Crypto Wins. FIT21 IS A GO 🔝🤝🏻
Happy Bitcoin pizza day: US approves FIT21. Coinbase CEO joins the celebrations. SEC's in talk with Ethereum ETF issuers. Nvidia’s market cap shoots upto $2.5 trillion. MetaMask adds Bitcoin support.
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It's Bitcoin Pizza Day.
Every May 22nd, the crypto world commemorates the legendary purchase of two pizzas for 10,000 BTC by Laszlo Hanyecz in 2010.
The first real-world purchase.
Back then, Bitcoin was a niche tech experiment. Who knew a simple pizza order would become cryptocurrency history?
A Comment under the 2010 post by Laszlo Hanyecz forcasted this?
So much fun to read this conversation.
Fast forward to today
10,000 BTC would be a fortune - $696.52 million.
Millions of businesses accept crypto payments.
Cryptocurrencies are a recognised asset class.
Bitcoin ETFs surfaced.
Crypto friendly regulations are here too. Calls for double celebration.
House Passes Landmark Crypto Bill
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill aimed at clarifying crypto regulations in a surprising display of bipartisanship.
The FIT21 Act (H.R.4763) creates a clearer division of authority between the SEC and CFTC for overseeing digital assets.
Supporters: See the FIT21 Act as a way to encourage crypto innovation by ending the "regulatory food fight" between the SEC and CFTC.
Opponents: Fear the bill will create a "regulatory no man's land" and lead to a market crash.
The vote
279-136 passed the bill.
71 Democrats joined 208 Republicans in favour, including former Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California.
It’s a total win!
About the bill
Focus on consumer protection: FIT21 aims to establish a framework for regulating digital assets, prioritising consumer and investor protection.
CFTC gets the spotlight: The bill empowers the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to oversee crypto spot markets and "digital commodities" like Bitcoin.
Secondary market trading: The bill creates a path for secondary market trading of certain digital assets.
Stablecoin and AML measures: The bill also addresses stablecoins and anti-money laundering (AML) concerns.
WATCH: Republicans And Democrats Floor Debate About Crypto Legislation
Who said what?
"My time as chair and my time in Congress is coming to an end, but the policy is not coming to an end,"- House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry.
“FIT21 is a first step to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets – and it must be improved by working with the Senate and the Administration," - Nancy Pelosi.
"The link between crypto voters and the upcoming election is undeniable though and it seems the Biden Administration is starting to finally wake up to the potential consequences of continuing with the status quo," - Ron Hammond, Blockchain Association.
“I’ve had enough of Biden Administration officials regulating by enforcement. That’s why I support FIT21, legislation that will prevent the government from standing in the way of digital innovation.” - Congressman John Rose.
The unhappy gang?
“This [bill] is perhaps the worst, most harmful proposal I have seen in a long time,”- Rep. Maxine Waters.
"The bad guys love crypto," - Rep. Sean Casten.
The White House opposes👇🏻
This comes after threatening to veto a bill erasing rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on crypto custody for banks.
"The crypto industry’s record of failures, frauds, and bankruptcies is not because we don't have rules or because the rules are unclear,"... "It’s because many players in the crypto industry don’t play by the rules."- SEC chair Gary Gensler (ahead of house vote).
About Gary Gensler👇🏻
He has been really rough on crypto.
What's next?
The bill now heads to the Senate.
The House will also debate a bill prohibiting a CBDC.
Winning in the UK too? Unlikely
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has set July 4 for a UK general election, where the Conservative Party risks losing power.
Under Sunak, the Conservatives have aimed to establish the U.K. as a crypto hub, engaging the community and proposing new legislation.
The Labour Party, likely to win according to polls, has remained quiet on crypto but shows interest in tokenisation and a digital pound.
Block That Quote 🎙️
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
“Historic vote today on the FIT21 bill in the House of Representatives, that will finally start to create some clear rules to regulate crypto (if it becomes law).”
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is celebrating the House passing FIT2 calling it a "historic vote" that could finally bring clear rules for crypto in the US.
Coinbase has been pushing for clearer crypto regulations for years, arguing that a lack of clarity hinders innovation and consumer protection.
Read: Coinbase > SEC < Beba 🤼♀️
All That ETF 🔔
The SEC has started discussions with Ethereum ETF issuers regarding S-1 registration statements.
Amended 19b-4 forms have been submitted, but there has been little progress on the S-1 forms.
BlackRock, Grayscale, and Bitwise all amended their applications with the SEC, removing provisions for staking Ether.
This follows similar moves by Fidelity, VanEck, and others in recent days.
The clock is ticking - the SEC has a deadline of May 23rd to decide on VanEck's application, which could set a precedent for the entire group.
Meanwhile in London: WisdomTree and 21Shares received approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for their Bitcoin and Ether ETPs.
Invesco also got the green light for its product.
In the Numbers 🔢
$2.5 trillion
Nvidia’s market cap after the earnings announcement.
NVDA stock prices surged to an all-time high on May 23
That's bigger than Tesla and Amazon combined.
Reason: Nvidia crushes Wall Street expectations.
Quarterly revenue of $26.0 billion
Reported 461% year-over-year increase in earnings and 262% growth in sales for the quarter ending April 28th.
Quarterly Data Center revenue of $22.6 billion: The company's data center business skyrocketed 427% as companies adopt Nvidia's tech to power AI applications.
To celebrate and make shares more accessible, Nvidia announced a 10-for-1 stock split and a 150% increase in its quarterly dividend
Metamask To Add Bitcoin Support?
Crypto wallet MetaMask, primarily focused on Ethereum, might soon welcome Bitcoin.
What does it matter? Metamask is the world's leading self-custody web3 platform with 30 million monthly active users.
This move could bring millions of new transactions to the platform.
The rollout could happen within the next month, but details are still under wraps.
Bitcoin features might be introduced gradually, with more functionalities added over time.
MetaMask has been evolving.
Snaps Integration (September 2023): Introduced support for Snaps, expanding functionality beyond Ethereum.
Security Enhancements: Added security alerts powered by Blockaid for various blockchains.
Staking and Airdrop/NFT Tools: Implemented Ethereum validator staking and a feature to check airdrop and NFT eligibility.
Growth: The wallet hit a record 22 million downloads in August 2023.
MetaMask's developer, Consensys, secured $450 million in funding (March 2022) and is currently battling the SEC regarding regulations surrounding Ethereum.
Read: SEC Can't Stop Suing 👨⚖️
The Surfer 🏄
Tether and Circle minted $1.3 billion in stablecoins in a single day. Increased stablecoin mints indicate growing demand for crypto exposure. Stablecoin market capitalisation has increased by $30 billion this year.
Aave deposits reach $19.5 billion, nearing levels not seen since the crash of Terra's UST stablecoin in 2020.
Bitcoin mining difficulty rose 1.5% to 84.4 trillion on Thursday. The network's hash rate moved back above 600 EH/s.
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