wisconsin

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin dismissed the CFTC's request for a preliminary injunction to prohibit Wisconsin from enforcing sports-related event contracts on platforms such as Kalshi, Coinbase, Robinhood, Polymarket, and Crypto.com. The court found that the CFTC failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success on its claim—that the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) defines "swaps" to include sports event contracts—and that gambling regulation falls within the traditional police powers of the states, with federal law not clearly indicating an intent to preempt state law.Additionally, the court also denied the intervention requests from Kalshi, Crypto.com Derivatives North America (CDNA), and the American Gaming Association (AGA). The substantive litigation between the CFTC and the state of Wisconsin will continue to proceed.

According to Protos, prosecutors in Wisconsin and New York have expressed dissatisfaction with the stablecoin issuer Circle, citing that Circle has repeatedly hindered law enforcement's attempts to recover stolen funds. Law enforcement agencies in various locations have sought Circle's cooperation to help victims of fraud and hacking incidents recover losses by destroying and reissuing USDC tokens, but Circle has refused these requests based on policy positions.Circle believes that modifying the blockchain ledger to reverse transactions would undermine the fundamental attributes of the USDC stablecoin and set a dangerous precedent for the entire cryptocurrency industry. This position highlights the deep-seated conflict between the immutability of blockchain and law enforcement needs. Prosecutors argue that Circle, as a regulated stablecoin issuer, should bear more social responsibility, while Circle insists on upholding the core principles of blockchain technology, making it difficult for both sides to bridge their differences on this issue in the short term.

According to a report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the stablecoin issuer Circle has been criminally charged by the Wisconsin state prosecutor for refusing to comply with a court order to assist in recovering funds for fraud victims.A victim in Wisconsin was defrauded of approximately 381,000 USDC, and the court issued a warrant last December requiring Circle to transfer frozen assets to law enforcement wallets, but Circle refused to comply, citing "technical inability to destroy and reissue tokens."The New York state prosecutor had previously sent a letter to the U.S. Senate, accusing Circle of repeatedly refusing asset freeze requests without a warrant and questioning its motives—Circle currently holds at least 119 million frozen USDC, which can continuously earn interest.In response, Circle denied the allegations, stating that the Wisconsin court lacks jurisdiction, and indicated that it has reached a preliminary agreement with federal prosecutors regarding a compensation mechanism for victims. Cryptocurrency tracking experts pointed out that Circle could fully implement token destruction and reissuance by updating its code, casting doubt on its claim of technical incapacity.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against Wisconsin on Tuesday, accusing the governor, attorney general, and state officials of attempting to use state laws to crack down on prediction market platforms.Recently, Wisconsin has sued platforms such as Coinbase, Robinhood, Crypto.com, Polymarket, and Kalshi, claiming that their sports event contracts constitute "public nuisance." The CFTC strongly asserts exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets (event contracts), arguing that the state government's attempt to criminalize federally regulated markets infringes upon the national swap market regulatory framework designed by Congress, and is seeking a court order to declare that Wisconsin's ban is superseded by federal law on CFTC-regulated platforms.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin Laws, Wisconsin has proposed the "Bitcoin Power" bill AB471, which aims to exempt individuals and businesses from the requirement to comply with money transmission business licensing for the following activities: accepting payments, using self-custody wallets, running nodes, developing software, and participating in staking.

ChainCatcher news, as disclosed by Bitcoin_Laws, Wisconsin has introduced the "Bitcoin Rights" bill: Bill AB471 will exempt individuals and businesses from the requirement to obtain a money transmission license for the following activities:Accepting paymentsUsing self-custody walletsRunning nodesDeveloping softwareStaking

ChainCatcher news, according to BitcoinTreasuries, the Wisconsin Investment Board has increased its investment position in Strategy (stock code: MSTR) by 2 million dollars. Currently, the institution holds 132,202 shares of MicroStrategy stock, with a total value of over 45.4 million dollars.

ChainCatcher News: The Wisconsin State Senate has introduced a new bill, SB386, which aims to require all Bitcoin ATMs to fully implement identity verification (KYC). Transactions must present identification, with a maximum limit of $1,000 per transaction, and additional personal information must be collected to enhance regulation.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the latest 13F filing disclosed by the Wisconsin Investment Board shows that the agency has completely liquidated its $321 million position in the BlackRock spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT).The filing indicates that as of the end of March, the board no longer holds any IBIT shares. The investment board has not fully exited crypto-related investments, as the filing shows it still holds approximately $19 million in Coinbase stock. Previously, the agency had completely liquidated its position in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Notably, the BlackRock IBIT fund recently set a record for 20 consecutive days of net inflows, with inflows exceeding $5 billion.

ChainCatcher news, according to cryptonews, the cryptocurrency payment platform MoonPay has obtained a Money Transmission License (MTL) from the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, allowing it to expand its operations in the state.Residents of Wisconsin can now use MoonPay's services, including topping up their MoonPay Balance without additional fees. The MTL strengthens MoonPay's compliance under U.S. regulations and further drives its expansion nationwide.MoonPay can now provide its crypto payment services more efficiently in the region. The Money Transmission License allows MoonPay to legally offer money transfer services in Wisconsin, ensuring compliance with state regulatory requirements.

ChainCatcher news, according to Edison Research, the preliminary results of the exit polls in Wisconsin show that Trump won 44% of female voters (up 1% from 2020), while Harris won 55%; Trump won 53% of white voters (up 1% from 2020), while Harris won 46%.Trump won 42% of voters aged 65 and older (down 11% from 2020), while Harris won 58%; Trump won 51% of voters aged 45 and older (down 2% from 2020), while Harris won 48%; Trump won 47% of voters under 45 (up 5% from 2020), while Harris won 51%.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by CNN on November 5 local time, Milwaukee city spokesperson Jeff Fleming stated that the city will "exercise extreme caution" in re-counting approximately 30,000 absentee ballots through the tabulators after confirming that the doors on the machines were not properly closed.Fleming said that all tabulators have been set to zero, and the ballots will be fed through the machines again. He indicated that this could add several hours to the counting process. Fleming stated that the issue with the machines was caused by human error, and "we do not believe they were tampered with in any way."

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, based on a poll by The New York Times and Siena College, as the U.S. election approaches, Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are in a deadlock in key swing states.Currently, Harris has a slight lead over Trump in Nevada, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, while Trump maintains an advantage in Arizona and has erased Harris's lead in Pennsylvania.

ChainCatcher News: U.S. Vice President Harris will deliver a speech at a campaign event in Wisconsin at 14:40 local time (03:40 Beijing time the next day).

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Cointelegraph, a Federal Election Commission filing submitted on October 28 shows that the cryptocurrency political action committee Fairshake spent over $760,000 to support the re-election campaign ads of Wisconsin Congressman Bryan Steil.With only a week left until the election on November 5, Fairshake's move is seen as its final push before the election. Steil has served as the Congressman for Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District since 2019, supporting the "21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology Act" and opposing the SEC's Accounting Release No. 121.He will face off against Democrat Peter Barca on November 5, with current polls showing Steil leading by 3 percentage points.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Bitcoin Magazine, since the last filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Wisconsin Investment Board has increased its holdings in BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF.According to the 13-F filing submitted to the SEC, the board purchased 447,651 shares of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust, bringing its total holdings to 2,898,051 shares valued at $98.9 million as of the end of the quarter. It also sold all of its shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) worth $63.7 million in the previous quarter.The board also purchased 5,980 shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, increasing its total holdings to 98,446 shares valued at nearly $21.9 million. Additionally, 77,996 shares of Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital were purchased, bringing the total holdings to 115,084 shares, approximately $2.3 million.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin Magazine, since the last filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Wisconsin Investment Board has increased its holdings in the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF.

ChainCatcher News: The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) has launched a publicly accessible tracker to combat cryptocurrency and other investment scams. This software relies on consumer complaints to gather critical threat information and alerts the public, aiming to "make it harder for perpetrators to deceive more investors."Recently, the DFI revealed that, based on victim reports from January 2022 to June 2024, Wisconsin residents have lost nearly $3.55 million due to financial fraud and cryptocurrency scams.

ChainCatcher news, the Wisconsin Investment Board disclosed that as of the end of March, it purchased over $99 million worth of BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust and holds more than $63 million in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares.Other hedge funds with positions in Bitcoin ETFs include some that had already invested in Bitcoin before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ultimately approved spot Bitcoin ETFs.