In RockItCoin’s effort to empower individuals in the cryptocurrency space, we have extracted top industry stories for your Weekly Digest. Cryptocurrency continues to dominate the news and here are some key happenings you should know.
Sam Bankman-Fried to Testify Before Congress
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) can’t seem to stay out of the news these days. Although this time, it looks like he has good intentions. SBF initially missed the Dec. 8th deadline set by the Senate Banking Committee, but responded in a few tweets on Dec. 9th. Congresswoman and Chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee Maxine Waters originally called on Bankman-Fried due to his close involvement in FTX’s bankruptcy back in November. Waters tweeted that “the collapse of FTX has harmed over one million people. Your testimony would not only be meaningful to Members of Congress, but is also critical to the American people”. SBF’s testimony will hopefully shine some light on FTX’s operations and give millions of FTX customers some answers.
SEC Unveils Cryptocurrency Exposure Guidelines
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released new guidelines for companies disclosing their financial information, after the dramatic effect that FTX’s bankruptcy has had on the financial industry. Companies will be required to provide a record of their exposure to the crypto industry, and detail how bankruptcies could potentially affect their operations. Additionally, companies have to disclose any risk involved with excessive withdrawals of cryptocurrency assets. This is likely due to the aftermath following FTX’s bankruptcy when consumers tested the strength of multiple exchange’s reserves by withdrawing their crypto en masse.
Nigeria Sets Limits on ATM Withdrawals to Force Use of CBDC
The Central Bank of Nigeria has set withdrawal limits on ATMs within the country in a move to push the use of its new Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) called eNaira. The country’s central banking authority issued a public notice last week detailing the limits of ATM withdrawals, which bans withdrawals over 20,000 Nairas ($45 USD) per day and 100,000 Nairas ($225 USD) per week. This is part of an effort to force the use of eNaira, which was released in October of 2021, and has seen low adoption rates from the Nigerian public over the last year. Nigeria is one of 11 countries with a running CBDC program, and many countries are in the process of researching and developing their own to launch over the next few years.
