A series of US institutions are considering redefining what money is. According to data from Glassnode, nearly 75% of Bitcoin supply has not moved in the last six months. Meanwhile, the president of crypto-friendly financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald will lead Donald Trump’s transition team if he becomes president again this November.
Notable Work in the US
The most important federal institutions in the United States are coming together to revise the meaning of money to tighten reporting requirements for local and cross-border cryptocurrency transactions for financial institutions. The US Treasury Department published a six-month regulatory agenda on August 16, outlining an upcoming federal initiative to level the regulatory playing field for cryptocurrencies and traditional fiat currencies. The Federal Reserve System Board of Governors and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network plan to revise the meaning of money used in the Bank Secrecy Act. According to the agenda item: CITE_W_A: “The institutions (FRS and FinCEN) aim to ensure that the revised proposal applies to local and cross-border transactions involving convertible virtual currency, which has an equivalent value as currency or acts as a substitute for currency but lacks legal tender status (such as cryptocurrency).”
Exciting Data from the Bitcoin Front
Onchain data shows that approximately three-quarters of all circulating Bitcoin has not moved for six months or longer. The data comes from Glassnode’s Hodl Wave chart, which uses blockchain data to provide a macro view of Bitcoin held in wallets based on the time since their last movement. This is a significant increase from just a week ago on August 11, when onchain data analysis platform Glassnode showed that nearly half of the Bitcoin supply, about 45%, had been inactive for at least six months. However, the data now shows that approximately 74% of the asset has remained inactive for most of this year, despite a 21% drop from its all-time high.
Trump Begins Preparations
Howard Lutnick, president of financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald, will lead Donald Trump’s transition to the White House if he is elected president in November. Trump’s campaign team confirmed the news on August 16 and added that Linda McMahon, co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment, will also be part of the transition team. Both Lutnick and McMahon have made significant donations to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Cantor Fitzgerald is no stranger to crypto assets. The company has managed stablecoin issuer Tether’s treasury portfolio since 2021. Earlier this month, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed that the company holds shares worth over $18 million in BlackRock’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Lutnick himself is a Bitcoin advocate and recently announced a $2 billion lending program at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
Initiatives to change the definition of money in the US could significantly impact cryptocurrency regulation. Bitcoin data shows an increase in the number of long-term holders of the asset, which could indicate trust in the cryptocurrency. At the same time, political changes in the country could affect the cryptocurrency market.
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