It's Been a Busy Week in the Crypto Market: Singapore Blocks Polymarket, Tether Is to Relocate to El Salvador, a Judge Orders the SEC to Explain Lack of Crypto Regulations, BitMEX Is Hit With an Additional Penalty, Oklahoma Is to Introduce a Bitcoin S

Singapore blocks Polymarket, Tether is to relocate to El Salvador, a judge orders the SEC to explain lack of crypto regulations, BitMEX is hit with an additional penalty, Oklahoma is to introduce a Bitcoin strategic reserve, Nasdaq files for a Canary Litecoin ETF, and Trump will prioitize crypto with an executive order.

Singapore’s gambling regulator has blocked prediction marketplace Polymarket, defining it as an “illegal gambling site.”

Singapore's Gaming Regulatory Authority (GRA) has warned users that Singapore Pools is the only licensed gambling operator in the country and that Polymarket is considered illegal.

“Under Section 20 of the Gambling Control Act 2022, a person convicted of gambling with unlicensed gambling service providers is liable for a fine of up to $10,000, or a jail term of up to six months, or both,” the GRA stated.

This is the latest action taken against Polymarket. In August, Polymarket came under scrutiny as US lawmakers ramped up efforts to ban gambling on American elections.

In November, Polymarket faced regulatory action in France after an anonymous trader netted nearly $50 million wagering on Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election. French authorities, particularly the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), blocked the platform after it breached local gambling laws.

Also in November, the FBI seized Polymarket CEO Shane Coplan's phone and electronics after raiding his home.

Tether is set to establish its headquarters in El Salvador, according to a blog post by the USDT issuer earlier this week.

The move follows Tether's acquisition of a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) registration in the crypto-friendly country.

In a post on Twitter, Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, expressed excitement about the relocation, stating that “El Salvador is the beacon of freedom and @nayibbukele is an inspiring leader driving the country with love, passion and intelligence.”

Tether ♥️ 🇸🇻

Very excited for Tether group relocating in El Salvador.El Salvador is the beacon of freedom and @nayibbukele is an inspiring leader driving the country with love, passion and intelligence.

Seguimos 🦾 https://t.co/42Y83ryEaE

— Paolo Ardoino 🤖🍐 (@paoloardoino) January 13, 2025

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ordered the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to explain itself for refusing to set clear crypto regulations when Coinbase requested them.

According to one of the judges, “Rather than force the agency to make a rule, we order it to explain its decision not to.” Another cautioned the SEC against rendering a poor explanation like it has been doing.

The SEC's case against Coinbase began in March 2023 when it issued the exchange a Wells Notice for violating securities regulation through its staking services and asset listings.

Coinbase responded with confidence in the legality of its operations and attempted to engage with the regulator to clarify the basis of its Wells Notice and set clear regulations.

The SEC, however, maintained that current securities regulations were sufficient to regulate crypto and filed a lawsuit in June 2023.

In recent developments, Coinbase was granted an interlocutory appeal, temporarily pausing its ongoing court case against the SEC. It means Coinbase can proceed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to receive guidance and to determine if the SEC's complaints against it are valid.

BitMEX's operator, HDR Global Trading Limited, has been ordered to pay a $100 million fine following BitMEX's guilty plea in 2022 for violating the US Bank Secrecy Act.

Judge John Koeltl of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York also handed down a sentence on January 15, 2025, that included two years of unsupervised probation for the exchange.

The charges stem from BitMEX's operation without a meaningful Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program.

In 2020, the CFTC charged BitMEX owners with illegally operating a cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform and AML violations. BitMEX introduced AML checks on the platform and pleaded guilty to the charges in 2022.

However, in early 2023, BitMEX was hit with a new lawsuit filed by BMA LLC, claiming that BitMEX had been illegally offering services to users in the US through ABS Global. This is controlled and operated by HDR, despite being unregistered as a money-transmitting company.

In a statement to its users after the court issued the sentence, BitMEX expressed disappointment over the additional financial penalty.

Oklahoma has become the latest US state to propose a Bitcoin strategic reserve. Earlier this week, Representative Cody Maynard proposed the introduction of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act.

Speaking about this, Maynard said: “Bitcoin represents freedom from bureaucrats printing away our purchasing power. As a decentralized form of money, Bitcoin cannot be manipulated or created by government entities. It is the ultimate store of value for those who believe in financial freedom and sound money principles.”

This would make Oklahoma the sixth US state with a Bitcoin reserve. The announcement follows similar plans in New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas