Caroline Crenshaw, the financial agency’s sole remaining Democratic commissioner, is expected to depart in January, 18 months after her official term ended. SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, expected to leave the agency in less than a month, used one of her final public speaking engagements to address the regulator’s response to digital assets. Speaking at a Brookings Institution event on Thursday, Crenshaw said standards at the SEC had “eroded” in the last year, with “markets [starting] to look like casinos,” and “chaos” as the agency dismissed many years-long enforcement cases, reduced civil penalties and filed fewer actions overall. The commissioner, expected to depart in January after her term officially ended in June 2024, also criticized many crypto users and the agency’s response to the markets. Read more
Belarus blocked major crypto exchange domains the same day Russia signaled it may ease regulated crypto access requirements while clamping down on the gray market. The Belarusian Ministry of Information has blocked access to crypto exchanges Bybit, OKX, Bitget, Gate, Bingx and Weex, it said on Thursday. According to a government announcement, the ministry has restricted access to the global domains of several crypto exchanges, citing “inappropriate advertising” under Article 511 of the Law on Mass Media. Cointelegraph reached out to the blocked exchanges but had not received responses at the time of publication. Read more
Bitcoin bull market optimism has suffered since the Oct. 10 crash, as chances of a short-term BTC price rally above $100,000 appeared to be fading. Bitcoin (BTC) could remain pinned below $100,000 for the remainder of 2025 as the market weakened following the US Fed rate cut decision on Wednesday. Key takeaways: BTC price has only a 30% chance of hitting $100,000 before Jan. 1, according to prediction markets. Read more