Terraform Labs has reached a settlement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for approximately $4.47 billion. This agreement comes after a jury held Terraform Labs and its co-founder responsible for the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, resulting in a loss of $40 billion in investor assets.
Chris Amani, CEO of Terraform Labs, has declared that the company will halt its operations following the settlement. The company intends to sell off key projects within the Terra ecosystem and grant the community control over the Terra blockchain.
In a separate development, Ripple’s legal team has requested a court to determine an appropriate civil penalty in light of the SEC’s settlement with Terraform Labs. The SEC has demanded around $2 billion from Ripple in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. Ripple, on the other hand, argues that a penalty of no more than $10 million should be imposed.
However, the SEC has refuted Ripple’s argument. The SEC pointed out that comparing Terraform’s $420 million civil penalty to its gross sales was not an accurate representation. The SEC argued that Ripple’s penalty should be $102.6 million based on a similar ratio to Terraform’s penalty against Ripple’s gross profits.
In another development, President Joe Biden has announced his picks for leadership positions at the SEC, FDIC, Treasury Department, and Financial Stability Oversight Council. These appointments are intended to bring change and reform to financial regulation.
Turkey has decided to implement a 0.03% transaction tax on cryptocurrency trading, despite previous denials of such plans. This move is part of a broader effort to regulate financial transactions more comprehensively and address the country’s budget deficit.
Australia’s largest stock exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), has approved its first spot Bitcoin ETF, the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (VBTC). This ETF is set to begin trading on June 20, marking a significant development in the Australian cryptocurrency market.