Crypto goes to Washington… Last week, execs from crypto juggernauts like Coinbase and Circle defended the industry to Congress. Lawmakers — and SEC Chair Gary Gensler — have called for stricter rules in the booming $2T+ crypto market, saying investors and markets are at risk. But the execs highlighted their belief that crypto improves markets by making transactions faster, cheaper, and more accessible. They also said crypto should be governed by crypto-specific regulations, not existing ones used for stocks or other securities. Because lawmakers increasingly disagree over crypto’s future along partisan lines, experts don’t expect big changes soon.
“Financial uncoupling”... This month, the White House announced the US would stage a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing over China’s human-rights abuses. But US-China tension is rising in the financial arena too. DiDi (the “Uber of China”) began delisting from the NYSE two weeks ago under pressure from Chinese regulators. Meanwhile, US regulators finalized rules to forcibly delist foreign companies that don't follow auditing rules. We could see a wave of Chinese companies leaving US markets — which could hurt both American and Chinese investors.