The new law on binary cryptocurrency "creates a federal regulatory framework. Emotions. Cynthia Lammis (Republican, Wyoming) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced a proposal to regulate cryptocurrencies, called the Responsible Financial Innovation Act. This is a reintroduction of the concept presented last year with the addition of several new articles.
"This bill is 274 pages long and covers much of the cryptocurrency space, from commodity and commodity regulation to cryptocurrency taxation to full-scale internet agency coordination and a 'payments stable coin,'" said Justin Slough, policy director at technology investment firm Paradigm.
The bill has a slim chance of passing, predicts Slash. But "how it affects the House McHenry Thompson bill" that has a chance to pass could be important. An additional payment is planned for this latest installment later this month. (For an explanation of key elements of the Senate bill that could be part of the House resolution, see Slash's Twitter feed; see discussion of the bill here.)
An important part of the bill seeks to clarify when cryptocurrencies are securities and when they are commodities. By doing so, it "undermines the SEC by declaring that much of the fintech industry is a commodity regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)," says journalist Matt Lazlo. And he suggested that could be a good thing:
After the cryptocurrency crash, the SEC used ambiguities in existing law and congressional inaction to gain new regulatory powers. Congress wants that power back; Well, at least some of the most vocal, angry and crypto-savvy lawmakers in Washington.
“I think the SEC tries to regulate with law enforcement, and it's often very careless,” Gillibrand told me.
In this sense, congressional regulation of cryptocurrencies may be the lesser of two evils. More from Laszlo:
While industry leaders, investors and their allies in Congress have accused the SEC of undermining cryptocurrencies, the past few months have made it clear that if Congress doesn't act, securities regulators will once again be on their own.
Like other federal agencies, Senators Lummis and Gillibrand consulted with SEC officials at their review desk, sought feedback, conducted regulatory reviews and even accepted some of the agency's recommendations.
"You see. We asked them to fix it and make some of their changes;" Lummis told WIRED.
After taking the SEC seriously last year, senators were shocked by the crackdown by SEC regulators on Coinbase, Kraken and the like.
"I understand that Binance is offshore," Lamis said. But mostly the domestic industry is trying to comply with the regulations and it's very cold and we don't have that much control in this country. You know they are not enemies.
The full account of Loomis Gillibrand can be found here.
It appears that many regulatory hurdles are emerging for currencies and digital assets and their exchanges. For example, a new mandatory consumer data collection is required. And "each year, the CEO of a cryptoasset broker must verify, under penalty of perjury, compliance with this consumer information, as well as "the relevant laws against money laundering, customer identification, terrorist financing and sanctions" and more, the text of the law reads.
"So if a company says it will disclose certain information about consumer protection, but doesn't, the CEO can be prosecuted for perjury," explained Slough.
In theory, it's to fight the roast of Sam Bankman of this world. But it looks like an intervention that could catch people off guard due to simple omissions.
Some provisions of the draft law can have a positive and protective effect on consumers . Or it could be bureaucratic nonsense that wastes time and resources and at worst allows the government to mock crypto companies and affect the privacy of crypto users. The new law has just been passed, so we're still thinking about what it means for the crypto industry.
Trigger: The bill would amend the federal Deposit Insurance Act to punish individuals who counterfeit money using crypto-assets with up to five years in prison, which would be significant given the scope of some money laundering laws.
The law's creation of a multi-agency law enforcement task force intended to combat the illegal use of cryptocurrencies also appears to indicate that the government must continue spying.
Elsewhere, the Loomis-Gillibrand bill contains tax provisions, some good and some bad. "Token sales with profits of less than $200 will not be taxed," Slew announced. And "Crypto transactions are treated as capital gains, not ordinary income as in commodities/commodities".
"The main criticism from the [crypto] community ... is that the law intends to preserve the Hawaii test," FXStreet explained. "The test is used to determine whether a transaction qualifies as an investment contract in the United States, which in turn qualifies the assets involved in the transaction as securities... This test is long overdue and is the point of contention in the ongoing SEC case against Ripple."
Free perfume
Confidence in higher education has declined significantly. A new Gallup poll shows that Americans' confidence in higher education is plummeting. In the latest survey, conducted in June, 36 percent of respondents said they had "somewhat" or "strong" confidence in higher education, compared to 48 percent in 2018 and 57 percent in 2015.
In the most recent survey, 40% of respondents said they had "some" faith in higher education, while 22% said they had "very little" faith. In the year In 2018, only 15% of respondents had very low self-confidence, while in 2015 only 9% said so.
Confidence fell across the board, but Republicans fell the most, down 20 points to 19%, the lowest of any group,” Gallup said. "Self-confidence among adults with no college education and those 55 and older has fallen sharply since 2018, according to Republicans."
The decline is part of a larger disenchantment with American institutions. A Gallup poll in June "also shows that trust in 16 other schools has declined over the past year." Most of the institutions more closely watched than higher education currently have or are close to the lowest trust ratings, according to Gallup. And "Despite the decline, higher education ranks fourth in trust among the 17 institutions reviewed."
Small business (65%), military (60%) and police (43%) were the highest. TV news (14%), big business (14%) and Congress (8%) are likely to be least trusted.
Free markets
What the bear can teach us about dynamics and the "restaurant opening supervisor's nightmare". Hulu's TV series Bear is about Carmi Berzato, a talented chef who returns to Chicago after his brother's death to help his family save a struggling sandwich shop. It also speaks to the dynamics and "supervisory nightmare of opening a restaurant," writes Scott Lichicom. While owning a restaurant can be challenging in many ways, "the industry brings many benefits to those willing to invest and, most importantly, regardless of their background."
This mobility is due in part to the industry's overall focus on results rather than empowering restaurants and their employees. A good (expensive) culinary degree can open doors and improve certain skills, but the real litmus test is talent, experience and commitment (just ask these famous chefs). And while the starting salary, and even the average salary, is usually not great, it pays the best: the best (waiters, bartenders, chefs, etc.) never went to college, appeared on TV, or even if they weren't on the cover of a glossy cookbook, they can make surprisingly good money.
Having family in the area, I saw it all firsthand: an all-Hispanic bartender who started out as a waiter, an award-winning sommelier who went out of college and learned to wait tables at a suburban bar and grill, an owner who started out as a waiter, and several food trucks in crowded traditional establishments. The work (and life) was hard and many people were exhausted, but for those who did the work, past or even gifted, the rewards were strong.
The bear includes this variable .
It also shows how public policy can make success more difficult, Lincicome said:
Of all the things that stand in the way of our heroes - the menu, the building, the staff, the personal belongings - the government is their biggest and most present threat. The team estimates (optimistically) that "permits, checks and permits" alone will cost them $10,000, but the biggest expense is time: apparently, in every scene at every restaurant, their actual work is horribly interrupted by a new bureaucratic hurdle.
Read more here.
Quick keys
• "Inflation fell to its lowest annual rate in more than two years in June," CNBC reported, "slightly offset by some of the slowdown in spending and rates at more than 40-year highs."
• The FTC appealed a judge's decision to deny the agency's request to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
• Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa are suing Iowa's new fetal heartbeat law. "By banning the majority of abortions in Iowa, the law violates the rights of petitioners, their health care providers and other employees, and their patients under the Iowa Constitution, and may seriously harm their health, safety, and security," their complaint states.
• He doesn't want Meta Threads to be the new Twitter. "If Meta Leaders is successful, Threads will no longer be a place for people to discuss political issues or keep up with local political events and get the latest news that may affect their lives," NPR said.
• “In April, Idaho lawmakers passed a law requiring anyone under 18 to get permission from a parent or guardian before leaving the state to get an abortion,” The Guardian reported. The new lawsuit says the law is unconstitutional.
"Get your politics out of my jail," wrote Reason's Jason Russell .
*Edit: This post previously incorrectly stated which bear character died.