Coinbase, the largest digital assets exchange in the United States, has revealed that residents across five states have missed out on more than $90 million in potential staking rewards since June 2023.
The exchange explained that the missed earnings stemmed from these states’ ongoing legal actions against the platform’s staking services.
Coinbase Pushes Back Against Outdated Staking Bans in US States
On April 25, Coinbase publicly urged California, New Jersey, Maryland, Wisconsin, and South Carolina to lift their restrictions against its staking services.
According to the exchange, removing these restrictions would align these states with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Notably, several other states have already abandoned similar efforts.
Coinbase argues that the holdout states have imposed outdated and misdirected bans. The company stresses that regulators originally designed cease-and-desist orders to combat scams, not legitimate financial services like staking.
Considering this, the firm warned that the financial impact on residents will continue to grow unless the restrictions are lifted soon.
“The holdouts actively harm their consumers by barring their access to safe wealth generation tools like staking. They’ve cost these Americans tens of millions of dollars in potential earnings – and counting,” Coinbase’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal said on X.
Beyond lost earnings, Coinbase believes these state-level actions harm consumers by limiting their choices.
The exchange warned that residents might be forced to seek staking options through less secure, lightly regulated platforms. This shift could expose users to higher risks without the protections offered by licensed and established exchanges.
“By singling out Coinbase, these holdout states are arbitrarily picking winners and losers. That’s the job of consumers, not state bureaucrats. Their actions not only deprive consumers of competition and choice, but also push them towards potentially less regulated (or unregulated) staking platforms,” Coinbase stressed
Coinbase also raised concerns about the wider effects on the crypto industry. The ongoing bans, it said, add to the regulatory uncertainty that continues to cloud the US digital asset market.
“Against this backdrop, continued litigation by the holdout states is more indefensible than ever. These lawsuits don’t protect consumers – they confuse them and expose them to greater risk,” Coinbase stated.
The firm emphasized that dropping the staking restrictions would benefit residents and promote safer innovation. It added that this move would help create a stronger, more competitive crypto economy in the United States.
Since its launch in late March, World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin USD1 has achieved an impressive market capitalization, reflecting strong investor interest. If the creators want to maximize USD1’s reach by accessing markets abroad, particularly in Europe, they must confront MiCA’s extensive compliance list.
In a BeInCrypto interview, experts from Foresight Ventures, Kaiko, and Brickken stressed the importance of stablecoin issuers having substantial European bank reserves, operational volume caps protecting the euro, and transparent USD1 information to ensure transparency and avoid conflicts of interest.
USD1’s Search for Dollar Dominance
World Liberty Financial (WLF), a decentralized finance (DeFi) project heavily associated with the Trump family, officially launched USD1 a month ago. Through this stablecoin, WLF aims to promote dollar dominance worldwide.
So far, this initiative has been working well for WLF. According to CoinGecko, USD1 has now surpassed a market capitalization of $128 million and reached a 24-hour trading volume of nearly $41.6 million. The project has already released 100% of its total supply of 127,971,165 tokens.
USD1’s market capitalization over the past 24 hours. Source: CoinGecko.
For WLF to seriously establish dollar dominance across the globe, it will have to move fast and efficiently. This urgency stems from the need to surpass its main competitors, USDT and USDC. These rivals currently hold a massive market share advantage.
Additionally, there’s a need to maintain a competitive advantage against established currencies like the euro.
USD1 needs to access foreign markets and stand out from established competitors to achieve this. Should Europe become a primary target, USD1 must prepare to tackle numerous challenges head-on.
The EU’s Stringent Compliance Demands
The European Union (EU) became the first jurisdiction in the world to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets across its 27 member states. This regulation, known as Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), has been in effect for nearly four months. Through this legislation, the EU has confirmed how seriously it takes compliance with a defined regulatory regime.
The regulation is detailed and clear, leaving no room for interpretation. If USD1 wants to operate in this crypto market of 31 million users, it must ensure it meets every demand.
US Senators Flag Risks of Presidential Involvement in USD1
In the letter, the group asked both agencies to clarify how they plan to uphold regulatory integrity following the issuance of USD1.
The Senators cautioned that letting a president personally benefit from a digital currency overseen by federal agencies he has sway over is a big risk to the financial system. They argued that an unprecedented situation like this one could hurt people’s trust in how regulations are made.
“The launch of a stablecoin directly tied to a sitting President who stands to benefit financially from the stablecoin’s success presents unprecedented risks to our financial system,” they argued.
The letter further detailed situations where Trump could directly or indirectly affect decisions regarding USD1.
As things stand, USD1 isn’t well-prepared to follow MiCA’s strict reporting and transparency rules.
How Do Concerns Over USD1 Impact MiCA Acquisition?
According to Ianeva-Aubert, if USD1 doesn’t clear up doubts over potential conflicts of interest, this would affect its ability to apply for an operating license in the European Union.
“MiCA requires strong governance, including independent directors and clear separation between owners and managers. Issuers must have clear rules to handle conflicts of interest. If USD1 has any conflicts, this could make it harder to comply,” she said.
Ianeva-Aubert also highlighted that WLF still hasn’t released enough public information on USD1 to assess the degree of its compliance effectively. In particular, the stablecoin issuer has not disclosed the measures it would take to safeguard against market manipulation.
As of now, USD1 would likely fail MiCA’s transparency tests. However, industry experts pointed out other parts of the framework that might be even larger obstacles for USD1 to operate across the European Union.
Impact of the EU’s Reserve Mandate on USD1
When asked about the biggest regulatory hurdles USD1 would face in securing a MiCA license, experts’ responses were unanimous. The stablecoin would need to store a large portion of its reserves in a European bank.
This mandate has proven difficult for established stablecoin issuers seeking operations across the region.
This regulation aims to ensure seamless accessibility for European crypto users and traders. For Forest Bai, Co-founder of Foresight Ventures, USD1 could capitalize on this opportunity during the early stages of its development. By doing so, it could avoid some of the obstacles its competitors had to endure.
Yet, even as USD1 scales and its demand grows, other mandatory requirements could restrict its scope of success.
MiCA’s Transaction Volume Caps to Preserve Euro Dominance
As part of the MiCA regulation, the European Union has taken specific measures to safeguard the euro’s dominance. If a digital currency not denominated in euros were to become extensively adopted for daily payments within Europe, it could present a potential risk to the European Union’s financial sovereignty and the stability of the euro.
To contain this possibility, MiCA places volume caps on transactions used as a means of exchange within the EU.
In other words, MiCA establishes predefined limits on the transactional volume of such currencies. The EU initiates regulatory measures when these limits are exceeded due to widespread payment usage.
Specifically, USD1 issuers must suspend any further digital currency issuance and provide a remediation plan to the relevant regulator, outlining steps to ensure their usage does not negatively impact the euro.
If USD1 wants to work in places where it can experience uninhibited growth, the European market might not be the best fit for this stablecoin. Other parts of MiCA also suggest this could be the case.
MiCA Limitations to Stablecoins as Investment Vehicles
EU regulators have been clear that stablecoins, or e-money tokens (EMTs), as the regulation refers to them, are payment instruments that should not be confused with investment vehicles. The MiCA framework has a few rules in place to prevent this.
Given the circumstances, experts like Bai think WLF might want to focus on countries with better market conditions for stablecoin issuers.
Should WLF Consider the EU Market for USD1 Operations?
While the European Union has an undeniable crypto market presence, other jurisdictions have an even larger footprint.
”The EU’s crypto market remains comparatively small, with just 31 million users versus Asia’s 263 million and North America’s 38 million users, according to a report from Euronews. This limited market size may not justify MiCA compliance costs for projects, like WLFI,” Bai told BeInCrypto, adding that “Projects ultimately determine their own growth strategy. Given that, currently, the EU represents a secondary market for USD1, the project’s strategic priorities may naturally shift toward regions with less stringent stablecoin regulations to drive its adoption.”
These circumstances alone may prompt USD1 to reconsider its options.
In fact, USD1 could start by gaining a competitive edge right at home.
USD1’s Political Backing at Home
With a crypto-friendly president in office –whose very crypto project officially announced the launch of USD1– the stablecoin has sufficient backing to make its mark.
Looking past the immediate future, Bai underlined that if the US doesn’t keep developing supportive crypto regulations, USD1’s growth in the country could be held back following a government shift.
Given this reality, USD1’s failure to comply with the EU’s regulations, should it ever even consider applying for a MiCA license in the first place, could have negative consequences for the project’s long-term viability.
Regardless of the markets WLF evaluates in its efforts to increase the reach of USD1, compliance with general stipulations concerning transparency, legal architecture, and real-time transaction oversight could be conducive to its eventual success.
World Liberty Financial (WLF), a project tied to the Trump family, has signed a letter of intent with the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC). According to the project, this partnership will boost blockchain development, stablecoin use, and DeFi expansion in Pakistan.
A WLF delegation recently met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Army Chief General Asim Munir, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, and other top officials to explore collaboration opportunities.
Pakistan is Ramping Up Crypto Developments
The Pakistani government is preparing to announce a full set of cryptocurrency regulations. This move aims to position Pakistan as one of the fastest-growing crypto hubs globally.
Last month, Binance founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao was reported to have joined the Pakistan Crypto Council as a Strategic Advisor.
Meanwhile, president Trump is seemingly using his influence to push forward the DeFi initiative linked to World Liberty Financial.
The Trump family’s World Liberty Financial (WLFI) continues to make headlines, extending its reach in the crypto arena. Recent developments follow key announcements during Token2049 in Dubai.
Eric Trump made interesting revelations during the event, including integrations involving USD1 stablecoin.
World Liberty Financial During 2049: What Users Need To Know
Speaking at the Token2049 event, Eric Trump announced the integration of World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin with Tron.
Trump’s DeFi venture launched the USD1 stablecoin only recently, commissioning it to promote dollar dominance. Short-term US treasuries and cash equivalents back the stablecoin.
Notwithstanding this integration, USD1 will be deployed as a TRC-20 token on the Tron blockchain. This would allow USD1 to leverage Tron’s high-throughput, low-cost blockchain for transactions, smart contracts, and DeFi applications.
USD1 Stablecoin To Close $2 billion MGX-Binance Deal
Another interesting revelation during Token2049 is that World Liberty Financial’s USD1 is the choice stablecoin for MGX’s $2 billion investment in Binance.
“MGX, an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, invests $2 billion in Binance for a minority stake. The transaction will be 100% in crypto (stablecoins), marking it the largest investment transaction done in crypto to date. This is also the first institutional investment Binance has taken. Onwards, Build!” wrote Changpeng Zhao (CZ), Binance founder and former CEO.
With USD1 ascending to become the choice stablecoin in this landmark investment, it points to growing adoption and legitimacy for the token.
The investment will see MGX secure a stake in Binance, becoming one of the first institutional investments in the world’s largest exchange.
Notably, this revelation comes only days after World Liberty Financial executives met with Changpeng Zhao in Abu Dhabi. They reportedly discussed standardizing the crypto industry and boosting global adoption efforts.
Meanwhile, amidst these revelations around the DeFi venture, data shows that USD1 stablecoin has exceeded $2 billion in market capitalization metrics.
(@justinsuntron) 