News Roundup — Trump plans to announce the World Liberty Financial crypto exchange

Major news stories this week;

1. Trump plans to announce the World Liberty Financial crypto exchange
2. Standard Chartered Launches Digital Asset Custody Service in UAE
3. UK Introduces Bill to Clarify Crypto's Legal Status
4. Kraken Seeks Jury Trial in SEC Lawsuit, Presents Defense Arguments
5. Ether.fi Unveils Crypto-Native Credit Card on L2 Scroll Network

Story Summaries;

1. Former President Donald Trump is expected to announce the debut of a new crypto platform called World Liberty Financial that will be controlled by sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. The Republican nominee for president plans to discuss the new venture from his Mar-a-Lago resort at 8 p.m. ET on September 16, 50 days before Election Day. In recent weeks, the Trumps have been promoting the endeavor on social media, touting it as "the future of crypto." - "We're embracing the future with crypto and leaving the slow and outdated big banks behind," Trump said in a video posted Thursday on X from Mar-a-Lago. The Trumps' crypto plans jibe with the former president's campaign pledge to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the planet." But the venture also raises concerns about how Donald Trump might use federal resources to promote a personal financial project. - "Taking a pro-crypto stance is not necessarily troubling; the troubling aspect is doing it while starting a way to personally benefit from it," Jordan Libowitz, a spokesperson for the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, told the Associated Press. Libowitz added, "The success of this could be very tied to American economic policy."
2. Standard Chartered Bank has officially launched its digital asset custody service in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This service has been licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The bank took this step following a memorandum of understanding signed in May 2023. Standard Chartered Group CEO Bill Winters stated that the digital asset custody service is a significant milestone not only for the bank but also for the financial services sector. Winters emphasized that digital assets are not just a passing trend but a fundamental change in finance. With this new service, the bank aims to create a bridge between the emerging digital asset ecosystem and the world of financial services. The new custody service initially focuses on securely storing digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The bank’s decision to launch this service in the UAE is based on the country’s balanced approach to the adoption of digital assets and financial regulations. Brevan Howard Digital has been identified as the first client of this new service. Brevan Howard is a global investment management platform specializing in macro and digital assets.
3. The U.K. government introduced a bill to Parliament touching on the legal status of digital assets including cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). The bill will clarify that these assets are considered personal property under British law. Once enacted, it will give the legal profession guidelines to follow when there's a dispute on ownership, such as during a divorce. It will also provide protection to crypto owners, whether individuals or companies, who are hit by fraud and scams. Central to the proposal is a new category of property in addition to the existing "things in possession,” which covers items such as money and cars, and “things in action,” such as debt and shares. The new category of “thing” will allow certain digital assets to attract personal property rights, Justice Minister Heidi Alexander said in a statement. Earlier this year, the Law Commission, which reviews and recommends changes to laws in England and Wales, published a consultation on draft legislation to label crypto as property, followed by a report on its findings. Its conclusions apply to a subset of digital assets, according to the Ministry of Justice, mainly crypto tokens.
4. Crypto exchange Kraken has demanded a jury trial in the case brought against it by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a court filing Thursday showed. A California Judge ruled last month that the SEC's lawsuit against Kraken will proceed to trial. The verdict came after similar rulings in cases brought on by the agency against Binance and Coinbase (COIN), which also face allegations of violating federal securities laws by not registering as a broker, clearinghouse or exchange with the SEC. The SEC sued Kraken in the Northern District of California last November asking the court to permanently enjoin the exchange from further securities violations, seeking disgorgement of its “ill-gotten gains” and other civil penalties. The regulator listed ADA, ALGO, ATOM, FIL, FLOW, ICP, MANA, MATIC, NEAR, OMG, and the SOL tokens as the 11 unregistered securities. In last weeks court filing, Kraken reiterated its position denying that it has engaged in illegal conduct, responding to each allegation in the SEC's lawsuit and presenting 18 other defenses.
5. Liquid restaking protocol Ether.fi has announced the launch of a 'crypto-native' credit card built on Ethereum layer-2 scaling network Scroll. Dubbed Ether.fi Cash, the Visa credit card is designed to enable users to make purchases with cryptocurrency "anywhere Visa is accepted," according to a recent announcement on the X platform. The card comes in four tiers, named after popular crypto memes: Pepe, Wojak, Chad, and Whale. One of the card's standout features is its non-custodial nature. Unlike traditional crypto cards, Ether.fi Cash allows users to keep their cryptocurrency in their own wallets, eliminating the need for transfers to separate accounts.The card offers a unique financing option, allowing cardholders to borrow against their crypto collateral. This includes leveraging assets such as eETH (Ether.fi staked ETH) and other yield-bearing assets. In the near future, users will also have the ability to settle their card balances using native yields from their crypto holdings.

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And that’s all for last week’s news! Wishing you a great week ahead!

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