Israel Crypto Aid Fund: Israeli crypto and web3 communities have come together to establish “Crypto Aid Israel,” a charitable initiative aimed at raising funds for those affected by Hamas’ attack last Saturday. Crypto storage firm Fireblocks will manage the donated crypto assets, and the fund will provide humanitarian aid, including food, shelter, and medical supplies, to affected communities.

MMI Attends STA Conference: MMI was proud to take part in the Security Traders Association’s annual meeting this past week in Washington, D.C. Primary discussion topics included navigating the SEC’s wide-ranging regulatory agenda, AI integration, evolving market structure, and potential digital asset legislation.

Online Trading Boom: According to recently released figures from a report conducted by Fortune Business Insights, online market trading platforms’ market size is expected to increase from its current level of $9.94 billion to $15.34 billion by 2030. This expected $5.4 billion jump in market share will be driven by an increasing number of investors using online trading resources and the demand for AI integration throughout the banking sector.

SEC vs. Musk: The SEC has once again initiated legal action against Elon Musk, this time aiming to secure his testimony as part of an investigation into his $44 billion acquisition of X (formerly known as Twitter). Numerous industry experts have noted that the SEC’s case hinges upon enforcing a subpoena that will help the agency determine if Musk violated securities laws as part of his 2022 purchase of the social media platform. Musk initially agreed to testify but later raised objections, claiming harassment.

WH Takes on Junk Fees: President Biden, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra announced this week a slew of new policies aimed at eliminating ‘tens of billions of dollars-worth’ of junk fees. As part of the intra-agency initiative, regulators will now be able to force businesses to present full pricing amounts upfront and secure refunds for consumers if the new regulations are violated.

Coinbase-SEC Latest: The ongoing legal battle between Coinbase and the SEC took a new turn as the North American Securities Administrators Association filed an amicus brief supporting the SEC’s ongoing regulatory initiatives regarding unregistered securities. Specifically, the brief supported the SEC’s position that existing investor-protection rules can be applied to digital assets and that Coinbase’s invocation of the “major questions doctrine” is misguided due to the agency’s complaint being specific and not invoking broad regulatory powers.

New Shareholder Activist Rule: The SEC approved changes to rules that accelerated the timeline in which shareholder activists and investors must disclose large positions in public companies’ stock. Specifically, the new rules state that investors accumulating more than 5% ownership in a company must disclose their position within five business days. While supporters of this change claim it will help enhance transparency, numerous sector observers argue that they will hinder shareholder activists’ ability to launch value-boosting campaigns.