ChainCatcher News, U.S. Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan announced on October 18 local time the evidence in the Trump election immunity lawsuit, failing to postpone the announcement until after the November 5 U.S. presidential election.Previously, on July 1, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Trump enjoys a certain degree of immunity from criminal prosecution in federal cases involving alleged "interference in the 2020 election," but does not have immunity from prosecution for actions taken in a private capacity, and instructed lower courts to reconsider the case to determine which actions qualify as "official acts" that cannot be prosecuted.This ruling indicates that the progress of the case will take time. U.S. media generally believe that Trump is unlikely to face trial before the presidential election in November this year.

ChainCatcher news, according to Benzinga, global asset management giant BlackRock has stated that interest in Bitcoin as a reserve asset is rising due to the U.S. federal debt reaching $35 trillion. BlackRock's ETF Chief Investment Officer Samara Cohen and Head of Digital Assets Robert Mitchnick pointed out that concerns over the spread of the U.S. federal deficit and debt issues are driving widespread institutional interest in Bitcoin. Bitcoin is seen as a "unique diversification tool" to hedge against fiscal, monetary, and geopolitical risks.BlackRock's CEO Larry Fink has referred to Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation, especially in the context of rising global tensions and the threat of de-dollarization.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the federal court in Northern California denied cryptocurrency exchange Kraken's request to dismiss the SEC lawsuit in a ruling on August 23. The SEC accused Kraken of operating an unregistered securities trading platform, and the court found the SEC's allegations that certain cryptocurrency transactions on the Kraken platform constitute investment contracts to be reasonable. A final ruling in the case has yet to be made.Kraken's Chief Legal Officer Marco Santori stated that they will prove these transactions do not meet the requirements of the Howey test.

ChainCatcher news, according to Blockworks, during a four-hour hearing held on Monday, Binance faced off against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington, attempting to dismiss the charges brought against the exchange, its U.S. subsidiary, and former CEO Changpeng Zhao last summer. Binance's defense team called for the invocation of the major questions doctrine. This means that the court would not interpret congressional statutes as allowing agencies to make determinations on issues of "significant" political or economic importance.Binance wrote in its motion to dismiss: "Given the broad nature of the SEC's statutory arguments, the stakes here are even greater than the significant impact on the cryptocurrency market." Judge Amy Berman Jackson acknowledged on Monday that the case has implications for the entire cryptocurrency industry. However, she still "leans against" believing that the major questions doctrine applies to this case.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, U.S. federal prosecutors have managed to suspend the bail order of SafeMoon CEO Braden John Karony on the grounds that he poses a flight risk and that his release could "pose a danger to the community."

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the U.S. federal court is prepared to officially rule in favor of Grayscale in its dispute with the U.S. SEC over the Bitcoin spot ETF. According to the procedures for such cases, after the SEC decided last week not to appeal the court's ruling, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has seven days to conclude the case. The deadline is this Friday, and the court can choose to terminate the case without comment or issue further instructions to the SEC regarding the next steps.According to a source familiar with the matter, the court's final ruling may be announced on Friday local time or next Monday. The industry widely expects that the SEC will approve new ETFs, but it is uncertain whether this will happen later this year or sometime in 2024. If approved, Grayscale will convert its Bitcoin trust GBTC into an ETF and list it on the NYSE Arca.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, U.S. federal agents are conducting an in-depth investigation into Gemini's allegations against DCG, including a continued review of internal transactions involving DCG and its subsidiary Genesis.According to informed sources, Brooklyn prosecutors, FBI agents, and SEC staff have met with Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss in recent months to discuss his allegations against DCG. Individuals familiar with the investigation have revealed that U.S. law enforcement officials are focusing on DCG's borrowing from Genesis, as well as the information provided by DCG founder and CEO Barry Silbert to investors and others regarding this arrangement.

ChainCatcher news, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a federal court has ordered the South African company Mirror Trading International Proprietary Limited (MTI) to pay over $1.7 billion in forex fraud restitution. The ruling found that the company engaged in fraudulent activities in retail forex trading, that the commodity pool operator (CPO) engaged in fraudulent activities, violated registration regulations, and failed to comply with CPO regulations.It is reported that MTI's controller Steynberg was involved in an international fraudulent multi-level marketing scheme, selling Bitcoin to people to participate in an unregistered commodity pool operated by MTI. It was claimed that off-exchange retail forex trading was conducted through the defendant's falsely claimed proprietary "robots" or software programs. During this period, Steynberg, as an individual and as an agent and representative of MTI, obtained at least 29,421 Bitcoins from at least 23,000 individuals in the U.S. and thousands of individuals worldwide, with the court finding that Steynberg directly or indirectly embezzled all the Bitcoins obtained from the commodity pool participants. The MTI company is currently undergoing liquidation in the Republic of South Africa.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinGape, a U.S. federal judge has approved Binance.US lawyer Andrew Rhys Davies to submit a notice of appearance on behalf of BAM Management US Holdings and BAM Trading Services (Binance.US), allowing him to appear in court as legal counsel in the lawsuit between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Binance, Binance.US.

ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald for the Southern District of New York issued a permanent injunction against Michael Ackerman, prohibiting him from trading on any CFTC-regulated market and from registering with the CFTC. Ackerman is also ordered to pay $27 million in restitution to fraud victims and a $27 million civil penalty for a fraudulent digital asset trading scheme.The CFTC stated that from August 2017 to December 2019, Ackerman defrauded over 150 individuals and entities of at least $33 million, claiming it was for digital asset trading. However, less than $10 million was used for trading digital commodity assets, with the remaining funds misappropriated for personal use or to extend the fraudulent scheme. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, a federal judge overseeing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case against Binance and Changpeng Zhao has denied the request from Binance's lawyers to condemn the language used by the regulatory agency in its press release.Binance's lawyers questioned the SEC's wording that described Binance's alleged mixing or transferring of customer assets from the exchange to "investment vehicles controlled by Changpeng Zhao." The judge stated, "While all attorneys in this case should always adhere to their ethical obligations, it is currently unclear whether the court needs to intervene to reiterate this point, or whether it is necessary or appropriate for the court to intervene to modify the wording of the parties' press releases. It remains unclear whether the agency's public relations efforts to date will have a significant impact on the litigation process in this case." (source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, a U.S. federal judge has ordered Binance, Binance.US, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to participate in a mediation meeting to discuss restrictions on Binance's operations. The first mediation meeting is scheduled for June 14 at 2:45 PM Eastern Time. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Digital Asset, Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon has recently hired a global law firm DENTONS to assist him in dealing with the prosecution and investigation by U.S. federal prosecutors. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley has denied the consolidation of five class action lawsuits filed by investors against the FTX exchange. The judge noted that there was no need to consolidate before hearing from the defendants, and not all defendants had the opportunity to respond.It is reported that multiple plaintiffs accused former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and other executives of misappropriating their assets and filed lawsuits in the Northern District of California. While all plaintiffs are pursuing SBF, these cases also include various other defendants, including external auditors and personnel related to the exchange. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, recently a U.S. federal judge Victor Marrero stated in court documents that NBA Top Shot Moments NFTs meet the criteria to be considered securities and rejected Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which accuses Dapper Labs of violating securities laws by selling NBA Top Shot Moments NFTs without standard registration and disclosure.The court documents indicate that this ruling applies only to NBA Top Shot Moments NFTs and may not apply to other NFTs. Dapper Labs' control over these assets after selling NBA Top Shot Moments, as well as some marketing tweets about NFTs, suggested that these assets would appreciate in value. (The Block)

According to a report by Reuters, sources have disclosed that U.S. federal prosecutors have launched an investigation into digital wallet transactions related to SBF. It is reported that prosecutors from the Southern District of New York will confirm whether SBF attempted to transfer assets or cash out some digital assets without approval. So far, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and SBF's lawyers have not responded to requests for comment.In a previous report, SBF tweeted to clarify that the funds transferred from the Alameda Research wallet after his bail are not related to him. He stated, "None of this was done by me; I have not and cannot access these funds. I can no longer access these funds." (Reuters)

ChainCatcher news, citing sources from Reuters, reported that there is a division among prosecutors in the U.S. Department of Justice regarding whether to file criminal charges against Binance, including money laundering. Some prosecutors believe they have gathered enough evidence to bring criminal charges against Binance executives, including CZ; others believe more time is needed to review additional evidence.According to insiders, the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into Binance began in 2018, covering issues such as unlicensed money transfers, money laundering, and violations of criminal sanctions. Additionally, sources said that officials from the Department of Justice have discussed potential plea agreements with Binance's lawyers. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, a spokesperson for the Federal Trade Commission, Juliana Gruenwald Henderson, stated in a statement that it is investigating several cryptocurrency companies, accusing them of having deceptive or misleading advertisements, but declined to provide further details about the confidential investigation. (Bloomberg)

ChainCatcher news, citing sources from Bloomberg, states that months before FTX filed for bankruptcy protection, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York had been investigating whether the exchange complied with the Bank Secrecy Act. This investigation targets cryptocurrency platforms with branches in the U.S. and overseas, including FTX's Bahamian entity.FTX is currently facing additional investigations from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the U.S. Department of Justice. The U.S. House Financial Services Committee also announced last week that it will hold hearings on the FTX collapse and its impact on the broader digital asset industry. (Bloomberg)

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, a U.S. federal bankruptcy court judge rejected the crypto lending platform Celsius's request to pay nearly $3 million in a "key employee retention plan" (KERP) to some employees, citing a lack of transparency in Celsius's public filings.In a motion submitted by Celsius's attorneys on October 11, they claimed that the plan was necessary to prevent company employees from jumping to other crypto platforms. The plan would distribute the requested approximately $3 million in funds as cash bonuses to 62 of the company's current 274 employees. (source link)