Binance co-founder Yi He says the exchange cannot be held accountable for the &#8216;the rise and fall of coins&#8217; listed on its platform. The criticism comes after several tokens experience major declines in trading. In a recent post, Yi He…

Binance co-founder responds to critics blaming the platform for ACT, TST and other price drops

In its first 2025 market structure hearing, Congress moved to overhaul 
securities laws, aiming to rein in SEC overreach and unleash a new era of U.S. 
crypto innovation. Congressional Hearing Sounds Alarm on SEC Overreach and 
Crypto Exodus U.S. lawmakers gathered in Washington on April 9 as the 
Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and […]

US Lawmakers Push for Crypto Clarity With Urgent Call to Overhaul Securities Laws

US Securities and Exchange Commission staff have given guidance on how federal 
securities laws could apply to crypto, saying companies issuing or dealing 
with tokens that could be securities should give better details about their 
business.
The SEC&#8217;s Division of Corporation Finance said in a staff statement on April 
10 that it was giving its views &#8220;to provide greater clarity on the application 
of the federal securities laws to crypto assets.&#8221;
The Division said its statement was made of observations of disclosures given 
in existing disclosure requirements and &#8220;addresses our views about certain 
specific disclosure questions that market participants have presented to the 
staff.&#8221;
The guidance, which the Division noted had &#8220;no legal force or effect,&#8221; said 
crypto companies who are giving disclosures about their business have 
typically shared a host of information about their operations, such as what 
the company specifically does, how any issued tokens work and how the business 
generates &#8212; or intends to generate &#8212; revenue.
Companies have also disclosed whether they plan to remain engaged in a crypto 
network or app after they launch it and, if not, whether any other entities 
will take over.
Crypto firms should also explain their technology, such as if their product is 
a proof-of-work or proof-of-stake blockchain, its block size, transaction 
speed, reward mechanisms, the measures to ensure network security and whether 
the protocol is open-source or not.
The SEC staff also noted that registration or qualification is not required in 
connection with crypto offerings that aren&#8217;t securities and aren&#8217;t part of an 
investment contract. However, the statement didn&#8217;t provide clarity on what 
digital assets could be securities.
Commercial litigator Joe Carlasare told Cointelegraph the statement was &#8220;a 
welcome and refreshing step toward clearer regulatory guidance.&#8221;
&#8220;Adhering to the guidelines will help entities not only position themselves 
more favorably with regulators but also demonstrate a commitment to 
transparency and credibility,&#8221; he said.
## Crypto firms should share all risks
The SEC staff statement said that issuers usually clearly disclose risks 
related to price volatility, network and cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and 
custody risks, in addition to standard business, operational, legal and 
regulatory risks.
A &#8220;materially complete description&#8221; of a security is also typically required 
from an issuer, which includes the mechanism behind paying dividends, 
distributions, profit-sharing and voting rights, including how those rights 
are enforced.
_**Related:**__**No crypto project has registered with the SEC and &#8216;lived to 
tell the tale&#8217; &#8212; House committee hearing**_
It added a company should share if a protocol&#8217;s code can be modified, and if 
so, who can make such changes and whether the smart contracts involved have 
been subjected to a third-party security audit.
Other disclosures the statement mentioned are whether the token&#8217;s supply is 
fixed and how it was or will be issued along with identifying executives and 
&#8220;significant employees.&#8221;
The Division said its guidance intended to build on the SEC&#8217;s Crypto Task 
Force, which is planning to host a series of roundtables with the crypto 
industry to discuss how it should police crypto trading, custody, tokenization 
and decentralized finance.
_**Magazine:**__**SEC &#8216;s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered**_

SEC staff gives guidance on how securities laws could apply to crypto

MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, has long embodied the 
boldest institutional bet on the cryptocurrency. Co-founder and chairman 
Michael Saylor&#8217;s unwavering belief in Bitcoin has defined the company’s 
strategy for years. However, that strategy now faces a challenge after a 
recent SEC filing hinted at the possibility of MicroStrategy being forced to 
liquidate some of its Bitcoin holdings under financial pressure and the recent 
Bitcoin price crash. The implications could ripple beyond the company’s 
balance sheet and affect Bitcoin’s broader market. Mounting Debt, Negative 
Cash Flow, And The Bitcoin Lifeline MicroStrategy disclosed several important 
financial vulnerabilities in a recent Form 8-K filed with the SEC. At the time 
of filing, the firm reported holding 528,185 BTC, acquired at an average 
purchase price of $67,458 per Bitcoin, for a total cost basis of approximately 
$35.63 billion. However, despite the massive size of its Bitcoin treasury, 
MicroStrategy admitted that its core enterprise software business has not been 
generating positive operational cash flow. The company is also shouldering 
$8.22 billion in debt and facing an annual contractual interest burden of 
$35.1 million. Related Reading: Crypto Analyst Warns Bitcoin Price Could See 
Further Crash If It Falls Below This Level Although it has issued over $1.6 
billion in preferred stock tied to substantial annual dividend obligations of 
$146.2 million, these liabilities are not being met. Instead, MicroStrategy 
explicitly outlined that it expects to rely on debt or equity financing to 
meet its obligations, and those efforts may become severely strained if 
Bitcoin’s price sharply declines. The report warns that if the market value of 
its holdings drops significantly, it could negatively affect the firm’s 
ability to raise funds. In such a situation, the company might be forced to 
sell Bitcoin at a loss. At the time the report was filed, BTC was trading just 
13% above the company’s average purchase price. Because Bitcoin forms the 
majority of MicroStrategy’s assets, its balance sheet is intimately tied to 
the crypto’s price. As such, a dip below that level could create a chain 
reaction of falling stock prices and ultimately force selling pressure even on 
the price of Bitcoin itself. Michael Saylor’s Response: Staying The Course 
Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy&#8217;s co-founder and former CEO, is one of the 
biggest proponents of Bitcoin and was influential in the company&#8217;s adoption of 
a Bitcoin strategy. Taking to social media platform X after the news of the 
report broke out, Saylor simply tweeted: &#8220;HODL,&#8221; a popular mantra among crypto 
purists that signals long-term conviction. Related Reading: Here’s How Much 
Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto Lost After The BTC Price Crash The post has 
had over 1.4 million views on the platform and resonated with many bullish 
proponents, as seen in the comments section. He followed that with another 
tweet: “Bitcoin is the Best Idea. There is no Second Best.” At the time of 
writing, BTC is trading at $81,900, up by 6% in the past 24 hours. Even if 
MicroStrategy were to sell any Bitcoin at this point, it wouldn&#8217;t be the first 
sale of its holdings. Back on December 22, 2022, MicroStrategy sold 704 BTC 
for $11.8 million under similar circumstances. Featured image from Unsplash, 
chart from Tradingview.com

MicroStrategy Could Be Forced To Dump Bitcoin Under These Circumstances, Michael Saylor Responds

Bitcoin is poised for a major surge as escalating U.S.-China tensions, rising 
tariffs, and dwindling trust in U.S. debt send investors searching for 
alternatives. Samson Mow Expects Bitcoin to Go &#8216;Much Higher&#8217; Bitcoin advocate 
Samson Mow, who serves as chief executive officer of the bitcoin 
infrastructure firm JAN3, commented on social media platform X this […]

Samson Mow Sees Bitcoin Surging as Tariffs, Rates, Capital Flight All Hit at Once

US President Donald Trump on April 10 signed a joint Congressional resolution 
overturning a Biden-era rule that requires decentralized finance (DeFi) 
protocols to report to the country&#8217;s tax authority, the Internal Revenue 
Service.
The rule would have required DeFi platforms, such as decentralized exchanges, 
to file their gross proceeds from crypto sales and include information on 
those involved in the transactions.
Trump was widely expected to sign the bill, as White House AI and crypto czar 
David Sacks said in March that the president would support killing the 
measure.
This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it 
becomes available.