Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, testified in his ongoing criminal trial in the Southern District of New York, where he denied any wrongdoing between FTX and Alameda Research. He did, however, acknowledge making “big mistakes” during the companies’ explosive growth. Bankman-Fried’s testimony included denying directing his inner circle to make significant political donations in 2021, as well as stating that FTX’s terms of use covered transactions between Alameda and the crypto exchange. He also testified that he requested additional hedging strategies for Alameda in 2021 and 2022, but they were never implemented. The trial is expected to conclude within the next few days.
In another news story, Google searches for “buy Bitcoin” have surged worldwide amid a major crypto rally, with searches in the United Kingdom growing by more than 800% in the last week. The search term “buy Bitcoin” spiked by a staggering 826% in the UK over the course of seven days. In the United States, searches for “should I buy Bitcoin now?” increased by more than 250%, while more niche searches, including “can I buy Bitcoin on Fidelity?” increased by over 3,100% in the last week. Globally, the search term “is it a good time to buy Bitcoin?” saw a 110% gain over the last week.
The United States Court of Appeals has issued a mandate following a decision requiring the review of Grayscale Investments’ application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The court’s mandate paves the way for the SEC to review its decision on Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF. The SEC has yet to approve a single spot crypto ETF for listing on U.S. exchanges but has given the green light to investment vehicles linked to Bitcoin and Ether futures.
Coinbase, the popular cryptocurrency exchange, is disputing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) authority in its final bid to dismiss a lawsuit by the regulator. Coinbase argues that the SEC overstepped its authority when it classified cryptocurrencies listed on its platform as securities. The exchange claims that the SEC’s definition for what qualifies as a security is too wide and contends that the cryptocurrencies it lists are not under the regulator’s purview. The SEC sued Coinbase on June 6, alleging that the exchange violated U.S. securities laws by listing several tokens it considers securities without registering with the regulator.
Gemini, another cryptocurrency exchange, has filed a lawsuit against bankrupt crypto lender Genesis. The lawsuit revolves around 62,086,586 shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust that were used as collateral to secure loans made through the Gemini Earn Program. The collateral is currently worth close to $1.6 billion. Gemini has received $284.3 million from foreclosing on the collateral for the benefit of Earn users, but Genesis disputes the action, preventing Gemini from distributing the proceeds. Genesis filed for bankruptcy in January after suspending withdrawals in November 2022, impacting the Gemini Earn program.
In terms of market performance, Bitcoin is currently priced at $34,143, Ether at $1,789, and XRP at $0.54. The total market cap is at $1.26 trillion. Among the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Pepe, Mina, and FLOKI, while the top three altcoin losers are Bitcoin SV, Toncoin, and Trust Wallet Token.
In conclusion, this week saw Sam Bankman-Fried testify in his criminal trial, Google searches for “buy Bitcoin” surge, the United States Court of Appeals issues a mandate for a Grayscale ruling, Coinbase disputes the SEC’s crypto authority, and Gemini sues Genesis over GBTC shares used as collateral.
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