Do Kwon Sentenced to 15 Years by US Federal Judge
Mars Finance News, December 12 - The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York announced on Thursday that Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud and other actions related to the collapse of Terra and Luna tokens. The sentence exceeds the prosecution's previous recommendation. Prosecutors had argued for a 12-year sentence, citing Kwon's prior misconduct and the massive scale of fraud in the case; Kwon's defense team requested only 5 years. U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer stated that Kwon "chose to lie" and "made the wrong choices." Kwon was criminally charged in March 2023, with accusations including conspiracy to commit fraud, commodities fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and conspiracy to engage in market manipulation and money laundering. He subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud in August 2024. Without a plea agreement, Kwon could have faced up to 135 years in prison if convicted on all nine counts. After agreeing to plead guilty to two counts, his maximum sentence was reduced to 25 years. Prosecutors also sought a $19 million fine. Kwon may still face legal proceedings in South Korea in the future. He must serve at least half of his sentence in the U.S. before being eligible to apply for transfer to South Korea, and the 17 months he previously served in Montenegro will be counted towards his sentence.
Data: FTX/Alameda Redeems 194,800 SOL from Staking and Distributes to 26 Addresses
Mars Finance News, On-chain analyst Yu Jian monitored and reported that FTX/Alameda redeemed 194,800 SOL ($25.52 million) from staking and then distributed and transferred them to 26 addresses 4 hours ago. Most of these addresses that got SOL will subsequently transfer the SOL to Coinbase or Binance.
Since 2023, FTX/Alameda staking addresses have cumulatively redeemed and transferred out 9.562 million SOL ($1.298 billion) in this manner, with an average transfer price of $135.8. Currently, FTX/Alameda staking addresses still have 4.07 million SOL ($555 million) in staking.
Bloomberg: Coinbase Plans to Announce Its Prediction Markets and Tokenized Stock Products on December 17
Mars Finance News, According to Bloomberg, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. plans to announce the launch of two products next week: prediction markets and tokenized stocks.
According to informed sources, Coinbase will officially announce these two products at a showcase event on December 17. Notably, its tokenized stock product will be launched through internal development, not through partners.
Glassnode: Ethereum Spot ETF Shows Signs of Recovery, Mild Inflows Suggest Easing Redemption Pressure
Mars Finance News, Glassnode posted an analysis on platform X stating that the Ethereum spot ETF, after experiencing weeks of continuous outflows, is beginning to show signs of recovery.
Mild inflows have begun to appear, suggesting that redemption pressure has eased. If it can sustainably rebound into the net inflow range, it would indicate improved demand before the end of the year.
Substantial Progress Made on Comprehensive Crypto Market Bill After US Senators Meet with Bank Executives
Mars Finance News, According to The Block, U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott said that "substantial progress" is being made in pushing a large-scale cryptocurrency bill into law. Scott met with Brian Moynihan of Bank of America, Jane Fraser of Citigroup, and Charlie Scharf of Wells Fargo on Thursday to discuss this landmark legislation. The bill aims to set rules for the entire digital asset industry and grant corresponding powers to regulatory agencies such as the SEC and CFTC. This week, these three bank CEOs are expected to meet with senators to discuss cryptocurrency legislative proposals. It is reported that the meetings were held separately twice, once with Democrats and once with Republicans, and both meetings were "cordial." Informed sources revealed that the meetings discussed issues such as yields, decentralized finance, and anti-money laundering. Banking associations believe there are loopholes that need to be filled in the GENIUS Act, which became law this summer. They stated that the problem is that the law does not sufficiently restrict stablecoin issuers from paying interest to holders, which could make these assets a more attractive store of value and credit mechanism, not just a means of payment, thus creating "market-distorting incentives" for the banking industry. Furthermore, banking groups also believe that the restrictions imposed by the GENIUS Act can be easily circumvented by exchanges, brokers, and other related parties.
Jeffrey Huang Deposits Nearly 300,000 USDC Again into Hyperliquid to Increase His ETH Long Position
Mars Finance News, According to market news, Jeffrey Huang (@machibigbrother) has again deposited 299,842 USDC into Hyperliquid and increased his ETH (25x leverage) long position. Current position details: Quantity: 6,900 ETH; Entry average price: $3,240.93; Liquidation price: $3,130.95.
US CFTC Revokes 2020 Guidance on "Actual Delivery" of Digital Assets
Mars Finance News, December 12 - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is revoking an "outdated and overly complex guidance document" related to the delivery of digital assets. Acting CFTC Chairman Pham pointed out on Thursday that the CFTC will revoke this guidance document issued in 2020 under the Dodd-Frank Act. The Dodd-Frank Act was enacted in 2010 as a regulatory reform law implemented in the U.S. after the 2008 financial crisis. This guidance primarily focused on the "actual delivery" of digital assets. Pham stated that this move is to implement the recommendations in the report of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets on digital assets. This summer, the White House released a lengthy report on cryptocurrency, covering illicit financial activities and tax issues, and recommended granting the CFTC broader regulatory authority over digital assets. Pham said in a statement: "Today's announcement shows that, with decisive action, real progress can be made in protecting Americans by providing access to safe U.S. markets." Under Pham's leadership, in the year since Trump took office, the CFTC has launched multiple initiatives to be more friendly to the crypto industry, including initiating the "Crypto Sprint" program to clarify crypto-related rules. Last week, Pham announced that Bitnomial became the first exchange to launch a regulator-approved spot crypto product. On Wednesday, the Gemini exchange also received CFTC approval to begin offering traditional binary event contracts. Another noteworthy development this week is that the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) confirmed that compliant national banks can engage in "riskless principal" trading of crypto assets.
Bitcoin Rewards App Lolli Now Supports Withdrawals on the Lightning Network
Mars Finance News, According to The Block, the Bitcoin rewards app Lolli, after completing integration with Spark, now supports withdrawal operations on the Bitcoin Lightning Network. This move may help address complaints raised by some users since Lolli was acquired by Thesis in July. Spark is an open-source Bitcoin Layer 2 protocol developed by Lightspark, enabling instant, low-cost, self-custody transactions of Bitcoin and Bitcoin-based assets, and is fully compatible with the Lightning Network. The two companies stated that Spark's Software Development Kit (SDK) will "provide Lightning Network withdrawal support for Bitcoin rewards held on the Lolli platform." Thesis's acquisition of Lolli drew criticism from some users. Shortly after the acquisition announcement, Lolli suspended all Bitcoin reward transfers and withdrawal operations to migrate the backend to Thesis's infrastructure, which caused dissatisfaction among some users. Additionally, before allowing on-chain Bitcoin or Lightning Network transfers, Thesis integrated Lolli with Mezo, an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible Bitcoin scaling and programmable layer, which further angered some users.
SEC Chairman: Crypto Working Group to Hold Roundtable on December 15 to Discuss Policy Issues Related to Financial Monitoring and Privacy
Mars Finance News, December 12 - U.S. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins posted that the Crypto Working Group will hold a roundtable meeting on Monday, December 15, to discuss policy issues related to financial monitoring and privacy. This event will be held offline and livestreamed on the SEC official website.
Binance Deepens Cooperation with Trump-Backed Stablecoin
Mars Finance News, December 12 - The Trump-backed stablecoin USD1 has been listed on Binance and can be traded with BNB, Ethereum, and Solana, marking a deepening of cooperation between Binance and the Trump family's crypto project World Liberty. Users of the exchange can convert USDC or USDT to USD1 without fees. This move follows the pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao by Trump in October and is seen as a significant step to expand the reach of this stablecoin. USD1 is already trading on exchanges including Coinbase and Kraken, and its market cap has climbed to approximately $2.75 billion.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Will Release U.S. December PPI Data on January 30
Mars Finance News, December 12 - The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that it will release the U.S. December PPI data on January 30.
