| Bitcoin | $19,182 | 7 day: +7.6% | | Ethereum | $594 | 7 day: +25.2% | | All crypto | $578b | 7 day: +17.7% | | Bitcoin dominance | 61.6% | 7 day: -4.9% | Prices as of 10 a.m. EST
| |
 Bernie Madoff Two customers of crypto lending platform Cred Inc. have asked a Delaware judge to turn its Chapter 11 bankruptcy into a liquidation. The plaintiffs accuse Cred of "Madoff levels" of deception and fraud, stranding 6,000 customers, some of whom invested their life savings into what they believed were high-yield savings accounts. - Cred operated a $35M cryptocurrency called Libra Credit (LBA), in addition to several hundred million dollars worth of "premium financial services," which are now mostly worthless.
- Cred's bankruptcy filing estimated assets at $50-$100M and outstanding liabilities at $100-500M.
- The two customers filed a motion in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Nov. 18, 2020.
- They want a judge to convert the case under Chapter 7 liquidation, dismiss Chapter 11 cases, or appoint a Chapter 11 trustee.
- We covered Cred's Chapter 11 filing here in a previous edition of Inside Cryptocurrency.
Law360 
| |
 Kristalina Georgieva, Chair and Managing Director of the IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has suggested that CBDCs will not achieve currency status soon. - The IMDF has released a new working paper on Nov. 20, focusing on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and its legal implications.
- The document includes arguments from the IMF's legal counsel that existing regulations do not allow for CBDC issuances.
- The IMF further suggests that most central banks are not authorized to issue CBDCs to the general public.
CoinTelegraph
| |
 Xi Jinping Xi Jinping spoke during the G20 Leaders' Summit about China's digital yuan. He implored central bankers to approach policymaking with open minds regarding China's central bank digital currency (CBDC). - Besides CBDC-friendly regulation, President Xi spoke about three COVID-19 topics: health information-sharing, international responses to emergencies, and promoting treatment protocols worldwide.
- Regardless of how accomodating G20 members will be to CBDCs internationally, China has already launched substantial pilots of its digital yuan.
- China's digital yuan is by far the world's most-transacted CBDC.
Coindesk
| |
 Jay Clayton Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton is expected to step down this year, several months prior to his normal term expiration in 2021. Here is a look back at his tenure and cryptocurrency policies. Background: - In 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Clayton to improve and promote American businesses without harming the working class.
- Before joining the SEC, Clayton was a partner at the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP for more than 20 years. He managed private and public companies matters relating to securities offerings, acquisitions, and mergers.
Regarding cryptocurrencies: - Clayton has expressed concerns about securities regulations regarding cryptocurrencies, especially ICOs.
- Clayton has clarified that bitcoin is not a security, nor Ethereum (ETH) in its present state.
- Clayton was skeptical of the idea of raising capital involving cryptocurrencies.
- His most famous quote was, "Every ICO I've seen is a security," which was spoken amid the ICO mania of Feb. 2018.
- The SEC followed through with some of those threats, charging dozens of ICO operators with fraud and non-compliance. The Commission also halted many initial exchange offerings (IEOs).
Other actions: - Under Clayton's leadership, the SEC charged the fewest insider trading actions since the Reagan administration.
- He bemoaned the declining rate of public companies' initial public offerings (IPO) during his early days as SEC Chairman. In place of IPOs, many companies have opted for reverse takeovers (RTOs), Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), and other merger deals to become public without needing to file onerous IPO paperwork.
- Clayton has allowed companies to submit draft registration statements regarding IPOs with regulators confidentially before going public.
- During Clayton's tenure, the SEC also expanded benefits provided to small businesses and announced modernized regulations for Exchange-Traded funds (ETFs).
- In August 2020, the SEC released an amended accredited investor definition to encourage public offerings in private markets. The new definition allows individuals who pass certain academic tests to participate in private company placements, even if their liquid net worth is less than $1M or their annual income is below $200,000.
Succession: - Clayton tapped William Hinman as his Director of the Division of Corporation Finance. (Hinman also announced his SEC departure this year.)
- Possible candidates to replace Clayton as SEC Chairman include Manhattan federal prosecutor Preet Bharara, Commissioner Allison Herren Lee, Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw; former Commissioner Kara Stein, or former Commissioner Robert Jackson Jr.
Law360
| |
QUICK HITS: - An algorithm that analyzes Twitter comments and invests in crypto is beating the S&P. *
- Olaf Scholz, German Financial Minister, told delegates of the European Banking Congress on Nov. 20 that he does not support private digital currencies, as reported by Reuters. In Scholz's view, private cryptocurrencies are not essential for progressing the European and German banking systems.
- The Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority (FCAA) of Canada's Saskatchewan province warns of two unregistered cryptocurrency projects: MetroTrade and SunlightCrypto. The two almost-identical websites promise 30% weekly payouts.
- The Singapore Stock Exchange, London's Aquis Exchange, and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Web Services are testing a cloud-based asset exchange. [Writer's note: Although the reduction in fees looks promising, multi-billion-dollar High Frequency Trading (HFT) firms have vested interests in physical servers, colocation agreements, custom-built fiber optic networks, and ultra-low latency infrastructure. They will delay any cloud project for many years.]
- BlackRock's (NYSE:BLK) Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income, Rick Rieder, endorsed bitcoin for its durability and compared it to gold during his appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box on Nov. 20. Reuters also reported on the multi-trillion-dollar asset manager's approach to bitcoin.
- The U.S. Comptroller of the Currency warns banks that they must provide fair access to financial services. Roger Ver's Bitcoin.com argues that this is favorable to cryptocurrency companies, despite no mention of cryptocurrencies in the cited notice.
*This is a sponsored post.
| |
Publishing note: Thursday is a national holiday and long weekend in the U.S. On Monday, Inside will resume normal weekday publications of Inside Cryptocurrency. | |  Aaron |  |
| |
 |  | Written and curated by wide-eyed bitcoin watcher since $1, Aaron Wise. Streaming headline junkie, Associated Press fanboy, eye-strained news terminal watcher, 2017 founder of Cryptocurrency Newsfeed. Temporarily based in Florida while awaiting the construction of cryptopia. | | | | Editor | Alexander Huls is a Toronto-based journalist. He has contributed articles about true crime and pop culture to The New York Times, Men's Health, Popular Mechanics, and other fine publications. Follow him on Twitter @alxhuls. | |
