ChainCatcher news, a federal judge in California dismissed a class action lawsuit against the Dfinity Foundation, the developer of ICP. U.S. District Judge James Donato granted Dfinity's motion to dismiss, ruling that the case was "time-barred" due to exceeding the three-year statute of limitations under the Securities Exchange Act.The court supported Dfinity's argument that it first offered ICP tokens to the public in February 2017, thus the investor lawsuit from August 2021 was beyond the statutory timeframe.The plaintiffs, represented at the time by Freedman Normand Friedland LLP (formerly Roche Freedman), did not respond to the defendants' arguments. Therefore, Judge Donato wrote that dismissing these claims due to the statute of limitations was "obvious."

ChainCatcher news, encrypted KOL Thomas John Sfraga, also known as "TJ Stone," was sentenced to 45 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Frederic Block in the Brooklyn Federal Court for wire fraud. As part of the sentence, he was ordered to forfeit $1,337,700, with the restitution amount to be determined later.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, has dismissed the lawsuit filed by the U.S. SEC against cryptocurrency founder Richard Heart. The founder was accused of illegally using millions of dollars of investor funds to purchase a 555-carat black diamond. The SEC alleged that Heart raised over $1 billion through the sale of unregistered securities, including Hex tokens and other digital assets related to his PulseChain blockchain network and PulseX decentralized finance platform. In the initial lawsuit, the agency stated that Heart and PulseChain used at least $12.1 million of investor funds for personal luxury purchases, including diamonds, expensive watches, and high-end cars. Judge Carol Amon found that the SEC failed to provide sufficient facts to prove that these actions occurred in the United States, allowing the SEC to amend its complaint to "correct the identified deficiencies."

ChainCatcher news, on Thursday local time, a federal judge in California temporarily blocked the Trump administration's order for the Department of Defense and other federal agencies to lay off thousands of newly hired employees.U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco stated at the hearing that the Office of Personnel Management does not have the authority to order federal agencies to dismiss any employees, including probationary employees who typically have less than one year of work experience.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, the proceedings in the Ripple case are more complex compared to Coinbase. The reason is that Judge Torres has issued a $125 million fine at the district court level and will retain jurisdiction over the case until August 7, 2025.Even if the SEC chooses to withdraw its appeal in the Second Circuit, it will still need to reach a new agreement with the district court regarding the fine ruling and obtain Judge Torres's approval. A legal expert told Terrett that we are currently in "uncharted territory," and there is significant uncertainty regarding future developments.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi citing The New York Times, the Trump Media Technology Group (DJT.O) has filed a lawsuit against a Brazilian Supreme Court judge in the federal court in Tampa, Florida.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, a U.S. judge ruled that Musk's team can access the U.S. Department of Education's system.

ChainCatcher message, Linea announced on social media that it has completed the review of complaints regarding ecosystem Sybil Attacks and updated the witch list.This review confirmed 3,500 misjudged addresses and removed them from the list. Users can check their account status through the official link.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Reuters, on Friday, a U.S. federal judge ruled that the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase must face a lawsuit from customers who accuse the exchange of illegally selling securities without being registered as a broker-dealer. U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan dismissed Coinbase's argument that it did not qualify as a "statutory seller" under federal securities law because it never transferred ownership of the 79 tokens involved in customer transactions. The judge cited the allegations: "Customers on Coinbase only transact with Coinbase itself," which is sufficient to conclude that Coinbase is a seller.Engelmayer also refused to dismiss the claims brought under the laws of California, Florida, and New Jersey, stating that customers have sufficiently alleged that Coinbase is a direct seller of these tokens. Coinbase stated in a statement: "Coinbase does not list, offer, or sell securities on its exchange. We look forward to defending against the remaining allegations in district court."

ChainCatcher news, according to market news, a U.S. judge has temporarily restricted the "Government Efficiency Department" led by Musk from accessing sensitive data from the Treasury.

ChainCatcher message, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju posted on social media, "The Bitcoin bull market cycle has not ended. The Bitcoin buying engine is still running. In 2021, the market downturn occurred two months after the GBTC fund inflow dried up.There is no need to rush to judge the cycle peak before the slowdown in ETF, MicroStrategy, and institutional purchases."

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the founder of the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme Forcount, Antonia Perez Hernandez, has pleaded guilty to telecommunications fraud and has been sentenced to over two years in prison.On January 27, during a hearing at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), Judge Analisa Torres (who is also the judge presiding over the SEC's case against Ripple Labs) sentenced Hernandez to 30 months in prison for her involvement in the cryptocurrency scam. Hernandez admitted to collaborating with accomplices from 2017 to 2021 to promote cryptocurrency trading and mining on Forcount, stealing approximately $8.4 million from investors by promising substantial returns.Hernandez apologized to those who "suffered financial losses" due to her actions. The project's senior founder, Juan Tacuri, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in October 2024, while the indicted Nestor Nuñez was also sentenced to 4 years in November.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jin Shi reports, court documents released on January 13 local time show that U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has allowed the Justice Department to release the special prosecutor's report on Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 election. In addition, the judge has extended the deadline for the suspension of the report on Trump's classified documents case.

ChainCatcher U.S. District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton approved the request from Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and the SEC to seal certain court documents. As the case progresses, both parties can now keep sensitive information confidential.The sealed documents include key evidence related to the summary judgment and expert testimony, which are crucial to the case. Ripple sought to seal 8 pieces of evidence related to the summary judgment and 56 pieces of evidence opposing the SEC's motion.Meanwhile, the SEC requested to seal some of its evidence, including expert testimony.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, IT engineer James Howells from Newport, Wales, has lost a lawsuit to recover a hard drive containing over $770 million worth of Bitcoin.The hard drive mined Bitcoin worth over $770 million in 2009 but was mistakenly discarded in a landfill, and due to environmental permit reasons, Howells is currently prohibited from entering the landfill.According to the BBC on January 9, Keyser stated that the legal case is "impossible" to win in a full trial.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in the Southern District of New York has postponed the sentencing of Mango Markets attacker Avi Eisenberg to April 10. Documents show that the judge granted a request from Avi Eisenberg's attorney to delay the sentencing hearing to April 10, which was originally scheduled for December 12.Previously, Avi Eisenberg was convicted of fraud and market manipulation in April 2024 and could face 20 years in prison.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York approved Coinbase's interlocutory appeal request on Tuesday, temporarily halting the lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the exchange. An interlocutory appeal refers to an appeal made before the judge has issued a final ruling, and such requests are typically rarely granted. The case will next be submitted to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals for consideration.Judge Failla noted in her order that this case raises a key legal question regarding the applicability of the Howey test in the context of crypto assets, a question that has significant divergence, and its resolution will help advance the final ruling on SEC enforcement actions. She emphasized that due to the "conflicting authoritative interpretations" of the Howey test in crypto assets, further clarification from the Second Circuit is needed.Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad stated that this decision is yet another blow to the SEC leadership's attempts to create ongoing uncertainty and chaos, and he thanked Judge Failla for allowing the interlocutory appeal.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Washington Post, the judge overseeing the criminal hush money case against elected President Donald Trump has denied Trump's lawyers' request to postpone this week's ruling while awaiting an appeal. New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan wrote in his ruling that Trump's argument regarding presidential immunity is a repetition of previously failed attempts and is legally inappropriate. He stated that the ruling date remains set for Friday (January 10).Previously, Trump's lawyers appealed the ruling in his "hush money" criminal case and requested the judge to delay the sentencing procedure scheduled for this week. Trump's lawyers believe that the sentencing must be postponed during the appeal.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, a U.S. court has postponed the CFTC vs. Gemini case to January 21, 2025. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein announced that the hearing date for the civil case between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Gemini Trust Company has been moved from the originally scheduled January 13, 2025, to January 21, and made it clear that there will be no further delays.The CFTC filed a lawsuit against Gemini in June 2022, accusing it of providing false or misleading information when applying for Bitcoin futures contracts in 2017, and seeking the return of illegal profits, civil penalties, and injunctions. The delay in the case may be influenced by the incoming administration and new congressional policies.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, U.S. Federal Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled to deny the request for a temporary restraining order filed by Hong Kong company BiT Global, allowing Coinbase to proceed with its plan to delist Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) from its platform.The judge found that BiT Global failed to demonstrate that Coinbase's actions would cause it "irreparable harm that is imminent."