Mark Karpelès, the former CEO of the collapsed exchange Mt. Gox seems to have little in the way of sympathy for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who’s been trying to get released from prison to prepare for his upcoming trial, citing poor internet.
“When I was arrested back in 2015, the most computing power I got was a simple calculator (+-*/√),” Karpelès wrote in a Sept. 13 post on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Karpeles was arrested on two separate occasions in 2015 for the alleged misappropriation of nearly $3 million of Mt. Gox customer funds.
When I was arrested back in 2015, the most computing power I got was a simple calculator (+-*/√). Had 20000 pages of evidence including over 5000 pages of accounting. Calculation I did at the time helped me to earn release under bail and eventually be cleared of all embezzlement…
— Mark Karpelès (@MagicalTux) September 13, 2023
Karpelès eventually earned release under bail using a trusty “little calculator” he bought from the prison commissary and was eventually cleared of all embezzlement and breach of trust charges.
“I spent a total of 11 months and 15 days in pre-trial detention, and didn’t have access to any of the evidence until about 7 to 8 months in,” he said.
By using supplies he’d gotten from the jail’s store, Karpelès used folders and stickers to create an index of all the evidence he’d been sent by his legal counsel, which was all squeezed into a very complex eight page file, he said.
Karpelès said he was even initially going to brave it with an abacus — an ancient counting tool that uses sliding beads to add and subtract — which was the only item listed that could assist with calculations. Luckily, a prison guard told him that he could use a calculator for accounting cases and was thus spared the headache.
— Mark Karpelès (@MagicalTux) September 14, 2023
“I spent around $120 to buy the best calculator they had, which could do additions, subtractions, multiplications and divisions, square roots for some reason, and had buttons to add/remove consumption tax,” he explained.
Related: The Mess That Was Mt. Gox: Four Years On
Finally, four years after his initial arrest in Aug. 2015, Karpelès was said he was cleared of all embezzlement and breach of trust charges, “all thanks to that little calculator,” and “of course the tremendous work” done by his lawyers.
Karpeles comments come days after lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried filed a request to have him released from prison, claiming that Bankman-Fried’s poor internet access was a significant impediment to the preparation for the upcoming trial.
Bankman-Fried currently faces 12 criminal charges, which will be spread across two trials scheduled to begin on Oct. 2, 2023, and March 11, 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Big Questions: What’s with all the crypto deaths?
Bitcoin remains on track to surpass $1.8 million by 2035 despite recent price corrections and waning investor appetite caused by ongoing global trade tensions, according to Joe Burnett, director of market research at Unchained. Speaking during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X, Burnett said that Bitcoin is still in a long-term bullish cycle and could potentially rival or surpass gold’s $21 trillion market capitalization within the next decade. Despite tariff uncertainty limiting risk appetite among investors, research analysts remain optimistic about Bitcoin’s (BTC) long-term prospects for the next decade. “When I think about where Bitcoin will be in 10 years, there are two models I admire,” Burnett said. “One is the parallel model, which suggests that Bitcoin will be about $1.8 million in 2035.” “The other is Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin 24 model, which suggests Bitcoin will be $2.1 million by 2035.” Burnett emphasized that both are “good base cases,” adding that Bitcoin’s trajectory could exceed these predictions depending on broader macroeconomic factors. 🎙Could Bitcoin really hit $10m by Q1 2035? Perhaps. But first, we need to unravel the tangled web of the markets this week, and for both discussions, @rkbaggs and @gazza_jenks are joined today by Joe Burnett (@IIICapital) on the #CHAINREACTION show! https://t.co/hfyEwGUCsh — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) April 11, 2025 Related: Bitcoin price can hit $250K in 2025 if Fed shifts to QE: Arthur Hayes “The automobile industry is significantly more valuable than the horse and buggy industry,” Burnett said, adding that Bitcoin’s more advanced technological properties will make it surpass the $21 trillion market capitalization of gold. He added: “The gold market is an estimated $21 trillion market. If Bitcoin just hit $21 trillion and had Bitcoin-gold parity, Bitcoin would be $1 million per coin today.” Since US President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, global markets have been under pressure due to heightened trade war fears. Hours after taking office, Trump threatened to impose sweeping import tariffs aimed at reducing the country’s trade deficit, weighing on risk sentiment across both equities and crypto. While Bitcoin’s role as a safe-haven asset may reemerge amid ongoing trade war concerns, physical gold and tokenized gold remain the current winners. Top tokenized gold assets, trading volume. Source: CoinGecko, Cex.io Tariff fears led tokenized gold trading volume to surge to a two-year high this week, topping $1 billion for the first time since the US banking crisis in 2023, Cointelegraph reported on April 10. Related: Bitcoin’s 24/7 liquidity: Double-edged sword during global market turmoil Bitcoin’s volatility is falling during both bear and bull markets, signaling its growing maturity as an asset class. While another 80% drawdown during future bear markets is still possible, this will act as a robust acquisition period for the “strongest” holders, Burnett said, adding: “The highs bring [Bitcoin] attention, and the deep, dark bear markets move coins into the hands of the strongest, most convicted holders, as fast as possible.” Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and chief investment officer at Maelstrom, predicted Bitcoin could climb to $250,000 by the end of 2025 if the US Federal Reserve formally enters a quantitative easing cycle. Despite the optimistic predictions, investors remain cautious and continue “rebalancing their portfolios” but are unlikely to take on significant positions in the next 90 days before markets gain more clarity on global tariff negotiations, Enmanuel Cardozo, market analyst at real-world asset tokenization platform Brickken, told Cointelegraph. “With money flowing out of Bitcoin ETFs, investors are looking for safer spots to hold their cash right now, including strong currencies. Gold’s a traditional vehicle in these cases and a go-to when markets are uncertain,” he added. BTC, gold, year-to-date chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView Since the beginning of 2025, the price of gold has risen over 23%, outperforming Bitcoin, which has fallen by more than 10% year-to-date, TradingView data shows. Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 2 – 8
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and crypto exchange Binance have asked a US federal judge for an additional two-month pause in their nearly two-year legal battle. “Since the Court stayed this case, the Parties have been in productive discussions, including discussions concerning how the efforts of the crypto task force may impact the SEC’s claims,” both parties said in an April 11 joint status report with the US District Court for the District of Columbia. According to the filing, the SEC requested and Binance agreed to another 60-day extension as the regulator continues to seek permission to “approve any resolution or changes to the scope of this litigation.” “The Defendants agreed that continuing the stay is appropriate and in the interest of judicial economy,” the filing said. The request comes not long after the SEC dropped a string of crypto-related lawsuits against crypto exchanges Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini, as well as Robinhood and Consenys. At the end of the 60-day period, the SEC and Binance plan to submit another joint status report. This marks the second 60-day pause the SEC and Binance have requested this year, following a previous extension granted by the judge on Feb. 11. The recently launched crypto task force was a key reason behind the request for the second extension. Source: CourtListener The request in February came just days after crypto skeptic Gary Gensler stepped down as SEC chair on Jan. 20, with crypto-friendly SEC commissioner Mark Uyeda taking over as acting chair. At the time, the SEC and Binance also cited the establishment of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force as a reason for the pause. Related: Crypto Biz: Ripple’s ‘defining moment,’ Binance’s ongoing purge Formed just a day after Gensler resigned on Jan. 21, the task force said it aims to “help the Commission draw clear regulatory lines, provide realistic paths to registration, craft sensible disclosure frameworks, and deploy enforcement resources judiciously.” The SEC’s legal battle with Binance has dragged on for almost two years. It began in June 2023 when the agency filed a lawsuit against Binance, its US platform, and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. The US regulator pressed 13 charges against Binance, including unregistered offers and sales of the BNB and Binance USD tokens, the Simple Earn and BNB Vault products, and its staking program. Magazine: Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging research
A fast-tracked temporary crypto regulatory framework could bolster innovation within the US crypto industry while permanent regulations are still in the works, says acting US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Mark Uyeda. “A time-limited, conditional exemptive relief framework for registrants and non-registrants could allow for greater innovation with blockchain technology within the United States in the near term,” Uyeda said at the SEC’s April 11 Crypto Task Force roundtable titled “Between a Block and a Hard Place: Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Trading.” Uyeda said this might be the short-term answer as the SEC works toward a “long-term solution,” at the roundtable with SEC members and crypto industry executives, including Uniswap Labs’ Katherine Minarik, Cumberland DRW’s Chelsea Pizzola, and Coinbase’s Gregory Tusar. He flagged state-by-state regulation of crypto trading as a concern, warning it could lead to a “patchwork of state licensing regimes.” Uyeda said that a favorable federal regulatory framework would ease the burden for market participants wishing to offer tokenized securities and non-security crypto assets, allowing them to operate under a single SEC license instead of navigating “fifty different state licenses.” He urged crypto market participants to share feedback on areas where “exemptive relief” could be appropriate. Uyeda also reiterated the benefits of blockchain technology in financial markets during the roundtable discussion. “Blockchain technology offers the potential to execute and clear securities transactions in ways that may be more efficient and reliable than current processes,” Uyeda said. “Blockchains can be used to manage and mobilize collateral in tokenized form to increase capital efficiency and liquidity,” he added. Uyeda will continue serving as acting SEC chair until US President Donald Trump’s nominee, Paul Atkins, is officially sworn in. On April 10, the US Senate confirmed Atkins as chair of the SEC in a 52-44 vote largely along party lines. Related: SEC, Ripple file joint motion to pause appeals in XRP case Uyeda has served as acting SEC chair since Jan. 20, succeeding former chair and crypto skeptic Gary Gensler. He’s been widely seen within the industry as a pro-crypto advocate. On March 18, Cointelegraph reported that Uyea said the SEC could change or scrap a rule proposed under the Biden administration that would tighten crypto custody standards for investment advisers. “I have asked the SEC staff to work closely with the crypto task force to consider appropriate alternatives, including its withdrawal,” Uyeda said. Magazine: Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging research
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Bitcoin outlook remains long-term bullish
Strong hands hold during drawdowns
SEC requests Binance to agree to the extension
Relief measures may address immediate challenges
Uyeda to fill chair position until Atkins is sworn in
