First Mover Americas: Bitcoin on Track for First Monthly Loss of the Year

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Bitcoin (BTC) climbed above $28,000 after an agreement on a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, but the crypto still appears on track for its first monthly loss since December. The leading cryptocurrency by market value traded as high as $28,400 late Sunday, up from about $25,900 the previous week. At press time, bitcoin is changing hands at just under $28,000. Prices, however, were still down about 5% for May in what would be the first monthly decline of the year, assuming things hold through Wednesday. Ether (ETH) at the moment is up modestly in May after trading in a tight range for most of the month. Analyst Matteo Bottacini at Crypto Finance AG said in a morning note that he sees potential for ether and other altcoins to outperform thanks to positive narratives surrounding the Ethereum network, such as the all-time high in staked ether.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has finalized prototypes for a digital euro as it prepares to take a decision later this year over whether to develop the EU's fiat currency in a new format, according to reports released on Friday. The ECB says its potential central bank digital currency (CBDC) can be designed to boost innovation, but appears more skeptical about using Web3-style distributed ledger technology and smart contracts. “This exercise shows that it is possible to smoothly integrate the digital euro design choices into the existing payment landscape while leaving ample scope for innovative features and technologies,” ECB Executive Board member Fabio Panetta said in a letter to the European Parliament’s Irene Tinagli, adding that findings “will serve as input for both the functional and technical design of a digital euro.”

Criminal charges against Sam Bankman-Fried – including technicalities around his extradition back to the U.S. and campaign finance violations – are valid, prosecutors said in court filings from Monday. U.S. lawyers were responding to early May pretrial motions from Bankman-Fried’s attorneys to dismiss most charges levied against him. Lawyers for the former head of failed crypto exchange FTX cited procedural issues, the irrelevance of some U.S. laws given FTX's non-U.S. location, and allegations that exceeded the agreed extradition terms. Bankman-Fried’s motions did not seek to dismiss securities fraud and money laundering charges. With regards to Bankman-Fried’s argument that the Bahamas needed to approve any charges prior to extradition, prosecutors contended that the U.S. treaty with the Caribbean nation allows for post-extradition charges with the consent of the extraditing country, and any charges presented post-extradition in new indictments do not violate this rule.