U.S. Regulatory Changes

Summer put cryptocurrency in the hot seat. Several U.S. regulatory changes events, along with involvement from Facebook and Stanford University highlight the growing knowledge and benefits of the space.

Supreme Court acknowledges Bitcoin

In Wisconsin Central Ltd. v. United States, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer comments of the changing definition of money over the course of history, emphasizing Bitcoin’s influence: “Perhaps one day employees will be paid in Bitcoin or some other type of cryptocurrency… Nothing in the statute suggests the meaning of this provision should be trapped in a monetary time warp, forever limited to those forms of money commonly used in the 1930’s.” (Full Story)

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Adds Crypto Data

Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) added four cryptocurrencies to their historical price database, drawing the data from the Coinbase Index: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin. The prices are updated daily and span from as early as 2014 to the present.

SEC Activity

ETH definitively not considered a security by William Hinman, director of the SEC’s division of corporate finance: “based on my understanding of the present state of Ether, the Ethereum network and its decentralized structure, current offers and sales of Ether are not securities transactions.” (Security classification story)

Created faux ICO called HoweyCoin to educate personnel and investors. (full story)

Stanford Launches Blockchain Research Center

In collaboration with Ethereum Foundation, Stanford hopes to lead the way in blockchain technology development. The operation is run by Dan Boneh and David Mazieres, aiming to “support the thriving ecosystem by developing new technologies needed to advance the field.” The Center for Blockchain Research at Stanford University will address blockchain’s practical, legal and societal challenges, and develop a curriculum to facilitate its use across a variety of fields and applications.

Federal Employees Must Identify Crypto Holdings

House Ethics Committee now states that employees who work in the executive branch who own crypto must disclose it. The disclosure rules are for those who own more than $1,000 worth at the end of the reporting period, or if income produced during that time exceeded $200.

Facebook Lifts Crypto Ad Ban

Facebook updated its policy to allow ads for crypto and related content. Advertisers will need to submit an application for approval and the company will continue to prohibit ads that “promote binary options and initial coin offerings.” (Full Story)