Today in Crypto: The London Stock Exchange launched a new Digital Settlement House that uses tokenized bank deposits for instant, round-the-clock settlement across blockchain and traditional payment networks, the US Senate Banking Committee cancelled its Thursday markup of a crypto bill, and the Zcash Foundation said a regulatory probe into its privacy-focused token has been closed.
LSEG brings cash money onto blockchain rails with DiSH
The London Stock Exchange Group has rolled out a new digital settlement service to bring commercial bank money onto blockchain rails.
The service, called Digital Settlement House (DiSH), enables instant settlement across both blockchain-based and traditional payment networks, operating around the clock across multiple currencies and jurisdictions, according to a Thursday announcement.
At the core of the platform is DiSH Cash, a ledger-based representation of commercial bank deposits. Rather than relying on stablecoins, the system uses tokenized claims on actual bank deposits, providing what LSEG describes as a “real cash leg” for foreign exchange, securities and digital asset transactions.
“With LSEG DiSH, market participants will be able to conduct PvP [payment-versus-payment] or DvP [delivery-versus-payment] and settlements using any asset, orchestrating payments on any connected network, digital and traditional,” the LSEG said.
LSEG said the platform is designed to fix long-standing problems in post-trade settlement, where cash and assets are often locked up for hours or even days because of slow processes and disconnected systems.
“The service also enables users to reduce settlement risk through reduced settlement timelines, synchronised settlement, and increased collateral availability,” the global financial markets infrastructure and data provider said.
Senate Banking cancels Thursday crypto bill markup
The US Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday cancelled its markup of a crypto market structure bill slated for Thursday, with its Chairman Tim Scott saying bipartisan negotiations need to continue to garner support.
“I’ve spoken with leaders across the crypto industry, the financial sector, and my Democratic and Republican colleagues, and everyone remains at the table working in good faith,” said Scott. “This bill reflects months of serious bipartisan negotiations and real input from innovators, investors, and law enforcement.”
Scott did not disclose when, or if, the markup would be rescheduled. The delay comes after the Senate Agriculture Committee on Monday punted its markup of the crypto bill, also originally slated for Thursday, to Jan. 27, citing the need to garner more support.
The bill would define how the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission would police the crypto market, and both the Banking and Agriculture Committees need to advance the bill as they respectively oversee the SEC and CFTC.
Several major crypto firms and lobby groups, including Coin Center, a16z, The Digital Chamber, Kraken and Ripple, have backed the Senate’s bill, but major lobbyist Coinbase dropped its support with CEO Brian Armstrong saying it “would be materially worse than the current status quo.”
Zcash Foundation says SEC closed probe into privacy coin
The foundation behind Zcash (ZEC) said that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will not pursue an enforcement action into the privacy coin after the end of an investigation launched in 2023.
In a Wednesday notice, the Zcash Foundation said the SEC “concluded its review” over a “matter of certain crypto asset offerings” and would not recommend enforcement actions or changes. According to the foundation, the regulatory probe started in August 2023 after it received a subpoena from the SEC.
“This outcome reflects our commitment to transparency and compliance with applicable regulatory requirements,” said the foundation. “Zcash Foundation remains focused on advancing privacy-preserving financial infrastructure for the public good.”
Over the past year under US President Donald Trump, the SEC has dropped several investigations and lawsuits into several high-profile crypto companies, signaling that the regulator would be softening on regulation and enforcement under the current administration.
Cointelegraph reached out to the foundation for additional details on the subpoena and investigation, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
