Today in crypto, The US Securities and Exchange Commission will host another four crypto roundtables, Ripple and the SEC reached a final agreement to end four years of litigation, and Binance froze a market maker’s proceeds after detecting the sale of 66 million MOVE tokens with minimal corresponding buy orders.
SEC plans 4 more crypto roundtables
The US Securities and Exchange Commission said on March 25 that it will host four more crypto roundtables focusing on crypto trading, custody, tokenization and decentralized finance (DeFi) after hosting its first crypto roundtable on March 21.
The roundtables were organized by the agency’s Crypto Task Force and will kick off with a discussion on tailoring regulation for crypto trading on April 11.
A series of four crypto roundtable discussions are scheduled from April through to June. Source: SEC
The specific agenda and speakers for each roundtable have yet to be disclosed, but a roundtable on crypto custody will follow on April 25, with another to discuss tokenization and moving assets onchain on May 12. The fourth roundtable in the series will discuss DeFi on June 6.
“The Crypto Task Force roundtables are an opportunity for us to hear a lively discussion among experts about what the regulatory issues are and what the Commission can do to solve them,” said SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, the task force lead.
Ripple will drop cross-appeal in SEC case, get refund from lower court ruling
Blockchain firm Ripple Labs’ case with the SEC may be officially wrapped up after more than four years, subject to court approval.
In a March 25 X post, Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty wrote, in ”what should be my last update on SEC v. Ripple ever,” that Ripple will drop its cross-appeal against the SEC in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. An August 2024 judgment from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York finding Ripple liable for $125 million will essentially stand, but the SEC will keep only $50 million of the amount in escrow. The remaining balance will be returned to Ripple.
“The agency will also ask the Court to lift the standard injunction that was imposed earlier at the SEC’s request,” wrote Alderoty. “All subject to Commission vote, drafting of final documents and usual court processes.”
Source: Stuart Alderoty
Alderoty’s announcement came less than a week after Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the SEC would drop its appeal over the August 2024 judgment. At the time of publication, neither the SEC nor Ripple appeared to have made any filing in the Second Circuit since Jan. 31 or in SDNY since October.
The Ripple CLO told Cointelegraph on March 11 that both the SEC and blockchain firm agreeing to drop their respective appeal and cross-appeal would allow the lower court’s $125-million judgment to stand. However, both parties could go “hand-in-hand” to SDNY Judge Analisa Torress to request a modification of the judgment.
Movement Network to buy back tokens with $38 million recovered from rogue market maker
The organization behind the Movement Network said it will use $38 million recovered from a market maker to buy back MOVE tokens over the next three months.
On March 24, the Movement Network Foundation said it recovered about $38 million in assets from a market maker tasked with providing liquidity on buy and sell orders for the Movement (MOVE) token on Binance.
Binance offboarded the market maker due to “market irregularities.” The exchange sanctioned the market maker, freezing its proceeds and forbidding it from further market-making activities.
Market makers provide liquidity to crypto tokens to attract traders and stabilize their prices. These entities are tasked with providing liquidity on both buy and sell orders to ensure the smooth operation of crypto exchanges.
According to Binance, the market maker sold 66 million MOVE tokens after the token was listed, while placing “little” in buy orders. These trades netted the market maker $38 million in Tether (USDT) from their trades.
Binance said it froze the profits and informed the Movement Network Foundation of the incident.