United States District Judge Robert Shelby has cautioned the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawyers, hinting at possible sanctions due to purportedly deceptive statements in a legal action against Digital Licensing Inc., also recognized as DEBT Box, a crypto company.

Lodged in the federal court of Utah, the SEC’s legal action alleged that DEBT Box deceived investors by around $50 million via the vending of unregistered securities known as “node licenses.”

Judge Shelby’s decision revealed notable discrepancies in the SEC’s case. Initially, the SEC, led by attorney Michael Welsh, had convinced the court to freeze DEBT Box’s assets, arguing the company was moving to…

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The legal duel between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Kraken, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, looks like another misguided attempt by the SEC to exert control over an industry that fundamentally challenges an outdated regulatory playbook. The agency’s lawsuit, filed in November, accuses Kraken of operating as an unregistered securities exchange.

The lawsuit isn’t just a repeat of the SEC’s past failures. It’s also a glaring example of regulatory overreach that fails to grasp the essence of cryptocurrency. It mirrors the agency’s actions against Coinbase, which mark a pattern of aggressive regulation that is both ineffectual and…

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El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who was behind legislation recognizing Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in the country, has stepped down from office to campaign.

On Dec. 1, Bukele resigned as the President of El Salvador following approval from the country’s Legislative Assembly, allowing him to take a leave of absence to focus on his 2024 re-election campaign. He was succeeded by Acting President Claudia Rodríguez de Guevara, who is expected to serve until June 2024. The next general election will take place in February 2024.

“Current state of democracy in El Salvador: the office of the President of the Republic will be occupied by a person for whom no one has ever voted,” said…

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Ether (ETH) is trading higher on Dec. 1, despite its inability to breach the $2,100 resistance. This level has prompted several rejections in the past three weeks, which is especially concerning given Ether’s 16.2% gains in November.

Ether 12-hour price index, USD. Source: TradingView

However, the current positive momentum is supported by several factors, including applications for spot ETFs and the expansion of Ethereum’s ecosystem, driven by layer-2 solutions.

ETH benefits from ETF expectations and negative news related to competing blockchains

A pivotal development occurred on Nov. 30, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiating the review process for…

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A federal judge thinks attorneys from the US Securities and Exchange Commission lied to receive a temporary restraining order, and he’s ordered them to explain why. 

In an order to show cause filed in Ohio Thursday, judge Robert Shelby has demanded the SEC make a case for why its lawyers shouldn’t be sanctioned by the court after conflicting stories led him to believe the agency presented false and misleading evidence in order to freeze Digital Licensing and DEBT Box’s assets in July 2023. 

After accusing Digital Licensing, which operates under the name DEBT Box, of offering an unregistered security and defrauding investors of “at least $49 million,” the SEC’s legal team…

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Following his conviction on federal fraud charges on Nov. 2, former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried will not pursue any post-trial motions.

In a Dec. 1 letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, lawyers representing Bankman-Fried said they had “decided not to file any post-trial motions” but reserved their rights to pursue claims on appeal. The filing was the latest following SBF’s conviction on Nov. 2 as he awaits sentencing on March 28.

Source: Courtlistener

It’s unclear whether prosecutors plan to move forward with Bankman-Fried’s second trial in March. The former FTX CEO’s indictment was split in order for him to…

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The Ethereum network’s greenhouse gas emissions have dropped by an estimated 99.97% since its shift to proof-of-stake, despite a big rise in node count.

That’s according to new research by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. The organization has upped its crypto research effort after in April launching the Cambridge Blockchain Network Sustainability Index (CBNSI) — a measure that detailed Ethereum’s electricity consumption pre- and post-Merge. 

The Ethereum network currently is responsible for 2.8 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (KtCO2e) on an annualized basis, the CCAF said in a Friday report. 

“To contextualize, this would equate to the emissions from…

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Yeeting ETH into the void is nothing new for Ethereans.

By the time the Beacon Chain officially launched on Dec. 1, 2020, the staking contract — referred to as “ETH 2.0” back then — had already seen around 880,000 ETH in deposits.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that multisig-with-a-plan project Blast now sports $650 million in staked ether and stablecoins under its control.

Blast’s explicit promise is that deposited tokens will earn an on-chain yield, plus rewards of unknown value. Ether staking yield comes via Lido’s stETH tokens, while stablecoins are converted to dai deposited in Maker, or savings dai (sDAI).

On Thursday it emerged that the Blast deposit interface set its…

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Crypto is full of divisive figures, but Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao is right up there. 

He’s threatened to sue journalists, airdropped crypto to earthquake victims in lieu of food or aid, and even once suggested rolling back the Bitcoin blockchain to undo a $40 million hack on his exchange. 

Or should I say, was right up there. The US muzzled Zhao with money laundering and sanctions violations last week. 

But like a monk shedding himself of worldly possessions before attaining enlightenment, crypto as an “industry” could probably do without quite as many cults of personality. 

And what better way than to remove one of the largest personalities than with a court order?

The…

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Elon Musk made some of his boldest claims yet concerning the future of artificial intelligence (AI) during an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.

During a wide-ranging interview, Musk responded to questions concerning recent lawsuits levied against some of the billionaire’s competitors in the AI space related to alleged copyright infringement.

Related: Elon Musk launches AI chatbot ‘Grok,’ says it can outperform ChatGPT

“So, you think it’s a lie,” Sorkin asked Musk during the interview, “when OpenAI says that… none of these guys say that they’re training on copyrighted data.”

Musk’s response, “Yeah, that’s a lie.”

Elon Musk’s digital god

It’s unclear…

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