, that football’s coming home. The Financial Times reports an explosion in use of VPNs there in the last week. [archive]

But to evade the new rules, a growing number of people in the UK are turning to tools more often used by citizens in authoritarian regimes to get around internet censorship. Apps offering virtual private networks — which route a smartphone or PC’s internet traffic to another country, bypassing local network providers — made up half of the top 10 most popular free apps on the UK’s App Store for iOS this weekend, according to Apple’s rankings. Proton VPN leapfrogged ChatGPT to become the top free app in the UK, according to Apple’s daily App Store charts, with similar services from developers Super Unlimited and Nord Security also rising over the weekend. Proton, the Swiss-based company behind the top VPN app, said it had experienced a more than 1,800 per cent increase in daily sign-ups from UK-based users after new age verification rules took effect on Friday. Nord said there had been a 1,000 per cent increase in UK purchases of VPN subscriptions since before the rules took effect.

An amazing quote from Proton: “We would normally associate these large spikes in sign-ups with major civil unrest.”

The so-called “Online Safety Act” does prohibit VPN companies from disclosing that their services can be used to circumvent censorship, but did not otherwise regulate their use. The omnishambles at hand–nothing successfully blocked and everyday Britons learning en masse how to browse more privately–has already got local media vaguely suggesting a VPN ban is now on the table.

President Donald Trump today signed the act of genius and marked a milestone in his administration’s push to establish the United States as a global Bitcoin and crypto capital. The law creates a clear regulatory framework for dollar-backed stubcoins, representing what Trump called “probably the biggest revolution in financial technology since the birth of the Internet itself.”

The Genius Act does not address Bitcoin directly, but the act establishes regulatory clarity that can benefit all digital assets, including Bitcoin, by creating a better environment for crypto innovation and increasing the volume of trading on exchanges.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Trump highlighted the possibility of a change in the new law. “This is a really big day. It’s a really big thing. I want to thank my very good friend, Sen. Bill Hagerty.” This makes America stronger and congratulations, that’s good for the country. ”

The President connected the law to Bitcoin and crypto commitments, referring to historic appearances at the Bitcoin Conference. “At the very month, when many people were in Nashville, Tennessee, when I became the first president to compete in the Bitcoin Conference. We have vowed to make the United States the crypto capital of the world. This is going even further.”

Trump outlined his administration’s approach to digital assets and highlighted several key initiatives. “In the first week of his inauguration, he established the first presidential working group on digital assets, halting government weaponization against crypto and halting Bitcoin.

The President also referred to the establishment of strategic Bitcoin reservations through the executive order, specifically showing his commitment to Bitcoin. “Last March, I signed an executive order establishing a US strategic Bitcoin Reserve and US digital asset stockpile. Today’s signature is pushing us even further into an exciting frontier.”

The president then discussed how genius acts address critical infrastructure gaps in the American financial system. “Many Americans are unaware that the technical backbone of the financial system is in a decades-old era. “The Genius Act provides banks, businesses and financial institutions with a framework for issuing crypto assets that are supported one-to-one in real US dollars.”

According to Trump, the law is expected to increase demand for the US Treasury. He also reaffirmed central bank opposition to digital currencies, saying, “I am also fully committed to the pledge that the central bank will never allow digital currencies in the US.”

AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks spoke at the ceremony, highlighting the historical nature of the moment. “Today you have another historic legislative achievement, a step towards making the United States the world’s crypto capital.

Trump has pledged additional crypto laws this year, calling it a “really hot industry” and continues to evoke the continued momentum of America’s Bitcoin and digital asset development.

Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao has urged national governments to explore the use of artificial intelligence tools, particularly large language models (LLMs), to simplify their legal systems.

In a July 10 post on X, Zhao argued that AI could play a key role in making legal codes more understandable and accessible to everyday citizens.

According to him, many countries have accumulated layers of complex, conflicting laws over time that legal professionals often shape through patchwork amendments.

Due to this, the current legal systems have become “gigantic, patched, added, and often intentionally made complex.”

Zhao pointed out that this has made it nearly impossible for non-lawyers to fully comprehend their rights and obligations.

However, he believes that this could change with the advent of LLMs.

Large language models are advanced AI systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT that could be trained on extensive legal text. This would allow these tools to read, analyze, and rewrite dense legal documents into simplified formats.

As a result, these AIs could detect inconsistencies, streamline clauses, and interpret technical language, which could help make the law more accessible to everyday users.

AI won’t replace lawyers

Despite his enthusiasm, Zhao clarified that AI should not be seen as a substitute for human lawyers.

Instead, he positioned these technologies as assistants that could handle routine tasks while freeing up legal professionals to focus on more complex, high-stakes work.

According to him:

“There could be a 1000 companies building spaceships vs only a couple now. We can test more drugs to cure cancer. Flying cars… All of them need tremendous amounts of legal work.”

Meanwhile, market observers cautioned that while LLMs offer tremendous utility, they have flaws.

Current iterations still face challenges such as hallucinations or situations when the AI generates incorrect or misleading information. They argued that this reinforces the continued need for legal professionals who can interpret, verify, and contextualize the law.

Mentioned in this article

May saw bullish momentum in crypto markets as Bitcoin (BTC) reached a new all-time high above $111,000 and Coinbase joined the S&P 500.

Markets could breathe a sigh of relief when, on May 12, US President Donald Trump reached a trade deal with China, putting a 90-day hold on tariffs that had markets in a tailspin. The news saw BTC price hit $105,000, a three-month high, before tipping down to $102,000.  

On the policy front, five US states enacted new Bitcoin laws. Texas established the long-awaited state Bitcoin reserve. In Alabama, an effort to exempt crypto from certain forms of taxation was indefinitely postponed. 

OpenAI is looking to move into the US and set up eye-scanning Orb stations across six cities in five American states. The move follows legal actions against World in 12 countries.

Here’s May by the numbers:

Five states enact crypto-related laws in May, Texas passes Bitcoin reserve bill

In the US, cryptocurrency legislation is moving ahead on multiple fronts, with five states passing or enacting cryptocurrency-related bills. 

In Texas, the state passed a bill that establishes a state Bitcoin (BTC) reserve. New Hampshire made a similar move, enabling the state treasurer to invest in public funds containing precious metals and digital assets like Bitcoin with the passage of HB302.

In Arizona, the newly formed Bitcoin and Digital Assets Reserve Fund will hold unclaimed digital assets. The state of Arizona can now claim ownership of abandoned digital assets if the owner fails to respond to contact attempts for three years. The state can also stake the assets in the fund to earn airdrops and rewards. 

In Nebraska, public power utilities now have some authority over Bitcoin miners. LB526, which passed in final reading on May 14, allows them to require Bitcoin miners using 1 megawatt or more to cover the cost of infrastructure upgrades. It also introduces a permit regime and reporting requirements for power consumption. 

Oregon has included crypto in its Uniform Commercial Code.

Coinbase stock up 19.37% in May, joins S&P 500

The stock price of crypto exchange Coinbase is up 19.37% over the month, despite disclosing a $400 million security incident on May 15. 

Despite the eye-watering sum of the attack, which has reportedly triggered an investigation by the US Department of Justice, the stock price closed May 29 at $248.84.

Furthermore, the crypto company became the first to be included in the benchmark S&P 500 Index, which the crypto industry hailed as a new high for crypto adoption and industry growth. 

Not everyone is pleased. Concerns about security and the overall volatility of the stock market have left some observers doubting the exchange’s inclusion in the renowned index. “All I can tell you is this is not good,” said business and economics commentator Ed Elson.

Related: Coinbase in S&P 500: More crypto firms to come?

Major indexes bounce back after 90-day US-China tariff deal

On May 12, the Trump administration announced that it had reached a deal with China to suspend tariffs for 90 days, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq seeing nominal gains of 4.5% and 3%, respectively, a day after the news. Bitcoin was also up 2%.

According to a market analysis by Cointelegraph, Bitcoin failed to smash expectations in the days that followed, as macroeconomic conditions favored stocks over investments like Bitcoin or gold, the latter of which fell 3.4% on May 12.

Before trading opened on May 30, the Nasdaq-100 index was up 9.16% for the month, while the S&P 500 climbed 6.16%.

Bitcoin “Pizza Day” sees market cap top Amazon at $2.2 trillion, BTC ATH

On May 22, “Bitcoin Pizza Day,” the market capitalization of Bitcoin crossed $2.2 trillion, overtaking the market cap of e-commerce giant Amazon. 

Pizza day, which marks Bitcoin OG Laszlo Hanyecz’s 10,000 BTC pizza purchase in 2010 (worth $41 at the time), also saw Bitcoin price hit a new all-time high at just over $109,000. Bitcoin broke the record a few days later by reaching $111,970.

By the end of the month, Bitcoin’s rally cooled as demand for the asset slowed, with spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds snapping a 10-day inflow streak and recording $347 million in net outflows on May 29.

OpenAI moves world project to US after enforcement actions in 12 countries

On April 30, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that his company’s digital identity project, World, would be setting up in the United States. 

Regulators in 12 different countries have taken some form of legal action against World, with stated reasons ranging from data privacy and protection (Kenya) to concerns over possible economic manipulation through its token (Brazil). In Hong Kong, the project is banned outright. 

Related: Alarm bells ring in US over OpenAI’s crypto project World

World has addressed privacy concerns by stating that it holds no identifying information attached to the unique eye scan recorded on its Orb devices. It also states that it does not control or own that information, but that users own and control that information in the form of their World ID.

Magazine: Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle ’10x bigger’ but will still decisively break above $100K

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-all-time-high-five-us-states-enact-crypto-laws-may-in-charts/feed/ 0 39342 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/crypto-staking-does-not-violate-u-s-securities-laws-sec-says/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/crypto-staking-does-not-violate-u-s-securities-laws-sec-says/#respond Fri, 30 May 2025 05:59:26 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/crypto-staking-does-not-violate-u-s-securities-laws-sec-says/

Businesses providing crypto services in the UK will be required to collect more extensive user and transaction data by next year.

The HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) says the new rule covers all UK-based reporting crypto-asset service providers (RCASPs), which include exchanges, brokers, dealers, and any firm that transacts with digital assets on behalf of users or provides a platform for the transactions. 

The government will implement the policy as part of the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), a global initiative that promotes the exchange of information between countries to address tax evasion risks related to digital assets.

“From 1 January 2026, if you provide cryptoasset services in the UK, you’ll have new responsibilities for collecting data and reporting it to HMRC.

This is because the UK is introducing the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD) Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF), and extending it to include domestic reporting.”

Crypto firms will have to collect data such as names, dates of birth, addresses and country of residence for individual users and business names and addresses for entity users, which include companies, partnerships, trusts and charities. 

For transactions involving users based in the UK or other countries participating in the CARF, crypto firms need to record the type of crypto asset and transaction involved as well as the value and number of units. 

The HMRC urges crypto firms to verify the accuracy of the information they collect since there will be penalties of up to £300, or around $399, per user for inaccurate, incomplete or unverified reports.

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Pro-crypto Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming is pressing the US Treasury to ease crypto tax laws as a means of evening out the playing field with foreign companies.

In a new thread on the social media platform X, Lummis says that the US’s competitive advantage in digital finance is at risk due to US companies being taxed more than their foreign counterparts, a loophole she and Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio are trying to close.

“Our edge in digital finance is at risk if U.S. companies are taxed more than foreign competitors. [Representative Bernie Moreno] and I urged the US Treasury to lift an unintended tax burden on U.S. digital asset companies. To lead the world in digital assets, we need a level playing field.”

In their letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Lummis and Moreno say that when the Biden Administration signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, they created a new tax known as the corporate alternative minimum tax (CAMT), which imposed a 15% tax burden on certain companies, creating a disadvantage for US firms.

“Corporations that own enough appreciated digital assets to be subject to CAMT must now pay taxes on unrealized gains in the value of those digital assets…

Neither Congress nor the Financial Account Standards Board (FASB) planned this outcome – it is the unintended result of a tax liability on decisions by a private organization that is focused on financial statement accounting standards, not principles of taxation.”

According to Lummis, the Treasury should use its power to change the law by either changing the tax burden owed or by excluding unrealized gains from the formula, because, as things stand now, corporations may be discouraged from holding large amounts of crypto assets.

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Sovereign Wealth Funds are already gaining exposure to Bitcoin, but significant allocations won’t happen until the United States establishes clearer regulations for the digital assets industry, says SkyBridge founder Anthony Scaramucci.

“I think they are buying it, I think they are buying it on the margin,” Scaramucci, former White House director of communications during US President Donald Trump’s first term, said on Anthony Pompliano’s podcast on May 8.

Legislation will lead to “large blocks of buying”

“I don’t think it is going to be a gigantic groundswell of buying until we greenlight legislation in the United States,” he added. Scaramucci previously said in a February interview with the Financial Times that he expects the US government to propose crypto legislation in November.

SWFs are government-owned investment funds that manage national savings, often built from surplus revenues like oil profits or trade gains. Norway has the largest SWF in the world, with approximately $1.73 trillion in assets under management, followed by China with $1.33 trillion, according to data from Visual Capitalist.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) market cap is approximately $2.05 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Scaramucci said that if stablecoin regulation is passed, clear guidance is provided for traditional banks to custody of Bitcoin and other digital assets, and there’s progress on tokenizing stocks and bonds, a significant wave of buying from Sovereign Wealth Funds is likely to follow.

“Then I will tell you that there will be large blocks of buying, or people worth 10, 20, 30 trillion dollars, buying a half a billion dollars of Bitcoin, buying a billion of Bitcoin,” Scaramucci said.

Related: Institutional investors continue to scoop up Bitcoin above $100K

“But if you wanna see a million dollar Bitcoin, that’s when someone at a sovereign says ok, this is part of the infrastructure of the world’s financial services architecture,” he added.

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood recently said that the chances of Bitcoin reaching a seven-figure price by 2030 have increased.

“We actually think the odds have gone up that our bull case will be the right number because of what is becoming the institutionalization of this new asset class,” Woods said in February.

Magazine: Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle’ 10x bigger’ but will still decisively break above $100K

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