ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the U.S. Attorney's Office opposes a request made by former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame to withdraw his guilty plea related to campaign finance violations. In documents submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on August 26, prosecutors stated that they would oppose Salame's legal team's petition, which is to be filed in writing by September 4.The former FTX executive's attorney previously submitted a petition to correct errors, attempting to have the court overturn Salame's plea agreement, which resulted in Salame being sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. Salame claims that prosecutors implied during plea negotiations that they would not investigate his partner, Michelle Bond, but on August 22, authorities announced an indictment against Bond, accusing her of violating campaign finance laws while running for a U.S. House seat in 2022. The documents state: "Salame's petition is based on a (clearly erroneous) allegation. That is: he pleaded guilty because government representatives indicated that if he pleaded guilty, the government would cease its investigation into Bond's and Salame's alleged conspiracy to commit criminal campaign finance violations."

ChainCatcher news, according to CNBC, former FTX executive Ryan Salame seeks to withdraw his plea agreement, claiming that the federal government violated the agreement to terminate the investigation of his partner.In a filing submitted on Wednesday, Salame's attorney requested to withdraw the plea agreement and accused the government of violating a key provision of the agreement, which was not to investigate his partner Michelle Bond. The motion states: "The government used plea negotiations to threaten Salame's partner and her family."

ChainCatcher news, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is expected to be released after reaching a plea agreement with U.S. authorities, which will equate to the time he has served in a British prison. Assange will plead guilty to a charge of conspiracy to obtain and disclose defense information brought by the U.S. In return, he will be sentenced to a 62-month prison term, which matches the time he has served at Belmarsh Prison in London. Assange is an Australian citizen and will be free to return to Australia upon his release.

According to ChainCatcher news, Bloomberg reported that U.S. prosecutors urged a federal judge to accept Binance's plea agreement based on a sentencing memorandum submitted to the Seattle federal court on Friday. Binance admitted to violating anti-money laundering and sanctions regulations at the end of last year and agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine. Prosecutors stated that given the nature and severity of Binance's misconduct—deliberate, led by executives, and resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in collateral consequences—the proposed penalties in the plea agreement are appropriate. The plea agreement also requires Binance to undergo monitoring for up to five years.Additionally, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has admitted to violating anti-money laundering regulations and will be sentenced in April. He faces up to 10 years in prison, but under the plea agreement, his sentence is expected to be no more than 18 months.

ChainCatcher news, according to the latest report from Matrixport, with Zhao Changpeng stepping down and the fine amount being lower than the previously feared $10 billion, Binance is likely to remain one of the top three exchanges in the next 2-3 years. There may be pressure for the company, which has 6,000 employees, to undergo "rationalization adjustments." Although this plea agreement does not include the U.S. SEC, it is a very favorable outcome for Zhao Changpeng and Binance itself. Some may argue that U.S. agencies are cleaning up the industry this year by dismantling banks associated with U.S. cryptocurrency, as two of these banks operated an internal ledger that crypto companies could use around the clock to transfer fiat currency. It can be said that the remaining few (considered) major players are dwindling, and the market is digesting a significant risk-averse event.Regarding the impact of this regulation, the report analyzes that more exchanges will strengthen their compliance programs and become part of monitoring sharing agreements, which will help in the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. With this plea agreement, expectations for a spot Bitcoin ETF may have risen to 100%, as the entire industry will be forced to comply with the rules that traditional financial companies must follow. More importantly, the cleansing of this industry will strengthen the case for institutional investors to adopt Bitcoin and may make Bitcoin a safe-haven asset in investors' portfolios.Institutions are on the rise, and all enforcement actions by U.S. agencies this year are steps in that direction. As the macro environment continues to provide favorable conditions and institutional demand, 2024 is likely to be another strong year for Bitcoin—Zhao Changpeng may return during the next bear market in 2026.

ChainCatcher news, the plea agreement of former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has been disclosed, including a $250,000 bail, surrender of travel documents, asset forfeiture, etc., which means Caroline Ellison will not be allowed to leave the United States.In addition, the plea agreement also reveals that if Caroline Ellison fully cooperates with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and any other law enforcement agencies designated by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, she will not face further criminal prosecution, except for criminal tax violations related to wire and commodity fraud charges (due to the commingling of funds between FTX and Alameda, she may face lawsuits from other regulatory agencies).Earlier, ChainCatcher reported that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced charges against Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, both of whom have pleaded guilty to federal charges, with Caroline Ellison admitting to conspiracy to commit wire fraud against FTX customers, conspiracy to commit wire fraud against Alameda Research lenders, conspiracy to commit commodity fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, among seven charges, which could result in a maximum sentence of 110 years in prison. (source link)