Crypto news

This week in the crypto space was marked by several tectonic shifts: from prison startups to regulatory wars. Let's break down the key events that will reshape the market.

Ambitions Behind Bars: SBF's $100 Million Plan

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, serving a 25-year sentence for fraud, is not wasting time. According to prison sources, he is already making plans for life after release, stating that he would need starting capital of $50-100 million for "serious money." The key detail is that he mentions a certain cryptocurrency project that "everyone will flock to." Simultaneously, SBF has appealed to Donald Trump for a presidential pardon, and his parents have hired lobbyists.

The painful topic of FTX's venture investments (stakes in SpaceX, Anthropic, Solana), which were worth $114 billion at their peak but sold off for pennies by bankruptcy administrators, has resurfaced in the community. However, most analysts agree: even if SBF is a brilliant investor, his crimes (illegal use of client funds) negate any prospects. Regaining trust after such actions is a nearly impossible task.

Tether vs. MiCA: A Strategy of Circumvention

The European regulator ESMA has issued an ultimatum: by July 1, all crypto platforms must obtain a license under the MiCA regulation or leave the EU. Tether, however, has chosen a path of indirect resistance. The company refused a license, citing the risky requirement to hold 60% of reserves in European banks. Instead, Tether is investing in partners that already have legal status, launching fully legitimate stablecoins through them. This allows it to maintain a presence in the EU market without direct subordination to local officials.

The situation is not without risks. A forced delisting of USDT in Europe would hit market makers hard: they would have to split liquidity pools, complicating inter-exchange arbitrage and widening spreads. This poses a serious challenge for professional participants.

USA: Ban on Digital Dollar Until 2030

America is officially exiting the global CBDC race. Lawmakers embedded a norm prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital dollar into a bill on affordable housing. Thus, the ban is in effect at least until the end of 2030. The main fears include total transaction surveillance, control over spending (as with the digital yuan), and the displacement of commercial banks.

A key nuance: private stablecoins are exempt from the ban. This means the world's largest economy is betting on decentralized instruments as an alternative to state-issued digital currencies.

Memecoins: The Bubble Has Burst

Revenue for the Pump.fun platform has plummeted by over 70%. The project, which allowed anyone to issue a token for a few dollars, led to an explosive increase in the number of coins, but nearly 96% of traders either lost money or earned no more than $500. To prevent a collapse, developers announced the burning of tokens worth $370 million (36% of the supply).

This signals a massive redistribution of capital: investors are locking in losses and withdrawing liquidity from unregulated instruments, returning to TradFi. The practice of buying assets without fundamental value has stopped working. The market is forced to return to basic rules and seek assets with real utility—making it safer but less speculative.

CME Group Defends Its Monopoly

The operator of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CME Group, is suing the regulator CFTC over its permission for the Kalshi platform to launch perpetual futures. The CME head appeals to investor protection, comparing high leverage to the 2008 mortgage crisis. However, the essence is simple: CME holds exclusive licenses for all major benchmarks. The lawsuit is an attempt to preserve a monopoly, disguised as market concern.

A similar pattern is seen with ICE, which demands "equal rules" due to the rise of the Hyperliquid platform. Traditional exchanges are unwilling to share power.

Secrecy of Correspondence Under Threat

The UK is preparing a law that would completely ban social media for citizens under 16. In France and the EU, an initiative is advancing for mass scanning of personal messages before they are sent. A global trend is emerging: under the pretext of fighting terrorism and protecting children, governments are forcing citizens to give up their right to privacy.

As Pavel Durov rightly noted, a forced abandonment of end-to-end encryption will not stop real criminals—they can easily create their own closed applications. Ordinary citizens will be the ones affected. Weakening encryption makes corporate networks of banks and funds vulnerable to hacker attacks. To preserve privacy, users will have to switch to decentralized services—and this is an inevitable trend.

My expert conclusion: The market is entering a phase of "regulatory maturity"—old schemes are collapsing, and new players must find a balance between innovation and the law. Tether and SBF show that even in prison or under pressure, loopholes can be found. But long-term stability will belong to those who play by the rules, not against them.