Sam Bankman-Fried convicted, PayPal faces SEC subpoena, and other news: Hodler’s Digest, Oct. 19

Sam Bankman-Fried is found guilty of fraud, other crimes; PayPal receives subpoena from the U.S. SEC, and Invesco Galaxy’s spot Bitcoin ETF joins DTCC website.

Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty, what’s next for the crypto king?

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of all seven charges by a jury in his criminal trial in New York after about four hours of deliberation. He was convicted of two counts of wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of securities fraud, one count of commodities fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering conspiracy. He will return to court for sentencing by New York District Judge Lewis Kaplan on March 28, 2024. Government prosecutors will recommend a sentence, but Judge Kaplan will have the final say. Bankman-Frieds crimes each carry a maximum sentence of between five and 20 years in prison with the wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy carrying a maximum 20-year sentence. His lawyers, however, say the fight isnt over yet.

Payment giant PayPal has received a subpoena from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin. The subpoena requested that PayPal produce certain documents, the firm said. We are cooperating with the SEC regarding this request, PayPal noted in a financial report. The SEC has sued several of the largest local companies in the crypto industry, including its ongoing lawsuit against Coinbase. In October 2023, the regulator moved to dismiss its lawsuit against Ripple, the company behind the XRP token, one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap.

Invesco Galaxy spot Bitcoin ETF joins BlackRock on DTCC site

The ticker for Invesco and Galaxys spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) BTCO has appeared on the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporations (DTCC) website, marking a step forward in the application process for the two asset managers. A ticker added to the list of ETF Products on the DTCCs site is not a guarantee of future approval for that product. However, according to a DTCC spokesperson, it is standard practice to add securities to the NSCC security eligibility file in preparation for the launch of a new ETF to the market. Recently, BlackRock and 21Shares’ application for a similar product were added to the DTCC website as well.

Top Swiss bank launches Bitcoin and Ether trading with SEBA

Switzerlands St.Galler Kantonalbank (SGKB), one of the largest banks in the country, is moving into cryptocurrency by introducing Bitcoin and Ether trading to its customers. The bank has partnered with the SEBA Bank to offer its clients digital asset custody and brokerage services. SGKB plans to expand its offerings to additional cryptocurrencies based on client demand. Founded back in 1868, St.Galler Kantonalbank is reportedly the fifth largest bank in Switzerland, having had a total of 53.6 billion Swiss francs ($58.9 billion) in assets under management at the end of 2022.

Jack Dorseys Block had $5.62B in revenue, $44M in Bitcoin profits in Q3

Jack Dorsey-led Block published its third-quarter earnings report on Nov. 2, revealing a profitable quarter and surpassing analyst expectations. The firm had $5.62 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2023, boosted by solid revenue growth in Cash App and Square, with $44 million in profit on its Bitcoin holdings thanks to a price surge in recent months. Block generated a gross profit of $1.90 billion, up 21% year-over-year.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $34,634, Ether (ETH) at $1,829 and XRP at $0.61. The total market cap is at $1.29 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are THORChain (RUNE) at 39.73%, Arweave (AR) at 32.15%, and Oasis Network (ROSE) at 24.88%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Quant (QNT) at -7.34%, Pepe (PEPE) at -6.49%, and Mina (MINA) at -4.13%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraphs market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

He [Sam Bankman-Fried] lied to get customers trust.

Danielle Sassoon, U.S. assistant attorney

We respect the jurys decision. But we are very disappointed with the result. Mr. Bankman Fried maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him.

Mark Cohen, attorney of Sam Bankman-Fried

[Bitcoin] demand is going to increase, and supply is going to contract and this is fairly unprecedented in the history of Wall Street.

Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy

The Bitcoin Ordinal protocol is better designed for decentralization and security than the Ethereum NFT protocol. High-value NFTs will win on Bitcoin.

Danny Yang, CEO of Metagood

I dont own any Bitcoin, to be frank, but I should.

Stanley Druckenmiller, billionaire investor

Fuck regulators.

Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX

Prediction of the Week

Bitcoin to the moon! Top 5 BTC price predictions for 2024 and beyond

A lot can happen in Bitcoin within a short space of time, and with 2024 less than two months away, there is plenty of time for fresh BTC price volatility to take hold. Before the yearly candle close, some say BTC/USD will be higher than at present to the tune of another 30%.

In a blog post in late October, Matrixport doubled down on a $45,000 year-end price target, which it initially revealed in January. It was based on a handful of in-house models, with Matrixport also successfully predicting Bitcoins October gains. Bitcoin is breaking above the July $31,500 resistance level, showing that $45,000 is achievable by year-end, it summarized.

For many, the halving is a watershed moment in every Bitcoin price cycle. In September, BitQuant stated that BTC/USD would surpass its current $69,000 peak before April 2024.

FUD of the Week

SafeMoon executive team charged with multiple fraud counts, arrests made

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Nov. 1 that it was charging SafeMoon and three of its executives with fraud and unregistered securities sales in connection with its SafeMoon Token. According to the SEC, SafeMoon executives Kyle Nagy, John Karony and Thomas Smith withdrew assets worth $200 million from the project and misappropriated investor funds. The Justice Department is charging the three with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.

Bitget, Floki teams accuse each other of manipulation after token listing

The teams behind the Floki protocol and Bitget crypto exchange have accused each other of market manipulation after the protocols token, TokenFi, was listed and delisted by Bitget. According to a social media post from the Floki team, Bitget listed the token before it was launched, referring to the Bitget listing as a fake token. In a blog post, Bitget claimed that the Floki team was suspected of market manipulation by maliciously controlling the initial liquidity.

Oyster Protocol founder gets 4 years jail for $5.5M tax evasion

Amir Elmaani, founder of the now-defunct Oyster Protocol, has been handed the maximum sentence of four years in prison for tax evasion. The United States Attorneys Office said on Oct. 31 that Elmaani also known by the alias Bruno Block was sentenced to prison following his guilty plea where he admitted to secretly minting and selling Pearl tokens while not paying income tax on a swath of profits from the project. In addition to his four-year prison sentence, Elmaani was sentenced to one year of supervised release and was ordered to pay $5.5 million in restitution.