18 Burst results for "U. U. S. S. District District"
Mark Levin
US Special Counsel Jack Smith Asks Judge to Place Gag Order on Trump
"Persecuting him in this matter why the Biden Justice Department this politically tainted weaponized Department of Justice is going after him he has absolutely every right in fact he needs to he has a responsibility to do so what the judge is trying to do is to tie his hands so that he Donald Trump can't go out there and explain his side of the story and the argument he's using of course is the same tired argument the left always uses which is that Trump's speech will lead to people getting in in danger they'll be put in danger that's actually what he's saying a redacted copy of a released government filing Friday after an order from US District Judge Tanya Chukin comes in connection with the election interference case one of four criminal cases he's facing quote the defendant has an established practice of issuing inflammatory public statements targeted individuals or institutions that present an obstacle to him the government said Trump made clear his intention to issue public attacks related to case the when the day after his arraignment he posted a threatening message on truth social this was the message that he posted on August 4th quote if you go after me I'm coming after you how is that a threatening statement it's not of course but what they want to do is to silence him completely Jack Smith does not want Donald Trump to be able to make his case to the American people the effort to keep him off the ballot which is so alive and well right now and you've got people who are completely interpreting the 14th amendment section 3 which does not apply to presidents because the president is not listed senators representatives electors of the president and the vice president but not the president so this effort is going to fail they know it's going to fail they have to know that when this gets to the supreme court if they try to bar Trump from being on the ballot usually the 14th amendment section when 3 this gets to the United States Supreme Court, the courts going to throw it out say it does not
The Dan Bongino Show
Federal Judge Blocks New Mexico Governor's Gun Ban
"We've seen it over and over and over again and then we've seen it over and over and over again some more and originally so when got this in front of a judge thanks to groups that chose to sue including a group of out Colorado you never quite know where things are going to go we always hope because we want to have trust in the system we hope always that the right thing is going to happen we always hope that a judge is going to rule on in Seattle I'm based in the Pacific Northwest where we see judges all the time say legal I'm schmeagol all about the ideology and unfortunately are we worse off because of that we are losing rights we are put in danger the reason why we have a public safety crisis the way that we do right now is very clearly due to judges in addition to the Democrat politicians the radicals at least who pass laws that are unconstitutional or who enact programs and strategies and initiatives that are unconstitutional we got judges who oftentimes don't get a lot of despite the fact that they are ruling against the interests of community of our rights and there was always that part of me whenever looking at any of these stories recognizing the fact that we're one bad judgment away one partisan judge away from losing some rights be it temporarily or not and in this case we had a US district judge his name is David Urias and he's a Joe Biden appointee but this was a bill or excuse me an executive order a public health emergency stripping citizens of the Second Amendment rights that was so
The Crypto Overnighter
A highlight from 668:SECs AI Dragnet and Ripples Courtroom Win
"Why do tacos get their own day of the week? Is it because Mondays are so rough, we need a Tuesday filled with beefy tortillas shared with good friends? If so, why don't we have Wellington Wednesdays stroganoff Saturdays, and heck, beefball Mondays? Then Mondays would just be another reason to enjoy our favorite beef with our favorite people. Together, we bring more. Beef, it's what's for dinner, funded by beef farmers and ranchers. Good evening, and welcome to the Crypto Overnighter. I'm Nick Ademus, and I will be your host as we take a look at the latest cryptocurrency news and analysis. So sit back, relax, and let's get started. And remember, none of this is financial advice. And it's 10 p .m. Pacific on Wednesday, September 13th, 2023. Welcome back to the Crypto Overnighter, where we have no sponsors, no hidden agendas, and no BS. But we do have the news, so let's talk about that. Tonight, we dig into the SEC's AI surveillance plans led by Gary Gensler. What does that mean for privacy and regulation? Ripple scores a point in court, but what's the real cost? OneCoin's co -founder faces 20 years behind bars, a reminder to always do your due diligence. Craig Wright dodges criminal sanctions, but raises questions about legal loopholes in crypto. North Korea's Lazarus Group makes another appearance, this time targeting Coinex for a cool $55 million. And finally, Coinbase is lighting up Bitcoin transactions by integrating the Lightning Network. Gary Gensler confirmed the U .S. Securities Exchange Commission uses artificial intelligence for financial surveillance. This revelation came during a Senate oversight hearing on September 12th. Gensler stated that the SEC uses AI technologies to monitor the financial sector for signs of fraud and manipulation. The SEC has not issued a formal public declaration detailing the use of AI. Gensler also faced criticism for the SEC's rulemaking pace and duration of comment periods. He remains adamant that crypto trading platforms should adhere to rigorous U .S. securities regulations. The SEC chair argues that most crypto tokens will likely pass the investment contract test. Gensler cited noncompliance with securities laws in the crypto industry, leading to the agency's enforcement approach. He also mentioned that the SEC has filed approximately 750 enforcement actions in the last year. Gensler warned that AI's ability to generate deepfake content poses a genuine threat to financial markets. He defended the SEC's key rulemaking initiatives amid heavy pushback from lawmakers. The SEC aims to bring DeFi under its jurisdiction, stating that existing rules also apply to the crypto sector. The SEC's adoption of AI for financial surveillance is a significant development. It's a clear signal that the regulatory body is doubling down on its efforts to monitor and control the crypto space. This move aligns with Gensler's consistent stance that the crypto industry should fall under the same regulatory frameworks as traditional financial markets. The use of AI could potentially tighten the noose around crypto activities, making it more challenging for traders and investors to operate freely. While the technology can be a powerful tool for detecting fraud and manipulation, it also raises concerns about privacy and the extent of government surveillance. Gensler's warning about the potential for AI -generated deepfake content adds another layer of complexity. It suggests that the SEC is not only looking to regulate, but also to protect the market from new types of threats. However, Gensler's approach has not been without its critics. The pace of rulemaking and the lack of clarity have drawn ire from both the crypto community and lawmakers. The SEC's aggressive enforcement actions, totaling around 750 in the last year, indicate a strategy of regulation by enforcement, which many find to be problematic. Now, if you're worried about Big Brother and C3PO teaming up to watch your every move, don't forget to hit that like button and subscribe. So now, let's pivot from surveillance to legal battles. Ripple is scoring in court. What does that mean for crypto and regulation? Ripple is in the midst of a legal battle with the SEC. The SEC initially accused Ripple of violating federal securities laws by selling its native cryptocurrency, XRP, without registering it as a security. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and President Monica Long have been vocal about their intent to fight the SEC all the way through. The company has already spent over $100 million defending the case. A significant ruling came in July when US District Court Judge Analisa Torres stated that XRP was not necessarily a security. This opened the doors for Ripple to expand its business not just in the US, but globally. The SEC requested permission to file an interlocutory appeal against this ruling, but as for now, the request has yet to be decided upon. Ripple is also focusing 80 % of its hiring efforts outside the US, targeting markets like Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK, and Dubai. The ongoing Ripple vs SEC case is a test for the crypto industry's relationship with regulators. Ripple's refusal to back down sends a strong message to the SEC and other regulatory bodies that the crypto industry will not be bullied. The SEC's actions here are part of a broader crackdown on the crypto industry. Frankly, I see it as an overreach of authority. The recent court ruling in favor of Ripple has not only given the company a legal upper hand, it also provided a glimmer of hope for the broader crypto ecosystem. It challenges the SEC's narrative and could set a precedent for other cases. The fact that Ripple is planning to focus its hiring outside the US is a clear sign of how regulatory uncertainty is driving crypto innovation away from the US, a point that should concern US policymakers. The case is shaping up to be a defining moment for crypto regulation in the US. It could have far reaching implications for the industry at large. And really, this whole thing is about the future of crypto regulation and the limits of governmental oversight. A point for Ripple, but at what cost? Make sure you're following us to stay updated on this legal thriller. But speaking of costs, some people are paying dearly. From courtrooms to prison cells, let's delve into the dark underbelly of crypto scams with OneCoin's co -founder, Carl Greenwood.
The Crypto Overnighter
A highlight from 655:Judge Sez ETH Not a Security, Uniswap Wins, Binances Strategies
"Rockstar Energy Punched. Bringing a bold and unapologetic flavor packed with energy through a blend of B vitamins, corona extract, and 240 milligrams of caffeine to fuel what's next. Rockstar Energy Drink. Good evening and welcome to The Crypto Overnight -er. I'm Nicodemus and I will be your host as we take a look at the latest cryptocurrency news and analysis. So sit back, relax, and let's get started. And remember, none of this is financial advice. And it's 10 PM Pacific on Thursday, August 31st, 2023. Welcome back to The Crypto Overnight -er, where we have no sponsors, no hidden agendas, and no BS. But we do have the news, so let's talk about that. Tonight we're diving into a pivotal court ruling that could shape the future of DeFi. GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy shares his crypto vision and grayscale scores a legal victory. Binance pivots with both a stablecoin swap and ambitious plans in Japan. EOS breaks through regulatory barriers, also in Japan. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong lays out a roadmap for crypto's future. And finally, Robinhood is making moves that could reshape its position in the crypto landscape. A US district court judge in New York dismissed a class action lawsuit against Uniswap Labs. Now, just as a point of interest, the judge has won Katherine Polk Fela, Judge Fela is also overseeing the SEC's case against Coinbase. So this may portend of things to come. Six crypto investors filed the lawsuit. They claimed that they were scammed on Uniswap between December 2020 and March 2022. The plaintiffs argued that Uniswap Labs controlled its liquidity pools. They said this included pools created by scammers. The lawsuit sought to rescind smart contracts and demanded compensation. And here it comes, folks, possibly the most important part. Judge Fela termed Bitcoin and Ethereum as crypto commodities. She was not convinced Uniswap's token sales fell under federal securities laws. This is a pivotal moment, not just for Uniswap, but for the crypto space at large. The judge's decision to dismiss the case against Uniswap is a win for decentralized finance. It sets a precedent that could shield DeFi protocols from similar lawsuits in the future. The judge's comments show a deep understanding of DeFi technology. She stated that concerns about crypto regulation are better addressed to Congress than to the court. This is a clear signal to lawmakers who have been slow to provide regulatory clarity over digital assets. The judge's ruling also comes at a time when the Securities Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are at odds over crypto regulation. The SEC's chair, Gary Gensler, claimed that everything apart from Bitcoin is a security. On the other hand, the CFTC claimed that Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies are commodities. This case could serve as a reference point in future regulatory debates. While Judge Phela's ruling on Uniswap is a beacon of hope, the regulatory landscape isn't all roses. GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has some choice words for the SEC. Stick around, you won't want to miss this. And don't forget to subscribe for the latest updates.
Coronavirus
A highlight from Aevo Zero-Fee Bridging From Optimism
"Welcome to your Ethereum news roundup. Here's your latest for Wednesday, August 30th, 2023. Avio integrates zero -fee bridging for Optimism and Arbitrum, a Judge dismisses a Uniswap class action lawsuit, the FragDao releases ENS shortcuts, and Argent releases mobile support for Starknet. All this and more starts right now. Avio, a derivatives -focused rollup, now supports USDC bridging from Arbitrum and opmainnet. Users can now bridge USDC from the Layer 2 networks with zero bridging fees and zero slippage, according to the project. The bridging feature is powered by Interoperability Protocol Socket, which allows appchains to tap into Layer 2 liquidity flows. Socket now allows appchain rollups to access Layer 2 liquidity with a single connection. Avio was built using Conduit, a rollup -as -a -service infrastructure provider, and runs on a customized version of the OPStack codebase. Avio offers an options trading exchange that operates as an off -chain order book with on -chain settlements. A US District Court Judge dismissed a class action lawsuit filed against Uniswap Labs, its CEO Hayden Adams, and Uniswap Investors. The lawsuit was filed in April of 2022, alleging that Uniswap was responsible for users losing money to scam tokens. It claimed Uniswap Labs had control over liquidity pools with illegitimate tokens. The lawsuit also tacked on securities violations. The court dismissed the claims, stating that the decentralized nature of Uniswap prevented the defendants from being held responsible for the actions of third parties. The judge's ruling cited a prior class action lawsuit filed against Coinbase in 2022, which was also dismissed. DefragDAO, a lending protocol native to Arbitrum, released ENS shortcuts, a tool that uses ENS domains to automate on -chain actions such as bridging and swapping. The release features six initial ENS shortcuts, including providing liquidity on Beefy Finance, swapping ETH to USDC via Uniswap, and bridging to Optimism, Base, Arbitrum, or Polygon. To execute an action, such as bridging to base, users can simply transfer ETH to the toBase .eth .ens address. The shortcut will then bridge the assets using Hop protocol and will transfer them to the user's Layer 2 address. The shortcuts aim to reduce phishing attacks by allowing users to execute on -chain tasks directly within their wallet. And lastly, Argents released early access support for StarkNet on its mobile smart contract wallet. Users can now access the Layer 2 network directly on their mobile device. The release includes a fiat on -ramp via RAP network, bridging via LayerSwap, and support for StarkNet NFTs. Last month, Argent launched a StarkNet NFT marketplace called Unframed. The mobile app does not yet support wallet imports for Argent X wallets. Argent X is a browser extension wallet and was the first wallet released for the StarkNet ecosystem. Argent plans to add support for swaps, staking, and integrated DeFi dApps. It also plans to enable on -chain wallet recovery. Argent will host a product overview stream for the wallet on September 6th. This has been a roundup of today's top news stories in Ethereum. You can support this podcast by subscribing and following us on Twitter at ethdaily. Also subscribe to our newsletter at ethdaily .io. Thanks for listening, we'll see you tomorrow.
Ethereum Daily
A highlight from Aevo Zero-Fee Bridging From Optimism
"Welcome to your Ethereum news roundup. Here's your latest for Wednesday, August 30th, 2023. Avio integrates zero -fee bridging for Optimism and Arbitrum, a Judge dismisses a Uniswap class action lawsuit, the FragDao releases ENS shortcuts, and Argent releases mobile support for Starknet. All this and more starts right now. Avio, a derivatives -focused rollup, now supports USDC bridging from Arbitrum and opmainnet. Users can now bridge USDC from the Layer 2 networks with zero bridging fees and zero slippage, according to the project. The bridging feature is powered by Interoperability Protocol Socket, which allows appchains to tap into Layer 2 liquidity flows. Socket now allows appchain rollups to access Layer 2 liquidity with a single connection. Avio was built using Conduit, a rollup -as -a -service infrastructure provider, and runs on a customized version of the OPStack codebase. Avio offers an options trading exchange that operates as an off -chain order book with on -chain settlements. A US District Court Judge dismissed a class action lawsuit filed against Uniswap Labs, its CEO Hayden Adams, and Uniswap Investors. The lawsuit was filed in April of 2022, alleging that Uniswap was responsible for users losing money to scam tokens. It claimed Uniswap Labs had control over liquidity pools with illegitimate tokens. The lawsuit also tacked on securities violations. The court dismissed the claims, stating that the decentralized nature of Uniswap prevented the defendants from being held responsible for the actions of third parties. The judge's ruling cited a prior class action lawsuit filed against Coinbase in 2022, which was also dismissed. DefragDAO, a lending protocol native to Arbitrum, released ENS shortcuts, a tool that uses ENS domains to automate on -chain actions such as bridging and swapping. The release features six initial ENS shortcuts, including providing liquidity on Beefy Finance, swapping ETH to USDC via Uniswap, and bridging to Optimism, Base, Arbitrum, or Polygon. To execute an action, such as bridging to base, users can simply transfer ETH to the toBase .eth .ens address. The shortcut will then bridge the assets using Hop protocol and will transfer them to the user's Layer 2 address. The shortcuts aim to reduce phishing attacks by allowing users to execute on -chain tasks directly within their wallet. And lastly, Argents released early access support for StarkNet on its mobile smart contract wallet. Users can now access the Layer 2 network directly on their mobile device. The release includes a fiat on -ramp via RAP network, bridging via LayerSwap, and support for StarkNet NFTs. Last month, Argent launched a StarkNet NFT marketplace called Unframed. The mobile app does not yet support wallet imports for Argent X wallets. Argent X is a browser extension wallet and was the first wallet released for the StarkNet ecosystem. Argent plans to add support for swaps, staking, and integrated DeFi dApps. It also plans to enable on -chain wallet recovery. Argent will host a product overview stream for the wallet on September 6th. This has been a roundup of today's top news stories in Ethereum. You can support this podcast by subscribing and following us on Twitter at ethdaily. Also subscribe to our newsletter at ethdaily .io. Thanks for listening, we'll see you tomorrow.
Crypto News Alerts | Daily Bitcoin (BTC) & Cryptocurrency News
A highlight from 1377: This Will Send Bitcoin to $10,000,000 - Binance CEO CZ
"In today's show, I'll be breaking down the latest technical analysis, as well as Gemini files a brief in the lawsuit against the SEC requesting to keep it simple. We'll also be discussing Bitcoin mining stocks up 200%, year to date, and one has soared literally almost 400%. We'll also be discussing when the Bitcoin price is likely to bottom after this crypto market downturn, according to crypto analytics firm Glassnode. We'll also be discussing the analyst Dave the Wave who called the 2021 crypto meltdown forecast a new Bitcoin all -time high. I'll be sharing his timeline. We'll also be discussing the Binance CEO CZ predicts the Bitcoin price will reach $10 million. We'll also be taking a look at the overall crypto market, all this plus so much more in today's show. Yo, what's good crypto fam? This is first and foremost a video show. So you want the full premium experience with video visit my rumble channel at crypto news alerts dotnet. Again, that's crypto news alerts dotnet. Welcome again to everyone just joining us. And today is August 20th, 2023. So happy Sunday. I'm your host JV, and this is pod episode number 1377. So let's fricking go. Let's start with our market watch as we do each and every day. You should be able to see this popping up on your screen right now. For those watching the broadcast, you can see Bitcoin still in the red, unfortunately, but the good news we're maintaining that $26 ,000 support, which I love to see. We have ether also in the red trading at $1 ,682 and checking out coinmarketcap .com. The current crypto market cap sits barely above that $1 trillion milestone. We got about 21 billion in volume in the past 24 hours with Bitcoin dominance at 48 % even and the ether dominance at 19 % even and checking out the top 100 crypto gainers in the past 24 hours. As you can see here, we got Stellar Lumens leading the pack up 7 % trading at $0 .13, followed by XDC up 6 % trading just under $0 .06, followed by ThorChain up almost 6 % trading at $1 .85 and checking out the top 100 crypto gainers for the past week. You can see a mixture between red and green with some of the top gainers, including Roon XLM and XDC and checking out the crypto greed and fear index as of a few days ago with that epic crash where we saw over a billion dollars in the crypto market liquidated. We're currently in fear, currently rated a 37. Last week was a 54 and last month a 50, which is neutral. So there you have it. How many of you have been taking advantage of this recent dip? Put BTFD in that live chat. Now let's break down today's Bitcoin technical analysis. Check out the charts and what is popping with that king crypto. Bitcoin hovered around 26 ,000 into the 20th weekly close as doomsday Bitcoin price targets kept coming. And here you're looking at the Bitcoin one hour candle chart. Now data from Cointelegraph and TradingView showed an eerie calm covering Bitcoin over the weekend with the market down 11 % in the past week. Yikes. And quoting Keith Allen and Material Indicators, I think 25 ,000 will eventually break down and clear a path to retest support at the 2017 bull market top, which was just under 20 ,000. But I don't know if we can get the retest for 25 ,000 support to potentially print a double bottom and provide a good foundation for another exit rally. If that setup presents itself, we're talking 28 to 29 ,000 range is realistic. And Allen continued that such a rebound may even hit the 100 week simple moving average currently sitting just above 31 ,300 dollars. Quitting him here, if and when we get the retest at 25 ,000, my eyes are looking at the next series of the lower lows. And he continued first would be 24 ,749 on Coinbase and the next is 19 ,567, which is not so coincidentally located just below the RS flip zone at the 2017 bull market top. Losing that level paves the way for a paradise and a potential generational buying opportunity. Now, if you'd actually look forward to the generational buy opportunity with a Bitcoin price that low, let me know your honest thoughts in the comments right down below. And he also shares this chart. Others shared the consensus that 20 ,000 will be back on the radar only should 25 ,000 fail to act as support. Quoting Sku Analytics here, a break below 25 .3 will probably target 24 to 23 for a stronger buyback reaction else continuation towards 20 ,000. But a deep sweep below 20 ,000 is the extreme end in which would look like a swing long there. How many of you think that Bitcoin can have that probability of dropping sub 20 ,000? Let me know your thoughts. Keep it in mind that was like the price action six years ago is insane right at the height of the market in 2017. Now, Sku nonetheless suggests that the intraday Bitcoin price action might see a bounce around the weekly close with 28 ,500 as a potential target should the buy side pressure step up, which is outlined in this chart. Now, some less extreme support levels below 20 ,000 also came in from analytics platform Whale Map, quoting them here. In case we go even lower, it commented on a print of his data uploaded to X, adding that 19 ,200 and 16 ,600 were the other points of interest. Now previous, keep in mind the whale support at 28 ,250 and 26 ,950 nonetheless failed to hold the market on the way down. And check this out as Rizzo shared on X. This is a quote from Dan Morehead. Bitcoin is like buying gold in 1000 BC before Christ. And he actually shared this quote all the way back in August of 2013. And as Rizzo points out, true at $100 and true today Bitcoin. That's right, because one Bitcoin will always be equivalent to one Bitcoin. So keep stacking them stats fam. And now let's discuss the latest developments between Gemini and the SEC. As you know, Gemini won the top exchanges in the United States headed over by the Winklevoss twins. In fact, they were the very first to actually submit an application for a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States over a decade ago, but no Claire Gere and the rest of the regulators that preceded him, the Jay Clayton's of the world have been denying it ever since. But let's see what's popping recently with this back and forth crypto exchange. Gemini filed a reply brief as a part of its efforts to dismiss the lawsuit it faces against the US SEC. The lawsuit alleges Gemini earned which is a service enabling customers to lend crypto assets like Bitcoin to Genesis breach security regulations by offering unregistered securities. How many of you were impacted by that Genesis earned program? Let me know. And according to August 18, court documents filed by the US District Court from the Southern District in New York, Gemini argued the SEC has failed to make a clear claim. Quoting them here, section five of the Securities Act is not hard to understand. The filings stated while arguing that the SEC has not clearly pointed out the requirements for claiming a violation of the act. The fact that the SEC cannot decide that what is a security is an issue which only underscores the weakness of its position. I think they make a great point right there. It further argued that the court shouldn't tackle the convoluted analysis presented by the SEC. And the agency should pose straightforward questions to determine whether it qualifies as a security. That's right, because ultimately, in Gary Gensler and the SEC's eyes, every single cryptocurrency is a unregistered security minus Bitcoin. That's just the way it is. Now it prompted questions including when was the alleged security sold? Who was the buyer? Who was the seller? And what was the price offered or changed? And it's all outlined right here from court filing. I'll include this in the show notes below the video in the description. Gemini also contended that the SEC must highlight the unregistered security first, in which they haven't done, then identify the sale or offer to sell that security. It claimed the SEC had not fulfilled this. However, the SEC has not met that burden and its opposition avoids the question before the court. The filing stated. Now, another person pointed out that the SEC is floundering. They can't even decide what the security is. And also shared on one hand, they claim that the loan agreement was a security, but on the other hand, they claim the entire Gemini earned program was itself a security, which really makes no sense, right? An argument absurd on its face. Here's my thoughts on why they're going after all of the Gemini earned programs or anything where you can earn yield, because it outperforms any standard bank and they don't want competition because the central bankers rule this planet, unfortunately. So for example, if you can earn hypothetically, say a 5 % reward by staking a cryptocurrency, what has the bank given you in a high savings yielding account? What do you get? 0 .01 % nowadays, virtually nothing. And you're really losing money due to inflation as Michael Saylor once described it as a melting ice cube. So not shocking, but I truly do hope that the Winklevoss twins and Gemini wins this lawsuit against the SEC, that the SEC can't continue their crypto crackdown. But how do you think this is likely to play out? Let me know your honest thoughts in the comments. Write us down below. Now let's dive into Bitcoin mining stocks, which have been popping this year. Bitcoin may be down for the week, but it's still up 50 % year to date. So take that Peter Schiff. Meanwhile, Bitcoin mining stocks jumped over 200 % year to date with one minor stock, which is cipher mining up a whopping almost 400 % thus far this year. The Bitcoin price fell 10 % against the US dollar on Thursday amid speculations that SpaceX might have sold its remaining holdings, something like 375 million a Bitcoin, but it may just be nothing more than FUD. We have to also keep that in mind. Now, crypto stocks are up quite a bit more this far into 2023 than the broad stock market. The S &P 500 as well as the top 500 US companies have increased by a very healthy 14 % thus far this year. And the tech -focused NASDAQ is up a whopping 28 % for the year.
Tascha Labs Podcast | Crypto Investment through Macro Lens | Web3 | Blockchain
A highlight from Why Crypto Didn't Follow Stock Rally, Urgent Need for Regulation, Conditions for New Bull Market
"Hey guys, you're listening to the Tasha Labs podcast and I know I haven't posted an episode for a very long time and thanks for those of you who messaged me and asking, hey Tasha, when are you going to post your next episode? The thing is, frankly speaking, I haven't found anything worthwhile to talk about much for quite some time in the crypto web3 space because if you haven't noticed, just in terms of market price action, it really hasn't done all that much ever since, I would say, three, four months ago, right? Meanwhile, the equity market, at least the US equity market, which is the one that I follow for the most part, has been having a ball. If you look at the price action, NASDAQ, for example, since April, it's gone up for like 20%, 15 % at least, and the crypto market basically is not doing anything, right? So that's really the primary reason why I haven't been posting is just the market hasn't been all interesting. So as a result, my interest has shifted elsewhere. I've been having a good time in the equity market in the recent months, though right now it's kind of taking a bit of a rest. We probably get some sort of correction in the next couple of months, maybe, but it's been a while. I figure I will do an update type of episode because there are still, even though it's a pretty quiet time for web3, we have a couple of things going on, especially in terms of some of the recent development in web3 regulations, in crypto regulations, though I know sometimes when people hear, oh, regulations, come on, want me to sleep already. But the thing is, I think a lot of people, especially if you are the so -called crypto native, you don't realize how important the regulation is actually for the survival and expansion of this space, which I want to talk about more today. I want to cover a few things today, basically. I want to talk about, number one, some market recap, to see what happened over the past couple of months, and secondly, I want to talk about regulations. I have very strong opinions about web3 regulations, and I think if people are smart, agree with me, no matter what your attitude about government is. We can talk about that, and then thirdly, I want to talk about some of the things I've been seeing or not seeing in terms of the new projects or web3 innovations that are coming out. Understandably, this is not the best time for the builders in the web3 space. It's harder to raise money, it's harder to get customers and everything, it's harder to get eyeballs. But still, there are certain things in the web3 innovation space, quote, unquote, that I find a bit of concerning. Maybe I'm thinking too much, possible, but it could have some longer term impact for the space. I want to talk about that as well. Let's get right into it. First of all, the market. Let's look at what happened over the last couple months or last, I would say, two, three months, maybe. I will try to share my screen here. Again, it's not really necessary to look at the screen, so if you are listening to this on audio, that is not a problem at all. I will try to be descriptive, but if you look at, this is like a total crypto market cap, over the past, since the beginning of the year. And you can see in the beginning of the year, we had a mini bull run, and then it just tapered off. And then March, we had a few days of run. That was when the US banking crisis broke out. The so -called banking crisis, it turned out not to be. But when the news broke out, everybody, the Bitcoin people all got very excited. Oh, US financial system is collapsing. The alternative financial system is going to take over. So that was the narrative at the time. We had a little bit of a bull run, but since then, April to now, if you compare, if we add NASDAQ here, it really hasn't done much at all. If we look at since the beginning of April, NASDAQ went up 21%. S &P, I don't know, S &P will be less than 20%, but still pretty substantial. Well, let's just put S &P back there. So S &P, why is this showing? No, this is not the right number. S &P went up 12%, basically. Crypto market overall did basically flat. So basically nothing. So even though I'm looking at this as total crypto market cap, but really most of it is, as you understand, I'm sure is Bitcoin and Ethereum. That's like 70 % of the crypto market cap or those two adding together. And we also have a big chunk which comes from the US dollar stablecoin, which is the Tether and USDC. So the rest are pretty small. So this is, even though I'm not showing specific coin, this is actually just pretty much dominated by Bitcoin and Ethereum. So let me take these NASDAQ thing away. But then it raises the interesting question, why hasn't the market done anything at all? We had this one day wonder 13th in July because of the ruling for XRP. The US district judge from New York ruled in favor in their lawsuit against SEC. But that did only, basically the market went up for a day, which is curious. I never assumed that kind of thing to be any kind of long -term catalyst, but at least I thought it will be more than one day. And then it turns out to be just a one day fair. If you look at this type of thing, it gives you information about the supply demand dynamics of market. It tells you that, at least to me, when you see a pretty, at least a short -term bullish kind of catalyst, short -term bullish event that is supposed to have wider implication for the whole space, but it ended up not doing much of anything at all. It gives you a message. What it tells me is that the underlying fundamental of the market is just not that strong. Right now it's basically doing, it's very flat. It's hard for the thing to go down much because number one, I think in the macro space or liquidity conditions is not really bad, despite the fact that the Federal Reserve continue to raise and continue to shrink their balance sheet. But if you look at the balance sheet, it's still huge, right? 80%, 90%, at least 80 % higher compared to pre -pandemic. And other central banks are also starting to ease as well, such as from China and so on. So liquidity condition is not bad. And at this stage, especially even though the correlation between crypto and US equities has been sort of broken in the past three or four months, right? I will talk about that in a second. But still, given the equity market is performing so well, it's telling you that the risk appetite in the market is not really weak, right? So I'm not really looking, I'm not really expecting this market to go down all that much, right? We had the worst was back in November of last year. So if the market drops significantly from here right now, we are having basically some sort of contraction in volatility, right? If we have a drop, some sort of like a more significant drop from here, you will have, I expect a bunch of the buyers who just step in, right? So it's harder for me to see the thing to drop all that much, but at the same time, do I see anything like on the horizon that will immediately cause the market to have a bull run? I'm not seeing that either. And we can talk about that. I will talk about that in a minute also. But the curious thing is, why this linkage between, this correlation between equity and the crypto market has been pretty much absent in the past few months, if you look at the performance of US equities, that was a bull run initially led by all the AI stocks, right? The Nvidia, the Broadcom, that kind of thing. And also a bunch of smaller cap shitty AI related stocks that basically completely run on narratives. Initially, it was because of AI, right? And that was a very legit catalyst because in future years, this is going to have huge implications of productivity, growth of society. It's going to be really a one level up of the productivity growth, especially for the advanced economies, I think. So that was a legit catalyst and also on the basis that the macro environment really has been stabilized and the monetary tightening has been decelerating and the liquidity conditions is not really bad. So all these factors together, you have a legit catalyst that really was the cause, at least it's like a one major cause of the bull run in the past few months for US equities, right? And then once that started, you got other sectors joining in, at least for a little bit, right? Because also, you had other bullish factors as well. The fact that you had a semi banking regional bank crisis in March, but that turned out to be not so much of a crisis because of government stepped in, so on and so forth. But those stocks really got sold off pretty hard back in March, March, April, right? So those came back. That caused a little bit of a bull run in the mainstream sector, main street, main street sectors, such as regional banks, which is like a huge component of the small cap index in the US, right? So all these factors together, you had both of a bull run in NASDAQ and in S &P as well, mostly in tech stocks, large caps, because those are the companies that are driving the push for AI innovation and research and development because they have the money, they have the data, they have the data feed required for doing that kind of deep learning programs, running that kind of programs, you need a huge data set, right? So large companies like Meta, like Google, they have the large data sets and they have the capital and human resources to run these programs. So to develop these programs, so it's really initially the past few months have been a large cap tech driven stock rally, right? The thing is, why hasn't it sort of spilled over to crypto? I find it curious because one of the narratives during the bull market was this increasing correlation between the equity and the crypto market. And one of the reasons that I think several researchers identified is that more and more as the crypto and Web3, as the investment segment, as the investment product goes more and mainstream, you have more institutional adoption, right? So as institutional players step in, you have more and more of the same bunch of buyers both in the traditional risk asset space like equities and in crypto. So that is causing the increased correlation because you have the same bunch of people in the two markets. So originally back in the days, a few years back when crypto was pretty much a fringe thing, right? Only weird people touch it or weird people who call them visionaries. At the time, it was like most of the investors that actually have money, have large capital to deploy. They wouldn't even think about crypto, right? But as the same goes mainstream, then you have higher and higher correlation with risk assets. So given that, keep in mind that is a driving factor of the increasing correlation between crypto and mainstream equities, right? So given that, now you know that that is causing the increasing correlation in the past couple of years. Now you see the decrease in correlation, what does it tell you? I think the answer is pretty straightforward, right? It's because I think the natural logical hypothesis that you can deduce is that institutional investors have left the room. So that is my educated guess. I haven't looked at the data. I have this participation institutional data, but I haven't looked at it for the past three months or so, for this period when the market is pretty flat. But I will argue that you actually don't need that data to actually see this because if you look at, let's pull this chart on the monthly timeframe so we can look at this more clearly, okay? So let me take these moving averages away because we really don't need those. But if you want to see a larger presence of larger players, just from the market data, you can arguably easily detect those presence just from the transaction volumes. Again, this is a chart of total market cap, right? But I think the trading view, they have their own compilation of how much trading volume there is. So the peak of the on $227 billion the monthly basis, okay? This is the overall crypto market volume that they computed. This is these bars down here, okay? But you look at it now. So at that time, this is much higher. At the end of the bull run, you see when the market was doing 200 something billion volume, that was more than double the volume before COVID, okay? And also, these are not dollar terms, okay? When I'm talking about volume, it's just denominated in tokens, okay? It's not denominated in dollars. So this is not affected by the price change, by the dollar price change of tokens. So if you look at back in, I don't know, beginning of January 2020, how much is that? How much is that volume? January 2020, we did 59 billion volumes. That is like a quarter of the volume that we did, the market did by the end of 2021, right? So this increasing volume, and this substantial increase in volume, it tells you that there is a different type of players being present in the market, right? Well, you can argue how good quality of this data is because the crypto data is notoriously bad because all the exchanges basically spewed out a bunch of fake data. I'm not saying all of the exchanges, but some exchanges were doing wash trading and one out to boost their transaction volume data. So you can argue, okay, this volume data is not really 100 % reliable, but you can also argue, okay, if it's not reliable, it should be always not reliable. So we are comparing bad with bad, but we still see a very distinct directional change in the volume profile that tells you something. So even if this is bad data, but if you look at starting 2022 and the bear market started, the volume just tapers off. So basically, right now we are back to the volume back to January, February, 2020 level. So back to before all this institutional involvement narrative started playing out during the last bull market. So if you want to look at, I think if you want to look at Ethereum, the volume profile, it's even more telling. Though here in this particular platform, this is probably not as reliable because you can only look at the volume profile for each of the exchanges, but let's look at Coinbase volume. Coinbase, because I think at least data quality wise, I would trust them more than some other exchanges data posted by the exchanges themselves. But even in Ethereum, this one, I think you can see also very obviously, like a volume right now since 2023, it was even lower compared to the end of 2022, and we are back at the level of 2019 in terms of trading volume. So what I'm saying is, if we are trying to answer this question, why crypto hasn't rallied as much despite this hard bull run in the US equity market recently, I think at least to me, the primary explanation would be the institutional investors, they have left the room. So you don't have the big money pushing the market right now. That would be my explanation we for why are not having a bull run in crypto despite the various things that we talked about.
AP News Radio
Oath Keeper who stormed Capitol gets more than 8 years in prison in latest Jan. 6 sentencing
"Another oath keeper who stormed the capitol has been sentenced. Jessica Watkins, of Woodstock, Ohio, received an 8 and a half year sentence on a conviction of obstruction and conspiracy to impede Congress, the transgender army veteran was one of the oath keepers who stormed the U.S. capitol in a military style stacked formation on January 6th, communicating with other helmet clad members over a channel called stop the steel J 6 on the walkie talkie app zello. Watkins tearfully apologized for her actions and condemned the violence by rioters, calling herself just another idiot running around the capitol, the sentence comes a day after oath keepers founder Stewart Rhodes received an 18 year sentence in Florida chapter leader Kelly mag was sentenced to 12 years for seditious conspiracy. U.S. district judge Amit Mehta said that while Watkins was not a top leader, she was more than just a foot soldier, telling her that your role that day was more aggressive, and at least three others charged in the riot wouldn't have been there if she hadn't recruited them. Just over 500 January 6th defendants have been sentenced with more than half receiving prison time. Jennifer King, Washington
The Dan Bongino Show
Court Rules Thomas Jefferson H.S. Admissions Does Not Discrminate
"A panel of federal appellate judges ruled today That the admissions process of Thomas Jefferson high school for science and technology a prestigious magnet program in fairfax county Virginia Does not discriminate against Asian American applicants The Washington Post reports as argued by a group of parents opposing the admissions changes The ongoing legal battle between the coalition for TJ and the fairfax county school board is over the admissions process which was revised in 2020 school officials said to bring more diversity to the school Locally known as TJ and often ranked as the best high school in the country On Tuesday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the fourth circuit reversed a lower court's decision that the admissions system was an illegal act of racial balancing That's right U.S. district judge Claude Hilton sided with parents last year and concluded that quote the purpose of the board's admissions overhaul was to change the racial makeup to TJ to the detriment of Asian Americans Let me pause here and point out something else One of the ironies of their changing of the system was that more white students were admitted to Thomas Jefferson to TJ after the admissions change The left was gunning for Asian students so much so that yes black admissions did go up but so did white admissions There are more white students now at TJ at Thomas Jefferson school for science and technology than there were before the left medal with the emissions process That's been the effect of this As they try and meddle with the color of the skin of the people who go there rather than assess their merits So the U.S. Court of Appeals for the fourth circuit reverses the lower court's decision
AP News Radio
Mississippi trans teen not allowed to wear dress at graduation, officials say
"Mississippi is not participating in her high school graduation ceremony because school officials told her to dress like a boy. A U.S. district judge ruled he won't block a decision by officials engulf port regarding Harrison central high school dress code. Attorney Linda Morris with the ACLU, which is representing the student and her family, says our client is being shamed and humiliated. For explicitly discriminatory reasons and her family is being denied a once in a lifetime milestone in their daughter's life. The transgender girl had chosen a dress to wear with her cap and gown, graduating boys are expected to wear white shirts and black flax,
AP News Radio
American Airlines and JetBlue must abandon their partnership in the Northeast, federal judge rules
"In a major win for the Biden administration, a judge strikes down an airline industry partnership. A federal judge in Boston has ruled that American Airlines in JetBlue must abandon their partnership in the northeast United States. U.S. district judge Leo siroc and wrote in his decision that American and JetBlue violated antitrust law as they carved up the northeast markets between them. American and JetBlue are two of the top three airlines in Boston and two of the top four in New York. The judge says the government proved the partnership known as northeast alliance, reduces competition. The Justice Department had argued the deal would eventually cost customers hundreds of millions of dollars a year because of reduced competition. The airlines are deciding whether to appeal. I'm Mike Hempen.
AP News Radio
Judge recuses himself from overseeing Catholic bankruptcy
"A federal judge named in an Associated Press investigation into the bankruptcy case, involving the archdiocese of New Orleans, has recused himself to avoid the appearance of a conflict. U.S. district judge Greg guidry had donated tens of thousands of dollars to the archdiocese of New Orleans, and an AP investigation found he'd been consistently ruling in favor of the church. In the case involving nearly 500 clergy sex abuse victims. A number of judges had questioned his impartiality, one legal expert Joel Friedman called it a clear and blatant conflict. Late Friday, the judge announced that he will recuse himself from the matter in order to avoid any possible appearance of personal bias or prejudice. AP's review of finance records showed guidry gave nearly $50,000 to local Catholic charities much of it coming after the archdiocese sought chapter 11 bankruptcy protection three years ago. Amid a crush of sexual abuse lawsuits. Guidry also served on the board of Catholic charities between 2002 1008. I'm Jackie Quinn
America First with Sebastian Gorka Podcast
Carrie Sheffield Covers the Latest Abortion Pill Rulings
"It's time for our first guest of the day delighted to have her in studio, Carrie Sheffield, author, investigative journalist, we wanted to get you in last week when we had this amazing news from the U.S. district judge Matthew catch Matic, which suspended FDA approval for the abortion drug, mifepristone, which apparently is used for up to 50% of abortions in America, now the 5th U.S. circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has put a break on that judge's decision kind of half rescinding it saying it can not be mailed out and can only be used until the 7th week of pregnancy. Tell us about this story. Who's winning the good guys, the bad guys, what do we need to know? Yes, I'm so glad we're talking about it because overall you're right, this ruling the second ruling is a half win. The first ruling was an outright absolute win for the football. Yes. Because we need to go even back further in history to win this drug was first approved. It was approved in 2000 under the Bill Clinton administration, but there's approved under the most sketchy of circumstances. And this is a pill that induces abortion. It does. It's usually taken in a two part track, but alone it is often used for ulcer treatments. So it basically starves the child by destroying the material around the uterus. It's starvation of a child is what it is. It's truly. It's like chemically inducing a miscarriage to starving of the because it lines the uterus with basically poisons that make it inhospitable for the child to eat.
AP News Radio
Access to abortion pill in limbo after competing rulings
"Access to the abortion Bill plunged into uncertainty Friday, following conflicting court rulings over the legality of mifepristone, which has been widely available for more than 20 years. A U.S. district judge in Texas, a Trump appointee ordering a hold on federal approval of mifepristone Friday, in a decision overruling decades of scientific approval on the tarmac and Nashville vice president Kamala Harris saying this is a drug the FDA approved safe 20 years ago. Courts and politicians should not tell the FDA what it should do. And the Justice Department saying it will defend the FDA and file an appeal, also on Friday a U.S. district judge in Washington state and Obama appointee directed U.S. authorities not to make any changes that would restrict access to the abortion drug in at least 17 states where Democrats sued in an effort to protect availability. I'm Julie Walker.
AP News Radio
Judge halts FDA approval of abortion pill mifepristone
"A judge has halted the FDA approval of an abortion pill. I'm Lisa dwyer. A federal judge in Texas is thrown into jeopardy the most common method of abortion in the United States, ordering regulators to temporarily halt their approval of the drug mythic prestone for abortion. The U.S. district judge who is a Trump appointee signed an injunction directing the FDA to stay the drug's approval, while a lawsuit challenging the safety and approval continues. Federal regulators in 2000 authorized the drug in combination with a second pill, misoprostol, as safe and effective, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to swiftly appeal. Clinics and doctors have said they may switch to using only misoprostol, which is slightly less effective than the two drug combination. I'm Lisa dwyer
AP News Radio
Alaska oil plan opponents lose 1st fight over Willow project
"In Alaska oil project can move forward as lawsuits play out. I'm Lisa dwyer. Construction can proceed at a major oil project on Alaska's portfolium rich north slope, a federal judge has rejected requests to halt work until challenges to the Biden administration's recent approval are resolved. The decision means ConocoPhillips Alaska can forge ahead with cold weather construction work, including mining gravel and using it to extend a road towards the willow project. The U.S. district court refused requests by environmental groups and Alaska native organizations to delay construction related to willow in separate lawsuits, the group's ultimately want the judge to overturn the project's approval. The judge said support for the project by Alaska political leaders, including state lawmakers and Alaska's bipartisan congressional delegation, was a key factor in the decision. I'm Lisa dwyer
AP News Radio
Judge’s ruling undercuts US health law’s preventive care
"A federal judge has struck down a key part of the nation's health law that requires most insurers to cover preventive services. U.S. district judge rito counters ruling William pat preventive services that include screenings for cancer, diabetes, and mental health. Other no cost services, including HIV screenings, are also impacted. Opponents say O counters decision will jeopardize preventive care for millions of Americans. Experts say it's unlikely insurance will stop any coverage immediately. The Biden administration is expected to appeal and