💵Court Rules Secondary Crypto Trades Aren't Securities

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The crypto community is celebrating a court ruling finding that secondary cryptocurrency trades do not comprise the exchange of unlicensed securities. Judge Amy Berman Jackson, the judge overseeing the SEC’s case against Binance, notably dismissed the SEC’s charges concerning secondary BNB trades while allowing charges concerning the token’s ICO to proceed.

However, the ruling coincided with the SEC filing a lawsuit against Consensys, alleging its MetaMask wallet violated securities laws by facilitating access to top liquid staking protocols Lido and Rocket Pool.

Plus, Aave appears on track to launch its v4 iteration in 2025, and crypto markets bounce amid bullish Ether ETF expectations.

✍️ In today’s newsletter:

SEC suffers blow in Binance case
Liquid staking targeted in SEC lawsuit against Consensys
Aave Labs receives grant to build v4
Markets rally ahead of ETH ETF approval

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🎉Crypto Celebrates Court Dismissing SEC Claims That Secondary BNB Sales Are Securities

Judge Amy Jackson, the judge overseeing the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance, dismissed charges alleging that secondary BNB and BUSD trades comprised securities sales. Notably, Jackson allowed charges concerning the BNB initial coin offering to proceed, clearly distinguishing between primary and secondary digital asset sales

🚨SEC Targets Ethereum Liquid Staking

Liquid staking tokens have fallen within the crosshairs of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC sued Consensys for alleged securities violations over its MetaMask wallet facilitating access to liquid staking via Lido and Rocket Pool.

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🔧Aave Labs Receives Grant To Develop V4 Iteration Over 12 Months

Aave DAO passed a governance proposal allocating $12 million in grant funding to Aave Labs to build out the project’s v4 iteration. The funds will be disbursed over 12 months, suggesting Aave v4 will launch in Q4 2025.

📈Crypto Markets Rally Ahead of Anticipated Ethereum ETF Approval

Digital assets posted a bullish start to the week, with the combined capitalization of cryptocurrencies bouncing 2.2% in the past 24 hours. ENS and ZRO were among the best-performing assets, with gains of 17% and 14%, respectively, while SOL and DOT jumped 4%. ETH is also up 2% amid bullish anticipation that spot Ether ETFs may enter the market this week.

🌍 ELSEWHERE

$105 Billion Electronics Giant Sony To Launch New Bitcoin Exchange (Bitcoin Magazine)
US Marshals Service picks Coinbase to custody its assets as part of a $32.5 million contract (The Block)
Circle Snags First Stablecoin License Under EU's New MiCA Crypto Rules (CoinDesk)