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- š„ The SEC just got roasted š„
š„ The SEC just got roasted š„
PLUS: this guy is turning used vegetable oil into Bitcoin š
Todayās edition is brought to you by Rocketplace, creators of the RP50 - the easiest way to diversify your crypto portfolio.
GM. This is Milk Road. We add so much color & flavor to daily crypto news you might just taste the rainbow.
Hereās what we got today:
Gensler gets roasted by Congress š„
This guy is turning used vegetable oil into Bitcoin š
Kraken is moving into U.S. stock trading šŖ
GARY GENSLER GETS ROASTED BY CONGRESS š„
Yesterday, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee held a hearing.
It was titled Oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Itās like a performance review for work.
Except instead of getting grilled by HR, you get roasted by a group of Congress members - all while being live-streamed on the Internet.
The man of the hour: Gary Gensler.
Now, I doubt Gary had āget cooked into a Congressional kebabā on his to-do list yesterday, but thatās exactly what happened.
The hearing lasted over 5 hours, but weāve rounded up all the best moments:
1/ Congressman Tom Emmer calls Gary out for being loyal to large institutions rather than American citizens.
Mr. Emmer is known for calling Gary an āincompetent cop on the beatā during the last Congressional hearing.
Hereās what he said this time:
āIt cannot be understated that a common theme throughout your career, sir, is relentless loyalty to the largest financial institutions at the clear expense of innovation, competition, and everyday Americans. ā
Boom. Roasted.
2/ Congressman Ritchie Torres questions Gary on the difference between trading Pokemon cards and ātokenizedā Pokemon cards.
This was probably the biggest āgotchaā moment in the entire hearing.
Mr. Torres asked a few basic questions about investment contracts.
Gary (the guy whoās supposed to know basic questions about investment contracts) struggled to answer.
Then Gary was asked two simple questionsā¦
Question 1: āIf I purchase a Pokemon card, is that a security transaction?ā
Garyās answer: āThatās not a security.ā
Question 2: āIf I purchase a tokenized Pokemon card via a blockchain, is that a security transaction?ā
Garyās answer: āIād have to know more.ā
Mr. Torresā response after the hearing: āChair Genslerās answer to my questions were as incoherent as his overall approach to regulating crypto.ā
Boom. Roasted.
**static noise**
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**static noise**
Okay, now back to the roastingā¦
3/ Congressman Warren Davidson introduces a bill to fire Gary Gensler.
Congressman Warren Davidson is the guy who introduced the SEC Stabilization Act to fire Gary Gensler and restructure the agency.
Hereās what Mr. Davidson said to Gary yesterday:
āYouāre front-running Congress. Youāre front-running the courts. Youāre front-running even your own administration. And no one has held you to account for that. I wish the Biden administration would say āyouāre firedā, [...], but Congress hopefully will.ā
Boom. Roasted.
4/ Congressman Andy Barr (my new hero) calls Gary the āTonya Harding of securities regulationā
This was hands-down the milkiest quote of the day. (in the rap game, this is called a ābarā.)
It came from none other thanā¦ Andy Barr. He was born for these moments.
Hereās what Mr. Barr said:
āWith all due respect, Mr. Chairmanā¦ if the U.S. capital markets are a gold medalist, you are the Tonya Harding of securities regulation, because you are knee-capping the U.S. capital markets with the avalanche of red tape coming out of your commission.ā
Boom. Roasted.
Now, in case you donāt know who Tonya Harding is:
She was a famous figure skater in the 90ās.
She was a two-time Olympian and two-time Skate America Champion.
In 1994, she was stripped of her medal after she got caught hiring a few men to attack and break her competitionās leg before the finals.
Tonya was banned from the U.S. Figure Skating Association for life.
And comparing Gary Gensler to Tonya Harding was the **chefās kiss** of the entire hearing.
Milk Roadās Final Take: There were a few big takeawaysā¦
1/ If you ever want to cut someone off from talking during an argument, just yell āI reclaim my time!ā.
2/ Andy Barr could be Drakeās ghostwriter.
3/ Some of these Congress members would crush in a āYo Mamaā roast battle.
Okay, all jokes asideā¦ the biggest takeaway is that this was a HUGE win for the future of crypto regulation in the U.S.
Members of Congress showed they want to regulate crypto, but they donāt want to kill it.
They want to keep crypto companies in the U.S.
Gary Genslerās days as Chairman of the SEC might be numbered.
Weāll cheers to that.
āAlexa, play āIt Was A Good Dayā by Ice Cube.ā
THIS GUY IS TURNING USED VEGETABLE OIL INTO BITCOIN š
Check it out. This was the coolest thing I saw all dayā¦
A guy named Eliazar is turning used vegetable oil into energy to power a Bitcoin mining operation in his community in Guatemala.
The used vegetable oil usually gets thrown away, but now itās being reused to mine Bitcoin.
The mining operation yields ~$300/month in Bitcoin.
$300/month might not sound like a lot, but in Guatemala, thatās more than half of the average monthly wage (!!).
You know what they sayā¦. āone manās trash is another manās treasure.ā
BITE-SIZED COOKIES šŖ
Kraken is exploring the option to offer stocks and ETFs for trading. Itās reported the service could launch as soon as 2024.
Coinbase is rolling out perpetual futures trading to non-U.S. retail investors. The crypto exchange secured approval from the Bermuda Monetary Authority and will launch the product āin the coming weeksā.
Sam Bankman-Fried gets approval to wear a suit and use an āair-gappedā laptop during his trial. Get your popcorn ready, the trial is scheduled to start on October 3.
The SEC has delayed the deadline for a handful of Ethereum spot ETF filings. The new date is set for December 26. Fingers crossed we get a Christmas Miracleā¦
Facebook teased the launch of new smart glasses, A.I. chatbots, and a new VR headset. Weāll be diving deeper into this tomorrow, but ladies & gents, we just got one step closer to the *metaverse*.
MILKY MEMES š¤£
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2:58 PM ā¢ Sep 28, 2023
DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.
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