SBF ordered to jail, Bitcoin ETF delayed and SEC to appeal Ripple case: Hodler’s Digest, Aug. 6-12
Top Stories This Week
Judge revokes Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail, remands him to custody
FTX’s former CEO, Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, had his bail revoked by a federal judge in response to the release of information to The New York Times allegedly intended to intimidate witnesses. During a hearing on Aug. 11, Judge Lewis Kaplan revoked Bankman-Fried’s bail and remanded him to custody, likely at the Putnam County Correctional Facility. Once his October trial begins, he could be moved to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Bankman-Fried was reportedly led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. In Kaplan’s view, Bankman-Fried’s interviews with NYT reporters resulted in sharing information with the likely intention “to hurt and frighten” former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, his former colleague and girlfriend.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed a decision on whether to approve or disapprove the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposed by ARK Investment Management and 21Shares. ARK originally filed to list the ETF in May, giving the SEC a maximum of 240 days — until January 2024 — to reach a final decision. The SEC’s latest move is fueling expectations that a final verdict will come as part of a batch that includes applications from key players on Wall Street, including BlackRock and Fidelity Investments.
SEC to seek appeal and stay in Ripple Labs court case
The U.S. SEC is moving to appeal a court decision from its lawsuit against Ripple Labs. In a letter to Judge Analisa Torres — the presiding judge in the case — the SEC said it believed her decision warrants a fresh look by an appellate court. The commission asked Judge Torres to put the case on hold during the appeal, saying there are multiple other pending court cases that could be affected, depending on the appeal’s outcome. The SEC is currently in a legal battle with a number of crypto firms, including Binance and Coinbase, over alleged securities violations. Judge Torres ruled, in July, that Ripple’s native token, XRP, is not a security when sold to retail investors. Torres plans to schedule the jury trial for the second quarter of 2024.
PayPal launches PYUSD stablecoin for payment
PayPal launched a new U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin called PayPal USD (PYUSD). Built on the Ethereum network, the stablecoin is backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term treasuries and similar cash equivalents. According to PayPal, the stablecoin will soon be available as a mode of payment for various purchases. The fintech company is home to over 350 million active users, putting it in a strong position to become a crypto payment giant with the introduction of the new stablecoin. PYUSD will be redeemable for U.S. dollars and can be exchanged for other cryptocurrencies on PayPal, as well as being transferable between PayPal and Venmo accounts.
Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Softbank, leading VCs face lawsuit for “abetting” FTX fraud
Eighteen leading venture capital investment firms, including Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Sino Global Capital and SoftBank, have been named as defendants in a class-action lawsuit filed in the United States for their links to the now-bankrupt crypto exchange, FTX. According to the lawsuit, the investment firms were responsible for “aiding and abetting” the FTX fraud. The suit further claims that the defendants used their “power, influence and deep pockets to launch FTX’s house of cards to its multibillion-dollar scale.”
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $29,379, Ether (ETH) at $1,842 and XRP at $0.63. The total market cap is at $1.17 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are THORChain (RUNE) at 20.74%, Shiba Inu (SHIB) at 20.16% and dYdX (DYDX) at 9.63%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are GMX (GMX) -12.47%, Mantle (MNT) at -10.10% and XDC Network (XDC) at -8.09%.
For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
Read also
Most Memorable Quotations
“Stablecoins represent the issuance of a new form of money, making it integral that there are Federal guardrails.”
Maxine Waters, United States representative
“This is the Ethereum contract address for PayPal’s stablecoin. I can’t believe i get to tweet that. We’ve come so far.”
Ryan Sean Adams, crypto investor
“By offering users a relatively seamless way to execute transactions, bots have the potential to carve out their own niche in the crypto ecosystem.”
Jie Xuan Chua, analyst at Binance Research
“PayPal USD is the most significant leap forward for digital assets and the financial industry.”
Charles Cascarilla, CEO of Paxos Trust Company
“It is clear that the world needs and will need something like Worldcoin in the coming years. We just hope that happens in a privacy-preserving decentralized, open-source, permissionless way.”
Tiago Sada, head of product at Tools for Humanity
“By accepting digital currencies, we open our doors to a new segment of donors who are tech-savvy and wish to make a difference through their digital assets.”
Benjamin William, CEO of the Singapore Red Cross
Prediction of the Week
Bitcoin trader reveals ‘important’ BTC price zone as bulls hold $29.3K
Bitcoin faces a new battleground as bulls and bears fight for control of a sideways market. Popular pseudonymous trader Daan Crypto Trades flagged, in his latest analysis, a key level to reclaim as BTC price support.
According to the trader, both Bitcoin bulls and bears are caught in a “strongly contested” range, resulting from various trips above and below the current spot price, making the midpoint the level to watch next.
“Pretty clear that the $29.5–29.7K region is an area that’s strongly contested by the bulls and bears,” Daan Crypto Trades wrote.
Bitcoin price has essentially remained the same since mid-June — $28,500 as fundamental support, $31,800 as resistance. Gaining control of the area around $29,700 is, thus, an essential move if bulls are to build the necessary momentum to change the landscape for good, the trader added.
FUD of the Week
Only 6 out of 45 crypto wallet brands have undergone penetration testing: Report
Cybersecurity platform CER found that only six of 45 cryptocurrency wallet brands, or 13.3%, have undergone penetration testing to find security vulnerabilities. Of these, only three brands have performed tests on the latest versions of their products: MetaMask, Zengo and Trust Wallet. An overall ranking of the security of each wallet lists MetaMask, Zengo, Rabby, Trust Wallet and Coinbase Wallet as being the most secure wallets on the market.
US Fed steps up oversight of banks’ involvement with crypto firms
The U.S. Federal Reserve is expanding the scope of its supervision for banks engaged with the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. Under the Novel Activities Supervision Program, companies providing banking infrastructure to digital asset firms or working with companies that use distributed ledger technologies will be regulated. The policies apply to both insured and uninsured U.S. banks supervised by the Fed. Activities regulated under the program include the custody, lending, trading, issuance or distribution of crypto including stablecoins.
SEC announces $24M settlement for case against Bittrex and its former CEO
The U.S. SEC announced an agreement with crypto trading platform Bittrex and its co-founder and former CEO, William Shihara, for operating an unregistered exchange.Bittrex and Bittrex Global agreed to pay $14.4 million in disgorgement (the repayment of ill-gotten gains), $4 million in prejudgment interest, and $5.6 million in civil penalties to settle the legal dispute with the federal regulator. The agreement is still subject to court approval. The SEC’s complaint, filed in April, claimed Bittrex and Shihara operated an unregistered national securities exchange, broker and clearing agency.
Best Cointelegraph Features
Blockchain games aren’t really decentralized… but that’s about to change
Putting video games fully on chain is a terrible idea and can’t work … or can it?
AI Eye: Apple developing pocket AI, deep fake music deal, hypnotizing GPT-4
Apple is developing AI to run locally on your phone, researchers ‘hypnotize’ GPT-4 to turn it evil, and Google negotiates a deep fake music deal.
Grails’ lucky dip of famous NFT artists, new hope for PFP holders: NFT Collector
Pudgy Penguins CEO reveals why PFT holders aren’t doomed, Grails offers a blind tasting to buy famous NFT artists, and free Amazon Prime NFTs.
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Aston in Birmingham can’t become a “no-go area” for Jews, a senior cabinet minister has told Sky News, amid controversy over fans of an Israeli football club being barred from attending a match next month.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said he “profoundly” disagrees with the “approach” taken by a local MP who started a petition calling for fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv to be banned from the Aston Villa game, saying it “cannot be the basis on which our country operates”.
But while he said the government is “working with the relevant authorities” to overturn the move, he can not guarantee it will happen.
Politics latest: Miliband ‘welcomes’ Jeremy Clarkson challenge
Villa Park. PA
Alongside politicians of all parties, Sir Keir Starmer has strongly criticised the decision, calling it “wrong”, and the government has said it will work with local authorities to ensure both sets of fans can attend.
Speaking to Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Mr Miliband said work is still ongoing.
“We are working with the relevant authorities on this issue, he said. “I think the principle here is we do not want a situation where people of a particular faith or from a particular country can’t come to a football match because of their faith, because of where they’re coming from.”
Asked if Maccabi Tel Aviv fans will definitely be able to attend the game, the minister replied: “I’m not going to say come what may, but I’m giving you a very, very clear indication of what we are working towards, which is that, you know, the fans from both teams can attend the match.”
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Miliband on Israeli football fan ban
Phillips put to Mr Miliband that a petition to ban their fans, launched by local independent MP Ayoub Khan, has been signed by nearly 4,000 people. It states the upcoming game is “not a normal match” because the Israeli fans would be arriving in “Aston, a diverse and predominantly Muslim community”.
Asked if Aston is now a no-go area for Jews, Mr Miliband replied: “No and it can’t be. And I’m very, very clear about that.
“I believe we as a country, we pride ourselves on our diversity, but also our tolerance and our hatred of prejudice, frankly. And so we cannot have a situation where any area is a no-go area for people of a particular religion or from a particular country.”
Asked if the local MP was justified in what he wrote, Mr Miliband replied: “No. I profoundly disagree with that approach, with what is being said in that petition, because that cannot be the basis on which our country operates.”
This isn’t how the vast majority of people in the UK operate, he added. “So let’s not take this petition and say it paints a picture of our country.”
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Aston Villa fan says he has received death threats.
Top Tory criticises ‘sectarian politics’
His Tory counterpart, Claire Coutinho, was highly critical of the petition, telling Phillips: “I think politicians need to have the courage to name some of the problems that this country is facing. And one of those problems is political Islam.
“Now, that’s not to say the moderate Muslim community are a problem in Britain, but we have seen in the past extremist Islamism […] and now we are seeing a movement of people – last election, five MPs elected – simply on sectarian politics. That may be higher at the next election.
“So we have to grip this, and part of that is dealing with rising antisemitism. But part of that is dealing with integration.”
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Tory calls out ‘lack of integration’
The senior Tory MP described the ban overall as a “disgrace”, saying: “I think the message that is being sent to Jewish people in this country is that they’re not welcome here.
“This has always been a safe haven for Jewish people, and I think to say that we could not possibly police Israeli Jewish fans to watch a football match safely is reinforcing that message that Jews are not welcome here. And I think that is wrong.”
Match classified as ‘high risk’
In a statement on Thursday, Aston Villa said Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) – which issues safety certificates for every match at the ground – had “formally written to the club and UEFA to advise no away fans will be permitted to attend” the fixture at Villa Park on 6 November, as it had been classified as “high risk”.
The club said police had advised of “public safety concerns outside the stadium bowl and the ability to deal with any potential protests on the night” – a statement that triggered outrage across the political spectrum.
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Will ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from Aston Villa be lifted?
The move has been condemned by political and Jewish leaders, including Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar, who called it a “shameful decision”.
The Jewish Leadership Council said it was “perverse” to ban away fans because police can’t guarantee their safety, adding: “Aston Villa should face the consequences of this decision and the match should be played behind closed doors.”
Read more:
Why are Maccabi Tel Aviv fans banned?
Analysis: Ban raises serious questions
Sky News has contacted Mr Khan for a response to the comments made this morning.
Former Labour leader and now independent MP Jeremy Corbyn defended his fellow member of the Independent Alliance group in parliament yesterday, writing on X: “Ayoub Khan has been subject to disgusting smears by MPs and journalists, who have wilfully misrepresented his views in order to stoke anger and division.”
He added that he and his colleagues “diligently represent people of all faiths and none in their communities”.
Ant Group and JD.com have paused their stablecoin initiatives in Hong Kong after Beijing regulators raised concerns over private firms issuing digital currencies.
Japan’s Financial Services Agency is weighing reforms that could let banks hold cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and operate licensed crypto exchanges.
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