
Plus, BTC is stalling out after a $95.5K spike.	͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏	View in browser

Your weekly roundup of the 🔥hottest news in crypto:

CFTC Scraps 'outdated' Crypto Guidance, BTC Wobbles at $92K, & Other News

Dec. 7 - 13

#1

CFTC pulls 'actual delivery' crypto guidance, giving flexibility to exchanges

US Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Caroline Pham has scrapped "outdated guidance" on the delivery of crypto, which has been applauded for offering exchanges more flexibility.

"Eliminating outdated and overly complex guidance that penalizes the crypto industry and stifles innovation is exactly what the Administration has set out to do this year," Pham said on Thursday.

The guidance, originally finalized in March 2020, related to when the "actual delivery" of crypto happened in a commodity transaction, but the CFTC said in a notice that it had to "reevaluate such guidance in light of further developments during the past 5 years."

The CFTC under Pham has worked on a more crypto-friendly approach, and Pham said the guidance was withdrawn on recommendations from the president's crypto working group, which suggested the CFTC release guidance on how crypto may be considered commodities and expand on prior guidance regarding the actual delivery of virtual assets.

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#2

YouTube enables PYUSD stablecoin payouts for US creators: Report

Video-sharing giant YouTube has reportedly enabled US-based creators to accept payouts in PayPal's stablecoin, PYUSD.

Fortune reported on Thursday that PayPal's head of crypto, May Zabaneh, said the feature is live, but only for users in the US. The firm integrated the ability for recipients to accept payments in PYUSD earlier this year, with YouTube ultimately opting to open that choice up to its creators.

"The beauty of what we've built is that YouTube doesn't have to touch crypto and so we can help take away that complexity," she said.

PayPal has had a long-standing relationship with YouTube, allowing users to pay via its services for many years and utilizing it for creators' AdSense payouts.

#3

US SEC's Crenshaw takes aim at crypto in final weeks at agency

US Securities and Exchange Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, who is expected to leave the agency in less than a month, used one of her final public speaking engagements to address the regulator's response to digital assets.

Speaking at a Brookings Institution event on Thursday, Crenshaw said standards at the SEC had "eroded" in the last year, with "markets [starting] to look like casinos," and "chaos" as the agency dismissed many years-long enforcement cases, reduced civil penalties and filed fewer actions overall.

The commissioner, expected to depart in January after her term officially ended in June 2024, also criticized many crypto users and the agency's response to the markets.

Prediction of the Week

Bitcoin wobbles at $92K as trader eyes end to 'manipulative' BTC price dip

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed wavering BTC price action after a trip to $95,500 the day prior.

Up against several resistance features on the daily chart, BTC/USD coiled for what some said should be a breakout move.

"Bitcoin is doing the choppy dance. Illiquid books, and therefore fast moves up and down for the position on $BTC," crypto trader, analyst and entrepreneur Michaël van de Poppe wrote in his latest analysis on X. "Nonetheless, I think that we're still in for a new upwards breakout in the coming days/weeks."

FUD of the week

Senior Vanguard analyst says Bitcoin is no better than a plush toy

Bitcoin is a purely speculative asset and is akin to a collectible toy, according to John Ameriks, the global head of quantitative equity at asset management company Vanguard.

"It's difficult for me to think about Bitcoin as anything more than a digital Labubu," Ameriks said at Bloomberg's ETFs in Depth conference in New York City.

Labubus are collectible dolls in the form of rabbit-like creatures with anthropomorphic features. Despite Ameriks' criticism, he said that Bitcoin may have value beyond financial speculation in the future under certain circumstances.

The cryptocurrency could find real-world use cases beyond market speculation in scenarios of high fiat currency inflation or political instability, Ameriks said. These forces drive the adoption of alternative currencies.

FUD of the week

Terraform co-founder sentenced to 15 years in prison after guilty plea

Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud.

In a Thursday hearing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Paul Engelmayer ordered that Kwon serve 15 years in prison for his role in the collapse of Terraform, which wiped out about $40 billion from the crypto market in 2022. He will receive credit for time served in the US and 17 months of pre-extradition custody.

Prior to making his decision on sentencing, Engelmayer heard from some of Terraform's victims and questioned what kind of justice Kwon might face in his native South Korea, where authorities are also building a case against him.