US House Approves Crypto FIT21 Bill

 

Your Latest Crypto News Update

US House Approves Crypto FIT21 Bill

In a decisive vote of 279 to 136 in favour of the Bill, on Wednesday 22nd May, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act was passed through Congress - marking the first time that a significant crypto bill has been voted through to be sent to the US Senate. This vote saw 71 Democrats join the vast majority of Republican representatives vote in favour of the progressive bill.  The journey to getting effective legislation and regulation passed in the US has not been an easy one, with the Securities and Exchange Commission appearing to regulate through enforcement in recent years. This has led to considerable uncertainty across crypto markets in the States, due to the lack of clear guidelines. Whilst the bipartisan legislation may have made it through the first chamber of Congress, there is still a long way to go as it heads to the Senate.  Whilst the future of the bill is still uncertain, this is a historic moment for the US crypto industry and shows how far it has come. A major driving force in this recent change of stance from US politicians has been the ongoing campaign to educate them on blockchain technology and its potential through advocacy groups such as “Stand With Crypto” - an initiative that has been setup to support crypto-friendly bipartisan candidates that are running for the House and the Senate. With crypto becoming an election issue, it is likely that politicians are going to be wanting to pay a lot more interest to this nascent industry as it makes its way to the mainstream.

Are We Getting Closer To Ethereum ETFs?

Whilst, in recent months, a plethora of other coins and tokens have taken the spotlight - from AI tokens to Solana-based memecoins. Ethereum has made a splash this week across crypto markets. Despite there being uncertainty in recent weeks and months as to whether there was even a chance of an Ethereum ETF getting SEC approval, there’s been a number of signals that the odds are better than first expected:  First, The Securities and Exchange Commission Engaging With Ethereum ETF Issuers: The SEC has recently started discussing the required paperwork that needs completing with ETF issuers. The back and forth between the SEC and ETF issuers regarding an Ethereum ETF is similar to the regulatory dance that was seen between these entities prior to the Bitcoin ETF approvals.  Also, Experienced Analysts Are Voicing Increased Odds: Senior Bloomberg analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart have increased their odds of an Ethereum ETF approval from 25% to 75% - citing the Securities and Exchange Commission doing a 180 on this decision based on the growing political force of crypto.  Finally, The Market Signals Confidence: Since the news broke that the Securities and Exchange Commission could be reconsidering their position on an Ethereum ETF, Ether has seen nearly a 25% gain on the weekly. With such a strong showing from the second largest crypto, by market capitalisation, it appears that multiple entities are positioning themselves for ETF approval.  Whether Ethereum ETF’s are approved anytime soon or not, it’s clear that it has once again captured the interest of the wider markets.

Gala Games Exploited (Again)

Another week in crypto. another exploit. The unfortunate victim of this one was Gala Games, a web3 gaming platform. In this breach, the hacker managed to trigger an unauthorised sale of 600 million GALA tokens, valued at just over 20 million dollars. Yet, this is not the first controversy the company has encountered with 130 million dollars of GALA tokens being stolen in September 2023. Whilst a painful experience for holders of the token, as markets saw a negative impact on token price with both of these incidents, it’s a painful reminder that investing in crypto is still a risky endeavour, even when markets are in the green.