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Bitcoin soars amid growing regulatory friction
Key points to remember
- The founders of privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet Samourai Wallet have been arrested and charged with money laundering violations.
- In response to the action against Samourai Wallet, at least two other Bitcoin wallet providers have decided to exit the US market.
- Blockchain technology company Consensys has filed a lawsuit against the SEC over the potential classification of ether as a security, among other claims.
- Payments provider Stripe has decided to reactivate crypto payments, focusing on the stablecoin USDC.
- Moving forward, cryptocurrency market analysts will be watching to see if spot Bitcoin ETF inflows will remain negative after the Bitcoin halving.
Bitcoin (Bitcoin) slipped below $63,000 several times last week during a volatile period, but came close to that level again on Monday. Friction between regulators and the cryptocurrency industry intensified last week after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged the founders of a non-custodial bitcoin wallet with money laundering, while cryptocurrency firm Consensys sued the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Samurai Wallet Developers Arrested
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed charges against Samourai Wallet co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill for their alleged role in facilitating more than $100 million in money laundering through their cryptocurrency mixing service.
The charges, which include conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmission business, underscore the government’s ongoing crackdown on crypto privacy tools. Last year, a similar case was filed against the developers of Tornado Cash, a decentralized application that improves privacy on Ethereum.
Following this lawsuit, other Bitcoin wallet providers have decided to leave the US market. zkSNACKs, which is the creator of another privacy-preserving wallet bitcoin wallet Wasabi Wallet, a US-based wallet company, has announced that it is blocking access to its wallet for all US-based users. Additionally, ACINQ, the creator of the self-custodial, Lightning Network-enabled PhoenixWallet, has decided to remove its wallet from the US market following the action against Samourai Wallet.
On Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also issued a warning to consumers against using crypto services that may operate as unlicensed money transmitters.
Consensys sues SEC
In its lawsuit, Consensys asks the court to confirm that Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency, ether (ETH), is not a security. This legal step takes place in a context reports that the SEC is already seeking to define ether as a security.
In its legal filing, Consensys also argued that the SEC’s excessive interference in the cryptocurrency space could put a disastrous end to the use of the Ethereum blockchain in the United States, stifling an important technological innovation. According to Fortune, Consensys had received a notice from the SEC Wells, which indicated an upcoming lawsuit and accused Consensys’ MetaMask wallet of acting as an unlicensed broker-dealer due to its staking features.
The lawsuit reflects broader frustrations within the crypto industry over the perceived lack of clear and responsive regulatory frameworks at the SEC. blockchain technology.
Stripe to reactivate cryptocurrency payments
Fintech giant Band has made its return to the cryptocurrency arena, announcing plans on Thursday to allow customers to accept cryptocurrency payments. The return to crypto will initially begin with the acceptance of USDC Stable Coin via the Solana, Ethereum and Polygon networks.
The strategic move marks Stripe’s first foray into accepting crypto payments since it stopped supporting Bitcoin in 2018 due to its volatility. The announcement highlighted the improved transaction efficiency and accessibility that crypto can now offer through the Solana network.
What to expect in the markets this week
While some market analysts expected a recent surge in bitcoin, reduce by half While the event could have led to a price rally, that hasn’t been the case so far. In fact, inflows into the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) market have been mostly negative since the April 19 halving, according to data from Farside Investors. That’s despite outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) slowing down a little.
In the future, the relationship between Bitcoin Spot ETF Bitcoin inflows and price will be closely watched, as some analysts have already predicted that ETFs will have a much greater influence. greater impact on price than halving in the future.