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The FTX affair continues to unravel. Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the failed crypto exchange, will be held in jail through the end of his two upcoming trials. Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the revocation of the entrepreneur’s $250 million bail following The New York Times report about his alleged attempt to intimidate witnesses. Bankman-Fried faces 12 criminal charges spread across two trials scheduled to begin in October 2023 and March 2024.

Meanwhile, the wave of lawsuits has reached former partners of FTX. Eighteen leading venture capital (VC) investment firms, including Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Sino Global and Softbank, have been named defendants in a class-action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California for their links to the exchange. The suit claims that the defendants used their “power, influence and deep pockets to launch FTX’s house of cards to its multibillion-dollar scale.”

FTX’s former primary counsel, Fenwick & West, has also been hit with a class-action suit claiming it aided the crypto exchange’s alleged multibillion-dollar fraud. Former customers accuse the law firm of setting up several “shadowy entities” for Bankman-Fried and other executives to adopt “creative but illegal strategies” to perpetuate fraud. The “shadowy entities” were named North Dimension and North Wireless Dimension, which the suit alleged siphoned misappropriated FTX customer funds.

Federal Reserve sets new rules for banks’ involvement with crypto 

The U.S. Federal Reserve is broadening the scope of its supervision program, which oversees U.S. banks that engage with the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. The Fed established the Novel Activities Supervision Program, which aims to limit certain crypto-related activities and facilitate a more fair playing field for banks servicing the digital asset industry. Registered banks involved in the “risk-based” program may be examined by the Fed Board, which will evaluate whether the novel activities comply with its policies and U.S. law.

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Jury trial for the SEC vs. Ripple suit to start in Q2 2024 

The judge overseeing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil case against Ripple Labs plans to schedule a jury trial starting in the second quarter of 2024. The judge gave a deadline of Aug. 23 for prosecutors and defense lawyers to submit blackout dates for the trial but aimed for a start date between April 1 and June 30, 2024.

Previously, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that the XRP (XRP) asset was not a security in regard to programmatic sales on digital asset exchanges. The court decision was not a final determination in the SEC vs. Ripple case, and the blockchain firm, Garlinghouse and Larsen may still be found liable for other violations.

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Brazilian Congress votes for higher taxes on crypto 

In Brazil, a congressional committee has approved amendments to a bill that recognizes cryptocurrencies as “financial assets” for tax purposes in foreign investments. The draft bill taxes gains from fluctuations in crypto asset prices against Brazil’s fiat currency, as well as foreign exchange rate fluctuations. According to Deputy Merlong Solano, the revision seeks to promote equal tax treatment since crypto investments abroad currently receive lower tax breaks.

Overseas earnings up to 6,000 Brazilian reais (~$1,200) will be exempt from taxation under the new rules. Earnings between 6,000 and 50,000 reais (~$10,000) are subject to a 15% tax rate. Above this threshold, taxes will be applied at 22.5%.

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Canary files for PENGU ETF

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Canary files for PENGU ETF

Canary files for PENGU ETF

Asset manager Canary Capital has filed to list an exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding Pengu (PENGU), the governance token of the Pudgy Penguins non-fungible token (NFT) project, US regulatory filings show. 

The ETF is the latest in a slew of filings for new US investment products tied to spot cryptocurrencies, including altcoins and memecoins. 

According to the filing, the ETF is intended to hold spot PENGU as well as various Pudgy Penguins NFTs. It would be the first US ETF to hold NFTs if approved. 

Additionally, “[t]he Trust will also hold other digital assets, such as SOL and ETH, that are necessary or incidental to the purchase, sale and transfer of the Trust’s PENGU and Pudgy Penguins NFTs,” the filing said. 

Launched in December, PUDGY has a roughly $438-million market capitalization as of March 20, according to CoinGecko.

On March 18, Canary filed to list the first US ETF holding Sui (SUI), the native token of the Sui layer-1 blockchain network.

Canary files for PENGU ETF

Pudgy Penguins is among the most popular NFT brands. Source: Cointelegraph

Related: Canary Capital proposes first Sui ETF in US SEC filing

Policy reversal

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has acknowledged dozens of filings for new crypto investment products since US President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20. 

They include filings for proposed ETFs for native L1 tokens such as Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP), as well as for memecoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Official Trump (TRUMP). 

Some industry analysts are skeptical that ETFs holding non-core cryptocurrencies will see a meaningful uptake among traditional investors. 

“Pengu ETF announced. Price barely goes up. New ETFs for crypto assets have become an irrelevant joke,” crypto researcher Alex Krüger said in a March 20 post on the X platform. “Most crypto ETFs will fail to attract AUM and cost issuers money.”

Since starting his second presidential term, Trump has reversed the US government’s stance on digital assets, promising to make America “the world’s crypto capital.” 

Under his predecessor, former US President Joe Biden, US regulatory agencies brought upward of 100 enforcement actions against crypto firms.

On March 20, asset manager Volatility Shares launched two Solana futures ETFs, the Volatility Shares Solana ETF (SOLZ) and the Volatility Shares 2X Solana ETF (SOLT). 

They use financial derivatives to track SOL’s performance with one- and two-time leverage, respectively. Spot SOL ETFs are still awaiting regulatory approval. 

Magazine: Crypto fans are obsessed with longevity and biohacking — Here’s why 

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Badenoch makes bleak local elections prediction – as Farage mocks ‘comical’ new slogan

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Badenoch makes bleak local elections prediction - as Farage mocks 'comical' new slogan

“Almost every” council the Conservatives won in 2021 could be lost in this year’s local elections, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has conceded.

Speaking at the launch of her party’s campaign, Ms Badenoch said the votes four years ago followed the COVID vaccine rollout – helping her party to 14 council gains and holding another 49.

Politics live: Badenoch has a dig at Farage

On 1 May, across England, more than 1,600 council seats will be up for re-election, alongside six mayors.

The Tories face being squeezed by Reform on their right, as well as a blend of Liberal Democrats and independents.

Ms Badenoch warned party members: “It will be the first time since the general election, the greatest defeat in all parties’ history, that we fight these seats.”

Map the 2024 election results on to the upcoming council ones, and the Tory leader admitted “we lose almost every single one”.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch speaking at their local election campaign launch at The Curzon Centre in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. Picture date: Thursday March 20, 2025.
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Kemi Badenoch is not optimistic about her party’s chances. Pic: PA

‘People have lost trust in politics’

Labour are also likely to perform poorly, as local election results tend to reflect public opinion towards the national governing party.

Measures like inheritance tax on farms, benefit cuts, planning reform, reducing winter fuel payments and others could weigh heavily on Sir Keir Starmer’s chances.

It was put to Ms Badenoch that lots of these protest votes look set to go to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

Asked about the differences between the Tories and Reform by Sky News deputy political editor Sam Coates, Ms Badenoch said: “Loads of other parties just tell people what they think they want to hear.

“We think through and make sure that we are providing a credible plan that can be delivered.

“A lot of people have lost trust in politics because politicians make promises and do deliver.”

Read more:
Some local elections delayed by a year
Badenoch says net zero goal ‘impossible

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Badenoch asked if she’s different to Reform

‘This is not a protest vote’

But the Tory leader acknowledged the party faces “a challenge on the right”, which she said was partly down to its record in government in recent years.

“The protest votes are going to Reform,” she said.

“But at the end of the day, this is not a protest vote – these are local elections.”

The Tory leader instead urged people to vote for who will sort out bin collections, fix potholes and run local services well – which she said would be the Conservatives.

She unveiled the slogan for her party’s campaign as “lower taxes, better services”.

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈

Mr Farage described that as “comical”, saying the Tories’ track record was of “higher taxes and crumbling services”.

The Reform leader is eyeing big gains in May, and said: “After decades of mismanagement, Conservative councils across the country are buckling under the pressure.”

Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said Ms Badenoch’s speech was a “desperate attempt to shore up the crumbling Conservative vote as people in the home counties turn to the Liberal Democrats”.

She said her party is focusing on the cost of living, river sewage, and the NHS and social care.

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TON-based XDAO protocol grants legal status to 367k DAOs

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TON-based XDAO protocol grants legal status to 367k DAOs

TON-based XDAO protocol grants legal status to 367k DAOs

XDAO, a protocol based on The Open Network (TON), has enabled over 367,000 decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to achieve legal status through its initiative that automates legal recognition for such organizations. 

In an announcement, XDAO said it had streamlined the DAO creation process to allow DAOs to achieve legal status. An XDAO spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the protocol offers a standard for other “sub-entities” within its legal framework. 

“Basically, those sub-entities exist both in relation to each other and outside entities that had acknowledged their existence and assented to some articles of the XDAO Labs’ Constitution,” the spokesperson told Cointelegraph. 

XDAO added that the parties recognize Singapore, where XDAO Labs is incorporated, as the primary jurisdiction where disputes may be resolved if necessary. 

Signing legally-binding documents through Telegram bots

The protocol also said it could enable the signing of legally binding documents using Web3 wallets. XDAO said DAOs could archive their transactions using a Telegram bot. 

When asked about the security and practicality of its Telegram bot-based legal framework, the XDAO spokesperson said agreements formed through the messenger work in “most jurisdictions.” However, the XDAO representative outlined its limitations, including “real estate, securities, and other matters that call for a prescribed procedure for the contract’s formation.” The spokesperson told Cointelegraph: 

“However, when making agreements through a Telegram bot, it is important to approach the recording of all details and specifics responsibly, as this can later facilitate dispute resolution.”

The spokesperson added that the bot can store information that DAO participants consider significant. It can even be used to conduct basic Know Your Customer procedures. 

Related: Texas court issues judgment against Bancor DAO after it ignored summons

How smart contract-based compliance would work in practice

When asked how their smart contract compliance models would work in arbitration scenarios, XDAO said the parties could form valid arbitration agreements through messenger or e-signature methods such as Docusign and Ethsign. This requires personalities to be firmly established and the “intention to adjudicate the dispute is clearly expressed.” 

“Arbitration is a commonly recognized dispute resolution procedure, which exists under influential international conventions. Those conventions do not specify the exact way of making an arbitration agreement, apart from it being in writing,” the spokesperson told Cointelegraph. 

The spokesperson added that if payment is required, an arbitrator can be added to the DAO with the right to a key vote. This would allow them to sign a transaction with their digital signature if the parties fail to reach a consensus. 

Magazine: Ridiculous ‘Chinese Mint’ crypto scam, Japan dives into stablecoins: Asia Express

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