U.S. Senators opposed to more crypto ETFs, Ethereum Dencun hard fork goes live, and Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, judge rules.
Two United States senators want Gary Gensler to pull the pin on any further crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), citing enormous risks to retail investors. In a March 11 letter, Democrat senators Jack Reed and Laphonza Butler claimed that allowing any further approvals of crypto ETFs would see investors exposed to thinly traded markets rife with fraud and manipulation. The senators also urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to take several specific steps with the already launched Bitcoin ETF products, requesting that BTC ETF brokers and advisers be subjected to further regulatory scrutiny. There are eight proposed spot Ether ETF applications awaiting approval by the SEC.
Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of the Bitcoin network, according to Judge James Mellors ruling in the United Kingdom on March 14. Closing arguments began in London on March 12 in the lawsuit brought by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) lawsuit against Wright, an Australian computer scientist who claimed to be Nakamoto since 2016. Wright has been accused of massive document forgery for supporting his claim of being the pseudonymous Bitcoin founder. COPA was seeking injunctive relief to prevent Wright from further claiming to be Nakamoto.
Prosecutors are asking for a sentence of 40-50 years for the former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX and convicted fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried. He faces up to 110 years behind bars under the law. The Governments Sentencing Memorandum recounts Bankman-Frieds activities in detail, focusing on five points: Bankman-Frieds scheme to make illegal political contributions, his attempt to bribe Chinese government officials, his banking misconduct, his attempts to deflect blame, and various obstructions of justice. Bankman-Frieds legal counsel asked the court for a maximum sentence of six-and-a-half years.
