2024-06-03 17:33

Lompoc II, the California prison where CZ will serve his sentence, is a low-security facility. Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has reported to a federal prison in California where he will spend the next four months for failing to implement an adequate know-your-customer (KYC) program at the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Zhao, a Canadian national, pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) in November. In April, a federal judge sentenced CZ to four months in prison – a much shorter sentence than the three years federal prosecutors requested, but more than other crypto executives like former BitMex CEO Arthur Hayes received for the same crime. At a net worth of $36.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Zhao is believed to be the richest person to ever go to prison in the U.S. In addition to his sentence, Zhao was also fined $50 million and agreed to step down as Binance’s CEO. Binance, which pleaded guilty to money laundering and sanctions violations at the same time as Zhao, settled the charges earlier this year with $4.3 billion in fines to various federal regulators and the appointment of an independent compliance monitor. Lompac II, where Zhao will serve his short sentence as inmate 88087-510, is a low-security prison in Santa Barbara County, on California’s central coast. According to the Bureau of Prisons’ records, there are currently 2,160 inmates at the facility. The conditions at the prison – where some inmates work on an adjacent farm, growing produce and working with cows and horses – are in stark contrast to the notoriously dangerous facility where former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who got a 25-year prison sentence earlier this year, is currently being held in New York. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/06/03/former-binance-ceo-cz-begins-4-month-prison-sentence-in-california/

2024-06-03 12:16

The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for June 3, 2024. Latest Prices Top Stories Bitcoin kicked off the week by reclaiming $69,000 as crypto assets ticked up across the board during the European morning. BTC is priced around $69,200 at the time of writing, an increase of about 2.5% in the last 24 hours. The broader digital asset market, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), rose 1.4%. Dogecoin led the gains, trading just under 3% higher, after influential retail investor Keith Gill disclosed a $180 million position in Gamestop, sending GME up around 80% in pre-market trading. Meme stock surges are often seen as a bullish indicator for meme coins such as DOGE. A Solana-based GME meme coin has rocketed over 200% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Australia's first bitcoin ETF will begin trading on the Cboe Australia exchange on Tuesday. Monochrome Asset Management's product (IBTC) will be the only ETF to hold bitcoin directly in the country, the company told CoinDesk. Australia already has two exchange-traded products providing exposure to spot crypto assets on Cboe Australia, but they do not hold bitcoin directly. “Before IBTC, Australian investors were only able to invest in ETFs that indirectly hold bitcoin or through offshore bitcoin products, both of which don’t benefit from the investor protection rules under the directly held crypto asset Australian Financial Services Licensing licensing regime,” Monochrome said. The crypto industry has so far gathered about $161 million after Coinbase became the latest company to donate $25 million to its political action committees for the coming U.S. presidential election, which potentially makes it among the most formidable campaign-finance operations in the country. The money is bolstering the coffers of the industry's Fairshake political action committee (PAC), which has been combing through primaries to find candidates who've left their political platforms open to pro-crypto positions. U.S. regulations represent a massive hurdle for the industry to win more significant global acceptance, which could translate to many more mainstream investors. U.S. lawmakers are showing signs of shifting toward wider acceptance of crypto, which could come to a head in legislation that establishes tailored rules of the road for digital assets. Trending Posts U.S. President Biden Vetoes Resolution Overturning SEC Guidance Mexico's Crypto Stance Unlikely to Change as Ruling Morena Party's Claudia Sheinbaum Elected President Meet the Citizens of Consensus https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/06/03/first-mover-americas-crypto-prices-tick-upward-as-meme-coin-season-receives-fresh-impetus/

2024-06-03 12:04

The District of Columbia sued Saylor in 2022 for allegedly not paying income taxes while living in the district. The $40 million deal is D.C.'s biggest-ever income tax fraud recovery, officials said. The district sued Saylor in 2022 for allegedly not paying income taxes while living in the district. Saylor disputes the allegations and said he settled to avoid the "burdens of litigation." MicroStrategy (MSTR) founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor agreed to a $40 million settlement with the District of Columbia in what officials said was the biggest-ever income tax fraud recovery in the district, the attorney general's office announced on Monday. The District of Columbia sued Saylor and his company in August 2022, alleging the executive paid no income taxes in the district during the more than 10 years he had lived there. It also said MicroStrategy conspired to help him do so. The attorney general’s office alleged Saylor avoided paying more than $25 million in taxes to the district, saying he had claimed to live elsewhere. The New York Times first reported the news. “Florida remains my home today, and I continue to dispute the allegation that I was ever a resident of the District of Columbia,” Saylor told the New York Times. “I have agreed to settle this matter to avoid the continued burdens of the litigation on friends, family, and myself.” Shares of the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based software developer, rose 3% in pre-market trading. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/06/03/microstrategy-founder-michael-saylor-agrees-to-40m-settlement-in-dc-income-tax-case-nyt/

2024-06-03 11:20

Keith Gill posted his GameStop options positions on the r/superstonks subreddit in early Asian hours Monday. Keith Gill, known for the GameStop short squeeze of 2021, posted his GME options positions on Reddit, sparking a speculative frenzy in meme tokens and related equities. Gill's social media activity has significantly influenced markets, with recent posts leading to rallies in various assets, including cat-themed meme tokens and shares of the videogames retailer. Speculative frenzy drove prices of some meme tokens and Gamestop (GME) shares higher Monday after influential retail trader Keith Gill, known for the GME short squeeze of 2021, posted on his Reddit account for the first time in three years. Gill, via his “DeepFu*kingValue” alias, posted his GME options positions on the r/superstonks Reddit forum in early Asian hours, showing bets of over $116 million in shares and $63 million in call options expiring June 21. He has already made a net $6.8 million on the position. Related stocks and cat-themed meme tokens started to surge as the Reddit post went viral across social media platforms. Cat tokens toshi (TOSHI), mog (MOG), keycat (KEYCAT) and wen (WEN) were up as much as 37% in the past 24 hours, CoinGecko data shows, with most of the gains coming after Gill’s post. GME, a Solana meme token spoofing the company's stock ticker, rose over 200%, according to DEXTools data. GameStop shares added more than 80% and cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC) rose as much as 36% in premarket trading, MarketWatch data show. This is the second time in under a month that Gill’s social media activity has moved crypto and stock markets. In May, Gill posted on his @TheRoaringKittyX account for the first time since late 2021, sparking rallies across Solana meme tokens. Gill earned influence and market authority after analyzing GameStop's financials on Reddit stock market forums starting in 2019, which gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic. This created a viral phenomenon at the time, and was largely cited as a driving factor in the GameStop short squeeze of January 2021, as several small-time traders bandied together and purchased options and leveraged shares of the company. Gill’s initial $53,000 investment was worth nearly $50 million at its peak, emerging as a rags-to-riches story that has since seeded a cult following. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/06/03/gamestop-stock-meme-tokens-surge-as-user-deepfukingvalue-returns-to-reddit/

2024-06-03 10:14

Australia already has two exchange-traded products providing exposure to spot crypto assets on Cboe Australia but they do not hold bitcoin directly. The nation's first spot-bitcoin ETF to hold bitcoin directly launches in Australia on Tuesday. Monochrome Asset Management applied for approval in April. The swift approval reflects a push by the nation to keep up with global trends around crypto-related ETFs. Australia-based Monochrome Asset Management’s Monochrome bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) (IBTC) will begin trading on the Cboe Australia exchange on Tuesday, the company told CoinDesk. The product is the first and only ETF that holds bitcoin directly in Australia, the company said. “Before IBTC, Australian investors were only able to invest in ETFs that indirectly hold bitcoin or through offshore bitcoin products, both of which don’t benefit from the investor protection rules under the directly held crypto asset Australian Financial Services Licensing (AFSL) licensing regime,” the announcement said. Australia already has two exchange-traded products providing exposure to spot crypto assets on Cboe Australia but they do not hold bitcoin directly. The company applied for a spot bitcoin (BTC) ETF in April 2024. Since the U.S. approved spot bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, regions such as Hong Kong and Australia have signaled an openness to the products. By the end of April, Hong Kong had officially approved the first batch of crypto-related spot ETFs, a first for the city as it aimed to become a leading digital assets hub. In Australia firms require the approval of the regulator, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), and then the exchange listing the product, in this case Cboe Australia. Monochrome had already won approval from ASIC for this product. Cboe Australia did not immediately respond to a CoinDesk request for comment. “This aligns with Monochrome’s investor protection-driven mission to offer secure, compliant, and straightforward pathways to participate in this transformative space,” Jeff Yew, CEO of Monochrome Asset Management. Read More: Spot Bitcoin, Ether ETFs Get Official Approval in Hong Kong; 'Potential Fee War' Unfolding, Says Analyst https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/06/03/australiass-first-spot-bitcoin-etf-with-direct-btc-holdings-to-go-live-on-tuesday/

2024-06-03 09:30

Coinbase followed Ripple and a16z in each giving a new $25 million to their political action committee, Fairshake, as the general election approaches that may shift crypto's destiny. The crypto industry has so far gathered about $161 million after Coinbase became the latest company to donate $25 million to its political action committees for this election, which potentially makes it among the most formidable campaign-finance operations in the U.S. That kind of cash could have allowed the PACs to spend well over $300,000 on every seat of Congress up for grabs in November. The crypto industry has – with the addition of another $25 million from Coinbase Inc. on Monday – amassed one of the largest stockpiles of campaign cash in U.S. politics. U.S. digital assets exchange Coinbase (COIN) announced that it was following in the footsteps of its two major campaign-finance partners, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), in throwing another $25 million each into the pot that has taken in about $161 million to spend on the 2024 U.S. elections. The other two companies announced their new commitments last week. The money is specifically bolstering the coffers of the industry's Fairshake political action committee (PAC) and its affiliate PACs, which have been combing through state primaries to find congressional candidates who've left their political platforms open to pro-crypto positions. The committees have flooded some little-known politicians with millions in off-book support. So-called super PACs like these typically buy ads for or against candidates, but they aren't allowed to have any official connections with the candidates' campaigns. "When it comes to our mission of increasing economic freedom by growing the adoption of cryptocurrencies, we are deeply engaged in policy efforts," Coinbase said in a company statement. "The House and Senate help determine what crypto legislation gets passed, amongst other things, so growing the number of pro-crypto members is critical." Read More: Crypto Dollars Helped Lift U.S. Politicians to Victory in Congressional Primaries U.S. regulations represent the massive remaining hurdle for the industry to win more significant global acceptance, which could translate to many more mainstream investors and users embracing the technology. U.S. lawmakers are showing recent signs of shifting toward wider acceptance of crypto, and the next congressional session could see all that come to a head in legislation that establishes tailored rules of the road for digital assets. Super PACs allow corporations to plough unlimited cash into steering elections, and the crypto industry’s stockpile of campaign cash now rivals the scale of the massive war chests assembled by the political parties themselves to dole out to House and Senate races. The digital assets businesses are also rivaling the most historically political and deep-pocketed industries. But the actual management and strategies of Fairshake — including its ongoing level of involvement with the donors backing it — remain opaque, because its main supporters decline to answer management questions and the PAC’s organizers won’t comment on such details. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), who has run the House GOP's campaign operations in the past, pushed back on narratives that the PACs suggest crypto is trying to buy Congress. "This is no different than the healthcare industry; this is no different than the airline industry," he told a crowd at CoinDesk's Consensus 2024 last week in Texas. "This is all about: I want to get to know you. I'm going to invest in you, because I want to see you being the representative, because your views are in alignment with mine." All three companies – Coinbase, Ripple and a16z – may crowd into the top five individual company donors ranked by OpenSecrets.org, if other companies among the biggest political donors don't make similar short-term additions to surpass their spending. By comparison to the $161 million for crypto causes, the Congressional Leadership Fund – the conservative PAC associated with House Speaker Mike Johnson – had tallied $84 million, and the Senate Leadership Fund – the equivalent for Republican efforts in the Senate – had taken in $64 million, as of the most recent disclosures two months ago. The House Majority PAC, which seeks to put Democrats in the House, announced it intends to spend $186 million on advertising this year, though it's only showing $86 million in contributions so far, according to Federal Election Commission records. Though Fairshake has already spend tens of millions on targeted races, its fundraising level would have theoretically allowed it to spend well over $300,000 on every contested House and Senate seat – a total of 468 – in the November 5 general election. Read More: A16z Boosts Crypto's Election Fund by Another $25M to Seek Friendly Congress https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/06/03/flood-of-cash-from-coinbase-gives-crypto-one-of-the-biggest-campaign-war-chests/