President Donald Trump granted full pardons to BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed late on Friday.
The trio was criminally charged in October 2020 with U.S. Bank Secrecy Act violations for offering unregistered crypto derivatives to Americans while failing to implement anti-money laundering and user verification programs; all three later pleaded guilty and received varying probationary sentences.
In the sentencing memo for Arthur Hayes, prosecutors contested that BitMEX’s founders flouted applicable U.S. regulation and implemented “sham” compliance controls as they knowingly serviced American customers.
With Trump doling out pardons for crypto convictions, plenty of eyes are on one particularly controversial figure who has been courting a pardon – Sam Bankman-Fried. While Polymarket bettors still are only betting on giving this near-term outcome a 4% chance, citing his reputation as a prominent Dem donor, there are other figures who see higher chances.
2️⃣ FDIC Provides Crypto Clarity
On Friday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) updated its guidance for supervised banking institutions, significantly expanding their ability to engage in crypto-related activities and services.
The revised rules roll back Biden-era “prior notification” requirements, clarifying that FDIC-supervised banks can now pursue permissible crypto-related activities without first seeking approval.
According to the FDIC, such activities include (but aren’t limited to): acting as crypto-asset custodians; maintaining stablecoin reserves; issuing crypto and other digital assets; acting as market makers, exchange agents or redemption agents; participating in blockchain- and distributed ledger-based settlement or payment systems, including performing node functions; as well as related activities such as finder activities and lending.
Perhaps in anticipation of stiff inbound competition, Coinbase (COIN) – a publicly traded crypto-native exchange that currently fulfills many of these functions – has starkly underperformed during the recent market turmoil. Since peaking in the first week of December 2024, COIN stock has fallen 42%, an undeniably sharp drop compared to more mellow 11% and 17% declines experienced by the Nasdaq 100 and BTC, respectively.
3️⃣ Permanent Ink, Temporary Gains
The New York Attorney General’s office (OAG) has reached a $200M settlement with publicly traded crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital (GLXY) for violations of state anti-fraud and business practice laws in relation to the firm’s undisclosed involvement with Terra-Luna leading up to its 2022 collapse.
According to the OAG’s findings, Luna founder Do Kwon contacted Galaxy “to help gain publicity for Luna and Terra” and sold the firm 18.5M LUNA at $0.22 – a 30% discount to its then market price – in October 2020. The OAG’s report highlights Galaxy’s instrumental role in promoting the LUNA fraud to the public without disclosing its intention to sell.
Galaxy CEO Michael Novogratz infamously “bull posted” LUNA by tattooing its associated wolf mascot onto his arm near the token’s peak on January 4, 2022. While Novogratz encouraged his followers to “keep the faith” as LUNA price subsequently slid, his company would secretly dump $104M LUNA onto unwitting buyers over the next 9 days.
4️⃣ GameStop’s BTC Bungle
GameStop (GME) holders just can’t seem to catch a break! The retail favorite had been riding high this Tuesday after an earnings report beat, in which GameStop announced plans to adopt a BTC treasury strategy, but details on how acquisition activities will be financed sent the meme stock spiraling!
Although many expected the purchase to be funded via GameStop’s $4.8B cash horde, after market close on Wednesday, the firm announced its proposed BTC buys would be financed with a $1.3B convertible note offering, opening the door to future share dilution and prompting a visceral reaction from investors.
Shares of GME have lost nearly one-third of their value from the Wednesday earnings-induced high, and the stock closed down over 14% on the week.
5️⃣ Onchain DNA
The Sei Foundation has announced that it is “exploring” options to acquire 23andMe, a now-bankrupt biotech company known for selling DNA testing kits that possess detailed genetic data for 15 million individual users.
While the potential sale of 23andMe has spawned concern for the privacy and security of sensitive user information, the Sei Foundation indicates that it wishes to “return data ownership to users through encrypted, confidential transfers” and “allow users to choose how their data is monetized and share in the revenue.”
The feasibility of such a deal remains uncertain, but when contrasting 23andMe’s paltry $16M market capitalization against Sei’s gargantuan $935M valuation, it is not entirely unreasonable to assume that a bargain could be struck.
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This week, Mike Ippolito joins us to break down crypto’s big flip as institutions rush into stablecoins—triggering excitement and anxiety alike.
Hyperliquid faces drama after a high-stakes market manipulation attack, BlackRock's tokenized treasuries surge to nearly $2 billion, and the U.S. Treasury finally removes Tornado Cash from its sanctions list. Meanwhile, Robinhood enters banking, raising questions about DeFi’s future.
Not financial or tax advice. Bankless content is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
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