The EU’s new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation has taken effect, providing comprehensive legal and regulatory clarity for the digital asset market. MiCA aims to address the crypto industry’s boom-bust cycles and give euro-denominated stablecoins a chance to succeed. It requires stablecoins to comply with e-money rules, enhancing consumer protection and setting a precedent for future crypto legislation globally.
Separately, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued Ethereum software provider ConsenSys, alleging that its MetaMask wallet service acted as an unregistered broker by offering the sale of securities. The SEC also targeted Ethereum staking services Lido and Rocket Pool, claiming their popular stETH and rETH tokens are unregistered securities. This lawsuit represents the SEC’s latest attempt to regulate a broad swath of the crypto market as securities.
In the US political arena, Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell donated $1 million, mostly in ether, to Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Powell joins other crypto leaders like the Winklevoss twins in backing Trump, who has emerged as a pro-crypto candidate. Trump has called for making all bitcoin in the US and positioning the country as a leader in crypto. However, this topic was absent from the first presidential debate against President Biden.
