A $100 million prison startup and a revolt against the EU: how SBF and Tether broke the system
This week, the crypto industry once again found itself at the center of scandals and strategic maneuvers. From the ambitious plans of the convicted FTX founder to Tether's circumvention of European regulations, the market demonstrates that even behind bars and under legal pressure, empires can be built. I, Cryptalist, will break down the key events that will reshape the digital asset landscape.
Sam Bankman-Fried's Ambitions: Prison Startup and Pardon
Sam Bankman-Fried, serving a 25-year sentence for the largest financial fraud, is not wasting time. According to sources close to him, he is already discussing with a cellmate the launch of a cryptocurrency project after his release, which would require $50–100 million in startup capital. Simultaneously, SBF has appealed to Donald Trump for a presidential pardon, and his parents have hired lobbyists. The community recalled that FTX's venture investments (stakes in SpaceX, Anthropic, Solana) are collectively worth $114 billion, but bankruptcy administrators sold them off for pennies. Despite his genius as an investor, his reputation has been destroyed by the illegal use of client funds. Restoring trust will be nearly impossible.
Tether's Strategy in Europe: Circumventing MiCA Through Partners
The European authority ESMA has demanded that by July 1, 2025, a license under the MiCA regulation be obtained; otherwise, crypto platforms must cease servicing clients from the EU. Tether deliberately refused the license, deeming the requirement to hold 60% of reserves in European banks as risky. Instead, the company is investing in partners with legal status, through whom fully legitimate stablecoins will be issued. This ensures an indirect presence in the EU market without direct subordination to officials. However, the forced delisting of USDT will hit market makers, complicating inter-exchange arbitrage and widening spreads.
Ban on the Digital Dollar in the US: Victory for Stablecoins
The US is moving toward a legislative ban on CBDCs until the end of 2030. A provision prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital dollar is embedded in the affordable housing bill. Lawmakers fear total surveillance, control over spending, and the displacement of commercial banks. Private stablecoins are exempt from the ban, making them an alternative the state is willing to tolerate. The world's largest economy is officially exiting the CBDC race, and stablecoins are becoming the primary tool for digital payments.
Consequences of the Meme Coin Hype: Pump.fun's Collapse and Return to Fundamentals
Revenue on the Pump.fun platform has plummeted by over 70% after 96% of traders either lost money or earned no more than $500. Developers announced the burning of tokens worth $370 million (36% of the supply) to prevent a price drop. Investors are mass-fixing losses and withdrawing liquidity from unregulated instruments, returning capital to TradFi. The practice of buying assets without fundamental value has stopped working. Traders will have to seek digital assets with real-world applications, making the market safer.
CME Group Defends Its Monopoly: Lawsuit Against Kalshi
The operator of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CME Group, will sue the CFTC regulator over its approval for the Kalshi platform to launch perpetual futures. CME head Terrence Duffy appeals to investor protection and the Dodd-Frank Act. However, CME holds exclusive licenses for all major benchmarks on which futures contracts are built. The logic is simple: we control the indices, so new instruments must be traded with us. A similar pattern is observed with ICE, demanding "equal rules" due to the rise of Hyperliquid.
Destruction of Communication Privacy: Global Trend Toward Control
The UK government is preparing a law banning social media (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube) for citizens under 16. In France and the EU, an initiative is being pushed for mass scanning of personal messages before they are sent. Under the pretext of fighting terrorism, governments are forcing citizens to abandon the basic right to privacy. As Pavel Durov noted, the forced abandonment of end-to-end encryption will not stop criminals but will make corporate bank networks vulnerable. To preserve privacy, users will have to switch to decentralized services.
My analysis: This set of events shows that the crypto industry is entering a phase of maturity, where even convicted players try to make a comeback, while regulators and monopolists create new barriers. Investors should focus on assets with real value and decentralized solutions to avoid the risks of centralized control.