This week in the crypto world we saw former FTX executive Ryan Salame plead guilty for using Alameda’s money to make political contributions, the first Ethereum ETFs filed and Visa expanding its blockchain settlement trial with Solana.
I hope they know how to turn it off and on again.
Salame Bites the Bullet
This week saw Ryan Salame, a former FTX executive at the exchange, plead guilty to criminal charges related to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange, mainly around political contributions.
Salame, who co-led FTX Digital Markets in the Bahamas, funnelled $24 million to the Republican party during his time on the crazy train, most of which seems to have come from FTX’s trading arm Alameda Research. After spending the last few weeks coming to an agreement with prosecutors in order to avoid trial, Salame pleaded guilty to conspiring to make unlawful political contributions and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. He’ll be sentenced in March and could face up to 10 years in prison, where one can but hope he will be joined by the individuals he snitched on just before FTX collapsed.
First Ethereum ETFs Filed
Isn’t it typical, you wait eight years for an Ethereum ETF filing and then two come alone at once? That’s what happened this week when ArkInvest and VanEck filed for the first spot Ethereum ETFs, trying to cash in on the Bitcoin ETF fever that the SEC will almost certainly do its best to stamp out of the market.
There will of course be the usual issues with an ETF that the SEC has raised before, with the added concern that The Gensler thinks that Ethereum could be a security.
Yeah, good luck Cathie.
Visa to Test Stablecoin Payments on Solana
We all know Visa loves a bit of crypto (and NFTs), and it this week showed us that it loves to bend down and turn something off and then on again by expanding its USDC settlement service to the Solana blockchain.
Solana, which has crashed more times than Herbie (ask your parents), was chosen over the thousands of other options out there, including the institutions’ blockchain du jour BSV, to be the test bed for stablecoin settlements. The payment giant has been working on stablecoin settlements for over two years and has decided that Solana is the best option out there to meet its needs, which has left many scratching their raised eyebrows.
Well, maybe they know something we don’t.
