Court Clips SEC’s Wings on Crypto Authority Fifth Circuit just handed the SEC a sharp defeat that could redraw the entire crypto enforcement map. In a sweeping decision, the appeals court ruled that the agency overstepped its statutory authority when it tried to regulate digital assets as securities without clear congressional backing. The ruling lands…
Regal Commodities v Tauber (2024 NY Slip Op 01736) Court hands crypto broker victory on trading-account liability. In a March 27 decision, New York’s Appellate Division, Second Department, ruled that Regal Commodities, a commodities and digital-asset brokerage, can pursue a former client for alleged margin shortfalls after the client claimed the platform “glitched” during volatile…
US House Crypto Tax Bill Spares Fees Under $10, but Not Heavy Traders A crypto tax bill in the U.S. House would exempt fees below $10 from its tax treatment, while leaving heavier traders subject to the bill’s broader requirements. The distinction could matter most for users who make frequent or higher-volume transactions. Although small…
CFTC’s Secret Documents Face Courtroom Sunlight A federal appeals court just forced the CFTC to hand over internal documents that could expose how regulators handled a high-profile commodities case against Kraft and Mondelēz. The Seventh Circuit’s ruling cracks open a window into the agency’s decision-making process, and traders are already asking what else regulators might…
Court Orders Consolidation of Three Crypto Lawsuits Three separate crypto investor suits will now move as one. A federal panel has consolidated the Greene, Motto, and related actions, meaning one court will decide whether the tokens at issue qualify as unregistered securities. The ruling compresses the legal timeline and raises the stakes for any exchange…
SEC Staggers as Fifth Circuit Rejects Major Crypto Case The Fifth Circuit just killed the SEC’s attempt to appeal a lower-court ruling that could have reshaped how the agency polices digital assets. The case collapsed on procedural grounds, leaving a Texas federal judge’s decision intact and the Commission empty-handed on a critical question of enforcement…
DeepSeek’s New Model Nearly Matches GPT-6 Astra on Design at 1.4% of the Cost DeepSeek has introduced a new model that reportedly comes close to GPT-6 Astra in design performance while costing just 1.4% as much to operate. The comparison highlights the growing focus on efficiency in artificial intelligence. If the reported figures hold, DeepSeek’s…
Court Slams CFTC, Hands Monex Win in Key Crypto Case The Ninth Circuit just handed the CFTC a stinging defeat in its attempt to police leveraged precious-metals contracts, ruling that Monex’s platform falls outside the agency’s jurisdiction under the Commodity Exchange Act. The decision narrows the CFTC’s reach, signals that some crypto-like products may escape…
Judges Hand CFTC Fresh Defeat in Crypto Appeal The D.C. Circuit just handed crypto trader Trevor Kitchen a rare win against the CFTC, ruling that the agency overstepped when it punished him for trading activity on a now-defunct exchange. The decision signals that courts are narrowing the CFTC’s reach over decentralized platforms and individual traders,…
Trump Says AI Needs “Guardrails,” Cites Anthropic Blacklisting as Proof of Enforcement US President Donald Trump defended his administration’s approach to artificial intelligence regulation in a FOX News interview published Friday, arguing that the US already has sufficient “guardrails” in place as it competes with China. Pressed on what guardrails could both help the US…
AI Agents Spending Money Online? New Research Says Not Really New research challenges the idea that artificial intelligence agents are already spending money online at meaningful scale. The findings suggest that while AI agents may be able to interact with online services, their actual use of money remains limited. That distinction matters as developers and…
CFTC Wins Ninth Circuit Ruling Against Crypto Trader The Ninth Circuit has handed the CFTC a sweeping victory in its seven-year fight with James Crombie, ruling that his unregistered crypto operations violated the Commodity Exchange Act and confirming the agency’s power to police Bitcoin and similar digital assets as commodities. The decision matters because it…
Court Says IRS Can Seize Crypto Wallets Without Naming Users A federal judge in Washington just ruled that the IRS can seize cryptocurrency wallets even when it doesn’t know who owns them. The decision clears the way for civil forfeiture against 24 anonymous accounts and signals that digital assets are now firmly inside the government’s…
SEC SLAMS BRAKES ON BINANCE ESCAPE HATCH The Securities and Exchange Commission just won the first round of a fight that could decide whether the world’s largest crypto exchange gets to run its U.S. business from a foreign shell. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson refused Binance’s attempt to throw out the case on jurisdictional…
Why Trump Backed Tougher Ethics Rules in the Clarity Act, and Why the Crypto Industry Thinks It Can Pass Former President Donald Trump has backed tougher ethics rules in the Clarity Act, adding a new condition to a broader effort to advance crypto legislation. The move matters because the bill now sits at the intersection…
Court Says Delaware Crypto Startup Can Sue Former Exec Over Stolen Code Delaware’s Superior Court just green-lit a crypto-technology company’s lawsuit against its former executive, ruling that trade-secret theft claims can proceed even when the underlying tech sits at the edge of blockchain and biometrics. The decision matters because it signals that Delaware courts will…
Grayscale Wins — SEC’s Bitcoin ETF Rejection Ruled Arbitrary The D.C. Circuit just handed Grayscale a decisive victory, ordering the SEC to reconsider its refusal to convert the world’s largest Bitcoin trust into a spot ETF. The court found the agency’s reasoning inconsistent with how it approved similar Bitcoin futures products, exposing a double standard…
Court Slams Door on Crypto “Advisor” Defense The Seventh Circuit just handed the CFTC its biggest win yet against unregistered crypto promoters. In a ruling that could ripple through every Telegram channel and Discord server, the court affirmed that James Donelson’s $1.3 million “Bitcoin trading” scheme was a futures contract under the Commodity Exchange Act—making…
Microsoft Unveils “Humanist AI” Code of Conduct and Invites Public Scrutiny Microsoft has introduced a proposed “Humanist AI” code of conduct and is asking members of the public to examine it for weaknesses. The company’s approach puts the draft in front of outside observers rather than presenting it as a finished set of principles. The…
Coinbase Wins Round One as SEC Rulemaking Gets Slammed by Appeals Court A federal appeals court just handed Coinbase a major procedural victory that could slow the SEC’s entire enforcement push against crypto exchanges. The Third Circuit ruled that the agency failed to follow the law when it rejected Coinbase’s petition for formal rulemaking, forcing…
