Today's Crypto Assets Update Overview

Source: Cointelegraph Original text: “Today’s Cryptocurrency Update Overview”

Today’s cryptocurrency market update: Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill to establish a state Bitcoin reserve and accept cryptocurrency payments, but signed a bill regulating cryptocurrency ATMs; Coinbase will become the first cryptocurrency company to join the S&P 500 index; newly appointed SEC Chairman Paul Atkins shared his priorities for digital asset regulation.

Arizona Governor vetoes two cryptocurrency bills, strengthening regulation of Bitcoin ATMs.

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed two key cryptocurrency bills aimed at expanding the state’s engagement with digital assets while signing strict regulations on Bitcoin ATMs.

On May 12, Katie vetoed Senate Bill 1373, which aimed to establish a strategic reserve fund for digital assets. This fund would allow Arizona to hold cryptocurrency assets obtained through seizures or legislative allocations.

In her veto letter, she stated: “The current volatility of the cryptocurrency market makes it unsuitable for use in general fund investments.” She added: “I have signed legislation at this meeting that allows the state to use cryptocurrency without putting the general fund at risk.”

This decision was made after the more ambitious “Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act” (Senate Bill 1025) was rejected on May 3. The bill would have authorized the state treasury and retirement funds to invest up to 10% of their funds in Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets.

According to data from bitcoinlaws.io, 26 states in the United States have proposed strategic cryptocurrency reserve bills, of which 18 are currently still active. In addition, Katie also vetoed Senate Bill 1024, which would have allowed state agencies to accept cryptocurrency payments for taxes, fines, and fees through approved service providers.

Coinbase will become the first cryptocurrency company to join the S&P 500 index.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) will join the S&P 500 index on May 19, becoming the first and currently the only cryptocurrency company to enter this index.

According to S&P Global on May 12, Coinbase will replace Discover Financial Services (DFS), which was recently acquired by Capital One Financial Corp (COF).

The S&P 500 Index is a stock market index that tracks the performance of 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States, widely representing the performance of the overall U.S. stock market.

Source: Brian Armstrong

Coinbase’s inclusion in the S&P 500 index is expected to increase demand for its shares, as index funds and exchange-traded funds that track the index must purchase COIN shares to reflect the index’s composition.

According to Google Finance data, after the announcement was released, COIN’s stock price immediately rose by 8.8% to $225.4 in after-hours trading. The company also rose by 4% at the end of the trading day on March 12, reaching a market value of $52.8 billion.

Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): Blockchain “is expected” to bring new types of market activities.

Paul Atkins, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stated that blockchain technology could bring “a wide variety of novel use cases” for securities and facilitate “new market activities that many of the Commission’s existing rules and regulations currently do not consider.”

In the keynote speech at the May 12 roundtable on tokenization and digital assets, Paul welcomed “a new day for the SEC” and added, “Policy-making will no longer stem from ad-hoc enforcement actions. Instead, the Commission will leverage its existing rulemaking, interpretive, and exemption authority to establish appropriate standards for market participants.”

Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

A key priority will be to “establish a reasonable regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency asset market, set clear rules for the issuance, custody, and trading of cryptocurrency assets, while continuing to prevent bad actors from engaging in illegal activities.”

Specifically, Paul stated that the SEC will focus on developing “clear and reasonable guidelines” for crypto assets that may be considered securities. Another area of focus is allowing brokers to offer a wider range of investment products on their platforms, which may, in some cases, mix securities and non-securities.

Paul’s approach differs from that of former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, whose tenure has been criticized by some industry participants for its “enforcement-for-regulation” approach to oversight.

Related recommendations: Before reaching a new high, $106,000 is the first profit-taking point for Bitcoin (BTC).