The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Friday that Bitcoin (BTC) is a form of money. In the case of United States v. Harmon, Chief Judge Beryl Howell wrote that money is "commonly means a medium of exchange, method of payment, or store of value," adding "Bitcoin is these things." The ruling holds that Bitcoin is a form of money covered under the Washington, D.C. Money Transmitters Act. The categorization of Bitcoin as money was key to the court's decision to not dismiss criminal charges against Larry Harmon, the operator of an unlicensed Bitcoin trading platform, for violating a money laundering law. But the scope of the ruling remains small, as the judge's comments mean Bitcoin will be treated as money in the context of money transmission licensing in the capital, though with no broader legal ramifications.
Here is the rest of the week in review:
Bitcoin Suisse raised more than CHF 45 million or $48 million in its first ever funding round. The Series A for the Zug-based financial services firm and potential crypto bank was led by Roger Studer, the former investment head of private bank Vontobel. Bitcoin Suisse announced the funding round pushed its valuation to CHF 302.5 million. Bitcoin Suisse is applying for a Swiss banking and securities dealer license, as well as a banking license in Liechtenstein. Bitcoin Suisse stated its first half 2020 performance was strong, with solid growth across its product and service range, and the Series A satisfied its capital needs, placing the firm in a good position for a public debut in the upcoming years. Bitcoin Suisse added it might also consider a security token offering.
Binance partnered with licensed German investment firm CM-Equity to provide crypto asset management and brokerage services in Germany and across Europe. CM-Equity holds a crypto custody license with Germany's Financial Supervisory Authority, which means the world's largest crypto exchange by volume can start operations in the German market. Binance's CFO Wei Zhou said: "This partnership allows Binance to offer more services and market directly to more countries in Europe." CM-Equity CEO Michael Kott stated the firm is thrilled to collaborate with Binance and leverage its liquidity and trading services. Binance did not detail what types of new services it will offer after entering the German market, noting it will unveil them in the upcoming months.
Crypto prices climbed to $300 billion this week. For the majors, all coins were in the green, with Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), and Litecoin (LTC) posting outsized double-digit growth. In the top 100, the biggest losers were iExec RLC (RLC), down 29%, Aurora (AOA), down 28%, and Aave (LEND), down 22%. The biggest gainers were Aragon (ANT), up a whopping 62%, Elrond (ERD), up 54%, and Swipe (SXP), up 47%. Next week traders will watch Bitcoin move around the $10,000 level, as well as how the expiration of much of the CARES Act stimulus benefits and the debate over another relief bill might impact the crypto markets.
The author owns a small amount of BTC and LTC.