DEX in the City: Why Prediction Markets Could Spark a Huge Constitutional Fight
The crew tackles everything from the CFTC's controversial stance on prediction markets to the real-world impacts of rising crypto crime.
Thank you to our sponsors!
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The CFTC has announced an innovation council, Chair Mike Selig has asserted that prediction markets are under the agency's ambit, SBF wants another trial and Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping is casting crypto in a negative light.
In this episode of DEX in the City, hosts Jessi Brooks, Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos and TuongVy Le discuss how the distribution of the CFTC's council highlights industry's need for better gender equity, why Selig's stance on prediction markets triggers “a huge constitutional debate,” why SBF's push for a new trial is so dangerous for crypto, and whether the crypto industry can do more to mitigate crime.
Find out why SBF's search for a new trial has far reaching effects beyond his case. Plus, can crypto tackle crime without sacrificing its benefits?
If you want your crypto taxes done carefully — not guessed — Crypto Tax Girl is offering $100 off one-on-one crypto tax services.
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Hosts:
Jessi Brooks, General Counsel at Ribbit Capital
Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, General Counsel at StarkWare
TuongVy Le, General Counsel at Veda
Links:
Unchained:
SEC and CFTC Signal United Front on Crypto
Trump Won’t Consider Pardon for SBF: Report
DEX in the City: How Crypto Exchanges May Be Holding Up the Market Structure Bill
This week's good news:
How Ripple is Helping Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity to Unlock Crypto Philanthropy
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DEX in the City: Is Now the 'Perfect Time to Launch a Crypto Scam'?
The market structure bill introduces a "control" test for DeFi protocols. The problem: nobody agrees on what control means.
Figure is giving away $25,000 in USDC. Deposit into Democratized Prime, earn ~9% APY hourly—and every $1 you keep in for 25 days is 1 entry.
Enter here
Peter Van Valkenburgh of Coin Center sits down with Jessi Brooks and Vy Le to confront a question that will determine which DeFi projects can operate in the United States and which ones can't.
The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act creates a carve-out for non-custodial developers, codifying the principle that if you never hold customer funds, you shouldn't need a money transmitter license. Simple enough on paper.
But Vy presses on the hard cases: what about an admin key, an upgradeable vault, or a pause function built for security? Where exactly does "non-custodial" end and "control" begin?
Meanwhile, Jessi raises the tension the industry rarely wants to discuss. The DOJ just charged cartel brokers moving money through crypto, yet simultaneously dismantled its own enforcement teams.
If Congress clears developers, who pursues the actual criminals? The answer matters for every builder, investor, and victim watching this play out.
Hosts:
Jessi Brooks, General Counsel at Ribbit Capital
TuongVy Le, General Counsel at Veda
Guest:
Peter Van Valkenburgh, Executive Director of Coin Center
Links:
Crypto Market Structure Bill Clears Senate Committee — But the Hard Part Is Still Ahead
Senators Move to Curb Passive Stablecoin Yields in Market Structure Push
Mastercard in Talks to Buy Zerohash for $2 Billion: Report
How the GENIUS Act Creates a Built-In Advantage for Banks and Deposit Tokens
How Nansen’s New Trading Agent Makes It Easier to Follow the Smart Money Onchain
How the x402 Standard Is Enabling AI Agents to Pay Each Other
Reading is Fundamental
Stablecoin for Babies
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The Chopping Block: Crypto Clarity Act Drama + Stablecoin Yield Wars + Developer Liability Fights
This week the boys break down the Crypto Clarity Act's dramatic Senate markup with Coin Center's Peter Van Valkenburgh, covering developer liability concerns, tokenized securities language controversy, the banking industry's war against stablecoin yield.
Welcome to The Chopping Block — where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. Tarun's out this episode, but we're joined by Peter Van Valkenburgh, Principal of Policy at Coin Center and one of the sharpest legal minds in crypto.
This week, we're diving deep into the Crypto Clarity Act drama that has DC in chaos mode. What started as crypto's best shot at comprehensive regulation just hit a major roadblock when Coinbase pulled their support hours before the Senate markup. We'll break down the developer liability questions around "control" definitions, the tokenized securities language that has Brian Armstrong fired up, and the stablecoin yield restrictions that have banks and crypto companies at each other's throats.
Peter gives us the inside scoop on what's really in this 200-page bill, why Polymarket odds crashed from 80% to 40%, and whether this legislative train wreck can still get back on track. Let's get into it.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights
🔹 Coinbase pulls support for Crypto Clarity Act hours before Senate markup, citing "defacto ban" on tokenized equities
🔹 Peter Van Valkenburgh explains developer liability concerns and how "control" definitions could impact DeFi protocols
🔹 Debate over whether the bill actually kills tokenized securities innovation or just restates existing law
🔹 Banking industry fights to restrict stablecoin yield payments, fearing deposit flight and profit compression
🔹 Tom breaks down multiple loopholes in yield restrictions that could easily be exploited through rewards programs
🔹 Robert argues banks are protecting oligopoly profits while stifling consumer choice and competition
🔹 Peter warns that fighting over yield could jeopardize crucial developer protections like the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act
🔹 Polymarket odds for bill passage crash from 80% to 40% as political tensions escalate
🔹 Discussion of sanctions obligations for DeFi frontend operators and application layer providers
Hosts
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate
⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly
Guest
⭐️Peter Van Valkenburgh, Executive Director of Coin Center
Disclosures
Links
Senate Banking Nears Vote on Digital Asset Market Structure by Peter Van Valkenburgh & Jason Somensatto & Lizandro (Laz) Pieper
https://www.coincenter.org/senate-banking-nears-vote-on-digital-asset-market-structure/
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:36 Clarity Act Panic
04:46 Peter's Expert Take: Why This Bill Matters
10:16 Developer Liability
19:36 Sanctions Compliance
27:03 Tokenized Equities Fight
35:42 Great Yield War: Banks vs. Stablecoins
45:11 Will Clarity Survive?
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The Roman Storm Verdict | Peter Van Valkenburgh & David Morris
Welcome to BanklessTV, featuring Peter Van Valkenburgh from Coin Center and David Morris of The Rage, freshly back from the SDNY courtroom with the inside scoop on the Roman Storm verdict. In this episode we unpack the split decision—how Storm beat the money-laundering and sanctions-evasion counts yet was found guilty on the hot-button “unlicensed money-transmission” charge—and what that single conviction means for every non-custodial developer in crypto. Peter breaks down the legal tightrope between FinCEN guidance and DOJ prosecution, outlines three clear appeal paths (including the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act), and explains why Roman’s case could still become a rallying point for financial-privacy legislation. David shares firsthand color from the trial: jury deadlocks, high-stakes witness drama, and the emotional moment Storm walked free to see his daughter. Join us to hear why this verdict is both a wake-up call and an opportunity, what Congress, the courts, and the next administration might do next, and how the outcome could reshape DeFi, privacy tech, and open-source innovation for years to come.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:28 Introduction to the Roman Storm Case
0:58 Reflections on the Verdict
3:37 Understanding the Charges
4:07 Breakdown of the Conspiracy Counts
8:40 The Sentencing Landscape
9:29 Courtroom Atmosphere and Reactions
11:18 The Appeal Process
15:20 Roman's Optimism After the Verdict
17:08 Legal Standards and Implications
21:58 The Role of FinCEN Guidance
26:03 The Bigger Picture for DeFi
29:25 Jury Dynamics Explained
34:08 Optimistic Outcomes and Future Paths
36:25 Legislative Changes Ahead
39:54 The Potential for Re-prosecution
47:43 The Impact of Political Climate
51:37 Paths to Clarity in Legislation
55:45 The Future of Non-Custodial Projects
1:02:08 The Importance of Precedent
1:08:27 Closing Thoughts on the Case
1:09:13 A Call to Action for Support
1:15:37 Supporting the Cause
1:18:13 Final Reflections on the Journey
------
RESOURCES
Support The Rage’s on-the-ground reporting
https://therage.co/donate
Support Coin Center’s policy work (fiat & crypto options)
https://coincenter.org/donate
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
The Chopping Block: Crypto as a Public Good, Tornado Cash Ruling, and SEC’s New Direction - Ep. 772
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, and Tom Schmidt chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we're joined by special guest Peter Van Valkenburgh, Executive Director of Coin Center, to tackle one of the most pivotal moments in crypto policy. In this episode, we dive into the groundbreaking Fifth Circuit ruling on Tornado Cash, unpack its implications for blockchain privacy, and discuss the challenges noncustodial developers like Roman Storm are facing. We also break down Trump’s crypto executive order, the SEC’s new direction under Hester Peirce, and speculate on what a U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve might mean for the future.
Show highlights
🔹 Crypto as a Public Good: Why open, permissionless technologies need protection—and how Coin Center defends them.
🔹 Tornado Cash Ruling: The Fifth Circuit overturns OFAC sanctions—what this means for blockchain privacy and freedoms.
🔹 Roman Storm Case: DOJ’s controversial crackdown on noncustodial developers and its implications for innovation.
🔹 Trump’s Crypto EO: Breaking down the ban on CBDCs and the push for U.S. leadership in digital assets.
🔹 SEC’s New Direction: Hester Peirce’s crypto task force and the future of enforcement and regulation.
🔹 CFTC vs. SEC: Will Congress resolve the jurisdiction battle over crypto markets?
🔹 Senate Banking’s Subcommittee: How Senator Lummis could lead a new era of crypto-friendly policy.
🔹 Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: Speculating on what a U.S. Bitcoin reserve might look like.
🔹 2025 Regulatory Outlook: How shifting policies could redefine crypto’s future.
Hosts
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly
Guest:
⭐️Peter Van Valkenburgh, Executive Director of Coin Center
Disclosures
Timestamps -
00:00 Intro
01:34 Coin Center & Crypto as a Public Good
05:04 Crypto Policy Shifts & Trump's Executive Order
16:11 Senate Banking Digital Assets Subcommittee
20:20 SEC Crypto Task Force
32:10 Hester Peirce's Safe Harbor Proposal
35:43 Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: Expectations and Realities
41:12 Tornado Cash & OFAC Sanctions
45:28 Legal Implications for Noncustodial Developers
57:51 Future of Crypto Regulation & Coin Center's Role
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A Short Story About Private Law | Peter Van Valkenburgh
The Director of Research at Coincenter, Peter Van Valkenburgh joins us for our final talk at the Bankless Summit with a story that hits close to home about privacy and surveillance.
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------ ✨ Mint the episode on Zora ✨ https://zora.co/collect/zora:0x0c294913a7596b427add7dcbd6d7bbfc7338d53f/102?referrer=0x077Fe9e96Aa9b20Bd36F1C6290f54F8717C5674E
------ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Start 03:39 What Is This Talk About? 08:16 Lets Talk About Cars 12:46 The Stolen Bike 14:37 Surveillance 17:18 California 24:41 Supercharged Surveilance 27:48 What We Should Be Building
------ RESOURCES
Peter - https://x.com/valkenburgh
------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Could the Bank Secrecy Act Harm Crypto? Coin Center Thinks So - Ep. 571
In this episode of Unchained, Peter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at Coin Center, explains why the IRS's proposed broker rule for tax reporting in crypto could harm the crypto industry as well as the security and privacy of users. He explains how Coin Center thinks the IRS should accomplish its aims, and why that would even work for collecting taxes on DeFi gains.
Additionally, Peter explains why he believes the Bank Secrecy Act might be unconstitutional and how that could potentially affect developers building in crypto.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights:
What the IRS's proposed broker rule entails for crypto tax reporting and why this could have a negative impact on the industry
What responsibilities brokers in the crypto space now face
Why the IRS didn’t use Congress's amended language from the infrastructure bill
Why Peter argues that the IRS’s new proposed broker rule on crypto is unconstitutional and the principles at stake
The alternative approaches Peter suggests the IRS could adopt for more effective and fair regulation
Why Peter has concerns for crypto developers about the potential application of the Bank Secrecy Act
What actions Coin Center is undertaking to advocate for changes in the Bank Secrecy Act to better align with crypto realities
Why Coin Center is appealing in its lawsuit against the Treasury Department over the OFAC sanctions on Tornado Cash
Thank you to our sponsors!
Arbitrum Foundation
Popcorn Network
Guest
Peter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at Coin Center
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Why the SEC Is Probing Yuga Labs and Coin Center Is Suing Treasury
How Coin Center Is Helping Define The 'Big Fuzzy Gray Area' Of Blockchain And Cryptocurrency Law
Why the SEC's Proposed Rules Affecting DeFi Could Violate the First Amendment
Links
IRS Crypto Regulation
Coin Center: Electronic Cash, Decentralized Exchange, and the Constitution
The Blockchain Association’s letter opposing tax regulations proposed by the IRS
CoinDesk: How the Crypto Industry Responded to the IRS Proposed Broker Rule
Patriot Act
California Bankers Assn. v. Shultz
Bank Secrecy Act
Coin Center:
Broad, Ambiguous, or Delegated: Constitutional Infirmities of the Bank Secrecy Act
Tornado Cash
Coin Center:
U.S. Treasury sanction of privacy tools places sweeping restrictions on all Americans
Coin Center is suing OFAC over its Tornado Cash sanction
Denial of Coin Center’s motion in its case against the US Treasury over OFAC sanctions
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Why the SEC Is Probing Yuga Labs and Coin Center �Is Suing Treasury - Ep. 407
Peter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at Coin Center, comes to talk about the SEC probe into Yuga Labs, how to determine whether something is a security, and Coin Center’s lawsuit against the US Treasury over the sanctions on Tornado Cash.
Peter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at Coin Center, comes to talk about the SEC probe into Yuga Labs, how to determine whether something is a security, and Coin Center’s lawsuit against the US Treasury over the sanctions on Tornado Cash.
Show highlights:
whether there’s an over-reliance on the Howey Test and how a token being non-fungible doesn’t mean it’s not a security
what constitutes an investment contract and how it works in the Metaverse
the consequences for NFT holders and issuers if the NFTs are considered securities
why Coin Center is suing the US Treasury over the Tornado Cash sanctions
Who the plaintiffs are
whether this lawsuit differs from the one Coinbase is supporting
how to solve the issue of bad actors like North Korea using tools such as Tornado Cash to launder money
the remedy Coin Center is looking for in the lawsuit against the Treasury
how long the lawsuit could take to be resolved
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
Peter
Twitter
SEC probe into Yuga Labs
Unchained article
CrypTones thread on land sales
Coin Center lawsuit over Tornado Cash sanctions
Coin Center lawsuit and statement
Unchained article
Coinbase Backs Tornado Cash Lawsuit Against U.S. Treasury
North Korean hacks
Treasury Press release on the sanctions
Previous coverage of the Tornado Cash sanctions on Unchained:
Is TRM Labs Blocking Addresses From DeFi Protocols? Ari Redbord Says No
Tornado Cash Sanctioned. Did the Government Overstep Its Bounds?
The Chopping Block: Did OFAC Overstep by Sanctioning Tornado Cash?
Given the Sanctions on Tornado Cash, Is Ethereum Censorship Resistant?
Preston Van Loon on Ethereum's Merge and His Lawsuit Against Treasury
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Tornado Cash Sanctioned. Did the Government Overstep Its Bounds? - Ep. 384
Jerry Brito, executive director of Coin Center, talks about Tornado Cash, why it was sanctioned, and what this means for privacy in crypto.
Show highlights: what Blender.io is and how it relates to Tornado Cash
how hackers have used Tornado Cash to launder money
whether the Office of Foreign Assets Control made a mistake, according to Jerry
how Americans were affected by the sanctions
why Jerry believes OFAC should have done an analysis to estimate how many people would be impacted by its decision
whether the sanctions should have been aimed at North Koren wallets and not the protocol
whether the sanctions are unconstitutional and whether Coin Center will litigate this
how Jerry believes Circle freezing USDC complicated everything
what the famous people who received 0.1 ETH from random accounts via Tornado Cash should do
what would happen if someone forked the Tornado Cash code and deployed a copycat smart contract to a new address
whether the sanctions signal the beginning of a privacy war on crypto
how regulators are applying the same traditional rules with crypto as they use with centralized entities
Thank you to our sponsors!
1inch: https://1inch.io/
Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021
Jerry Twitter: https://twitter.com/jerrybrito
Tornado Cash Tornado Cash Sanctioned: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/08/08/crypto-mixing-service-tornado-cash-blacklisted-by-us-treasury/
Coin Center’s article authored by Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh: https://www.coincenter.org/u-s-treasury-sanction-of-privacy-tools-places-sweeping-restrictions-on-all-americans/
Circle freezes USDC in sanctioned wallets: https://www.theblock.co/post/162172/circle-freezes-usdc-funds-in-tornado-cashs-us-treasury-sanctioned-wallets
Crypto exchange dYdX blocked accounts that received funds from Tornado Cash: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/08/11/crypto-exchange-dydx-blocked-accounts-that-received-even-small-amounts-from-tornado-cash/
The possibility of forking Tornado Cash: https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2022/08/10/cloning-tornado-cash-would-be-easy-but-risky/
What the sanctions mean for privacy coins: https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/2022/08/09/what-the-tornado-cash-sanction-means-for-privacy-coins/
Tornado Cash laundered $1.5 billion, according to Elliptic: https://hub.elliptic.co/analysis/tornado-cash-mixer-sanctioned-after-laundering-over-1-5-billion/
Celebrities get Dusted: https://decrypt.co/es/107090/tornado-cash-dusts-public-wallets-jimmy-fallon-brian-armstrong-steve-aoki-logan-paul
Hacks linked to Tornado Cash
Ronin: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/15/ronin-hack-north-korea-linked-to-615-million-crypto-heist-us-says.html
Harmony: https://decrypt.co/104138/north-korean-attackers-behind-100m-harmony-hack-report
Crypto.com: https://www.wired.com/story/crypto-hack-nso-group-security-news/
Nomad: https://decrypt.co/106459/crypto-bridge-nomad-exploited-190m-frenzied-free-for-all
Previous Coverage of Unchained: Will the Nomad Mass Looting Change How Law Enforcement Treats DeFi Hacks?: https://unchainedpodcast.com/will-the-nomad-mass-looting-change-how-law-enforcement-treats-defi-hacks-ep-382/
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Tornado Cash BANNED By OFAC... Is this the War on Crypto?
On Monday, the U.S. Treasury Department made a smart contract illegal.
They can do that??
David walks you through the news, with multiple interviews from Jerry Brito and Collins Belton, two experts in the matter.
Let us know how you like the format!
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------ Topics Covered:
0:00 Intro Opening Shot: https://twitter.com/RyanSAdams/status/1556743328774995971?s=20&t=OzfqFxxolrjhwZICo4KV6w Ripple Effects: https://twitter.com/collins_belton/thread/1556650759994970113 Neutral Tool: https://twitter.com/jerrybrito/status/1556667240711438337?s=20&t=avKH9mQ1_3KDno2P2THs7Q
4:00 What is OFAC? Overview: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/office-of-foreign-assets-control-sanctions-programs-and-information Press Release: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0916 Sec Blinken: https://twitter.com/SecBlinken/status/1556677862345801728?s=20&t=QwqpNxU9CYKPz8LhBATSFQ
7:44 What is Tornado Cash? Breakdown: https://blog.chainalysis.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/tornado-pie-1536x1034.png Treasury Misleading: https://twitter.com/USTreasury/status/1556655337431785472?s=20&t=Jw5y0Xr4fHSelCzfhWvYlQ Alex Svanevik: https://twitter.com/ASvanevik/status/1556983834809614337?s=20&t=OCDr5P9jRweG9RVYdmmxKQ
10:20 Using Tornado Cash Neeraj Meme: https://twitter.com/NeerajKA/status/1556707552251060225?s=20&t=UNffL4gM4hBsaXDEZ0gJ_w Clean ETH2 Addresses: https://twitter.com/econoar/status/1556775153153048582?s=20&t=63-Nwh2Lv7u8tTC4E-CVUw More Use Cases: https://twitter.com/RezaJafery/status/1556751888896258049?s=20&t=9rJ2buSh4PCTPMlNKezAyw
12:15 Banning Smart Contracts Coin Center Announcement: https://www.coincenter.org/u-s-treasury-sanction-of-privacy-tools-places-sweeping-restrictions-on-all-americans/
17:08 Ripple Effects Circle: https://www.theblock.co/post/162172/circle-freezes-usdc-funds-in-tornado-cashs-us-treasury-sanctioned-wallets Github: https://twitter.com/bantg/status/1556721709931175937?s=20&t=LSCI_12-Giipv727Y52qUg Infura & Alchemy: https://twitter.com/0xdev0/status/1556933551073153024
20:55 A Ban on Who? Cobie & Gainzy: https://twitter.com/cobie/status/1556647650212155394?s=20&t=F8nhR0zX4PkbGGOl1JmBCQ Depositing .1 ETH: https://twitter.com/josephdelong/status/1557011056572129280?s=20&t=F1JszlO7Zm0lm4EGsgBrNg
23:14 A Chilling Effect Attacking Free Speech: https://twitter.com/matthew_d_green/status/1556764387796340736?s=20&t=w8K19sEWj_AVS372HOjHTw
25:47 Decentralization Priorities: https://twitter.com/econoar/status/1556825245381578753?s=20&t=63-Nwh2Lv7u8tTC4E-CVUw
----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here: https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/bankless-disclosures
Why the SEC's Proposed Rules Affecting DeFi Could Violate the First Amendment - Ep.344
Peter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at Coin Center, discusses a proposed rule by the US Securities and Exchange Commission that has massive implications for the free-speech rights of crypto software developers in the US. Show highlights:
why an SEC proposal changing the definition of “exchange” could violate the right to free speech of US crypto developers
whether the SEC is going after DeFi on purpose – as its 200+ page proposal never mentions crypto or DeFi
what precedent Peter has found that should prohibit the SEC from taking away software developers’ right to free speech
how Peter and Coin Center structured their recent letter of comment to the SEC
what the next steps (such as a lawsuit?) should be for the crypto community if the rule goes into effect
why writing software is part of someone's right to free speech
what implications the proposed rule could have on AMMs
what happens next: when could the rule be put into place?
Unchained is hiring!
Find out information on the three openings at Unchained and how to apply here:
part-time remote social media marketing manager: https://unchainedpodcast.com/seeking-part-time-remote-social-media-and-marketing-manager/
part-time remote editorial assistant: https://unchainedpodcast.com/seeking-remote-editorial-assistant/
part-time remote video/audio producer: https://unchainedpodcast.com/seeking-part-time-remote-video-audio-producer/
Announcing The Cryptopians Book Clubs!
On April 26th, I will be selling NFT tickets to five 90-minute virtual book clubs in which 22 people can discuss "The Cryptopians" with me and with each other — without worrying about spoilers! Two of the book clubs will also feature special guests.
The sale will go live on Tuesday, April 26, at 1pm ET/10am PT, and tickets will be $100 each. (The sale will be on Bitski, but the NFTs will not be visible until the sale goes live on the 26th): https://www.bitski.com/@laurashin/created
Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021
Coinchange: https://coinchange.io
OnJuno: https://onjuno.com/
Galaxis: https://galaxis.xyz/
Episode Links
Peter Van Valkenburgh
Coin Center profile: https://www.coincenter.org/people/peter-van-valkenburgh/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/valkenburgh
The SEC Proposal
Proposal: https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2022-10#
Comments on the proposal: https://www.sec.gov/comments/s7-02-22/s70222.htm
Coin Center’s/Peter’s comment: https://www.coincenter.org/a-new-sec-proposal-has-a-serious-change-hidden-within-its-complex-language/
Coin Center blog on its comment: https://www.coincenter.org/a-new-sec-proposal-has-a-serious-change-hidden-within-its-complex-language/
Gabriel Shapiro’s comment: https://twitter.com/lex_node/status/1516079145213739013
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SotN#26: Defending our Nodes w/ Coin Center's Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh
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Defending Crypto from the STABLE Act | Coin Center's Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh
Coin Center is a non-profit organization focused on public policy isues facing public blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
While Bitcoin and Ethereum are unstoppable internet networks, Nation States can still mediate our relationship with them, and therefore fighting the regulatory fight is extremely important!
Coin Center recently opened up their Gitcoin Grant https://gitcoin.co/grants/1668/coin-center-is-educating-policy-makers-about-publ which has received an outpouring of support.
Maybe it has to do with the STABLE Act? This act was recently introduced by Rashida Tlaib and others, in an attempt to add regulatory oversight to those that issue and leverage stablecoins.
We bring on Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh to help us understand the perspective coming out of the STABLE Act, and its implications to our industry.
Coin Center's website: https://www.coincenter.org/
The STABLE Act: https://tlaib.house.gov/media/press-releases/tlaib-garcia-and-lynch-stableact
Coin Center's Gitcoin Grant: https://gitcoin.co/grants/1668/coin-center-is-educating-policy-makers-about-publ
Preston Byrne's blog post on the STABLE Act: https://prestonbyrne.com/blog/
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Oslo Freedom Forum 2019: Protecting Financial Freedoms in the Digital Age - Ep.123
In this panel, recorded at the Oslo Freedom Forum 2019, I moderated what an attendee described as a "lively" discussion on the relationship between finances and freedom with Bitcoin author and educator Jimmy Song; Alena Vranova, Head of Strategy at Casa; and Coin Center founder Jerry Brito. We talked about what it's like to live under a regime where people don’t have a lot of financial freedom, how the move to a cashless society is leading to a surveillance state, and how we're seeing the emergence of a corporate surveillance state. We talked about how cryptocurrency could bring us more financial freedom, how crypto is/should be regulated, privacy coins and the imminent Financial Action Task Forces rules that require crypto exchanges and other services send each other information on customers for each transaction. Plus, we discuss bad state actors using crypto.
Read the show notes on Forbes!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2019/06/11/how-bitcoin-and-cryptocurrencies-can-further-financial-freedom/
Help make Unchained better! Take our survey and enter the giveaway for a free Bitcoin lightning node and a yearlong Casa Gold membership, -- including a multisig security app for iPhone and Android, a Trezor hardware wallet, a Casa faraday bag, and 24/7 support! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/unchainedsurvey2019
Those of you interested in learning more about Casa, or about protecting your Bitcoin investment generally, should check out my interview with CEO Jeremy Welch. https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-casa-makes-it-harder-for-someone-to-steal-your-bitcoins/ Thank you to Casa for donating!
Thank you to our sponsors!
Kraken: https://www.kraken.com
CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained
Episode links:
Oslo Freedom Forum: https://oslofreedomforum.com
Human Rights Foundation: https://hrf.org
Jimmy Song: https://twitter.com/jimmysong
Alena Vranova: https://twitter.com/AlenaSatoshi
Jerry Brito: https://twitter.com/jerrybrito
Programming Blockchain: https://programmingblockchain.com
Casa: https://keys.casa
Coin Center: https://coincenter.org
FATF rules: https://www.coindesk.com/beyond-kyc-global-regulators-appear-set-to-adopt-tough-new-rules-for-crypto-exchanges
How regulation could spur the development of technology in the crypto space toward more P2P:
Vitalik blog post on this: https://vitalik.ca/general/2019/05/09/control_as_liability.html
Michael Casey on the topic: https://www.coindesk.com/the-cat-and-mouse-game-of-crypto-regulation-enters-a-new-phase
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a16z Podcast: The Regulatory Landscape for Crypto
with Katie Haun (@katie_haun), Robin Weisnman (@robinweisman), and Sonal Chokshi (@smc90)
What’s going on, regulation-wise, in crypto? How should people who want to join a company or build something new in the space think about the regulatory environment? What to make of all the headlines, or the "alphabet soup" of agencies potentially involved in regulating crypto? This episode of the a16z Podcast shares principles -- as well as key players/acronyms to know -- for sorting the signal from the noise in the regulatory landscape for crypto.
The experts in conversation with a16z editorial partner Sonal Chokshi include: Robin Weisman, who helped found and is a lobbyist for Coin Center, a nonprofit policy research and advocacy group for cryptocurrencies; and was formerly a director of government relations at Nasdaq; and Kathryn (Katie) Haun, who teaches crypto at Stanford Business School; is on the boards of Coinbase and HackerOne; is a former federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, where she led their first digital currency task force and prosecuted a number of cases in the space; and was recently announced as general partner.
The discussion is based on a panel that originally took place at the “Intro to Crypto” event that Andreessen Horowitz and #Angels put on in April 2018. You can see other talks from this event -- including a video on the building blocks of crypto; as well as sessions on the big picture of decentralization to building companies in crypto, from people to code -- here. This panel also presented the below slide, which is referenced in (but is not necessary to follow) this episode: https://a16z.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/regulatorylandscape-acronyms-introtocrypto_a16z.png
photo credit: Erin Brethauer
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Why A Florida Orange Grove In 1946 Is The Key To Understanding Regulation Of ICOs
By now, everyone's heard of ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) where companies issue their own currency-like tokens. They boomed massively in 2017, alongside the whole cryptocurrency craze. But very few people really get what they are, and how they fit into the regulatory landscape. On this week's Odd Lots podcast, we speak with Peter van Valkenburgh, the director of research at Coin Center, who explains why you have to go back to a 1946 case involving a Florida orange grower to understand how regulators see these newfangled financial instruments.
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