Opinion

Mashinsky's Arrest, Ripple Ruling, Etc.

Catching up on a mere 11 days' worth of news.

By Nikhilesh De

Jul 25, 2023 at 11:00 p.m. UTC

By Nikhilesh De

Jul 25, 2023 at 11:00 p.m. UTC

Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky outside a courthouse in New York on July 25, 2023. (Anna Baydakova/CoinDesk)

By Nikhilesh De

Jul 25, 2023 at 11:00 p.m. UTC

I was on vacation for the last week-and-a-half but before I left, I sent a list of things to watch for to my colleagues that in hindsight, was wholly inadequate. Anyway, here's my effort to catch up.

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Rulings, arrests and bills

The narrative

It was a really busy [checks notes] 11 days, huh?

Why it matters

The legal and regulatory aspects of the crypto ecosystem continue to evolve.

Breaking it down

I was on vacation for a bit. Here is a list of things that happened in crypto regulatory land in that time (that I've seen):

Alex Mashinsky of Celsius was arrested and pleaded not guilty to charges of securities fraud, commodities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to manipulate the price of CEL (Celsius’ token). The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Federal Trade Commission also filed lawsuits (the FTC and Celsius settled, though executives including Mashinsky, Shlomi Daniel Leon and Hanoch “Nuke” Goldstein didn’t).
The federal judge overseeing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case against Ripple Labs published a decision on the motions for summary judgment, ruling that while Ripple violated securities laws in its institutional sales, it did not do so in putting XRP on exchanges and letting the retail public buy the tokens through those intermediaries.
The SEC acknowledged and started the clock on a bunch of bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications.
The Group of 20 said it welcomed Financial Stability Board recommendations on stablecoin and crypto asset activity arrangements.
The U.S. Secret Service seized around $58 million in funds belonging to Deltec Bank as part of an investigation into an international money laundering investigation. A Deltec spokesperson said it had been cooperating with U.S. law enforcement and intended to file a claim for the cash.
A Marathon Digital Holdings shareholder is suing the company’s directors and officers, alleging they lied about Marathon’s revenue and operations.
BlockFi’s leadership saw FTX’s balance sheet but continued to use the platform, a filing by its creditors said.
A state court signed off on the Nevada Department of Business and Industry’s move to place crypto custodian Prime Trust into receivership.
A group of senators introduced a bill that would impose bank-like regulations on decentralized finance.
Coin Center’s suit against the U.S. Treasury Department over the pending section 6050I provision in the bipartisan infrastructure law was dismissed due to a lack of “ripeness” – or as the court put it, the issue is too hypothetical right now.
The Federal Reserve launched its FedNow instant payments service.
Republicans in the House Financial Services and Agriculture Committees introduced a new version of its market structure bill, which will go to markup in both committees this week.
FTX’s new management filed suit to recover more than $1 billion in cash and shares from its old management.
The U.S. Department of Justice accused former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried of leaking the personal diary of former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, who he had previously been in a relationship with, to discredit her as a witness in his upcoming criminal trial. Bankman-Fried’s attorneys denied that he was trying to discredit her, but acknowledged that he had provided a New York Times reporter with unspecified materials not obtained through discovery.
The U.S. Department of Justice folded its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team into its broader cyber unit, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The SEC told the judge overseeing its case against Terraform Labs that the Ripple ruling created two different standards, suggesting it may appeal the ruling in its case against Ripple.
Apparently a group of investors are getting close to acquiring a crypto media business.

What'd I miss? Shoot me an email.

Stories you may have missed

McDonald’s Opens McNuggets Land in the Metaverse, but McWhy?: Also, you know, what?
MakerDAO Votes to Halt Lending to Tokenized Credit Pool After $2M Loan Default: This was a unanimous vote.

This week

Tuesday

15:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. EDT) There was a status conference hearing for Alex Mashinsky of Celsius.

Wednesday

14:00 UTC (10:00 a.m. EDT) The House Financial Services Committee will mark up a number of crypto-related bills, including the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act and the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) The federal court overseeing Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial will hold a hearing on DOJ allegations he’s attempting to tamper with Caroline Ellison, Alameda’s former CEO.
18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) The Federal Reserve will announce the results of its next Federal Open Markets Commission (FOMC) meeting – namely, whether it will continue to raise interest rates.

Thursday

12:15 UTC (2:15 p.m. CEST) The European Central Bank will announce its own decision on interest rates.
13:00 UTC (9:00 a.m. EDT) The House Financial Services Committee will hold a markup on stablecoin legislation.
14:00 UTC (10:00 a.m. EDT) The House Agriculture Committee will hold a markup on the Financial Innovation and Technology Act.

Elsewhere:

(Forbes) FTX loaned $50 million to Deltec Bank in 2021, the Bahamian financial institution that also works with Tether.
(RÚV) The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service set up some cameras to livestream the eruption of a volcano. It’s spectacular.
(The New York Times) This profile from a month ago looks at Kyle Roche, the disgraced(?) lawyer formerly of Roche Freedman, who was dropped from the firm and kicked out of several cases after being caught on video boasting about his work for Ava Labs.

If you’ve got thoughts or questions on what I should discuss next week or any other feedback you’d like to share, feel free to email me at nik@coindesk.com or find me on Twitter @nikhileshde.

You can also join the group conversation on Telegram.

See ya’ll next week!

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