Morning Post - November 29

headlines

▌U.S . House of Representatives lawmakers will hold their first hearing on FTX bankruptcy on December 13

The U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee will hold its first FTX-focused hearing on Dec. 13. The hearing, titled "Investigating the Collapse of FTX, Part I," is likely to be part of a series of hearings. The committee did not release a list of witnesses for the hearing. Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry has previously said they want former FTX CEO SBF and related companies including Alameda Research and rival exchange Binance to participate. According to previous news, Senate lawmakers are also paying close attention to the FTX crisis. The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing on FTX on Thursday.

▌BlockFi has officially filed for bankruptcy and reorganization, and currently holds $256.9 million in cash

Crypto lending firm BlockFi and eight of its subsidiaries have formally filed for bankruptcy reorganization in New Jersey bankruptcy court. BlockFi will focus on recovering all debt owed to BlockFi by its counterparties, including FTX and related corporate entities. In addition, BlockFi currently still holds $256.9 million in cash, and platform services will continue to be suspended.

policy

▌CFTC Commissioner: Regulating cryptocurrencies should not be done by a single agency

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Mersinger said when asked about the regulatory impact of the bankruptcy of FTX and BlockFi on cryptocurrencies, "This should not be done by a single agency" and "We may need to work more closely with the Securities and Exchange Commission." . Mersinger added that this could mean the independent agency also receives input from congressional committees, including the Agriculture and Banking Finance Committee Services Committee. This is also an opportunity for the CFTC to start working at the state level with jurisdictions that may be familiar with regulatory oversight, Mersinger said. Given the scope of the issue, dialogue with global regulators is also likely. Former CFTC Commissioner Timothy Massad has suggested that the agency and the SEC join forces to form a self-regulatory organization (SRO) in an effort to develop clear guidelines on which agency should oversee cryptocurrencies.

cryptocurrency

▌ECB President Calls for Broader Crypto Regulation After FTX Crash

Responding to policymakers' concerns about the impact of FTX's downfall in parliament, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said that the "stability and reliability" of cryptocurrencies had recently been exposed in "the most obvious way" and needed to be regulated in the cryptoasset market ( MiCA) to implement broader cryptocurrency regulation. The MiCA bill, expected to be passed early next year and take effect in 2024, will cover some cryptocurrencies and service providers. According to Lagarde, “there must be a MiCAII, as part of efforts to bring more regulation to cryptocurrencies, Europe aims to be a leader in this regard”. Earlier in June, she suggested that MiCAII would address risks associated with traditional finance, as well as cover crypto activities outside the scope of MiCA, such as decentralized finance (DeFi).

▌Singapore MAS executive: Banks must hold $125 in capital for every $100 worth of Bitcoin

Banks in Singapore must hold $125 in capital against $100 in exposure to high-risk cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin or ethereum, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Senior Minister and Minister in Charge Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Monday. Although banks in the Singapore jurisdiction have “negligible” exposure to cryptocurrencies, accounting for less than 0.05% of total risk-weighted assets, these types of crypto assets should be subject to the strictest risk management requirements, the executive said. . He said, “Pending the finalization of the framework, MAS requires Singapore-incorporated banks to apply a risk weight of 1,250% for their exposure to riskier crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The minimum aggregate capital adequacy requirement for systemically important banks is 10%, meaning a bank incorporated in Singapore must hold $125 in capital to have exposure to $100 in crypto assets such as Bitcoin.”