Here are some of the major developments from the world of crypto over the past few days
21Shares submitted an S-1 application for a spot Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 28 June. The 21Shares Core Solana ETF will be the name of the fund. After VanEck filed on 27 June this is the second application for a spot SOL ETF that the SEC has received. SOL staking is not allowed in the planned 21Shares Core Solana ETF.
21Shares is a crypto-based financial technology startup based in Zurich, Switzerland. In collaboration with ARK Invest, it now provides future Ether ETH $3,379 and spot and future Bitcoin BTC $60,698 ETFs in the United States. The price of SOL increased dramatically from $139 to $150 upon the announcement of the VanEck filing. At 12:00 p.m. ET, it was trading about $141, according to Cointelegraph.
On 31 May, 21Shares filed an application for the 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF, a spot ETH ETF, after ARK Invest's termination of its collaboration with the business. The SEC accepted the ARK 21Shares spot ETH ETF 19b-4 filing on May 23. The fifth largest cryptocurrency is called SOL. The Solana blockchain has been under fire for frequent malfunctions and slow processing during periods of high demand, market capitalization stated
The US court has rejected Binance's attempts to have the majority of the accusations brought against it by the nation securities regulator dismissed. According to a 28 June court filing, Judge Amy Berman Jackson has permitted moving forward with allegations against Binance's staking scheme, BNB sale, and anti-fraud offenses.
Jackson's decision to reject the SEC's BNB secondary market sales claim was justified by citing Judge Analisa Torres judgment in the SEC's action against Ripple. Scott Johnsson, a finance lawyer, described it as a blow to the SEC. The 'Simple Earn' court hearing for Binance is scheduled for July 9.
Binance's money transmitter license has been withdrawn or denied renewal in seven states in the United States, including Alaska, Florida, Maine, and North Carolina. CZ is presently serving a four-month jail term for breaking money laundering rules. Despite the lawsuit, Binance remains the world's largest crypto exchange, with over 200 million customers and $100 billion in assets.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States disclosed on 28 June the final draft of the new regulations pertaining to crypto broker reporting requirements. It further clarified the spectrum of industry participants that these modifications will affect. The IRS amended rules state that self-custody wallets and decentralized exchanges are free from the new reporting obligations.
In the wake of the new rule changes, IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel remarked on the need to close the tax gap posed by digital assets and potential non-compliance from high-net-worth individuals. During the 2024 tax season, Guy Ficco, the Chief of Criminal Investigation and Werfel's IRS colleague, also forecast an increase in cryptocurrency tax evasion.
The Blockchain Association and the Chamber of Digital Commerce, among other industry advocacy groups, have been vocally opposed to the IRS's proposed broker rules throughout the last year. Just after The Blockchain Association expressed concerns about the regulatory burden of filing billions of 1099-DA tax forms, the Chamber of Commerce reiterated the association's concerns, pointing out potential privacy hazards.