1/ FASCINATING few weeks for social media—the migrations away from big platforms by fed-up users has been MASSIVE. Users proved we’re MUCH more powerful in ecosystems than many ppl thought (vaguely reminiscent of #UASF event in #bitcoin).
The b4 vs after venn diagram of the...
2/ ...social platforms & news sources I use has surprisingly little overlap. I’m trying many new platforms (today I happened upon a great Clubhouse chat room on #crypto law w/ @propelforward. Clubhouse is gonna disrupt podcasts in a v big way, IMHO). Follow me if you’re there! 🤠
3/ I don’t plan to leave @Twitter but I’m not wedded to it either. None of us should be! When 40m people sign up for one new platform & 25m for another in just days, you know something big is afoot.
4/ They’ll use it bc they understand network effects & have huge cash piles that they can’t afford to see debased. But #bitcoin will change how they think.
Decentralization is happening right in front of us! The disruptors of not long ago are now being disrupted! FASCINATING!!!
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1/ HEY PEEPS—lots of folks asking abt @Anchorage OCC trust charter—again, congrats to Anchorage!💪👏 But OCC trust charter is narrower than #Wyoming SPDI charter. OCC trust cos can’t take deposits or directly access the Fed’s pymt system. Here’s the thread I promised. 👇
2/ Key=there’s a pecking order among types of bank charters. At the top of food chain are the mega-banks that can fund US govt. Next=banks ("depository institutions") that have direct access to the Fed’s payment system. Below them are banks & trust cos that don't have such access
3/ OCC trust cos are in the 3rd category but #Wyoming SPDIs rank above them, in the 2nd. To be eligible for direct pymt system access at Fed, the bank must be a "depository institution" (as defined in 12USC461). Wyoming SPDIs are depository institutions, but OCC trust cos aren’t.
WOW--#crypto lawyers will be EVEN BUSIER over the break (as if the Mnuchin rule, SEC v Ripple & CSBS v OCC lawsuits weren't enough...). There are weeks when decades happen, as they way. For crypto law, this is one of those weeks
2/ PS--I suspect both SEC moves this week are tied to @coinbase's IPO filing, which will force the open questions re: which cryptos are securities to be answered in 2021. As mentioned earlier, IMHO the SEC will be one of (if not *THE*) most important players in US #crypto in 2021
2/ But lemme connect 3 dots abt how it relates to #crypto
* There's a SHORTAGE of collateral (T-bills, etc)--the stuff big dealer banks NEED in order to fund themselves. Facebook Libra/Diem could worsen that shortage a lot, so you can see why central bankers view it as a threat.
3/ The #repo mkt periodically has disruptions caused by collateral shortages/undercapitalization of the big dealer banks. @JeffSnider_AIP looks at March 2020 in this piece but many other examples exist, eg Lehman in 2008. When repo mkt seizes up, the probs ripple across fin mkts.
As #Ethereum works thru its #hardfork, worth asking these ?s abt your exchange/custodian:
* if it no longer supports the old chain, can it just break its contract w/ you?
* can it keep the forked coins or must it give them to you? #Wyoming law has consumer protections for this!🤠
It's situations like this that will REALLY set apart exchanges/custodians using #Wyoming law to govern their contracts w/ US customers. 🤠Non-Wyoming law intermediaries tend to have contracts that favor the intermediaries🙁, & courts tend to uphold them: coindesk.com/appeals-court-…
3/ One thing seems clear--there will be more litigation in the US for situations like this (bc there's more value involved now vs past). Also Cred bankruptcy, which is first substantial #crypto bankruptcy in US courts, has already attracted attn of consumer protection advocates
2/ Lack of clarity has kept the HUGE #RIA & asset mgr market out of #crypto but this should help. Sum:
* banks are #qualifiedcustodian by def'n, but
* state-chartered trust cos may not be
RIA must defend that a state trust co provides as much protection as a bank, broker, FCM.
3/ Consider how SEC frames the ?s:
* do state trust cos have "characteristics similar to" institutions "SEC has identified as QCs" (ie, state trust cos aren't in group SEC identifies as QCs)
* wld state trust co as QC add gaps/enhancements? (again the ? presumes they're not QCs)
3/ Follow along! Under SEC Custody Rule & SEC Customer Protection Rule, #RIAs (Registered Investment Advisers) & investment managers must hire a #qualifiedcustodian to store customers' assets.
But traditional custody banks can't/won't touch #bitcoin & other #crypto right now.