In the face of growing criticism, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire defended the USDC-issuer’s policy of refusing to freeze its stablecoins immediately after hacks and exploits. While leading stablecoin issuer Tether freezes its USDT stablecoins if it can be done in time — often within hours of a reported hack — to prevent stolen funds from being moved, Circle does not. It has been criticized for refusing to act while stolen funds are still in a position to be seized and restored to their rightful owners. Speaking during a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday, Allaire explained that as a regulated financial product, it cannot freeze tokens on a…
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Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Calls for Passage of Clarity Act
Stablecoin yield fight may be resolved
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong called on the Senate to pass the Clarity Act, following up on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s call in a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed yesterday. Armstrong’s move, in a Thursday evening tweet, is particularly relevant as he was the prime mover in holding up progress on the Act, withdrawing support for an earlier version a day before it was scheduled for markup by the Senate Banking Committee. That move by the biggest U.S. exchange caused the committee’s leadership to delay markup, a necessary step before sending the bill to the full Senate. Armstrong’s opposition was based in large part on the earlier version’s ban on third…
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Hong Kong Grants Its First Two Stablecoin Licenses
HSBC and Anchorpoint grab the coveted permissions
As the US debates legislation to normalize crypto, China isn’t sitting still. Today, Hong Kong granted its first stablecoin licenses, with HSBC and Standard Chartered JV grabbing the coveted permission. Hong Kong has granted stablecoin issuer licenses to HSBC Holdings and Anchorpoint Financial, which is a joint venture between Standard Chartered, HKT, and Animoca Brands. This is a meaningful signal that Hong Kong, despite China’s on-again off-again relationship to crypto, seeks to become a regulated hub for stablecoins. These formal licenses set guidelines for reserve requirements, audits and other regulations aimed at consumer protection, bringing the wild west of crypto into something looking more like traditional banking. As more and…
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Treasury Secretary Pushes Clarity Act
Sec’y Bessent: ‘The time to act is now’
Noting that nearly one in six Americans now own digital assets, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday pushed the Senate to pass the crypto-regulating Clarity Act as soon as possible. In a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, Bessent argued that with Senate floor time getting scarcer by the day, “now is the time to act.” Congress will soon be sidetracked by the midterm elections, and the Trump Administration wants the Clarity Act passed before a potential change of control in the House and Senate, where the GOP is expected to lose a significant number of seats.. Republicans have warned the crypto industry that it will get a better deal from a…
