This week in the crypto world we saw Tether embroiled in criminal accusations, Do Kwon’s SEC case getting delayed, and Coinbase facing off against the SEC.
And it’s only January.
Tether Hits Back at UN Claims
USDT issuer Tether this week hit back at claims by a wing of the United Nations that its coin has become a key tool for illicit actors in Southeast Asia. The company said it was “disappointed” in the allegations made by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), arguing that it conducts “unparalleled monitoring” of its token and pointed to its assistance with law enforcement agencies worldwide as evidence of its desire to work within the law.
It didn’t deny the claims though, so…
Do Kwon Trial Delayed
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken steps to make sure that its party for Do Kwon doesn’t start without him. The agency asked the court to push back the start date of its court case against the Terraform Labs CEO in order to secure his presence, with the South Korean expected to be extradited to the US in March.
The agency has sued Kown on the basis that he orchestrated “a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud” through his UST token and hid the truth about its stability, or lack of it.
Which, you know, he did.
SEC and Coinbase Face Off in Court
Coinbase and the SEC finally had their day in court over the exchange’s attempt to dismiss the agency’s lawsuit against it. Coinbase filed last August to have the case dismissed and this week the two sides were involved in a five-hour hearing over the SEC’s claim that Coinbase sold securities through its sale of 13 cryptocurrencies.
The case will have a huge bearing on the future of cryptocurrencies in the US, with the sector set to be decimated if Coinbase loses, as this will be a defacto ruling that all cryptocurrencies bar Bitcoin are securities.
The judge did not make a ruling from the bench, meaning one will be forthcoming in a few weeks.
