The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ended its investigation into Paxos Trust Company, a New York-based issuer of dollar-backed stablecoins, in a move that comes more than a year after the SEC sent Paxos a Wells notice, which signals impending enforcement action.

MicroStrategy (MSTR), the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, has announced a 10-for-1 stock split aimed at increasing investor and employee access to the company’s stock.

Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced a new web app that allows its Coinbase Wallet users to manage all of their on-chain wallets and activities in a single place.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• SEC Drops Key BUSD Stablecoin Probe
• MicroStrategy Announces 10-for-1 Stock Split
• Coinbase Launches New Web App for Unified On-Chain Wallet Management
• Crypto Market Movers – TRX, AAVE, ZEN

SEC Drops Key BUSD Stablecoin Probe

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ended its investigation into Paxos Trust Company, a New York-based issuer of dollar-backed stablecoins, in a move that comes more than a year after the SEC sent Paxos a Wells notice, which signals impending enforcement action.

After receiving a Wells notice, companies have a chance to write back to the SEC and explain why they should not move forward with a lawsuit. The SEC sent Paxos a Wells notice over the stablecoin it issued in partnership with Binance, BUSD.

The agency argued that BUSD functioned as an investment contract because it earned profits from the reserves it held and passed a portion of those to Binance users in the form of yield, but Paxos contested this view, maintaining that BUSD was fully backed by dollar reserves and did not meet the criteria for a security.

The SEC's retreat follows a partial legal defeat in June, when a federal judge dismissed a related claim against leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance. This, coupled with growing pressure from the crypto industry for clearer regulations, appears to have influenced the SEC's decision.

MicroStrategy Announces 10-for-1 Stock Split

MicroStrategy (MSTR), the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, has announced a 10-for-1 stock split aimed at increasing investor and employee access to the company’s stock.

The split is set to go into effect on August 1, with shareholders of both Class A and Class B common stock receiving nine additional shares for each share they currently hold. These shares are expected to be distributed after the market closes on August 7.

This announcement follows a surge in MicroStrategy's share price over the past year, hitting a new all-time high of over $1,900 in March, coinciding with Bitcoin's rise above $70,000, before dropping to $1,300 where it’s now trading.

MicroStrategy, under the leadership of Bitcoin advocate Michael Saylor, is often seen as an indirect investment in Bitcoin itself as the company frequently uses debt financing to acquire additional Bitcoin for its treasury. As of last month's purchase, MicroStrategy held 226,331 BTC, valued at over $13 billion.

Stock splits are a common strategy for publicly traded companies whose share prices have risen significantly. While the split itself does not affect the company's overall value, it can make the stock appear more affordable to individual investors, particularly those new to the market.

Coinbase Launches New Web App for Unified On-Chain Wallet Management

Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced a new web app that allows its Coinbase Wallet users to manage all of their on-chain wallets and activities in a single place.

The app, available on both desktop and mobile devices, will allow users to connect multiple wallets to it, and use them to buy, send, swap, stake, or mint tokens directly from the platform. Those who adopt the app will be able to interact with each other, discover new non-fungible token (NFT) mints, and other on-chain activities.

In its announcement, Coinbase detailed the wallet will work with its smart wallet and include “special features like free, gasless transactions on select mints, and the ability to pay directly from your Coinbase account onchain using MagicSpend.”

Other industry players, like Exodus, have launched similar solutions in the past in a bid to welcome less tech-savvy investors.

Crypto Market Movers – TRX, AAVE, ZEN

Several tokens are leading the charge in the last 7-day period. Some of these are well-known cryptocurrencies with more liquid trading pairs, so we’ll be focusing on these over low-cap cryptos that may have higher percentage changes.

TRON (TRX) – Tron is a decentralized blockchain-based platform based on the TRON protocol, which is a blockchain operating system that offers high throughput, high scalability, and high availability for all decentralized applications (DApps) within the TRON ecosystem.

Aave (AAVE) - AAVE is based on the Ethereum blockchain and is powered by the Aave protocol. The protocol enables users to borrow and lend digital assets in the form of flash loans, while also providing users with a yield-generating market, allowing them to earn interest from their crypto holdings. The protocol is secured by a collateral model, which requires users to back their loans with collateral in order to reduce the risk of defaults.

Horizen (ZEN) - Horizen is a digital cryptocurrency and an integral part of the Horizen platform. The platform is a privacy-oriented blockchain network that aims to deliver an inclusive ecosystem where everyone is empowered and rewarded for their contributions.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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