This week on 5 Tales from the Crypto, we lead-off with President-elect Trump’s nominee for SEC chair and that nominee’s attitudes toward the crypto industry. We also look at a new blockchain banking app, and a pair of partnerships designed to boost crypto trading security and tax compliance, respectively.
Trump nominates Paul Atkins as SEC chair
Of all of President-elect Trump’s nominations, his nominee for SEC chair is the one most anticipated by many in the crypto community. Having pledged to fire current SEC chairman Gary Gensler “on day one,” Trump has this week nominated an individual widely believed to be a significant “advocate” of the cryptocurrency industry: Paul Atkins.
“(Atkins) believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World,” Trump noted on social media platform Truth Social. “He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before.”
Atkins is currently CEO of financial services consultancy Patomak Global Partners, and served as an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008. He is credited for emphasizing the importance of investor education, having been part of the resolution of one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history — the Bennett Funding Group case. Atkins also previously served in the first Trump administration as a member of the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum, an advisory group of business leaders that focused on job creation and economic growth initiatives.
As far as Atkins’ specific “crypto bonafides” go, he joined a cryptocurrency advocacy group, Token Alliance, in 2017, and is co-chair of the organization. The alliance is a project of the Chamber of Digital Commerce dedicated to promoting best practices and policies for cryptocurrencies, tokenized networks, and digital assets.
What are the early impressions from the crypto community? Carlos Domingo, Founder and CEO of digital securities compliance platform Securitize, told interviewers on Yahoo! Finance that he was “very excited” at the prospect of Atkins as SEC chair, referring to Atkins as “very pro digital assets, and very knowledgeable in the industry.” Similarly, Joe McCann, Founder, CEO, and CIO of digital assets investment firm Asymmetric told CNBC that Atkins’ call for greater clarification of the SEC’s SAB-121 rule with regard to how institutions must account for cryptoassets in their custody showed Atkins to be someone who would bring “common sense to the SEC.”
Former Revolut pair launch blockchain banking app
Catching up on news from our last edition of 5 Tales from the Crypto, we note that a pair of former-Revolut employees — Joao Alves and Guilherme Gomes — have launched a new, self-custodial stablecoin app with accompanying Mastercard debit card. The app, called Bleap, enables users to spend stablecoins without having to pay conversion fees. Users can add stablecoins from external wallets to their Bleap app or add them by buying stablecoins using fiat currency. The app supports multi-currency accounts with savings rates that can offer as much as 5x compared to traditional banks. Bleap also supports fee-free crypto on- and off-ramping through external wallet connections.
The launch announcement comes as the company reports securing $2.3 million in pre-seed funding at a pre-money valuation of $10 million. The investment round was led by Ethereal Ventures and featured participation from Maven11, Alliance DAO, Robot Ventures, as well as angel investors from Revolut, cryptocurrency wallet Phantom, cryptocurrency exchange OKX, Ethereum access network EigenLayer, and Consensys.
Currently in beta with select European users, Bleap is slated for public launch in the first quarter of 2025.
cheqd partners with ID Crypt Global
Digital identity and security company ID Crypt Global has teamed up with payment and trust infrastructure for identity and trust specialist cheqd. The two companies will work together to provide Apex Digital Exchange (ADEX) with enhanced identity and security capabilities. This will enable the exchange to better serve its customers and make it easier for more traditional financial services companies to participate in decentralized finance (DeFi).
The partnership is designed to tackle two issues that are slowing wider embrace of crypto trading for many investors: usability and trust in identity. To this end, cheqd integrates seamlessly with the ADEX platform to provide SSI-based onboarding, privacy-preserving identity verification, and continuous KYC and AML checks. Additionally, cheqd’s payment model supports new, more cost-effective ways to monetize verifiable credentials. For example, the partnership will enable ADEX to offer verified users lower cost trading or other rewards, linking verifiable identity to transaction affordability. Combined with ID Crypt Global’s identity verification and risk screening, ADEX will be able to offer a streamlined, lower-cost user experience for its customers while ensuring regulatory compliance.
Founded in 2021 and headquartered in London, cheqd provides payment and trust infrastructure for credentials and verifiable AI. The company provides customized network offerings and supports multiple credential formats for identity frameworks including eIADS 2.0 in Europe and beyond. The company has raised $3.3 million funding according to Crunchbase, and includes Bluenode Capital and Bixin Ventures among its investors.
Bison integrates with tax reporting platform Blockpit
The road to hell may be paved with good intentions. But the road to mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies will need to be well-macadamized with compliant crypto tax reporting.
To this end, cryptocurrency trading app BISON has announced its integration with crypto tax reporting platform Blockpit. Currently available in the BISON mobile app, the integration will make it easier for BISON users to accurately pay any cryptocurrency-related taxes.
“Taxes on cryptocurrencies can be complex,” BISON CEO and Co-founder Ulli Spankowski noted. “At BISON, we are committed to providing our customers (with) simple, secure, and reliable solutions. Partnering with Blockpit, a leading provider in crypto tax reporting, is a logical step forward. Thanks to this collaboration, we deliver real added value to approximately 870,000 BISON customers by significantly reducing the tax-related challenges of crypto trading.”
Founded in 2017, Blockpit enables its more than 350,000 customers worldwide to track their crypto portfolios, optimize their taxes, and create compliant tax reports.
Based in Austria and Germany, the company has generated more than one million tax reports since inception, and processed more than 500 million transactions.
Headquartered in Germany, BISON is powered by the Boerse Stuttgart Group. The first crypto trading app to be supported by a traditional securities exchange, BISON was founded in 2019 and is active in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The app offers trading in 27 cryptocurrencies including BTC and ETH, as well as in more than 2,500 stocks and exchange-traded products (ETPs).
HTX introduces crypto lending product
Global digital asset trading platform HTX launched its Crypto Loans product this week. The new offering features dynamic interest rates, high loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, no loan limits, and zero fees,
Loans can be secured in USDT, BTC, and ETH; the same currencies are also accepted as collateral assets. HTX noted that it plans to expand the number of loanable and collateral assets.
As part of the launch, the platform is kicking off a “Borrow & Earn” event with a prize pool of 2,700,000,000 $HTX. Running from December 2 through December 8, the event will split the prize among those users who borrow USDT via Flexible Crypto Loan. Prize allotments will be based on the proportion of the users’ interest expenses relative to the platform’s total interest income from the product.
Founded in 2013 by Chairman Leon Li, HTX has grown from a digital asset exchange to an ecosystem of blockchain businesses involved in financial derivatives, investment, digital asset trading, and more. Changing its name from Huobi to HTX in 2023, the company has more than 47 million registered users around the globe.
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