SBF builds a $100 million prison startup, Tether challenges MiCA, and the US bans CBDC: this week's top stories
This week, the crypto industry once again demonstrates its paradoxical nature: while FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried builds ambitious plans from his prison cell, Tether develops an elegant strategy to circumvent European regulations, and the U.S. passes a law that could change the global digital currency race. Let's break down the key trends.
Sam Bankman-Fried's Ambitions: A Startup Behind Bars
Sam Bankman-Fried, serving a 25-year sentence for the largest financial fraud, is not wasting time. According to insider information, 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. Against this backdrop, the topic of FTX's venture investments has resurfaced in the community: stakes in SpaceX, Anthropic, and Solana, collectively worth $114 billion, were sold by bankruptcy administrators for pennies. While many acknowledge SBF's investment genius, his crimes—the illegal use of client funds—make restoring trust nearly impossible.
Tether vs. MiCA: A Circumvention Maneuver
The European authority ESMA has given crypto platforms until July 1 to obtain a license under the MiCA regulation. Tether deliberately opted out, deeming the requirement to hold 60% of reserves in European banks a threat to financial stability. Instead, the company chose a strategy of indirect presence: investing in partners that already have legal status, through which fully compliant stablecoins will be issued. This will allow Tether to maintain its position in the EU without directly submitting to local regulators. However, the forced delisting of USDT will hit market makers, complicating cross-exchange arbitrage and widening spreads.
U.S. Bans CBDC Until 2030
American lawmakers embedded a provision prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital dollar into an affordable housing bill. This move bypassed the resistance that had stalled a separate anti-CBDC document. Key concerns include total surveillance of transactions, control over spending (following the example of the digital yuan), and the displacement of commercial banks. Private stablecoins are exempt from this ban. For the global CBDC race, this means the world's largest economy is officially stepping out, with stablecoins becoming a tolerated alternative.
Memecoins: The Bubble Bursts
Revenue on the Pump.fun platform has plummeted by over 70%. Nearly 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 collapse. This case reflects a large-scale capital redistribution process: investors are locking in losses and returning to TradFi. The practice of buying assets with no fundamental value has stopped working, and the market is gradually clearing out.
CME Group Sues Over Monopoly
The operator of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CME Group, is suing the CFTC over permission granted to the Kalshi platform to launch perpetual futures. Formally, it's about investor protection, but in essence, it's about protecting a monopoly on benchmarks. The pattern is familiar: traditional exchanges are unwilling to share control with new players like Hyperliquid.
Destruction of Communication Privacy: A Global Trend
The UK is preparing a law to completely ban social media for citizens under 16, while France and the EU are pushing for scanning of private messages before they are sent. Under the pretext of fighting terrorism, governments are forcing a renunciation of privacy. As Pavel Durov rightly noted, backdoors will not stop criminals but will make ordinary citizens and corporate networks vulnerable. To preserve privacy, users will have to switch to decentralized services.
My professional opinion: This week shows that the crypto industry is entering a phase of maturity: regulators are tightening rules, and investors are tightening asset requirements. However, the stories with Tether and CME demonstrate that major players are not ready to give up ground without a fight. I expect that in the coming months, we will see even more lawsuits and regulatory maneuvers.