This Week in Crypto: March 29, 2024

Welcome to This Week in Crypto, your go-to source for the latest developments and insights in the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. In this edition, we are looking into the following topics:

1. U.S. Government Accuses KuCoin Exchange and Founders
2. AI Powerhouses SingularityNet, Fetch.ai, and Ocean Protocol Consider a merger to form AltSignals (ASI) under Superintelligence Collective
3. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) moves forward with its lawsuit against Coinbase.

U.S. Government Accuses KuCoin Exchange and Founders

The U.S. government has accused KuCoin, a cryptocurrency exchange, and two of its founders of flouting anti-money laundering laws. KuCoin allegedly operated within the U.S. without proper registration or anti-money laundering measures until 2023. This allowed illicit activities, including transactions from Tornado Cash, suspected of illegal involvement. The legal action seeks penalties and bans on KuCoin’s activities, impacting its cryptocurrency’s value and even influencing Bitcoin prices. This development echoes similar charges against Binance, signaling heightened regulatory scrutiny in the cryptocurrency exchange realm.

AI Powerhouses SingularityNet, Fetch.ai, and Ocean Protocol Consider a merger to form AltSignals (ASI) under Superintelligence Collective

Three big players in AI — SingularityNet, Fetch.ai, and Ocean Protocol — are thinking about teaming up by merging their tokens into a new one called AltSignals (ASI). This new token could be worth a whopping $7.5 billion if all their tokens were out there. Although they’d still do their own thing, this merger would help them work more closely together under a new organization called the Superintelligence Collective. This group would be led by Ben Goertzel, who started SingularityNet, and Humayun Sheikh, the CEO of Fetch.ai. Right now, Fetch.ai has the biggest token value at $2.72 billion, followed by SingularityNet at $1.7 billion, and Ocean Protocol at $927 million. This idea comes at a time when there’s a lot of interest in AI.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) moves forward with its lawsuit against Coinbase.

The SEC claims that Coinbase broke the rules by not officially registering as an exchange, broker, or clearing agency, and by selling investment-like assets without the necessary permission. This legal action began in June 2023 when the SEC filed a lawsuit accusing Coinbase of listing 13 tokens as investment assets without following the proper regulations. Coinbase tried to stop the case, arguing that the SEC didn’t have the power to regulate crypto exchanges like theirs. However, the court disagreed, stating that some of the transactions on Coinbase’s platform might indeed be considered investment assets. Furthermore, the court observed that Coinbase hadn’t registered with the SEC as required for companies dealing with investment assets. Consequently, the court dismissed Coinbase’s attempt to end the case. Now, both sides must outline a plan for how the lawsuit will proceed before April 19.

That wraps up another insightful edition of This Week in Crypto. Keep an eye on our newsletter for upcoming news, analysis, and exclusive insights into the ever-evolving crypto landscape. Don’t forget to subscribe to stay ahead of the curve. Until next time, happy HODLing!

This Week in Crypto: March 29, 2024 was originally published in MXC Foundation on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.