Coffee & Crypto with Lee & Jimmie Lee Reiners

Lee and Jimmie discuss the U.S. Senate’s vote to repeal SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121, a pending floor vote in the House on the FIT Act, and novel criminal charges related to frontrunning on Ethereum.
Lee’s X: @leereiners
Jimmie’s X: @jimmie_lenz
 
Related Links: 
U.S. Senate Votes to Kill SEC's Crypto Accounting Policy, Testing Biden's Veto Threat: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/05/16/us-senate-votes-to-kill-secs-crypto-accounting-policy-testing-bidens-veto-threat/
House to Consider Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act: https://financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=409251
Crypto Heist: MIT Brothers Arrested Over Alleged $25 Million Theft: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-15/mit-brothers-arrested-over-lightning-25-million-crypto-heist?
 
 
 

Lee and Jimmie discuss CZ’s sentence, news that FTX creditors will be made whole, Robinhood’s crypto-related Wells Notice, disagreements over stablecoin transaction volume, and Blackrock’s investment in Securitize.
Lee’s X: @leereiners
Jimmie’s X: @jimmie_lenz
Related Links
How 'Good Guy' Reputation Secured Binance's CZ a 4-Month Prison Sentence: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/04/30/how-czs-good-guy-reputation-secured-4-month-prison-sentence/?utm_source=securitiesdocket.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=binance-s-cz-sentenced-to-four-months-in-prison
FTX Has Billions More Than It Needs to Repay Its More Than Two Million Customers: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-07/ftx-has-billions-more-than-needed-to-repay-bankruptcy-victims?cmpid=BBD050824_MONEYSTUFF&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=240508&utm_campaign=moneystuff
FTX’d: Conflicting Public and Private Interests in Chapter 11: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4760736
SEC Prepares to Sue Robinhood Over Crypto Unit: https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/robinhood-gets-sec-notice-on-recommendation-of-enforcement-action-against-crypto-unit-9846e60c?utm_source=securitiesdocket.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=sec-issues-wells-notice-to-robinhood-over-crypto-unit
Robinhood's crypto business drives massive earnings beat: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/robinhood-swings-profit-year-ago-loss-2024-05-08/
Making sense of stablecoins: https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/blog/bdp/2024/04/24/making-sense-of-1713984605043.html
Securitize Announces $47 Million Strategic Funding Round Led by BlackRock: https://securitize.io/learn/press/securitize-announces-strategic-funding-round-led-by-blackrock
 

Lee and Jimmie discuss Consensys’ preemptive lawsuit against the SEC, the resignation of two SEC lawyers involved in the Debt Box case, Stripe’s integration of USDC, and criminal charges against the founders of Samourai Wallet.
Lee’s X: @leereiners
Jimmie’s X: @jimmie_lenz
Related Links
SEC sued over Ethereum, crypto firm asks court to state token is not a security: https://fortune.com/crypto/2024/04/25/sec-sued-over-ethereum-crypto-firm-asks-court-to-state-token-is-not-a-security/
Two SEC Lawyers Resign After Agency Censured for Abuse of Power in Crypto Case: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/two-sec-lawyers-resign-agency-172240276.html?guccounter=1
Stripe Brings Back Cryptocurrency Payments Via Circle's USDC Stablecoin: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/04/25/stripe-brings-back-crypto-payments-via-usdc-stablecoin/
 Southern District of New York | Founders And CEO Of Cryptocurrency Mixing Service Arrested And Charged With Money Laundering And Unlicensed Money Transmitting Offenses: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/founders-and-ceo-cryptocurrency-mixing-service-arrested-and-charged-money-laundering

Lee and Jimmie discuss a new Senate stablecoin bill, the impact of Bitcoin’s halving on miners, a Mango Markets conviction, Uniswap’s Wells Notice, and the BoE’s tokenization project.
Lee’s X: @leereiners
Jimmie’s X: @jimmie_lenz
Related Links
Lummis, Gillibrand Introduce Bipartisan Landmark Legislation To Create Regulatory Framework For Stablecoins: https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/news/press/release/lummis-gillibrand-introduce-bipartisan-landmark-legislation-to-create-regulatory-framework-for-stablecoins/
Bitcoin’s Halving Is Coming. Miners Are Looking for New Ways to Make Money: https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/bitcoin-halving-btc-miners-money-919e9276?page=1
Mango Markets Exploiter Avi Eisenberg Found Guilty of Fraud and Manipulation: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/04/18/mango-markets-exploiter-avi-eisenberg-found-guilty-of-fraud-and-manipulation/
DeFi Exchange Uniswap (UNI) Receives Enforcement Notice from the U.S. SEC: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/04/10/defi-exchange-uniswap-receives-enforcement-notice-from-the-sec/?utm_source=securitiesdocket.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=sec-sends-wells-notice-to-uniswap-as-unregistered-broker-and-exchange
Digital Assets Mean Disruptive Change. Fact.: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbirch/2024/04/18/digital-assets-mean-disruptive-change-fact/?sh=575b3d2645ef

Lee and Jimmie discuss Circle’s new smart contract for BlackRock’s BUIDL, a central bank tokenization pilot project, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo’s Senate testimony on illicit finance, and Coinbase securing a restricted dealer license in Canada.
 
Lee’s X: @leereiners
Jimmie’s X: @jimmie_lenz
 
Related Links:
Circle Announces USDC Smart Contract for Transfers by BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund Investors: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240411966052/en/Circle-Announces-USDC-Smart-Contract-for-Transfers-by-BlackRock
BIS and Banks to Test Tokenization of Cross-Border Payments: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-03/bis-and-banks-to-test-tokenization-of-cross-border-payments
US Treasury's Adeyemo warns 'malign' actors are using virtual assets: https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-treasurys-adeyemo-warns-malign-actors-are-using-virtual-assets-2024-04-09/
Coinbase secures restricted dealer license in Canada: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/coinbase-secures-restricted-dealer-license-in-canada.html
Beyond Talking Points: Climate Financing and the Role of Federal Incentives: https://dukeindc.duke.edu/event/beyond-talking-points-understanding-climate-finance-and-incentives/
Program Overview - Duke CISO Certificate Program: https://cisoeducation.duke.edu/program-overview/

Lee and Jimmie discuss Ripple’s new stablecoin, a new crypto exchange from Figure, Blackrock’s tokenized money market fund, and potential changes to Ethereum’s staking rewards.
Lee’s X: @leereiners
Jimmie’s X: @jimmie_lenz
Related Links:
 
Ripple to Issue USD-backed Stablecoin Bringing More Utility and Liquidity to XRP Ledger: https://ripple.com/ripple-press/ripple-to-issue-usd-backed-stablecoin-bringing-more-utility-and-liquidity-to-xrp-ledger/
Crypto Exchange Figure Markets Has a Plan to Democratize Finance: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/04/02/crypto-exchange-figure-markets-has-a-plan-to-democratize-finance/
BlackRock Tokenized Fund Draws $160 Million In Week Since Debut: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-27/blackrock-tokenized-fund-draws-160-million-in-week-since-debut
BlackRock clearly wants to take crypto seriously. Too bad it’s forever silly: https://blockworks.co/news/blackrock-ethereum-memecoins-tornado-cash-dusting
Why the Ethereum Community Is Up in Arms Against a Proposal to Change the Monetary Policy: https://unchainedcrypto.com/why-the-ethereum-community-is-up-in-arms-against-a-proposal-to-change-the-monetary-policy/