Seeds of Wisdom RV and Economic Updates Friday Morning 12-13-24

13/12/2024

Good Morning ,

CRYPTO ADVOCATE FRENCH HILL PICKED TO LEAD HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE IN 2025

As chair, Hill will oversee Federal Reserve, Wall Street, and crypto sector regulations amid growing scrutiny. Congressman French Hill has been appointed as the next chair of the House Financial Services Committee.

He will succeed North Carolina’s Patrick McHenry, who is retiring after a 20-year stint in Congress, including multiple terms leading Republicans on the board.

Hill’s Vision

The Arkansas Republican announced the news on December 13 via X:

“I am humbled that my colleagues have placed their trust in me to lead FinancialCmte as their next Chairman.”

The party’s steering committee appointed the lawmaker to the role on Thursday while finalizing committee leadership for the 119th Congress, which begins next year. This position means Hill will be key for legislative initiatives for the crypto industry that will take shape in the coming year.

In a formal statement, the 68-year-old highlighted his promise to work closely with Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, and House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain in the future.

He also mentioned that he’s looking forward to collaborating with President-elect Donald Trump and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott on what he described as “a new era of American prosperity’ for all citizens.

Crypto Legislative Efforts

The Financial Services Committee oversees critical areas, including the Federal Reserve, Wall Street regulations, and the increasingly scrutinized cryptocurrency sector. Hill, who currently chairs the Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion subcommittee, has been a vocal proponent of crypto-related legislation.

His efforts include championing bills to clarify regulatory jurisdiction between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

He has also collaborated with California Representative Maxine Waters on stablecoin legislation, though the bill was ultimately not introduced.

Additionally, the Arkansan has pledged to investigate Operation Chokepoint 2.0, which he described as an initiative targeting the cryptocurrency sector through politicized debanking.

Trump has previously vowed to end the Biden administration’s war on crypto. Following his re-election, reports came out that his transition team was considering various crypto-friendly candidates for key regulatory positions.

Since then, the President-elect has appointed David Sacks as AI and Crypto Czar and Paul Atkins as the SEC’s new chairman. Hill will officially take on the leadership role when the new congressional session convenes on January 3, 2025.

@ Newshounds News™

Source: Crypto Potato

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COINBASE TO START RESTRICTING STABLECOINS IN EU BASED ON MICA COMPLIANCE

▪️Coinbase will restrict non-compliant stablecoins under MiCA, including USDT, PAX, PYUSD, and DAI, starting tomorrow.

▪️Algorand identified Circle’s USDC and Quantoz’s EURD as compliant alternatives amid shifting EU stablecoin market dynamics

▪️Tether exited Europe but invested in Quantoz, signaling strategic pivots as Circle partners with Binance to challenge Tether’s dominance.

According to Algorand, Coinbase began notifying its European clients that it will begin restricting stablecoins that don’t meet Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) requirements tomorrow.

Coinbase Prepares for MiCA

This news comes from the Algorand Foundation, a proof-of-stake blockchain and cryptocurrency.

Algorand directly posted their notice from Coinbase through a social media post and listed the MiCA-compliant stablecoins that its users could switch to. Both of these options, Circle and Quantoz, are entangled in a new struggle for EU stablecoin dominance.

“Dear Client, as a reminder, due to the new MiCA regulation, Coinbase will implement restrictions for stablecoin services that do not meet MiCA requirements. Based on the latest information, we currently expect we will have to restrict services for the following assets: USDT, PAX, PYUSD, GUSD, GYEN, and DAI,” Coinbase claimed in its notice.

MiCA is a comprehensive new regulatory framework for cryptoassets in the EU, and its advent is creating dramatic new market opportunities.

Before this year, Tether was the dominant stablecoin in this market, but it quickly became apparent that the stablecoin giant would not meet compliance. Several firms consider this moment a chance to overtake Tether’s market share.

Tether, for its part, is acting strategically. On one hand, it significantly scaled back EU operations in November. The company also heavily invested in Quantoz, which launched one of two MiCA-compliant stablecoins that Algorand identified. The other approved asset, Circle’s USDC, represents an effort to directly muscle in on Tether’s old territory.

Yesterday, Binance announced a partnership with Circle, seemingly to expand in Europe. Coinbase partially owns Circle, and thus, this public gesture took place despite these two massive exchanges’ rivalry. With their combined capital and resources, the pair could make significant strides in the EU market.

For non-stablecoin crypto firms like Algorand, however, this “MiCA market opportunity” might not impact regular operations. The firm has enjoyed an impressive rally in recent months, and its announcement claimed that users could seamlessly use either USDC or EURD from Quantoz.

@ Newshounds News™