Headlines
▌Coinbase Exchange Faces SEC Probe over Crypto Yield, Staking Products
Publicly traded crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) is under investigation by U.S. securities regulators over its token listing processes as well as its staking programs and yield-generating products, the company disclosed in its most recent quarterly report. "The Company has received investigative subpoenas and requests from the [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission] for documents and information about certain customer programs, operations, and existing and intended future products, including the Company’s processes for listing assets, the classification of certain listed assets, its staking programs, and its stablecoin and yield-generating products," Coinbase said in the 10-Q form.
Policies
▌U.S. Regulators Weigh Asking Hedge Funds to Report Cryptocurrency Exposures through Form PF
A joint proposal released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Wednesday would require large hedge funds to report their cryptocurrency exposure through a confidential filing known as Form PF. Under the proposal, hedge funds with more than $500 million in net assets would have to report more information about their investment risks, portfolio concentration, and lending arrangements.
Cryptocurrency
▌Bitcoin R&D Center Vinteum Launches in Brazil
Vinteum, a nonprofit Bitcoin research and development center dedicated to supporting Bitcoin developers in Brazil and the wider Latin America region, launched today. Co-founders Lucas Ferreira of Lightning Labs and André Neves of ZEBEDEE will serve as the foundation’s executive director and director of partnerships, respectively. Vinteum’s mission is to train and fund open-source developers across Brazil and Latin America to work on Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, an area that has become critical in recent years as bitcoin matures beyond hobbyist use cases.
Key Economic Events
▌Fed’s Evans: Fed Funds Rate Expected to Be in the Range of 3.75%-4% by the End of 2023
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said he expects the Fed funds rate to be in the range of 3.75%-4% by the end of 2023. He thinks that they are in a good place and they can pivot to be more restrictive if inflation gets out of hand, or not we raise rates quite as much if things get better more quickly.
▌Fed’s Kashkari: The Idea of Cutting Interest Rates Early Next Year Is "Unrealistic"
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said the idea of cutting interest rates early next year is "unrealistic." A more realistic approach would be to raise interest rates until inflation falls to the Fed's 2% target. Fed rates are expected to hit 3.9% by the end of this year and 4.4% by the end of 2023, he added.