Crypto news

This week, the crypto industry once again found itself at the center of contradictions: from the ambitions of the convicted FTX founder to Tether's strategic maneuver in Europe and the US's complete rejection of the digital dollar. Let's break down the key trends.

Sam Bankman-Fried's Ambitions: From Prison to a $100 Million Startup

Sam Bankman-Fried, serving a 25-year sentence for the largest financial fraud, is already making plans for life after release. According to sources close to him, he told a cellmate that he would need between $50 and $100 million in startup capital to "make serious money," and hinted at a new cryptocurrency project that "everyone will flock to." Simultaneously, he has appealed to Donald Trump for a presidential pardon, and his parents have hired lobbyists.

Notably, FTX's venture investments—stakes in SpaceX, Anthropic, and Solana, which were worth $114 billion at their peak—were sold off by bankruptcy administrators for a fraction of that amount. However, most experts agree: even if SBF is a genuinely brilliant investor, his illegal use of client funds has permanently undermined trust. Bringing him back would be nearly impossible.

Tether vs. MiCA: Bypassing Rules Without a License

The European regulator ESMA has demanded that all crypto platforms obtain a license under the MiCA regulation by July 1, or face a complete exit from the EU. Tether deliberately refused a license, 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 who already have legal status, through whom fully legitimate stablecoins will be issued.

It's important to understand: the forced delisting of USDT in Europe will hit market makers, complicate cross-exchange arbitrage, and widen spreads. Tether, in this way, maintains control over the market without directly submitting to local regulators.

US Bans the Digital Dollar: A Victory for Stablecoins

The US is moving toward a legislative ban on CBDCs, at least until 2030. A provision prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital dollar is embedded in an affordable housing bill—a packaging that allowed it to overcome resistance. Lawmakers fear total surveillance of transactions, control over spending (as in the digital yuan), and the displacement of commercial banks. Private stablecoins, however, are exempt from the ban.

This means the world's largest economy is officially exiting the global CBDC race, and stablecoins are becoming a state-approved alternative.

Memecoins Burst: Pump.fun Loses 70% of Revenue

Revenue for the Pump.fun platform has plummeted by more than 70%. The platform allowed token issuance for a few dollars, but nearly 96% of traders either lost money or earned less than $500. Developers announced the burning of tokens worth $370 million (36% of the supply) to halt the decline.

This reflects a large-scale process of capital redistribution: investors are locking in losses, withdrawing liquidity from unregulated instruments, and returning funds to TradFi. The practice of buying assets without fundamental value has stopped working—the market is becoming safer.

CME Group Defends Its Monopoly: Lawsuit Against CFTC

The operator of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CME Group, will sue the CFTC over its permission for the Kalshi platform to launch perpetual futures. CME CEO Terrence Duffy appeals to investor protection and the Dodd-Frank Act, but in reality, CME holds exclusive licenses for benchmarks. The logic is simple: "we control the indices, so new instruments should trade with us." A similar pattern is seen with ICE, which demands "equal rules" due to Hyperliquid's growth.

Destruction of Communication Privacy: A Global Trend

The UK is preparing a law banning social media for citizens under 16, while France and the EU are pushing for mass scanning of private messages. Under the pretext of fighting terrorism, governments are forcing a renunciation of privacy. As Pavel Durov noted, embedding backdoors won't stop criminals—they will write their own closed applications. Ordinary citizens will be the ones affected, and weakening encryption will make corporate networks vulnerable to hackers.

My expert view: the industry is experiencing a turning point. On one hand, we see attempts to restore trust through fundamental assets and stablecoins; on the other, states are actively restricting freedom, which will inevitably push users toward decentralized solutions.