This week in the crypto world we saw more developments in the Sam Bankman-Fried trial, Paul Tudor Jones doubling down on Bitcoin, and the SEC deciding not to appeal the Grayscale verdict.
They’re only going to get an ETF if the court mandates it, let’s be honest.
Sam Bankman-Fried Trial Continues to Enthrall
So it turns out that last week was just the fluffing, with everyone waiting for Caroline Ellison to f**k Sam Bankman-Fried much more spectacularly than she ever did when they were romantically intertwined. And she delivered. After Bankman-Fried’s former high school friend and co-found of FTX, Gary Wang (appropriately enough), told the jury in the former’s trial that the FTX/Alameda Research inner circle committed wire fraud, Ellison stole the show by trashing her former beau’s reputation and putting him several clown steps further towards jail.
Ellison told the court that Bankman-Fried told her to commit wire fraud, sold FTX customers’ bitcoin in order to keep the price below $20,000, fraudulently safeguard the FTT price, and much more. There was even corroboration of the sensational claim that FTX insiders tapped Thai prostitutes in a bid to try and reclaim $1 billion worth of funds frozen by the Chinese government.
Can next week top that? Almost impossible.
Paul Tudor Jones Pushes Bitcoin Narrative
Billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones this week emphasized Bitcoin’s value in a tumultuous geopolitical climate, advocating for both it and gold as suitable investments at the current time. Tudor Jones, who first talked up Bitcoin in 2020 as a hedge against inflation, highlighted the challenging global environment, including conflicts like the Israel-Gaza war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as reasons to own Bitcoin and gold, while underscoring the US’s fiscal vulnerability.
The billionaire suggested allocating a higher percentage of portfolios to both assets, expressing concerns that aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes could trigger an economic downturn.
Yeah, idiots.
SEC Won’t Appeal Grayscale Decision
The prospect of a Bitcoin ETF could be a step closer after it was reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) won’t appeal the recent court defeat against Grayscale over its “capricious” denial of Grayscale’s ETF conversion. Reuters reported late on Friday that the agency will not appeal the defeat it suffered in August, paving the way for the agency to review Grayscale’s application.
Grayscale sued the SEC after its attempts to convert its Bitcoin trust into a full spot ETF failed, with the appeals court ruling that the SEC arbitrarily denied Grayscale’s application. If the SEC does indeed decide not to object then the appeals court will likely issue a mandate specifying how its decision should be executed, which will likely include instructing the SEC to revisit Grayscale’s application.
This doesn’t mean a Bitcoin ETF is certain, however, as the SEC could find other grounds on which to object.
