Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler is testifying before the House Financial Services Committee today. It will be very much like his testimony two weeks ago to the Senate Banking Committee: a forum for Republicans to attack Gensler for being overzealous and overreaching in his rulemaking proposals.
Republicans are increasingly apoplectic about the more than 40 rules Gensler has been proposing, especially now that he has begun adopting them.
That’s not new. Republicans have been critical of Gensler from the get-go.
What’s different, nearly three years into the Biden administration, is that the financial services industry (hedge funds, mutual funds, market makers, trading firms, exchanges) are increasingly abandoning attempts to negotiate with Gensler and adopting a more confrontational stance.
Some are suing him.
“The industry (brokers and exchanges alike) are left with the only remaining tool at their disposal – a tool of last resort — litigation against the Commission,” Kirsten Wegner, CEO of the Modern Markets Initiative, wrote in a recent editorial in Trader’s Magazine.
The complaints from the industry have been mounting for over a year: too many rules. No time for industry input. No roundtable discussions. No sharing of data used to make the policy decisions.
The tone of the industry commentary toward Gensler has become increasingly hostile and bitter: ”″Comment letters’ are a facade because it is all but impossible for the market to digest, process and respond to thousands of pages of draft regulation in only a few months’ time, and regardless, their points are often dismissed without meaningful study or explanation,” Wegner wrote.
Litigation starts
Last month, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which is seeking to convert to a bitcoin ETF, successfully sued the SEC on the grounds that it had already approved a “similar” product in bitcoin futures and its actions were arbitrary and capricious. The SEC is weighing an appeal.
Now that Gensler has adopted several of the rules that had been in the proposal stage, the industry has begun to take a more litigious stance.
For example, six financial trade associations this month sued the SEC over its new Private Funds Adviser Rule, which requires registered private fund advisers to undergo an annual financial statement audit. The trade associations claim the SEC exceeded its statutory authority and acted arbitrarily and capriciously.
Gensler also appears to be in open warfare with Virtu Financial, one of the world’s largest market makers. The SEC recently sued Virtu, claiming it failed to provide measures to protect sensitive customer data, and for making materially false and misleading statements regarding information barriers to prevent the misuse of that information.
These types of cases would normally result in a quiet settlement, but that doesn’t appear likely.
Virtu claims that this suit was an “escalation” of a years-long investigation because Virtu CEO Doug Cifu has been openly critical of the SEC’s market structure rule proposals, which have yet to be adopted.
“Unfortunately, the SEC’s position appears to be driven by politics and headlines rather than the facts and the law,” Cifu said in a recent statement. “Therefore, under these circumstances, we look forward to vigorously defending ourselves in court against these meritless allegations while maintaining our focus on serving clients and markets globally and creating long-term value for our shareholders.”
Gensler grilled for proposed and adopted rules
Republicans will be particularly keen to talk about some of the bigger issues Gensler has been tackling.
Take Climate-Related Disclosures, which were proposed in March 2022 but have not been adopted yet. They would require publicly-traded companies to disclose detailed emissions data and climate risk management strategies, including direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from their supply chains. Republicans have claimed this is beyond the SEC’s mandate. Gensler, in his prepared testimony, says the SEC “has no role as to climate risk itself. We, however, do have an important role in helping to ensure that public companies make full, fair, and truthful disclosure about the material risks they face.”
Other rules that have been adopted (like cybersecurity, which mandates disclosure of a cybersecurity incident within four business days after a company determines the incident is material) will again be attacked for overreaching.
Then there’s crypto. Gensler has brought numerous enforcement actions against crypto intermediaries on the grounds that the tokens they offer are securities. Republicans will again attack him for over-reaching.
And what about that bitcoin ETF lawsuit? Gensler made it clear he “will not be able to comment on any active, ongoing litigation.” Translation: don’t ask about the bitcoin ETF lawsuit.
What’s next?
By now, it’s clear Gensler is not backing down and will continue passing new rules because he has a 3-2 majority at the commission.
Gensler will repeat that he is being reasonable and listening to industry complaints. On the climate change proposal, for example, Gensler noted that the SEC has received more than 15,000 comments and that it “will consider adjustments to the proposed rule that the staff, and ultimately the Commission, think are appropriate in light of those comments.”
Given what has happened already, that will not mollify the critics.
Some are hoping that a few Democrats will join the Republicans and ask Gensler to slow down. Last year, a dozen Senate Democrats did just that, sending a letter to Gensler urging him to extend the deadlines for proposed rules and to provide a sufficient period for notice and comment.
Last night, 32 members of Congress (16 Republicans, 16 Democrats) sent a letter to the SEC expressing concerns about the approach the SEC is taking on equity market structure proposals it made in December 2022 but has yet to adopt, arguing that the economic analysis the SEC is relying on is incomplete.
It’s not clear if this will sway Gensler on this particular rule proposal.
Now that he has begun adopting many of these rules, the financial services industry seems to be saying, “See you in court.”
The market is currently in a news-driven environment where the prices of cryptocurrencies have been determined by news agenda rather than fundamentals.
Bitfinex analysts have warned crypto investors to be cautious as bitcoin’s (BTC) recovery over the weekend is not a sign that its correction is over; the asset could witness more bloodshed in the near term.
In the latest Bitfinex Alpha report, experts deemed the market’s reaction this week critical, especially as supply alleviated over the weekend could return when traditional markets open.
“No Man’s Land”
Since Saturday, bitcoin has risen almost 10% from $57,600 to $63,000, closing last week in the green. The asset has surged above the 125-day range low of $60,200, which it broke through earlier this month after news of the German government’s massive BTC selling hit the market.
Market sentiment began to improve after reports that wallets linked to the German government were almost empty. However, the positive sentiment may not be sustained for long as the BTC the German authorities moved to trading desks and exchanges are yet to be sold.
While the supply from Germany appears to have been factored into bitcoin’s market price, Bitfinex analysts believe the end of selling pressure depends on how the involved trading desks execute their trades in the coming days.
Although the shift in sentiment underscores the market’s capacity to integrate new information and adjust expectations quickly, analysts think the market’s reaction over the first two trading days of the week cannot be overlooked for two reasons.
First, the low support level in the $60,200 range has now become a potential resistance line. Second, trading patterns over the past three months suggest that weekends are usually favorable for markets, especially on Saturdays when supply pressure seems to subside.
“We are now in no man’s land until we get clear resolution above or below this level,” the analysts said.
A News-Driven Environment
Besides the potential resistance level and three-month weekend trading pattern, the market is currently in a news-driven environment, where the prices of cryptocurrencies have been determined by news agendas rather than fundamentals.
Since selling pressure concerns are not yet completely obsolete due to upcoming Mt Gox creditor distributions, Bitfinex analysts expect such headlines to continue to have some impact on price movements. As such, the analysts urged investors to exercise caution in their trading strategies.
BlackRock’s IBIT led with $117.25 million in inflows on July 15, also being the most traded Bitcoin ETF.
The US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a daily net inflow of $301 million on July 15th. This extended their winning streak to seven consecutive days amidst a broader market recovery.
None of the ETFs recorded outflows for the day.
Bitcoin ETFs Rake in $16.11B in Net Inflows Since Jan
According to the data compiled by SoSoValue, BlackRock’s IBIT, the top spot Bitcoin ETF by net asset value, recorded the largest net inflows of the day at $117.25 million. IBIT was also the most actively traded Bitcoin ETF on Monday, with a volume of $1.24 billion. Ark Invest and 21Shares’ ARKB came in close behind with net inflows of $117.19 million.
Fidelity’s FBTC experienced net inflows of $36.15 million on Monday, while Bitwise’s BITB saw $15.24 million in inflows. VanEck’s HODL, Invesco and Galaxy Digital’s BTCO, and Franklin Templeton’s EZBC funds also recorded net inflows. Meanwhile, Grayscale’s GBTC and other ETFs, such as Valkyrie’s BRRR, WisdomTree’s BTCW, and Hashdex’s DEFI, registered no flows for the day.
A total of $2.26 billion was traded on Monday. The trading volume for these ETFs was less than in March when it exceeded $8 billion on some days. Meanwhile, these funds have collectively attracted $16.11 billion in net inflow since their January launch.
What’s Next For Bitcoin?
Earlier this month, bitcoin’s price decline was mainly due to fears of massive selling pressure from Mt. Gox and the German government’s BTC sales.
But the assassination attempt on pro-crypto former US President and presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump at Saturday’s rally seemed to spark a recovery in the world’s largest digital asset, and experts are bullish on the asset’s price trajectory going forward. Bitcoin surged more than 9% over the past week and was currently trading slightly below $64,000.
Veteran trader Peter Brandt discussed bitcoin’s price outlook, suggesting a potential major rally. He referred to a pattern he terms “Hump->Slump->Bump->Dump->Pump” and highlighted that the July 5 double top attempt was a bear trap, confirmed by the July 13 close. He sees a likely continued upward trend but warned that a close below $56,000 would negate this bullish view.
“Bitcoin $BTC could be unfolding its often-repeated Hump…Slump…Bump…Dump…Pump chart construction. Jul 5 attempt at the double top was a bear trap, confirmed by Jul 13 close. Most likely scenario now is that bears are trapped. Close below $56k negates this interpretation”
PeckShield alert reveals LI.FI’s protocol vulnerability is similar to a March 2022 attack, with the same bug recurring.
The decentralized finance (DeFi) platform LI.FI protocol has suffered an exploit amounting to over $8 million.
Cyvers Alerts reported detecting suspicious transactions within the LI.FI cross-chain transaction aggregator.
LI.FI Issues Warning After $8 Million Exploit
LI.FI confirmed the breach in a statement on July 16 via X: “Please do not interact with any http://LI.FI powered applications for now! We’re investigating a potential exploit.” The team clarified that users who did not set infinite approval are not at risk, emphasizing that only those who manually set infinite approvals seem to be affected.
According to Cyvers Alerts, more than $8 million in user funds have been stolen, with the majority being stablecoins. According to on-chain data, the hacker’s wallet holds 1,715 Ether (ETH) valued at $5.8 million and USDC, USDT, and DAI stablecoins.
Cyvers Alerts advised users to revoke relevant authorizations immediately, noting that the attacker is actively converting USDC and USDT into ETH.
Crypto security firm Decurity provided insights into the exploit, stating that it involves the LI.FI bridge. “The root cause is a possibility of an arbitrary call with user-controlled data via depositToGasZipERC20() in GasZipFacet, which was deployed 5 days ago,” Decurity explained on X.
“In general, the risks behind routers, cross-chain swaps, etc. are about token approvals. Raw native assets like (unwrapped) ETH are safe from these kinds of hacks b/c they don’t have approvals as an option. Most users & wallets also no longer do “infinite approvals” which gives a smart contract total control on removing any amount of their tokens. It’s important to understand which tokens you’re approving to which contracts.
This dashboard looks for all transactions of a user that intersects Lifi. Not all of these transactions indicate risk- but you can see how, broadly, integrations & layers of tech (like how Metamask bridge uses Lifi on BSC) can complicate how users do or don’t put their assets at risk. Revoke Cash is the most well known approval manager app.
But it’s also good security practice to simply rotate your address. New addresses start with 0 approvals, so starting fresh by moving your tokens to a fresh address is another good security practice.” – commented Carlos Mercado, Data Scientist at Flipside Crypto.
Recent Exploit Mirrors March 2022 Attack
Further analysis by PeckShield alert revealed that the vulnerability is similar to a previous attack on LI.FI’s protocol that occurred on March 20, 2022. That incident saw a bad actor exploit LI.FI’s smart contract, specifically the swapping feature, before bridging.
The attacker manipulated the system to call token contracts directly within their contract’s context, making users who had given infinite approval vulnerable. This exploit resulted in the theft of approximately 205 ETH from 29 wallets, affecting tokens such as USDC, MATIC, RPL, GNO, USDT, MVI, AUDIO, AAVE, JRT, and DAI.
“The bug is basically the same. Are we learning anything from the past lesson(s)?” PeckShield Alert said in a July 16 X post.
Following the 2022 incident, LI.FI disabled all swap methods in its smart contract and worked on developing a fix to prevent future vulnerabilities. However, the recurrence of a similar exploit raises concerns about the platform’s security measures and whether adequate steps were taken to address the vulnerabilities identified in the previous breach.
LI.FI is a liquidity aggregation protocol that allows users to trade across various blockchains, venues, and bridges.
