Kategorie: Crypto Markets

• US prosecutors deem the second trial unlikely for FTX’s ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
• Lack of new evidence cited; the initial trial covered major aspects of the case.
• The guilty verdict stands; sentencing is set for March 28, 2024, as scheduled.

United States prosecutors have signalled that there may not be a second trial for Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), former CEO of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

This development comes as stakeholders seek swift resolution, emphasizing the public interest and the anticipation of compensation details for FTX account victims. With the first trial concluding with Bankman-Fried found guilty on seven fraud charges, the focus is now on the sentencing set for March 28, 2024.

No second trial for Sam Bankman-Fried

Recent reports indicate that United States prosecutors are unlikely to pursue a second trial against Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX. The prosecutors emphasize that there is insufficient new evidence to warrant another trial, given that the majority of pertinent information was presented during the initial proceedings.

This assertion aligns with the desire for a swift resolution, particularly as victims await compensation details following the collapse of FTX in November 2022.

The decision not to pursue a second trial follows the guilty verdict reached on November 3, where Bankman-Fried faced charges including wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. Despite the verdict, Bankman-Fried’s request for an adjournment of his sentencing hearing was declined by Judge Lewis Kaplan.

The judge highlighted the absence of prior objections to the initially set sentencing date and Bankman-Fried’s prior extension for submitting sentencing materials. As a result, Bankman-Fried’s sentencing is scheduled for March 28, 2024.

This development underscores the judicial determination to adhere to established timelines and procedures. With the March 2024 sentencing date looming, the legal repercussions for the ex-CEO of FTX are becoming increasingly imminent. The case has drawn significant attention not only due to the high-profile nature of the individual involved but also the broader implications for victims seeking restitution from the cryptocurrency exchange’s downfall.

The post US prosecutors water down FTX Ex-CEO SBF’s second trial probability: no new evidence appeared first on CoinJournal.

• The PancakeSwap community has approved the proposal to remove 300 million CAKE from the project’s maximum supply.
• The proposal passed with nearly 98% of votes in favour.
• CAKE price was sharply down in the past 24 hours, hovering near $3.46 and down 9.5%.

A PancakeSwap proposal seeking to reduce the decentralized exchange token supply from 750 million to 450 million CAKE has passed. The vote on the proposal opened on Thursday, December 28 and closed today, Friday, December 29.

According to details on the voting page, 97.88% of the total votes passed the proposal, paving way for the official reduction of the maximum supply for CAKE to 450 million. Currently, details across the market’s leading aggregators CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap show the total supply as 386,192,564 and maximum supply as 450 million.

“By reducing our token supply by 300,000,000 $CAKE, we signify PancakeSwap’s successful shift from a high-inflation emissions model to the Ultrasound CAKE era,” the PancakeSwap team noted.

The move to cut CAKE’s maximum supply adds to the overall revamp PancakeSwap has taken across its tokenomics, emissions and growth strategy.

“Starting from improving CAKE Tokenomics v2.5 to most recently launching the veCAKE Gauges System, CAKE is in a position to pursue further growth across all deployments,” the proposal read.

CAKE price falls sharply

The price of CAKE has declined sharply in the past 24 hours, with the dip coming after the proposal passed. 

CAKE traded around $3.46 per token at 12.40 pm ET on Friday, down 9.5% in the past 24 hours. While it remains in the green over the past week and month, CAKE has cut recent gains to 37% and 56% over the two time frames respectively.

CAKE reached highs of $4.68 in February and remains significantly off from its all-time peak near $44 reached in April 2021.

Today’s decline for the altcoin came as the broader market cap fell 1.7% and Bitcoin (BTC) slipped below $42k. 

Most of the top altcoins were also down at the time of writing. However, with crypto largely in bullish territory, fresh buy CAKE momentum could see the token’s value retest higher resistance levels.

The post PancakeSwap community approves proposal to cut CAKE supply by 300M appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Federal Judge Rakoff rules $LUNA and $MIR as securities, finding Terraform Labs violated U.S. laws.
• SEC trial, scheduled Jan 29, 2024, centres on Terra’s UST stablecoin collapse and $25M alleged fraud.
• Jump Trading’s involvement adds complexity; the SEC insists Judge Rakoff, not a jury, decides securities status.

In a recent legal development, Federal Judge Jed Rakoff ruled in favour of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Do Kwon and Terraform Labs. The judgment asserts that Terraform violated U.S. securities laws by selling unregistered securities, specifically LUNA and MIR tokens.

This decision sets the stage for a trial scheduled to commence on January 29, 2024, shedding light on alleged fraudulent activities and the involvement of the SEC.

LUNA and MIR tokens deemed securities

In the summary judgment, Federal Judge Jed Rakoff sided with the SEC in the case against Do Kwon and Terraform Labs. The ruling established that Terraform failed to register LUNA and MIR tokens as securities, concluding that the company violated U.S. securities laws. This aligns with the SEC’s stance that cryptocurrencies, including LUNA and MIR, should be classified as securities, subject to the agency’s regulation.

Judge Rakoff’s decision restricts the SEC’s regulatory authority to LUNA and MIR, marking a significant point in the ongoing legal battle. The charges stem from the collapse of Terra’s UST stablecoin in 2022, with the SEC alleging that a fraudulent security offering raised $25 million.

Jump Trading’s role and SEC’s position

New evidence presented by Jump Crypto adds complexity to the case. Jump Crypto, believed to have manipulated TerraUSD, allegedly profited $1.28 billion. The SEC claims Terra loaned tokens to the U.S. trading firm Jump Crypto further entwining the lawsuit with market manipulation accusations.

In a noteworthy move, the SEC has requested that Judge Rakoff determine whether Terraform offered and sold unregistered securities, arguing against a jury decision. The agency contends that the classification of securities is a legal matter for the court, not a factual question for a jury.

While the civil trial progresses, Do Kwon remains in a Montenegro prison, after successfully appealing his extradition to the U.S. for criminal charges. As the legal saga unfolds, the trial’s outcome will have implications for classifying and regulating cryptocurrencies, particularly LUNA and MIR, in the ever-evolving landscape of financial markets.

The post Judge rules Terraform Labs violated rules: LUNA and MIR deemed securities appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Hut 8 says it will manage mining operations for MiningCo at five sites under a four-year contract.
• The digital asset miner will oversee 122,000 miners with 12 EH/s of computing capacity and over 300 MW of energy.
• The announcement follows the US bankruptcy court’s approval of Celsius Network’s reorganization plan.

Hut 8 Corp, a digital asset miner headquartered in Miami, Florida, will manage the mining operations of MiningCo, a newly created mining company approved by the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in view of the Celsius Network LLC reorganization plan.

The plan allows Celsius to transfer its mining operations to MiningCo. It’s part of Celsius Network’s bankruptcy proceedings.

Hut 8 to provide managed services under 4-year contract

As CoinJournal reported, US bankruptcy judge Martin Glenn approved the restructuring plan that allows Celsius Network to pivot its operations fully to Bitcoin mining.

In its announcement today, Hut 8 said the court’s approval of the reorganization plan the company had sponsored allows it to manage operations for MiningCo at five sites. Hut 8 will also oversee 122,000 miners with 12 EH/s of computing capacity and over 300 MW of energy.

This just in 📰➡️ our reorganization plan filed in the Celsius Network LLC bankruptcy proceedings was approved. This means providing end-to-end managed services for five sites in Texas, overseeing ~12 EH/s computing capacity (122,000 miners) and more than 300 MW of energy.

Read…

— Hut 8 (@Hut8Mining) December 29, 2023

As granted by the court, Hut 8 will manage MiningCo’s mining operations under a four-year managed services contract.

Commenting on the approval, Hut 8 president Asher Genoot said:

“The mining plan that was presented to the creditors and the courts is strong and sound, and we look forward to proceeding with construction imminently at the Cedarvale, Texas site, and managing four additional sites once the process closes in the first quarter of 2024.”

Hut 8 will use the opportunity to grow its managed services business. The company also hopes to help build equity for Celsius’ creditors through MiningCo, Genoot added.

Apart from the four Texas locations at Rebel, East Isle, Style and Garden City (cumulatively having 87 MW), Hut 8 will also manage services at Cedarvale, Texas, MiningCo’s fifth site. 

Celsius struck a mining deal with US Bitcoin Corp in August, and selected the company which recently combibed its business with Hut 8 as the provider of end-to-end development services at Cedarvale.

Hut 8 will thus oversee the site’s design and development, which when completed, will have roughly 66,000 miners and offer more than 215 MW of energy. 

The post Hut 8 to manage mining operations for Celsius’s newly-created MiningCo appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Meme Moguls (MGLS) has accelerated its presale as more participants bet on the new meme-based assets platform.
• Increaased investment in MGLS comes as one trader reportedly turns 1 SOL ($62 at the time) into $2 million as they traded a Solana-based meme coin.
• MGLS is priced at $0.0025 and in stage 3 of the presale.

In one spectacular moves in the crypto market, a savvy trader turned a modest $62 into a fortune as their bet on a Solana-based meme coin returned over $2 million. The trader’s jackpot isn’t isolated as more and more regular traders become adept at spotting gems across the market.

One of those likely to grab more attention as the crypto market flips bullish is Meme Moguls – a new token set to bring the benefits of trade-and-earn to the increasingly profitable meme coins sector.

Huge win as meme trader 1.5 SOL into $2 million

An on-chain analytics platform has alerted the crypto community to the exploits of one trader that managed to turn 1 Solana (SOL) into millions of dollars after trading a Solana-based meme coin.

According to details shared by Lookonchain on December 27, the trader had used 1 SOL (worth about $62 at the time) to buy Silly Dragon (SILLY).

The transaction, initiated five minutes after SILLY opened trading, was for 43.1 million SILLY tokens and in 22 days, they had seen their bet grow to over $2 million worth of the meme coin. After cashing out $528k, the trader held over 9.7 million of the meme token (worth about $1.5 million).

Can regular traders make such money on meme coins? Recent rallies for Bonk (BONK), Pepe (PEPE) and other tokens have returned staggering profits for many traders. 

Earlier this year, one PEPE trader reportedly made $1.02 million from a $250 investment, while another invested $4,410 and saw it return $1 million.

While major losses have also occurred in the crypto market, it could be argued that the chances of an opportunity of a lifetime are also there. Due diligence is critical and the initial investment doesn’t have to be all that one owns.

Meme Moguls: Play, trade and earn with meme coins

Meme Moguls is a new meme-based platform offering a stock market-style trading exchange. At its core, Meme Moguls is designed to offer earn opportunities to meme coin traders.

Powered by the ERC-20 token MGLS, Meme Moguls is an exchange whose ecosystem leverages an innovative play-to-earn game to give users the opportunity to earn from all the trending meme coins.

Whether it’s Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Bonk or other meme coin making waves in the market, traders will have a chance to put their trading skills to test as they earn MGLS. The combination of gaming, trading and meme power, with no buy or sell tax, could be a game-changer. 

This might see Meme Moguls trending as one of the best play-to-earn platforms to add to the tag of being one of the hottest presale projects today.

Meme Moguls presale

As noted above, Meme Moguls is currently in stage 3 of its presale. Its potential to redefine meme coin trading via P2E gaming has seen over $1.1 million raised as of December 29. 

This phase of the roadmap offers crypto enthusiasts a chance to be early birds ahead of its official launch in 2024. 60% of the total 3 billion token supply is available during the presale.

With MGLS as the governance and in-game currency for the ecosystem, its importance means it could become increasingly valuable to holders.

According to details on the presale page, the early offer has MGLS priced at just $0.0025, making this potentially a great entry point. Analysts are also tipping this token for a possible 100x move when Meme Moguls goes live.

The post Meme Moguls grabs investor attention as trader turns $62 into $2M with Solana meme coin appeared first on CoinJournal.