67 days ago
An investigation in the U.S. House of Representatives and a hearing in the Senate will examine whether financial regulators during the administration of former President Joe Biden deliberately cut off crypto industry leaders and others from the banking system in an inappropriate use of authority. “Debanking is un-American — every legal business deserves to be treated the same regardless of their political beliefs," said Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican who took over the gavel earlier this month and has scheduled a February 5 hearing on debanking. "Unfortunately, under Operation Chokepoint 2.0, Biden regulators abused their power and forced financial institutions to cut off services to digital asset firms, political figures, and conservative-aligned businesses and individuals." Operation Chokepoint 2.0 is the name Republican lawmakers and the digital assets industry have been using for the systemic severing of crypto insiders from U.S. banks, in reference to an earlier era`s Operation Chokepoint — a government-sanctioned effort to reduce risk in banking by encouraging the lenders to back away from legal but otherwise risky businesses. Delving into the struggle of crypto executives and businesses to maintain banking relationships, the House Oversight Committee is "investigating whether this debanking practice originates from the financial institutions themselves or from either implicit or explicit pressure from government regulators," according to a letter the committee chairman, Representative James Comer, sent on Friday to founders and CEOs of several crypto companies and organizations, including Coinbase, Lightswap and Uniswap Labs. The challenge of pinning the lack of banking options entirely on the government is that some financial institutions may have made decisions based on their own risk appetites or business plans that deliberately steered clear of crypto interests. And banking regulators such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency were public in their guidance that regulated banks seeking to do crypto business would face restrictions and additional scrutiny from the agencies. However, a Coinbase pursuit of private FDIC communications with banks demonstrated that the agency directed them to stop pursuing digital assets services until the regulator had specific rules in place, which it wasn`t developing. "We are grateful to assist in the thorough investigation of this pernicious practice,” said Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, which also received the House committee`s letter probing the trend. Meanwhile, congressional Democrats have been focusing their own investigation requests on President Donald Trump`s recently launched meme coin, $TRUMP . He`s been accused of using the presidency to rack up billions of dollars, and they cite the token as a potential risk for dangerous conflicts of interest.
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Policy US Congress Investigations Banking Senate Banking Committee House Oversight Committee Blockchain Association
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Circle Files for NYSE Listing Amid Surging Stablecoin Revenue: Details
Stablecoin giant Circle Internet Group has taken a major step toward becoming a publicly traded company . On April 1, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC) filed its Form S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announcing plans to list its Class A common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “CRCL.” However, the filing did not disclose the number of shares to be offered or the target price of its initial public offering (IPO). Circle’s attempt to go public comes after a previously abandoned effort in 2021 through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) merger. The company also filed a confidential IPO application earlier this year. Despite regulatory uncertainties surrounding stablecoins in the U.S., Circle’s move signals confidence in the growing adoption of USDC. The company recently became the first stablecoin issuer to receive regulatory approval in Japan, launching USDC on SBI VC Trade on March 26. Circle Records High Revenue, But Profitability Declines Circle’s financial performance in 2024 highlights both its revenue strength and profitability struggles. The company reported $1.67 billion in revenue for the year, marking a 16% increase compared to 2023. However, net income fell sharply to $155.6 million—a 41.8% decline year-over-year. One key reason for this drop is the substantial cost of distributing USDC. According to the filing, Circle paid Coinbase nearly $908 million in 2024 as part of its revenue-sharing agreement. This means the crypto exchange is earning more from USDC transactions than Circle itself, a trend that has raised concerns among analysts. Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, pointed out that these high costs help explain why Circle’s revenue increased while its EBITDA and net income took a hit. Despite this, over 99% of Circle’s revenue continues to come from its stablecoin reserves, which are primarily backed by U.S. Treasury bills. Crypto Holdings and the Road Ahead Beyond its stablecoin operations, Circle also holds a diversified crypto portfolio. The company owns $6.2 million worth of Bitcoin, $3.3 million in Ethereum, and smaller holdings in projects like Sui, Sei, Aptos, and Optimism. With an estimated $60.1 billion in market capitalization, USDC remains the second-largest stablecoin, trailing behind Tether (USDT) at $143.9 billion. The post Circle Files for NYSE Listing Amid Surging Stablecoin Revenue: Details appeared first on TheCoinrise.com . CoinDesk
Ted Cruz Introduces FLARE Act to Repurpose Flared Gas for Bitcoin Mining
The Texas Senator’s Facilitate Lower Atmospheric Released Emissions bill aims to make the state “the number one place for Bitcoin mining.” CoinDesk
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