Top stories this week
Judge revokes Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail and sends him into custody
Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried had his bail reversed by a federal judge in response to the release to the New York Times of information allegedly intended to intimidate witnesses. During an Aug. 11 hearing, Judge Lewis Kaplan revoked Bankman-Fried’s release on bail and remanded him, likely in the Putnam County Correctional Facility. Once his trial begins in October, he could be moved to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Bankman-Fried was reportedly led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. According to Kaplan, Bankman-Fried’s interviews with NYT reporters led to information being leaked with the likely intent of “hurting and frightening” former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, as well as his former colleague and friend.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on whether to approve or disapprove the spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposed by ARK Investment Management and 21Shares. ARK originally applied to list the ETF in May, giving the SEC a maximum of 240 days — until January 2024 — to make a final decision. The SEC’s latest move raises expectations of a final ruling on a series of filings from major Wall Street players, including BlackRock and Fidelity Investments.
SEC plans to appeal and stay in court case against Ripple Labs
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is appealing a court decision in its lawsuit against Ripple Labs. In a letter to Judge Analisa Torres — the presiding judge on the case — the SEC said it believed its decision warranted a review by an appellate court. The commission asked Judge Torres to stay the case pending appeal, arguing that several other pending court cases could be affected depending on the outcome of the appeal. The SEC is currently in litigation 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 if sold to retail investors. Torres plans to schedule the jury trial for the second quarter of 2024.
PayPal introduces the stablecoin PYUSD for payment
PayPal has launched a new USD-pegged stablecoin called PayPal USD (PYUSD). The stablecoin is based on the Ethereum network and is backed by US dollar deposits, short-term government bonds and similar cash equivalents. According to PayPal, the stablecoin will soon be available as a means of payment for various purchases. The fintech company is home to over 350 million active users and is well positioned to become a crypto payments giant with the launch of the new stablecoin. PYUSD will be redeemable for US dollars and will be exchangeable for other cryptocurrencies with PayPal and transferable between PayPal and Venmo accounts.
Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Softbank and leading VCs face charges of “facilitating” 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 over their ties to now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. According to the lawsuit, the investment firms are responsible for “aiding” the FTX scam. The lawsuit further alleges that the defendants “used their power, influence and vast funds to grow FTX’s house of cards into the multi-billion dollar magnitude.”
Winner and Loser
Bitcoin at the end of the week (BTC) is at $29,379ether (ETH) at $1,842 And XRP at $0.63. The total market capitalization is at $1.17 Trillions, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, THORChain are the top three altcoin gainers of the week (RUNE) at 20.74%, Shiba Inu (SHIB) at 20.16% and dYdX (DYDX) at 9.63%.
The three biggest altcoin losers of the week are GMX (GMX) -12.47%, coat (MNT) at -10.10% and XDC Network (XDC) at -8.09%.
For more information on crypto prices, see Cointelegraph’s Market Analysis.
also read
characteristics
Best and worst countries for crypto taxes – plus crypto tax tips
characteristics
Aligned Incentives: Accelerating Passive Crypto Adoption
Most Memorable Quotes
“Stablecoins represent the issuance of a new form of money, which is why it is imperative that federal guard rails are in place.”
Maxine WatersRepresentatives of the United States
“This is the Ethereum contract address for PayPal’s stablecoin. I can’t believe I’m allowed to tweet this. We’ve come this far.”
Ryan Sean Adamscrypto investor
“By providing users with a relatively seamless way to conduct transactions, bots have the potential to carve out their own niche in the crypto ecosystem.”
Jie Xuan ChuaAnalyst at Binance Research
“PayPal USD is the most significant advancement for digital assets and the financial industry.”
Charles CascarillaCEO of Paxos Trust Company
“It is clear that the world needs and will need something like Worldcoin for years to come. We just hope this is done in a privacy-friendly, decentralized, open-source and permissionless way.”
Tiago nowProduct Manager at Tools for Humanity
“By embracing digital currencies, we are opening our doors to a new segment of donors who are tech-savvy and want to make a difference with their digital assets.”
Benjamin WilliamCEO of the Singapore Red Cross
forecast of the week
Bitcoin trader reveals ‘major’ BTC price zone as bulls hold $29.3K
Bitcoin faces a new battleground as bulls and bears battle for control of a sideways market. Popular pseudonymous trader Daan Crypto Trades pointed out in his latest analysis that a key level needs to be recaptured as BTC price support.
According to the trader, both bitcoin bulls and bitcoin bears are in a “highly competitive” range that results from various ups and downs of the current spot price, so the midpoint is the level to watch next .
“It’s pretty clear that the $29.5-$29.7k area is an area that will be heavily contested by bulls and bears,” wrote Daan Crypto Trades.
Bitcoin price has remained essentially the same since mid-June – $28,500 as fundamental support, $31,800 as resistance. Therefore, gaining control of the $29,700 area is an essential move if the bulls are to build the momentum needed to finally change the landscape, the trader added.
FUD of the week
Only 6 out of 45 crypto wallet brands have been penetration tested: report
Cybersecurity platform CER has found that only six out of 45 cryptocurrency wallet brands, or 13.3%, have undergone penetration testing to find security vulnerabilities. Of these, only three brands have conducted tests on the latest versions of their products: MetaMask, Zengo, and Trust Wallet. An overall rating of each wallet’s security lists MetaMask, Zengo, Rabby, Trust Wallet, and Coinbase Wallet as the safest wallets on the market.
The US Federal Reserve is tightening oversight over banks’ involvement in crypto firms
The US Federal Reserve is expanding the scope of its oversight for banks operating in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries. The Novel Activities Supervision Program regulates companies that provide banking infrastructure to digital asset companies or work with companies that use distributed ledger technologies. The guidelines apply to both insured and uninsured US banks regulated by the Fed. Activities governed by the program include custody, lending, trading, issuance or distribution of cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins.
SEC announces $24 million settlement in case against Bittrex and its former CEO
The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced an agreement with crypto trading platform Bittrex and its co-founder and former CEO William Shihara to operate an unregistered exchange. Bittrex and Bittrex Global agreed to pay a recovery (refund of ill-gotten gains) of US$14.4 million. $4 million in preliminary interest and $5.6 million in civil penalties to resolve litigation with federal regulators. The agreement still requires court approval. The SEC’s complaint, filed in April, alleged that Bittrex and Shihara operated an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearinghouse.
Best Cointelegraph Features
Blockchain games aren’t really decentralized…but that’s about to change
Fully on-chain video games is a terrible idea and can’t work… or can it?
AI Eye: Apple Develops Pocket AI, Deep Fake Music Deal, and Mesmerizes GPT-4
Apple is developing AI that can run locally on your phone, researchers are “hypnotizing” GPT-4 to make it evil, and Google is negotiating a deepfake music deal.
Grails’ windfall of famous NFT artists, new hope for PFP owners: NFT Collector
Pudgy Penguins CEO reveals why PFT holders are not doomed, Grails offers a blind taste test to buy famous NFT artists and free Amazon Prime NFTs.
Subscribe to
The most exciting reading in the blockchain. Delivered once a week.
editorial staff
Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.
Learn Crypto Trading, Yield Farms, Income strategies and more at CrytoAnswers
https://nov.link/cryptoanswers
Comments are closed.