Are you curious about the latest in the crypto world? Here’s a rundown of today’s key trends and events affecting Bitcoin prices, blockchain technology, DeFi, NFTs, Web3, and crypto regulations.
Republican lawmakers probe SEC Chair Gary Gensler over alleged political hiring practices
Three Republican lawmakers have accused U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler of selecting the agency's employees based on their political beliefs, which, if true, could constitute a legal violation.
House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (North Carolina), House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (Ohio), and House Oversight Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (Kentucky) have requested Gensler to provide documents related to the SEC's consideration of political ideology in its hiring processes. They argue that if such practices are in place, they could be in violation of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, which aims to prevent unfair employment practices.
In their letter, the lawmakers stated, "The Committees’ oversight is essential to assess whether the SEC is appropriately complying with federal law in its hiring of civil servants and to determine the extent to which individuals’ political affiliations have affected the SEC’s personnel decisions."
Although the letter does not specifically reference cryptocurrency, Gensler has long been scrutinized by the crypto industry. He has maintained that most cryptocurrencies are securities and, therefore, fall under SEC regulation, urging crypto platforms to register with the agency. However, crypto firms have pushed back, arguing that the current regulatory framework is incompatible with digital assets and makes registration with the SEC impractical.
The lawmakers also revealed that their concerns about the SEC's potentially unlawful hiring practices came to light through an email exchange between Gensler and Dr. Haoxiang Zhu, the SEC’s Director of Trading and Markets.
Judge questions if ex-FTX exec perjured himself in guilty plea.
Former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame appeared in a New York courtroom for a hearing in which a federal judge was set to consider a motion to vacate his guilty plea related to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange.
According to a report from Inner City Press on Sept. 12, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York questioned whether Salame had committed perjury when he pleaded guilty to charges of making unlawful political contributions, defrauding the Federal Election Commission, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
Salame reportedly indicated that he would be willing to testify that he believed he had reached an agreement with prosecutors, which could be relevant to hearings or the criminal trial of his partner, Michelle Bond.
Judge Kaplan stated that he would take the information presented at the hearing "under advisement" and issue a ruling later. Following FTX’s collapse in 2022, Salame pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 90 months in prison, petitioned to vacate his plea, and expressed an intention to withdraw the motion to vacate.
AI execs visit White House to discuss energy infrastructure
Executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Microsoft met at the White House on Sept. 12 to discuss the development of a robust energy infrastructure to support the growing demands of artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing.
During the meeting, leaders from these companies — including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei — highlighted concerns that the current U.S. energy infrastructure is outdated and insufficient to meet the substantial energy requirements of the rapidly expanding AI sector.
According to estimates from Goldman Sachs, the demand for AI-related data center power is projected to increase by 160% by 2030. Representatives from OpenAI emphasized that the construction of AI-specific energy infrastructure would address these energy challenges and generate significant job growth within the United States.
Stablecoin Giant Circle Is Moving Its Headquarters to New York City
Circle, the issuer of the second-largest stablecoin, is relocating its global headquarters to One World Trade Center in New York City, where the company will occupy one of the top floors of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
According to documents shared with CoinDesk, the official announcement of the move will be made on Friday, accompanied by a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
In promotional materials for the event, Circle emphasized that the new space will not merely function as an office but as a "powerful convening space" for industry and global leaders.
Circle declined to provide further comments, and Mayor Adams’ office did not respond to requests for comment. Adams has been a vocal supporter of the cryptocurrency community and has expressed ambitions to make New York City a leading hub for the crypto industry. Notably, he converted his first paychecks as mayor into cryptocurrency.
Located at the original World Trade Center site, One World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower, is home to notable tenants such as Condé Nast, MDC Partners, Reddit, Code & Theory, and BounceX.
Circle had previously announced plans to move its legal headquarters from Ireland to the United States in anticipation of a potential initial public offering. The company's U.S. offices were previously based in Boston.
Circle's stablecoin, USDC, is the second-largest in the market, behind Tether's USDT. Currently, USDC has a market capitalization of $34 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $6.37 billion, according to CoinDesk data.
ParaFi Capital to tokenize $1.2B fund on Securitize
Digital asset management firm ParaFi Capital has made its first foray into fund tokenization by offering a minority stake in its latest venture capital fund on the Avalanche blockchain.
According to a Bloomberg report on Sept. 12, ParaFi’s $1.2 billion fund will be partially tokenized and available for trading via the Securitize platform, signaling the firm's effort to integrate blockchain technology into traditional asset management.
"We decided we want to 'eat our own dog food,'" said Ben Forman, ParaFi's founder. "As investors in this technology, we didn’t just want to invest in the tokenization infrastructure; we wanted to actively use it."
ParaFi has previously invested in both Securitize and Avalanche. In August, the firm secured $120 million in fundraising from several investors, including Theta Capital Management and Accolade Partners.
Tokenization refers to converting ownership interests, or shares, into digital tokens stored and managed on a blockchain. Each token represents a fractional ownership in the underlying asset, allowing these tokens to be bought, sold, or traded on digital platforms.
The tokenization process has several advantages, including lowering barriers to entry and enabling broader participation in investment opportunities traditionally limited to large institutional or high-net-worth investors.
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