Seeds of Wisdom RV and Economic Updates Friday Morning 1-10-25
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SEC’S GENSLER SAYS MOST CRYPTO PROJECTS ARE DOOMED AS RIPPLE APPEAL DEADLINE NEARS
▪️Gary Gensler warns crypto market still rife with fraud, says many projects won’t survive in his final interview as SEC Chair.
▪️Outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler highlights scams in crypto, calls for stronger regulation as he prepares to step down.
Gary Gensler, the outgoing chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, shared his thoughts on regulating the fast-growing crypto market. While he acknowledged that crypto is still a small part of the overall financial markets, he said that it’s full of bad actors and scams.
Under his leadership, the SEC has filed about 100 enforcement actions in the past four years, compared to his predecessor Jay Clayton’s 80. Gensler believes that the crypto market is still struggling with fraud, with many projects acting like risky investments that may not survive.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Gensler said,
In this field, it’s rife with bad actors.” He then broke down the crypto market into two parts, saying, “The public knows a lot about Bitcoin, which, depending on its market value, is two-thirds to 80% of the market value of crypto.
Gensler pointed out that there are “10,000 to 15,000 projects raising money from the public.” Many of these projects, he believes, are simply speculative investments, “hoping for a better future.”
He explained, “I’ve been around finance for over four decades, and everything in the markets trades on a mixture of fundamentals and sentiment.” However, he added, “At any given time, I’ve never seen a field that’s so much wrapped up in sentiment and not so much about fundamentals.”
Gensler Says Crypto Projects ‘Won’t Survive’
He also warned, “Many of these 10,000 to 15,000 projects will not survive. They’re like venture capital investments. They’re not going to survive.” Gensler pointed to the existence of “small pump and dump schemes” that have caused problems in the industry. Reflecting on past events, he said, “We’ve lived through a few years where they became notorious, but they’re in jail now.”
Despite the growing number of enforcement actions, Gensler thinks that the crypto market is still not complying with the rules. He sees his role as ensuring that the market works without fraud, manipulation, and misinformation. Gensler is set to resign on January 20 and Paul Atkins will serve as the SEC Chair next.
@ Newshounds News™
Source: Coinpedia
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PRO-CRYPTO CFTC BOSS, SUBCOMMITTEE RUMORED AS TRUMP INAUGURATION NEARS
New reports suggest the US Senate Banking Committee is looking to create its first crypto subcommittee, while Trump is reportedly eyeing a pro-crypto CFTC commissioner to take the agency’s helm.
The US Senate Banking Committee is reportedly set to create its first-ever crypto subcommittee, while a pro-crypto commissioner is now a top pick to replace the outgoing chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to two reports.
The two reports — seen as positive developments for the crypto industry — come less than two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, set for Jan. 20.
According to a report from FOX Business on Jan. 9, following a Punchbowl News report on Jan. 8, the US Senate Banking Committee’s new chair, Republican Senator Tim Scott, has made the creation of the subcommittee a top priority and plans to replicate the House Financial Services Committee’s model, which introduced a crypto subcommittee in 2023.
Two Senate aides told FOX that Scott has put forward Senator Cynthia Lummis to chair the subcommittee, with a vote on her approval to happen in the next few days. Lummis, a longtime crypto supporter, has recently echoed Trump’s push for a strategic Bitcoin.
Trump has made sweeping promises to rein in crypto regulation by enforcement and turn the US into a “crypto capital.” The Senate Banking Committee is the key overseer of financial agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and of federal monetary policy.
A memo seen by FOX said Senators Bernie Moreno, Dave McCormick, Thom Tillis and Bill Hagerty were being considered for the new crypto subcommittee. They are all “strongly supportive” of crypto, according to the digital assets lobby group Stand With Crypto.
It is not known which Democrats might be joining the subcommittee, but Senator Elizabeth Warren, a vocal crypto skeptic, is the party’s most senior member of the Senate Banking Committee
In 2024, the House passed a key crypto bill known as FIT21 that was created by the House Financial Services crypto subcommittee. It would hand greater regulatory control to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The bill is currently awaiting action in the Senate.
Mersinger tipped to lead CFTC
Meanwhile, Unchained reported on Jan. 9 that five people close to the matter said CFTC Commissioner Summer Mersinger has emerged as a leading choice to chair the agency, as current CFTC chair Rostin Behnam said he’d be stepping down when Trump takes office.
Mersinger has overtaken ex-CFTC commissioner and a16z policy head Brian Quintenz for the job, as she’s seen as someone who could pass a Senate confirmation. She was a staffer for Senate Majority Leader John Thune for 12 years.
As she’s already a commissioner, Trump could appoint her to a temporary chair role while the Senate deliberates on her confirmation.
Mersinger has made crypto-supportive comments, telling a Blockchain conference in November that she was “uncomfortable” that the CFTC was “kind of setting some sort of policy through our enforcement cases.”
Trump is set to take office on Jan. 20, officially giving Republicans full control of the government after the party picked up a majority of Senate seats and kept its House majority in November’s elections. The new Congress kicked off on Jan. 3.
@ Newshounds News™
Source: CoinTelegraph
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IOTA INVITES DEVELOPERS TO APPLY FOR $10M IN SEASON 2 GRANTS
▪️IOTA’s Season 2 grant program aims to empower builders aligned with IOTA’s vision of sustainability and decentralization.
▪️Prospective applicants can submit proposals via the IOTA Grants website, with projects evaluated based on scalability, usefulness, safety, alignment with funding goals, and long-term viability
The IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation unveiled its Season 2 grant program. The IOTA Grants Season 2 has committed to offering $10 million in funding and fostering innovation within the Web3 ecosystem. The initiative looking to empower Web3 builders and innovators focused on projects closely aligned with its vision of sustainability and thriving within a decentralized and free ecosystem.
IOTA Grants Season 2 Focus Areas & Funding Goals
It caters to three core areas, namely open-source development, education, and events, for supporting projects. These categories advance IOTA’s ecosystem by covering key aspects of Web3 growth.
For context, open-Source Development promotes the development of tools, utilities, and public goods that increase user experience.
Moreover, the foundation has targeted education to reduce the complexity of multi-layered technology to reach everyday users. Meanwhile, events that promote community-driven activities like hackathons and workshops are prioritized.
“We’re here to support you on this journey,” the IOTA Foundation stated. They added:
Whether you’re accelerating adoption through real-world applications, planning to utilize our EVM framework, or shaping the future of the IOTA Rebased network, our grants are designed to foster innovation and creativity across the entire spectrum.
Currently, one of the key areas of focus has been the launch of the IOTA rebased protocol. The IOTA Rebased protocol is reportedly gearing up for its mainnet re-launch in early 2025, reported CNF. On the social media platform X, Michael Atlan emphasized that this re-launch positions IOTA for broader real-world adoption
Success Of Season 1 Grants
The end of Season 1 of the IOTA Grants program has been on an upbeat note since it attracted quality talent and great projects. Altogether, there were 144 applications, from which 32 were funded amounting to $3.47 million. The process had to be momentarily halted because it was overwhelmed with applications.
The Foundation has reflected on the previous season by highlighting productive outcomes. In a blog post, the team wrote,
The first season proved highly productive, bringing exceptional talent and innovation into the IOTA ecosystem.
Hence, applying for Season 2 is relatively simple. Anyone can submit a proposal by logging onto the IOTA Grants website along with guidelines on the funding. The applicants would be interviewed by the IOTA Grant Committee, which includes members of the IOTA Foundation.
Projects are rated along six criteria including alignment with funding goals, scalability, usefulness, safety, expertise of the grantee, and long-term viability.
The Foundation went ahead to inform that its evaluation process is quite transparent, assuring that all funding goes only to projects whose potential to alter the ecosystem can be maximally realized.
IOTA Grants Season 2 builds on the momentum of its predecessor and is seeking even more innovative ideas. “Your ideas have the power to drive positive change in the ecosystem, and the IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation is here to support you,” the Foundation encouraged.
The IOTA Foundation added that it’s excited to work with developers and visionaries to build the future of Web3. Thus, prospective candidates can visit the IOTA Grants website for more information or to apply.
@ Newshounds News™
Source: Crypto News Flash
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