This week, what events occurred in the crypto world? It was an event-filled week, with the Senate passing the GENIUS Act, the ongoing wave of crypto-related kidnappings in France, and Israel-backed hackers attacking Iran's crypto industry.
Canada also became the second country in the world to approve an XRP ETF, and the delay in the SEC v Ripple lawsuit continues. Learn about all these stories and more at BeInCrypto.
The GENIUS Bill Passes the Senate
This week, a major crypto regulation event occurred when the GENIUS Act was passed by the US Senate.
The new legal framework for stablecoins had faced many major obstacles in recent months, but new amendments helped create bipartisan support. By the time of the final vote, political support was very large.
Senate vote on the GENIUS Act. Source: Senate.GovNow that the bill has passed the Senate, it will become law after President Trump signs it. Trump plans to use stablecoins to promote dollar dominance, and his support is certain.
From there, it will open up many new possibilities: for example, major banks are considering issuing stablecoins. The industry seems assured to continue growing.
Iran-Israel War Leads to Major Crypto Hack
The new conflict between Iran and Israel has affected the crypto market throughout the week, which is natural for any geopolitical fluctuation.
However, the conflict is now taking place directly on the blockchain. Israel-backed hackers infiltrated Nobitex, an Iranian crypto exchange, stealing and then burning 90 million USD worth of tokens.
Gonjeshke Darande (Predatory Sparrow) has been operating for many years, disrupting Iran's economic activities on behalf of Israel. However, this crypto hack represents a significant escalation.
Crypto has funded wars, and governments have created crypto hacker groups. However, state-backed hackers have never before targeted another country's crypto industry.
This precedent could signal worrying things for the industry's future. So far, this war has not particularly hurt crypto, at least compared to other recent events. If burning millions of dollars worth of tokens becomes a feature of future conflicts, it would shock the global market.
France Shocked by Another Crypto Kidnapping
Another notable event this week was a crypto-related kidnapping in the Paris suburbs. This is the tenth such incident in France this year, even more shocking as authorities had promised to tighten security.
A 23-year-old man was kidnapped, and his relatives were extorted 5,000 EUR and his Ledger key.
Before this incident, police believed a single gang was behind most of these attacks. Through cooperation with Morocco, many alleged leaders were reportedly arrested in North Africa in early June.
However, this clearly has not prevented the kidnappings. Either the gang is still active, or copycat criminals are adopting this method. Both possibilities are frightening.
No Solution Yet for SEC v Ripple
Although the SEC v Ripple case is an important topic for the crypto industry, it was not resolved this week. Both sides jointly filed to resolve the final appeal, but Judge Torres was uncooperative.
Both sides are trying to pause the appeal process, but lawyers are becoming skeptical about their chances of gaining a favorable decision.
In summary, the biggest issue is that a crypto-friendly SEC cannot unilaterally reverse policies from the Gensler era.
It might not be fair that Ripple is banned from selling securities to small investors, but the Atkins Committee needs to prove this in court. Although the community remains hopeful, this obstacle could affect Ripple's business in the near future.
Canada Gets XRP ETF
In another memorable crypto development, Canada finally approved an XRP ETF this week. This makes Canada the second country to provide this product, after Brazil's approval in April.
Purpose Investments, the company that provided the first crypto ETF in North America, was a suitable company to launch this product.
"The OSC's issuance of the Purpose XRP ETF prospectus certificate reinforces Canada's global leadership in building a managed digital asset ecosystem. We are proud to continue pushing the boundaries of what is possible in this field," said Vlad Tasevski, Purpose's Innovation Director.
Hopefully, these developments will encourage Canada's southern neighbor to follow suit. Prominent ETF analysts in the US recently declared that XRP ETF has a 95% chance of approval, but that has not happened yet.
Additionally, Zebec Network announced a new reward program for XRP holders, and Pi Network was criticized by the community after an unimpressive domain name update.
This week has been very exciting for cryptocurrency, but BeInCrypto will always be here to update you on all of that.
