Ether futures ETFs launching, SBF trial to begin and 3AC’s Su Zhu arrested: Hodler’s Digest, Sept. 24-30
Top Stories This Week
Ethereum futures ETFs to start trading next week
Investment firm Valkyrie will start offering exposure to Ether futures in the coming days. On Sept. 28, the firm told Cointelegraph that its Bitcoin Strategy ETF will allow investors access to Ether and Bitcoin futures “under one wrapper,” making it one of the first firms to do so amid several pending applications with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Starting Oct. 3, the fund’s name will be updated to the Valkyrie Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF. Asset manager VanEck also disclosed its upcoming Ethereum Strategy ETF, which will be listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange in the coming days. Analysts suggested that a potential U.S. government shutdown might have accelerated the launch of Ether futures ETFs.
SBF trial dates revealed: FTX founder to stand trial over 6 weeks
Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried will spend at least 21 days in court as part of his criminal trial, which will begin in earnest on Oct. 4 and last until Nov. 9, according to a newly released trial calendar posted to the public court docket. The first official date of the Bankman-Fried trial is Oct. 4, where the participants will begin discussing seven fraud charges laid against SBF. There are two substantive charges where the prosecution must convince a jury that Bankman-Fried committed the crime. Five other “conspiracy” charges involve the prosecution convincing a jury that Bankman-Fried planned to commit the crimes. The former FTX CEO has been serving pre-trial detention at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center since Aug. 11. If considered guilty of fraud, Bankman-Fried is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison, legal specialists explained to Cointelegraph.
3AC’s Su Zhu arrested in Singapore
Co-founder of Three Arrows Capital (3AC) Su Zhu was detained at Changi Airport in Singapore while trying to leave. Teneo, the joint liquidator of the now-bankrupt hedge fund, told Cointelegraph that Zhu’s arrest followed a committal order from the Singapore Courts, which is a directive used to imprison someone for contempt of court. On Sept. 25, Teneo secured this committal order, alleging that Zhu didn’t comply with a court order. His arrest is part of an ongoing investigation to retrieve funds for 3AC’s creditors. The $10 billion hedge fund crashed in 2022 due to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem. A similar committal order was granted against Kyle Davies, also co-founder of 3AC. His whereabouts remain unknown.
Binance urges users to convert euros to USDT after Paysafe debank
Binance has warned its European users to convert their euro (EUR) balances to Tether by Oct. 31 due to the loss of support from its banking partner, Paysafe. Paysafe ceased processing EUR deposits for Binance users on Sept. 25. While EUR withdrawals to bank accounts remain available, Paysafe users won’t be able to engage in EUR spot trading. Binance’s token swap feature, Binance Convert, will also restrict EUR transactions. Paysafe previously facilitated fiat deposits and withdrawals for Binance users in Europe, including via bank transfer in the European Union’s Single Euro Payments Area. The move is the latest to add to Binance’s regulatory and debanking woes in the West.
SEC delays spot Bitcoin ETF decision for BlackRock, Invesco and Bitwise
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has again postponed its decision on several spot Bitcoin ETF applications, including those from BlackRock, Invesco, Bitwise and Valkyrie, ahead of a potential government shutdown. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart anticipates similar delays for Fidelity, VanEck, and WisdomTree. These delays came two weeks before the applicants’ expected second deadline. Seyffart links the premature delays to an anticipated U.S. government shutdown on Oct. 1, which would impact financial regulators and federal agencies.
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $26,895, Ether (ETH) at $1,667 and XRP at $0.53. The total market cap is at $1.07 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Compound (COMP) at 23.71%, Chainlink (LINK) at 15.12% and THORchain (RUNE) at 14.51%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are Immutable (IMX) at -9.80%, UNUS SED LEO (LEO) at -5.38% and XDC Network (XDC) at -4.61%.
For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
Read also
Most Memorable Quotations
“You [Gary Gensler] are kneecapping the U.S. capital markets with the avalanche of red tape coming out of your commission.”
Andy Barr, U.S. representative
“A central bank that introduces a CBDC should increase the choices for society, not diminish them.”
Agustín Carstens, general manager at the Bank of International Settlements
“Looking like the SEC is gonna let a bunch of #Ethereum futures ETFs go next week potentially.”
James Seyffart, analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
“Do you think it’s possible for you [Gary Gensler] to serve as an impartial regulator and not favor large financial intermediaries?”
Tom Emmer, U.S. representative
“[Stablecoins] will be a big driver of economic freedom in the decade ahead.”
Jesse Pollak, head of protocols at Coinbase
“The symbiosis between street art and Bitcoin is a powerful one. By working together, these two movements help to create a more just and equitable world.”
Street, pseudonymous co-founder of the Street Cy₿er artist collective
Prediction of the Week
Bitcoin shorts keep burning as BTC price seeks to hold $27K
Bitcoin (BTC) bounced around $27,000 on Sept. 29 as a challenge to month-to-date highs dragged BTC price action upward. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed the largest cryptocurrency attempting to hold gains after a classic “short squeeze.”
The day prior offered a trip past the $27,000 mark, with Bitcoin bulls unable to seal a fresh peak for September. Topping out at $27,300 on Bitstamp, BTC price strength returned to consolidate, still up 4% versus the week’s low at the time of writing.
Analyzing the situation on low timeframes (LTFs), popular pseudonymous trader Skew said that the upside had come courtesy of derivatives markets, with spot traders selling at the highs. “LTF stuff but pretty clear spot absorption around the high so $27.2K is an important price area to clear for spot buyers,” he explained on X (formerly Twitter).
Skew subsequently noted that $27,200 remained a rejection point on the day, ahead of the Wall Street open. Going into next week, he added, the market was “likely to hunt both sides of the book.”
FUD of the Week
Ben ‘BitBoy’ Armstrong arrested on livestream over Lambo dispute
Crypto influencer Ben Armstrong, formerly known as “BitBoy,” was arrested on Sept. 25 while livestreaming outside a former business associate’s house, claiming the associate had his Lamborghini. He was charged with “loitering/prowling” and “simple assault by placing another in fear” and was held for over eight hours before being released on a $2,600 bond and $40 in fees. In Georgia, the misdemeanor charges of loitering and prowling could result in a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in jail, or both.
Crypto exchange claiming $1.4B trading volume uses reportedly fake license data
An investigation by Cointelegraph revealed that several cryptocurrency platforms, reporting significant daily trades on CoinMarketCap, may have provided misleading information about their crypto licenses. Bitspay, for instance, which has a daily trading volume of $1.4 billion on CoinMarketCap and ranks as the fourth-largest crypto exchange, claimed to be licensed in Estonia. However, after inquiries by Cointelegraph, Bitspay quickly removed the potentially false license data and no longer provides details about its registration or licensing.
Huobi Global hacked for $7.9M: Report
Huobi Global’s HTX crypto exchange was hacked on Sept. 24, according to a report from blockchain analytics platform CyVers. A total of $7.9 million of crypto has been drained in the attack. A known Huobi hot wallet posted a message to the attacker in Chinese. According to the message, the exchange knows the identity of the attacker and has offered to let them keep 5% of the drained funds as a “white-hat bonus,” but only if the attacker returns the remaining 95%. Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao offered the help of the exchange’s security team in investigating the attack.
Blockchain detectives: Mt. Gox collapse saw birth of Chainalysis
From solving Mt. Gox to tracing crypto used by child abuse syndicates in Korea, Chainalysis has a long but sometimes controversial history.
US gov’t messed up my $250K Bitcoin price prediction: Tim Draper, Hall of Flame
Tim Draper’s first big Bitcoin prediction came off without a hitch, but he says the current administration is making his second one look bad.
China dev fined 3 yrs’ salary for VPN use, 10M e-CNY airdrop: Asia Express
Chinese national fined three years’ salary for using VPN for remote work, Hangzhou airdrops 10M digital yuan, JPEX alleged Ponzi nears $200M, and more.
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Sir Keir Starmer has denied any ministers were involved in the collapse of the trial of alleged Chinese spies.
Christopher Cash, 30, a former parliamentary researcher, and teacher Christopher Berry, 33, were accused of spying for China, but weeks before their trial was due to begin, it was dropped.
Berry, of Witney, Oxfordshire, and Cash, of Whitechapel, east London denied the allegations.
Politics Latest: Starmer “less interested” in Blair than ceasefire
Sir Keir, his ministers and national security adviser Jonathan Powell have faced accusations they were involved in the trial being dropped.
The prime minister has maintained that because the last Conservative government had not designated China as a threat to national security, his government could not provide evidence to that effect, which the director of public prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said was required to meet the threshold for prosecution.
Mr Parkinson had blamed ministers for failing to provide the crucial evidence needed to proceed.
During a trade visit to India, the prime minister was asked whether any minister, or Mr Powell, were involved in the decision not to provide the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) with evidence that, at the time of the alleged offences, China represented a threat to national security.
He replied: “I can be absolutely clear no ministers were involved in any of the decisions since this government’s been in in relation to the evidence that’s put before the court on this issue.”
He did not mention Mr Powell specifically.
Read more:
Blame game over trial collapse. Who’s right? Who’s wrong?
Christopher Cash (left) and Christopher Berry had the charges against them dropped in September. Pics: Reuters
Earlier this week, Mr Parkinson took the unusual step of sending MPs a letter to say the government had refused to label Beijing an enemy, which led to the case being dropped.
Sir Keir reiterated his line that the case could only rely on evidence from the period the pair were accused of spying, from 2021 to 2023, when the Conservatives were in government.
He said: “The evidence in this case was drawn up at the time and reflected the position as it was at the time,” the PM said in India.
“And that has remained the situation from start to finish.
“That is inevitably the case because in the United Kingdom, you can only try people on the basis of the situation as it was at the time.
“You can’t try people on the basis of the situation, as it now is or might be in the future, and therefore, the only evidence that a court would ever admit on this would be evidence of what the situation was at the time.
“It’s not a party political point. It’s a matter of law.”
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Is China an enemy to the UK?
Sir Keir’s assertion has been called into question by former top civil servants and legal experts.
Mark Elliott, professor of public law at the University of Cambridge, told Sky News there is no legal requirement for a country to be declared an enemy for someone to be tried for breaching the Official Secrets Act.
He said the current government was “cherry picking” what the previous government had said about China to claim they did not regard them as a threat to national security.
However, there are several examples of the Tory government saying China was a national security threat during the time Berry and Cash were accused of spying.
ShapeShift has reintroduced support for Zcash’s shielded transactions, marking its return to privacy-focused cryptocurrency after transitioning into a DEX aggregator.
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