Five Things to Know in Crypto This Week: Investors Ignore SEC Activity

Key Insights:

• PayPal launched the PayPal USD Stablecoin.
• SEC filed a motion to request permission for an early appeal of the Programmatic Sales Court ruling in the SEC v Ripple case.
• The SEC extends the review of the ARK Invest spot BTC ETF by 21 days for public comment.

Crypto Market Outmuscles the NASDAQ Composite Index

It was a busy week for the crypto and US equity markets. US inflation and Fed Fear weighed on the NASDAQ Composite Index.

The US annual inflation rate accelerated from 3.0% to 3.2%, while the core inflation rate softened from 4.8% to 4.7%. Nonetheless, sticky core inflation weighed on riskier assets. On Friday, US Producer Price Index numbers added to the bearish mood. The US Producer Price Index increased by 0.3% in July, with the Core Producer Price Index rising by 0.3%, signaling a further pickup in inflationary pressures.

BTC and the broader crypto market recoupled with the NASDAQ Composite Index this week, with inflation influencing the Fed that could lead the US into an economic recession.

The NASDAQ Composite Index fell by 1.90% this week, while the crypto market cap was up 0.98%, Monday to Friday.

XRP Finds Support on Sentiment Toward an SEC Appeal

XRP was up 0.99% to $0.6297, Monday through Saturday morning. The gains came despite the SEC taking its initial steps to appeal the Judge Torres ruling on the Programmatic sales of XRP.

On Wednesday, the SEC filed a letter outlining its basis for filing a Motion for Leave to File an Interlocutory Appeal regarding ‘Programmatic’ offers and sales to XRP buyers over trading platforms and Ripple’s Other Distributions. The SEC is asking the Court not to enforce the Judgment on Programmatic Sales until after an appeal.

Amicus Curiae attorney John E Deaton elaborated further on the filing, saying,

“Everyone needs to understand that this is and isn’t! This is ONLY A PRE-MOTION LETTER. It’s asking the Judge permission to file a formal motion asking her to allow the SEC to then ask the 2^nd Circuit Court of Appeals to accept an early appeal.”

Deaton added,

“I expect Judge Torres to grant this motion. This will then allow her to even more fully explain her reasoning and to also further make it appeal-proof. It will also allow her an opportunity to address anything Rakoff said.”

Judge Rakoff, the presiding Judge in the SEC v Terraform Labs case, referenced the Judge Torres ruling earlier this month.

Judge Rakoff caused a stir by saying that Judge Torres made a mistake in the SEC v Ripple Court ruling when declaring that XRP was not a security when sold on exchanges. Rakoff believed that there is no difference between stocks and institutional sales in terms of being a security.

The SEC Pushes the ARK Invest Spot BTC ETF Decision

On Friday, the SEC turned to the public for comment on the ARK Invest spot BTC ETF application, dashing hopes of an August approval. The additional review process gives the SEC 21 more days to approve or disapprove the application.

According to the SEC filing (page 82),

“The Commission asks that commenters address the sufficiency of the Exchange’s statements in support of the proposal, which are set forth in Amendment No. 3, in addition to any other comments they may wish to submit about the proposed rule change, as modified by Amendment No. 3. In particular, the Commission seeks comments on the following questions and asks commenters to submit data where appropriate to support their views.”

The SEC asked for commenters’ views on market manipulation and whether a surveillance sharing agreement with Coinbase would be ‘helpful in detecting, investigating, and deterring fraud and manipulation in the Commodity-Based Trust Shares.’

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood spoke earlier this week on the likelihood of the SEC extending the review process, limiting the impact of the news on BTC and the broader market.

For the current week, Monday through Saturday morning, BTC was up 1.07% to $29,806.

PayPal Launches PayPal USD Stablecoin on Ethereum

On Monday, news hit the wires of PayPal (PYPL) launching PayPal USD (PYUSD), a dollar stablecoin fully backed by US dollar deposits, short-term US Treasuries, and similar cash equivalents, redeemable 1:1 for the dollar. PYUSD is an ERC-20 token issued on the Ethereum blockchain.

According to the press release,

“PayPal USD will be available to consumers, merchants, and developers to seamlessly connect fiat and digital currencies.”

PayPal (PYPL) ended the week down 1.93%, underperforming the NASDAQ Composite Index. However, ETH was up 1.02% Monday through Saturday morning.

US Senator Cynthia Lummis Calls for Dismissal of SEC’s Coinbase Lawsuit

On Friday, Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, crypto lobbyists, and professors called on the Court to dismiss the SEC lawsuit against Coinbase.

The respective parties filed Amicus Curiae briefs. The Cynthia Lummis brief stated,

“Through this case, the SEC seeks primary influence over economic, political, and legal questions under active consideration by Congress and multiple agencies.”

The brief went on to say,

“The SEC’s assertion of authority in this case is out of step with active legislative efforts.”

Notably, the filing also highlighted the inconsistency between the SEC’s treatment of virtually all crypto assets as securities versus other jurisdictions, adding,

“The SEC is not suited to the task of crafting a holistic regulatory framework for crypto assets, particularly through a judicial enforcement action.”

Coinbase (COIN) extended the losing streak to four weeks, falling 7.22% to $81.01.