Crypto Industry Execs: We Just Want Regulatory Clarity

Trump eyes pro-crypto candidates for key federal financial agencies

No matter the outcome, the early signs suggest a dramatic change in the way Washington approaches cryptocurrency, a shift that underscores the industry’s rapid ascent into the top ranks of donors in American politics — having helped to elect dozens of friendly candidates to Congress while contributing heavily in support of Trump’s bid for the White House.

Industry executives say they mostly seek regulatory clarity, since Congress has failed to pass a single, comprehensive law governing their products and services — rules that would determine, for example, when crypto is a security or a currency, which investor protections should apply, and which agency would regulate the industry and its offerings.

“A lot of industry, I think a lot of companies, say they want to be regulated when their objective is actually anything but,” said Paul Grewal, the chief legal officer for Coinbase. With crypto, he said, the situation is different: “There is specific legislation in the Congress right now that we believe would protect investors, and frankly, resolve some of the ambiguities.”

Gary Gensler’s Ambitious SEC Agenda Could Be Near Its End

Though some of the ambitious signature elements of Gensler’s term atop the commission could end up scrapped, the SEC performs a great deal of enforcement work that is expected to continue as usual.

The SEC has more than 1,500 active investigations amid the expected transition, said Sanjay Wadhwa, the regulator’s acting enforcement head.

“We don’t put pencils down and say, ‘Well, let’s just wait for the new folks on the 10th floor,’” Wadhwa said at a recent event, referring to the location in the SEC headquarters housing the chair’s office.

Despite some high-profile disagreements, the five-member, bipartisan commission tends to take most of its actions unanimously.

“It takes a while to get an understanding of what this is: five equal votes, but a chair who has an ability to set an agenda collaboratively with the other commissioners,” Gensler said at a public event last month. “It doesn’t ebb and flow with the election cycle quite as [significantly] as single-headed agencies.”

Alameda’s Trabucco Forfeits Yacht, Apartments to FTX Creditors

Sam Trabucco, one of Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle before the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research two years ago, has agreed to hand over a slew of properties, including his yacht, to creditors of the failed crypto exchange.

The former co-chief executive officer of Alameda purchased the 53-foot boat for $2.51 million in March 2022, just months before leaving the hedge fund controlled by Bankman-Fried. Trabucco also agreed to give up legal title to two apartments in San Francisco that he purchased in 2021 for a total of $8.7 million, according to a court filing on Nov. 10. He also agreed to transfer to the debtors all rights to claims filed against FTX for about $70 million, and these claims will be expunged, the filing said.

Bitcoin Record Lifts Crypto Market Value Past Pandemic-Era Peak

Bitcoin’s record-breaking rally took the digital asset close to $90,000 for the first time and lifted the overall value of the crypto market above its pandemic-era peak as traders bet on a boom under President-elect Donald Trump.

The largest token has jumped about 32% since the US election on Nov. 5, hitting an all-time high of $89,599 on Tuesday. The original cryptocurrency changed hands at $87,063 as of 7:02 a.m. in New York.

Bitcoin Fog Operator Sentenced for Money Laundering Conspiracy

A dual Russian-Swedish national was sentenced today to 12 years and six months in prison for his operation of the longest-running bitcoin money laundering service on the darknet.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from 2011 through 2021, Roman Sterlingov, 36, was involved in operating Bitcoin Fog, the darknet’s longest-running cryptocurrency “mixer.” Over the course of its decade-long operation, Bitcoin Fog gained notoriety as a go-to money laundering service for criminals seeking to hide their illicit proceeds from law enforcement and processed transactions involving over 1.2 million bitcoin, valued at approximately $400 million at the time the transactions occurred. The bulk of this cryptocurrency came from darknet marketplaces and was tied to illegal narcotics, computer crimes, identity theft, and child sexual abuse material.