Law Decoded: ‘Unhosted’ wallets are just ‘wallets,’ March 28–April 4
Categories: Crypto News
he European Parliament continued to keep crypto users and advocates at the edge of their seats last week as yet another piece of potentially harmful legislation — this time, a set of demanding data disclosure requirements for digital asset service providers — was rushed to a vote mere days after a near miss on banning proof-of-work-based cryptocurrencies.Unlike the relatively happy resolution of the Markets in Crypto Assets framework situation, the EU’s new Anti-Money Laundering rules retained all the crypto-hostile language as they are going into the next round of consideration, the so-called trialogue negotiations. If the rules are enacted as they are, compliant crypto exchanges could be forced to halt transactions involving “unhosted” or self-custodied crypto wallets. The tax reporting deadline is nearing across the Atlantic, and the Biden administration has revealed its plan to reduce the budget deficit by almost $5 billion by streamlining the reporting rules and collection of digital asset taxes in the upcoming fiscal year. All quiet on the BTC ETF front Another spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund application bites the dust: This week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has turned down the proposed rule change to allow ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF to trade on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. The justification cited the familiar mantra that the proposed product failed to meet the requirements of the Exchange Act in that it lacked “a comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreement with a regulated market of significant size” related to the underlying asset. Another contender for the distinction of sponsoring the first regulated spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States, Grayscale, is apparently preparing for a legal battle in case the regulator turns down its bid. The deadline for the SEC to render a decision on Grayscale’s product is July 7 of this year.