The Breakdown First Five - Thursday, August 8, 2024

Welcome back to The Breakdown First Five — the 5 most interesting and/or important stories in bitcoin, crypto, and markets to start your day.

5. Robinhood Earnings

Robinhood’s crypto division continues to put up impressive numbers. The brokerage reported earnings which showed $81M in crypto transaction based revenue, up 161% from Q2 of last year but falling short of last quarter’s spike. Options are still the core business, bringing in $372M in revenue. Overall the firm had a record quarter, with $682M in total revenue, up 40% year on year.

4. NY Fed Tornado Cash Findings

The New York Fed has published a report on the efficacy of Tornado Cash sanctions. They found mixed results, with most block builders filtering Tornado Cash transactions following an October 2023 court ruling affirming the measure. The report found that Ethereum censorship-resistance had a “surprising level of fragility”, relying on a handful of  infrastructure providers who were “motivated by philosophical reasons" rather than profit. 

3. Crypto Firms Push Legislation

The Crypto Market Integrity Coalition, which represents over 50 crypto firms, has written to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to urge clear rules ahead of the election. They claim that bad actors overseas are taking market share from compliant firms due to a lack of consistent enforcement and clear rules of the road. The CMIC claims that a failure to legislate this year would be a “mistake that will be noticed at home and abroad.”

2. IMF Progress in El Salvador

The IMF has reported progress in negotiations with El Salvador. The nation is still working towards IMF assistance with economic restructuring, but has been unwilling to back away from the Bitcoin policy. The IMF seems to be softening their stance, no longer calling for the policy to be revoked and acknowledging that “risks have not yet materialized.” It seems the focus is now on enhanced transparency and minimization of financial stability risks.

1. Ripple Lawsuit Over

The final order has been signed, bringing an end to the Ripple lawsuit after four years. The court leveled a $125M fine, far short of the $2B requested by the SEC. No disgorgement of profits was ordered as the SEC failed to prove damages. Ripple are injuncted from breaking the law, but the court declined specific prohibitions requested by the SEC. Parties have 60 days to appeal, but barring that, the longest running crypto lawsuit is over.