| Bitcoin | $27,146 | 7 day: +17.4% | | Ethereum | $740 | 7 day: +19.8% | | All crypto | $729B | 7 day: +12.3% | | Bitcoin dominance | 68.9% | 7 day: +2.5% | Prices as of noon EST
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Bitcoin above $27,000! Its dominance continues to rise as capital rotates out of lower quality altcoins ⏤ especially XRP in the aftermath of Ripple's SEC lawsuit. More on that below... | |  Aaron |  |
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 XRP since the SEC lawsuit The fallout continues from the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, and Chris Larsen. The SEC filed a complaint against Ripple Labs, Garlinghouse, and Larsen, alleging that they violated federal securities laws while selling 14.6 billion units of XRP (XRP) for over $1.3B during their seven-year-long ICO. - Brad Garlinghouse foresaw the impending lawsuit and called it a "direct attack on the crypto industry" during an interview with Fortune on Dec. 21.
- On the same day, the company released a document, Ripple-Wells Response, arguing that XRP is not an investment contract, contrary to the SEC's view.
Moneygram (NASDAQ:MGI): - Ripple has paid Moneygram an extraordinary amount of money to incentivize its utilization of XRP.
- A spokesperson for Moneygram (NASDAQ:MGI) told Coindesk that, amidst the SEC lawsuit against the Ripple Labs and its two senior executives, the American financial services company is taking a "wait-and-see" approach.
- Moneygram's emailed statement indicates that it will continue its business agreement with Ripple Labs, utilizing its xRapid service for cross-border payments.
Exchanges delist XRP: - The SEC's view is clear: XRP is a security. If the defendants do not agree to a settlement, a judge will decide how much Ripple, Garlinghouse, and Larsen will pay.
- Any U.S. exchange that continues listing XRP risks fines and penalties for operating a securities exchange — and almost all cryptocurrency exchanges still list XRP today.
- Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange OSL decided to suspend XRP trading.
- CrossTower and Beaxy also delisted XRP, according to news reports.
- Bitwise immediately eliminated XRP from its multi-cryptocurrency index.
- Bitstamp halted trading and deposits of XRP.
- (For a sense of scale, Bitstamp alone processed $85M of XRP transactions every day. There are hundreds of cryptocurrency exchanges.)
Coindesk 
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 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia The central banks of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates concluded their central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot, "Aber," and published their review. - In a 93-page overview, the two central banks concluded that a CBDC could enhance cross-border transactions while protecting individuals' financial privacy.
- The document includes achievements fulfilled through Project Aber, a 12-month CBDC pilot announced in late 2019.
- Project Aber was a part of Saudi Arabia and the UAE's larger cooperative project, "Azzam."
- Both of the central banks see opportunities in distributed ledger technology, especially Hyperledger's fabric.
- Authorities considered technologies by Ripple (XRP) and Stellar (XLM) for the pilot, but ultimately opted for Hyperledger.
- Six commercial banks participated in the pilot, running nodes and contributing small amounts of fiat from their central bank reserves.
Coindesk
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A subsidiary of China's Huobi cryptocurrency exchange, Huobi Trust Company, obtained a Trust Company License in Nevada. The gigantic exchange is trying to make a U.S. comeback after abruptly exiting in 2019. - Hong Kong-based Huobi Tech Holdings Ltd. (1611.HK) informed shareholders on Dec. 22 that Huobi Trust Company, an "indirectly" wholly-owned subsidiary in Nevada, received a license from Nevada's Financial Institutions Division.
- The company's executive director, Lan Jianzhong, indicated that Huobi Trust Company can now offer custodial and compliance services in the U.S. starting in 2021.
- A year ago, Huobi's Huobi.US halted operations due to regulatory problems, saying it would re-open services as a more compliant platform in the U.S. at a later date.
- In November 2020, Huobi's management expressed disbelief in rumors that Chinese police arrested its chief operating officer, Robin Zhu.
- Huobi is a direct competitor of China's OKEx and the world's third-largest crypto exchange by reported volume (about $3.1B daily).
Coindesk
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 OneCoin Mastermind Dr. Ruja Ignatova OneCoin co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood is currently in talks with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office. A plea deal is in the works in regard to Greenwood's involvement with the OneCoin Ponzi scheme. - At a Dec. 18 teleconference, Judge Edgardo Ramos, who is overseeing Greenwood's case, allowed Greenwood's counsel extra time to assess additional evidence until late March 2021, and to allow time to discuss a plea deal.
- Greenwood has been detained inside the Manhattan Metropolitan Correctional Center since his 2018 arrest in Thailand.
Crypto Queen: - The mastermind behind OneCoin and Onelife's other multi-level marketing schemes, Ruja Ignatova, remains at large. She disappeared from Sofia, Bulgaria in 2017.
- U.S. law enforcement officials arrested Ignatova's brother and accomplice, Konstantin Ignatova, at LAX airport in March 2019. He later pleaded guilty to all charges and agreed to testify against his sister.
- The OneCoin scam stole approximately $4B from victims.
- Although Ruja has not been personally served, the U.S. government filed a 2019 indictment in absentia on counts of money-laundering and wire fraud, among other charges.
- The U.S. government's counsel has evidence against the OneCoin's perpetrators: two hard drives, 150,000 pages of emails, Konstantin's testimony, and other electronic communication materials.
- On Dec. 10, prosecutors detained and arrested other OneCoin/Onelife promoters in Argentina, including local radio host and journalist Edgar Nicolás Moreno, Andrés López, and others.
Law360
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- The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) disclosed on Dec. 21 that its secretary-general Paul Andrews will depart in 2021. Tajinder Singh will replace Andrews on Feb. 25, 2021. IOSCO members regulate 95% of the world's securities markets in 129 jurisdictions.
- Digital currency asset manager Grayscale Investments, which operates Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (OTCQX:GDLC), lowered its management fee from 3.0% to 2.5%, starting Jan. 1, 2021.
- On Dec. 21, some Grayscale clients on Twitter reported a halt in new investments into its bitcoin, ether (ETH), bitcoin cash (BCH), ethereum classic (ETC), and litecoin (LTC) funds.
- Chief global strategist at Morgan Stanley Investment Ruchir Sharma commented in an interview with CNBC on Dec. 21 that bitcoin is not the endgame, even though its surging price indicates that people are looking for an alternative to U.S. dollars.
- Coinbase Commerce now allows invoicing. Merchants can generate and send crypto-denominated invoices to their vendors.
- The U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes and Enforcement Network (FinCEN) posted a job opening for Strategic Policy Officer just days after stirring the crypto industry with its wide-ranging proposal to impose KYC regulations on unhosted and private digital wallets.
- Equity Group Investment founder and real estate magnate Sam Zell said that he is skeptical of bitcoin and the people involved in it during an interview with Real Vision released on Dec. 18.
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 |  | Curated by Associated Press fanboy, eye-strained news terminal watcher, and bitcoin follower since $1, Aaron Wise. Temporarily listening to news squawk boxes in Florida while awaiting the construction of cryptopia. | | | | Editor | Jonathan Harris is a writer for Inside.com. Previously, he wrote for The Huffington Post, TakePart.com, and the YouTube channel What’s Trending. | |
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