September 18, 2024 | Read Online

Countdown to Fed Rate Cuts as Markets Await Decision

Plus McHenry and Emmer Push SEC for Answers on Airdrop Regulation

The Breakdown First Five - Wednesday, September 18, 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. USDC Integrating in Brazil & Mexico

Circle has announced an integration into the Brazilian and Mexican payment networks. Businesses can now access USDC through their local banking partnerships in a fully seamless manner with the PIX and SPEI instant payment layers. Circle aims to eliminate the need for costly and slow international wires in global trade. Both Mexico and Brazil have massive dollarized trade, totaling almost $1.5T annually.

Nik @NikMilanovic

This is massive -

Users in Brazil and Mexico will be able to instantly convert local currency to USDC using @circle's interop with PIX and SPEI.

Could be a gamechanger if rolled out in places like Argentina and Turkey.

circle.com/blog/usdc-now-…
USDC now available in Brazil and Mexico through national payment systems, with local currency
Circle now supports local bank transfers via PIX and SPEI, the national real-time payment systems in Brazil and Mexico, respectively.

4:14 PM • Sep 17, 2024

14 Likes 1 Retweet

0 Replies

4. Crackdown on Pig Butchering

The US Government is getting serious about pig butchering scams. Last week the Treasury applied sanctions against a notorious Cambodian businessman, senator and pig butchering kingpin. They claim he operates multiple scam operations using human trafficking victims as his workforce. This week the SEC has filed charges against a pair of fake crypto exchanges operated by US residents, which facilitate their own fraud schemes.

Patrick Goodridge ＞|＜ @pat_goodridge

Replying to@USTreasury

just sanctioned a Cambodian “business man” for crimes connected to pig butchering scams

Pig butchering has plagued our space for years. Refreshing to see some use of sanctions to try to counter these activities in Southeast Asia

home.treasury.gov/news/press-rel…
Treasury Sanctions Cambodian Tycoon and Businesses Linked to Human Trafficking and Forced Labor in Furtherance of Cyber and Virtual Currency Scams
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning Cambodian businessman Ly Yong Phat (Ly), his conglomerate L.Y.P. Group Co., LTD (L.Y.P. Group), and O‑Smach Resort for their role in serious human rights abuse related to the treatment of trafficked workers subjected to forced labor in online scam centers. OFAC is also designating Cambodia-based Garden City Hotel, Koh Kong Resort, and Phnom Penh Hotel for being owned or controlled by Ly. “Today’s action underscores our commitment to hold accountable those involved in human trafficking and other abuses, while also disrupting their ability to operate investment fraud schemes that target countless unsuspecting individuals, including Americans,” said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith. “Treasury will continue to shine a light on the criminal networks operating these illicit schemes and those who seek to perpetrate the

9:03 PM • Sep 12, 2024

7 Likes 2 Retweets

2 Replies

3. Dimon: Big on Blockchain

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon said his bank is “one of the bigger users of blockchain.” He differentiated the bank as a “real user”, presumably compared to the massive crypto industry that uses blockchains to clear trillions of dollars of activity annually. Despite the bank growing to become a heavy user of the technology, Dimon thinks it’s nothing special, adding “it's just a database.” He is however sticking to a freedom angle, stating, “it's a free country, do what you want.”

Mike Dudas @mdudas

it's just wild to watch guys like warren buffett and jamie dimon be the "blockchain is just faster horses" guys of the 21st century, history rhymes

1:45 AM • Sep 18, 2024

36 Likes 3 Retweets

5 Replies

2. Airdrop Clarity

Patrick McHenry and Tom Emmer have written to the SEC demanding clarity for airdrops. Airdrops are generally geoblocked from US investors while similar reward schemes like airline miles and credit card points have no issue with regulators. The lawmakers want the SEC to defend their position. This question, along with many others, could put Gensler on the spot as all five Commissioners prepare to give testimony next week for the first time since 2019.

Alexander Grieve @AlexanderGrieve

Thank you to @GOPMajorityWhip and @PatrickMcHenry for holding the SEC’s feet to the fire on airdrops.

SEC recently: tokens themselves aren’t securities, but also they are.

At some point the amount of cognitive dissonance at 100 F St NE is going to make the building collapse.

tw profile: Tom Emmer Tom Emmer @GOPMajorityWhip

The future of the peer-to-peer digital economy cannot be left to the authoritarian whims of @GaryGensler.

Today, @PatrickMcHenry and I are requesting answers from the SEC on their position that airdrops are securities transactions.

7:03 PM • Sep 17, 2024

17 Likes 0 Retweets

0 Replies

1. Countdown to Cuts

The much anticipated Fed meeting is finally here. The Federal Reserve has rate cuts locked and loaded for this afternoon. After holding rates at multi-decade highs for over two years, markets will get their first taste of accommodation. The only question is whether Powell brings out the big guns with a 50 basis point cut to get things started. Markets are still undecided, pricing in a 65% chance of a jumbo cut suggesting that volatility will be on offer either way.

Quantifiable Edges @QuantifiablEdgs

Shaping up to be an interesting Fed Day. Most of the time, rates odds are 90%+ heading into announcement. Currently 61%/39% for 50/25 pt cut. Fed almost always has done as market has expected. Worth keeping an eye on FedWatch tool cmegroup.com/markets/intere…