The conviction of former cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried for stealing at least $10 billion from customers and investors is the latest black mark for the cryptocurrency industry, but in Washington there seems to be little to no interest in pushing through regulation.
When cryptocurrencies collapsed and a number of companies failed last year, Congress considered multiple approaches on how to regulate the industry in the future.
However, most of those efforts have gone nowhere, especially in this chaotic year that has been dominated by geopolitical tensions, inflation and the 2024 presidential election.
Ironically, the failure of Mr Bankman-Fried's FTX and his subsequent arrest late last year may have contributed to the momentum for regulation stalling out.
Before FTX imploded, he spent millions of dollars – illegally taken from his customers it turns out – to influence the discussion around cryptocurrency regulation in Washington and push for action.
Without Congress, federal regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission have stepped in to take their own enforcement actions against the industry, including the filing of lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance, two of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges.
And most recently PayPal received a subpoena from the SEC related to its PayPal USD stablecoin, the company said in a filing with securities regulators on Wednesday.
“The subpoena requests the production of documents,” the company said. “We are co-operating with the SEC in connection with this request.”
Still, Congress still has yet to act.
Senators Debbie Stabenow and John Boozman proposed last year to hand over the regulatory authority over cryptocurrencies bitcoin and ether to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. Ms Stabenow and Mr Boozman lead the Senate Agriculture Committee, which has authority over the CTFC.
One big stumbling block in the Senate has been Senator Sherrod Brown, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.
Mr Brown has been highly sceptical of cryptocurrencies as a concept and he's been generally reluctant to put Congress's blessing on them through regulation.
He's held several committee hearings over cryptocurrency issues, ranging from the negative impact on consumers to use of the currencies in funding illicit activities, but has not advanced any legislation out of his committee.
“Americans continue to lose money every day in crypto scams and frauds,” Mr Brown said in a statement after Mr Bankman-Fried was convicted. “We need to crack down on abuses and can’t let the crypto industry write its own rule book.”
In the House, a bill that would put regulatory guardrails around stablecoins – cryptocurrencies that are supposed to be backed by hard assets like the US dollar – passed out of the House Financial Services Committee this summer. But that bill has had zero interest from the White House and the Senate.
President Joe Biden last year signed an executive order on government oversight of cryptocurrency that urges the Federal Reserve to explore whether the central bank should jump in and create its own digital currency. So far, however, there has been no movement on that front.
Consumer advocates are sceptical about the need for new rules.
“There is no need for any special interest crypto legislation which would only legitimise an industry that is used by speculators, financial predators, and criminals,” said Dennis Kelleher, president of Better Markets, a non-profit that works to “build a more secure financial system for all Americans”, according to its website.
“Moreover, almost everything the crypto industry does is clearly covered by existing securities and commodities laws that every other law-abiding financial firm in the country follow,” he said.
Bartlett Collins Naylor, a financial policy advocate for Public Citizen's Congress Watch said “laws on fraud and securities are currently sound”.
Cryptocurrency advocates, meanwhile, are quick to note that it was Mr Bankman-Fried on trial, not the entire industry.
“As the jury found, this was a clear case of fraud committed by a small group of individuals,” said Sheila Warren, chief executive of the Crypto Council for Innovation.
“It’s an unrelated fact that the US needs regulatory clarity in the digital asset space. Policymakers were focused on this reality before this trial, and will continue to focus on it going forward.”
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Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
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Engine: 4.0-litre V8
Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh850,000
On sale: now
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In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
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Moment of the day Just three balls remained in an exhausting day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers when they were afforded some belated cheer. Nuwan Pradeep, unrewarded in 15 overs to that point, let slip a seemingly innocuous delivery down the legside. Babar Azam feathered it behind, and Niroshan Dickwella dived to make a fine catch.
Stat of the day - 2.56 Shan Masood and Sami Aslam are the 16th opening partnership Pakistan have had in Tests in the past five years. That turnover at the top of the order – a new pair every 2.56 Test matches on average – is by far the fastest rate among the leading Test sides. Masood and Aslam put on 114 in their first alliance in Abu Dhabi.
The verdict Even by the normal standards of Test cricket in the UAE, this has been slow going. Pakistan’s run-rate of 2.38 per over is the lowest they have managed in a Test match in this country. With just 14 wickets having fallen in three days so far, it is difficult to see 26 dropping to bring about a result over the next two.
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
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Name: Oulo.com
Founder: Kamal Nazha
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2020
Number of employees: 5
Sector: Technology
Funding: $450,000
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Healthcare spending to double to $2.2 trillion rupees
Launched a 641billion-rupee federal health scheme
Allotted 200 billion rupees for the recapitalisation of state-run banks
Around 1.75 trillion rupees allotted for privatisation and stake sales in state-owned assets
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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