Emerging Trends and Legal Challenges in Crypto and DeFi

Bitcoin soared to new all-time highs as MicroStrategy led massive BTC buys, and BlackRock's ETF options hit $1.9B volume. Meanwhile, a 13-year-old executed a rug pull, sparking chaos and meme token wars.

On the regulatory front, SEC Chair Gary Gensler announced his resignation effective January 20, 2025, coinciding with President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. Trump teased a "Crypto Czar," while 18 states sued the SEC. Binance launched BFUSD with 19.55% APY, challenging Coinbase’s USDC yield.

Elsewhere, Solana reached new highs, McDonald’s partnered with Doodles, and Tether unveiled a tokenization platform. The crypto world remains as unpredictable as ever! ------ 📣 LEGION | MERIT BASED ICOs https://bankless.cc/Legion 

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------ TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES

0:00 Intro

0:35 Gen-z Quant  https://x.com/DeeZe/status/1859110339251478754  https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1859225228045402203 

8:03 It’s a week of Bitcoin buys!  https://x.com/samcallah/status/1858507239897632909  https://x.com/saylor/status/1858496146026467378  https://x.com/EricBalchunas/status/1859278500399620528  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/semler-scientific-announces-btc-and-atm-activity-raised-21-5-million-purchased-additional-215-btc-now-holds-1-273-btc-with-btc-yield-of-37-3-302308149.html  https://ir.mara.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1377/mara-holdings-inc-announces-proposed-private-offering-of-700-million-of-convertible-senior-notes  https://x.com/Metaplanet_JP/status/1858352792647225371  https://x.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1858535519354827251  https://x.com/bitcoinmagazine/status/1858874854402920902  https://x.com/JSeyff/status/1858991206476509659  https://x.com/EricBalchunas/status/1858994117617086840 

21:59 Chillguy https://dexscreener.com/solana/93tjgwff5ac5thymi8c4wejvvqq4tumemuyw1leyz7bu  https://x.com/nayibbukele/status/1859433926206325107  https://solscan.io/account/AySxUvESXdGTVT6G3psgzWahduxJx8bGkb4Ddip8sADx 

24:12 Vitalik bought $50 of an AI memecoin on Farcaster https://x.com/Tyler_Did_It/status/1859420049427267912 

30:32 Gary Gensler set to Resign https://x.com/BanklessHQ/status/1859659202618327276  https://x.com/BanklessHQ/status/1859664473025581561  https://x.com/KMSmithDC/status/1859339558342607023  https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1857123002921463862  https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/gensler-remarks-pli-s-56th-annual-institute-securities-regulation-111424  https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/11/11/trump-crypto-regulation-bitcoin/ 

36:35 “Coincidently”, Trump met with Brian Amstrong this week https://x.com/News_Of_Alpha/status/1858606637201633705  https://x.com/nic__carter/status/1858922946116346273 

38:01 Trump picked Howard Lutnick to lead the US Department of Commerce https://www.wsj.com/politics/trump-commerce-secretary-howard-lutnick-cabinet-77c86b81  https://x.com/TheFlowHorse/status/1858942817592103046  https://polymarket.com/event/who-will-trump-nominate-for-treasury-secretary  https://x.com/twobitidiot/status/1859266763860394426  https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-team-weighs-creating-first-ever-white-house-crypto-role-bloomberg-news-2024-11-20/  https://x.com/News_Of_Alpha/status/1859661975745167378  https://cointelegraph.com/news/trump-mulls-crypto-friendly-cftc-chairs-report 

43:22 Trump Media might be buying Bakkt!  https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/donald-trumps-social-media-group-talks-buy-bakkt-ft-reports-2024-11-18/  https://polymarket.com/event/will-trump-media-launch-a-crypto-exchange-in-2024 

44:54 SEC is being sued in 18 US states https://x.com/kobeissiletter/status/1857151924061221190 

48:16 DAO members might be held liable under partnership laws https://x.com/milesjennings/status/1858720755523219932  https://x.com/DennisonBertram/status/1859184992800186610 

52:44 CEX STABLECOIN WARS: https://x.com/lopp/status/1858609316929974340  https://x.com/coinbasewallet/status/1859286084535906744 

57:44 Doodles partnered with McDonald's for holiday-themed collectibles https://x.com/McDonalds/status/1857061165760741780  https://x.com/HuinGuillaume/status/1858538735375176159 

58:44 Coinbase will delist Wrapped Bitcoin & Tether is launching a tokenization platform https://x.com/ercwl/status/1859136365083951123  https://x.com/hadron_tether/status/1857091170825891962 

1:01:08 Bankless is looking for Video Editor or Producer! & Bankless Summit is now online   https://x.com/BanklessHQ/status/1858857798471479777  https://x.com/BanklessHQ/status/1858741172404916622  https://bankless.cc/PodcastPremiumFeed 

1:02:26 Meme of the Week https://x.com/alistairmilne/status/1858508814305153307 

1:02:51 Closing & Disclaimers 

------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠