There was a lot of news last week, but maybe the biggest news came Wednesday when the U.S. Department of Justice arrested two co-founders of Samourai Wallet, a bitcoin wallet that offered mixing services. The arrest ramps up the federal government’s efforts to tamp down on what it sees as money laundering enabled by privacy tools, and sets up a continuation of that broader conversation on where the right to transact in privacy fits within national security interests.
The Ever-Dwindling Chances for a Stablecoin Law
Last week, U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced a joint bill addressing how stablecoins could be regulated in the country. It’s the latest effort to try and get something done in the U.S. legislative front – but is it enough?
Looking at Sam Bankman-Fried’s Appeals Process
As expected, Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team filed a notice of his intent to appeal his conviction on fraud and conspiracy charges. So far all we have is just the notice – the actual brief won’t come for some time yet.
Is the Sam Bankman-Fried Story Over?
Last month, I attended Sam Bankman-Fried’s sentencing hearing. Not that anyone asked, but I have some thoughts.
What a Judge Said About the SEC’s Suit Against Coinbase
Coinbase and Custodia both lost early and preliminary court fights. The Coinbase loss was more or less expected – companies rarely win much on a motion for judgment at such an early stage – but still pretty enlightening.
Binance Is Having an Odd Time
Binance is having a weird moment, perhaps most clearly illustrated by the fact that a national government detained two of its executives for a month now – and one is only free because he seemingly escaped custody.
Does Sam Bankman-Fried Deserve 50 Years in Prison?
The stage is set for a federal judge to determine how long Sam Bankman-Fried may spend in prison. The U.S. Department of Justice and defense attorneys have now both filed their arguments, as well as statements from FTX creditors (from the prosecution) and Bankman-Fried’s family and friends (from the defense).
How an Appeals Court Ruled on an Aspiring Class-Action Lawsuit Against Binance
A federal appeals court ruled last week that Binance needs to face a putative class-action lawsuit from a group of U.S.-based crypto investors who allege the exchange allowed them to buy and trade unregistered securities in the form of certain cryptocurrencies. The ruling doesn’t make a determination on whether the tokens are indeed securities or not, but it’s significant in broader securities cases nonetheless.
How the SEC’s Recent Win May Play in Its Coinbase, Binance Cases
A federal judge ruled that secondary-market transactions for certain cryptocurrencies violated securities law. The catch: This was a default judgment. The defendant never showed up, and no one filed amicus briefs to oppose the Securities and Exchange Commission’s motion for a default ruling.
Sam Bankman-Fried Doesn’t Want to Go to Prison for 100 Years
Sam Bankman-Fried’s new legal team filed his sentencing memo, alongside 29 different character references and other supporting documents, arguing he shouldn’t face a lengthy prison term after his conviction last November on two fraud and five conspiracy charges.
Looking at Kraken’s Motion to Dismiss an SEC Lawsuit
The SEC Takes on Dealer Definitions
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission published a new definition for securities dealers, capturing crypto.
A Quick Look at Last Month’s U.S. Crypto Crime Log
While our attention was focused on exchange-traded funds earlier this month, federal regulators in the U.S. announced charges or sentences for various crypto parties.
How the Crypto Industry Responded to FinCEN’s Proposed Mixer Rule
Last October, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed implementing a new regulatory regime for crypto mixing services that would treat the entire class of privacy tools as money laundering threats and force new recordkeeping rules on U.S. people or entities that use them. The industry had a chance to weigh in. Here’s the gist of their responses.
What’s Uniting the SEC’s Crypto Cases
Earlier this week, a federal judge asked attorneys with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission why – “big picture” – there wasn’t any sort of uniting regulation addressing crypto.
The SEC Goes Back to Court
Last summer, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance, alleging they listed and traded unregistered securities in the form of various cryptocurrencies. This week, the regulator’s legal teams faced the exchanges in court as the companies argued the SEC did not make the case that those cryptos are securities.
Bitcoin ETF Confusion Abounds
The crypto industry can breathe a sigh of relief: It looks like a federal U.S. regulator will let the world’s largest traditional finance asset managers and other firms list and trade shares of a vehicle giving retail and institutional investors exposure to the price of a decentralized, trustless, stateless digital asset (if you’re in the U.S.). But of course, the bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) drama wouldn’t be complete without, well, drama.
Will 2024 Be the Year of the Bitcoin ETF?
Excitement over a spot bitcoin ETF – a regulated financial product that would give institutional and retail investors easier exposure to bitcoin’s price without requiring them to invest directly in the asset – continues to grow.
Elections, SEC Cases, DOJ Cases: What Crypto Regulation May Bring in 2024
The CoinDesk policy team is scattered throughout the world; in the final edition of this newsletter, each member explains what they’re watching in 2024 in the world of crypto regulations. Happy holidays, and we’ll see you next year!
SEC Chair Gary Gensler: ‘Far Too Many Frauds and Bankruptcies’
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to speak with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, recognized by CoinDesk as one of the most influential figures in the crypto industry over the past year, about how he views his agency’s role in the digital asset world.
