More Like A Diamond

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Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, the leading negotiator for Republicans, berated her Democratic colleagues in a statement, saying they “played games” and “were never truly serious about protecting consumers”.

“The Democrats are now anti-American – sad!” she said.

The rejection of the Clarity Act can be viewed as a victory for gaming stakeholders in their fight against prediction markets, which are closely intertwined with the crypto world. Crypto markets have long been the second-largest category of prediction market trading, behind sports, and many crypto exchanges also now offer predictions. These include Crypto.com, Coinbase, Gemini and many others.

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In a rare punitive move, commissioners also directed the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office to investigate the cooperative for potential statutory violations, which carry fines between $100 and $1,000 per infraction.

The commission also agreed with the state Department of Commerce’s assessment that the cooperative’s actions were driven by concerns over lost electricity sales rather than legitimate safety risks.

Commissioners pointed to evidence suggesting the tribe may have already been overcharged compared to other member customers.

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The distinction matters for crypto businesses. The filing shows regulatory work is moving forward, but exchanges and other market participants cannot yet consider it a set of rules they must adhere to. 

The CFTC’s move also comes as other US regulators continue to craft their own crypto policies. The agency and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) jointly issued an interpretation in March on how certain crypto assets would be treated under federal securities laws. 

A lot of bigger questions remain without the CLARITY Act. The bill aimed to establish a federal framework for digital commodities and delineate the roles of the SEC and the CFTC.