Crypto news

This week in the crypto industry was marked by several events that are radically changing the rules of the game. From the ambitious plans of the convicted FTX founder to Tether's strategic maneuver in Europe and the complete ban of the digital dollar in the US, the market is entering a new phase. Let's break down the key trends that will shape the future of the industry.

Sam Bankman-Fried: From Prison Cell to a $100 Million Startup

The founder of FTX, serving a 25-year sentence for the largest financial fraud, is not wasting time. According to sources close to him, SBF is making plans for life after release, estimating the necessary starting capital at $50–100 million. He is already discussing launching a new crypto project with a fellow inmate, which, he claims, "will attract everyone." Simultaneously, he has appealed to Donald Trump for a presidential pardon, and his parents have hired lobbyists. Against this backdrop, the community recalls FTX's venture investments—stakes in SpaceX, Anthropic, and Solana, now worth $114 billion but sold off by bankruptcy administrators for a pittance.

My opinion: Even if SBF is a genuinely brilliant investor, his reputation is destroyed forever. The illegal use of client funds is not a mistake but a crime. Restoring trust after this is virtually impossible, and any future project of his will be perceived as toxic.

Tether vs. MiCA: A European-Scale Bypass Maneuver

The European regulator ESMA has given crypto platforms until July 1 to obtain a license under the MiCA regulation. But Tether took a different path. The company's management deliberately refused the license, deeming the requirement to hold 60% of reserves in European banks as risky for financial stability. Instead, Tether is investing in partners that already have legal status in the EU. Fully legitimate stablecoins will be issued through them, allowing Tether to indirectly maintain its presence in the European Union market without directly submitting to local officials.

The forced delisting of USDT in Europe will deliver a serious blow to professional market participants: market makers will have to split liquidity pools, cross-exchange arbitrage will become more complicated, and spreads will widen.

The US Officially Exits the CBDC Race

American lawmakers have cemented a ban on the issuance of a digital dollar (CBDC) until at least 2030. This provision, embedded in the affordable housing bill, targets total surveillance of transactions, control over spending, and the displacement of commercial banks. Private stablecoins, however, are exempt from the ban, making them an official alternative to a state-issued digital currency.

This means the world's largest economy is exiting the global CBDC race, and stablecoins are getting the "green light" as an instrument the state is willing to tolerate.

Memecoins: Bubble Burst, Capital Flows to TradFi

Revenue on the Pump.fun platform has plummeted by more than 70%. Nearly 96% of traders either lost money or earned no more than $500. Developers announced the burning of tokens worth approximately $370 million (36% of the supply) to prevent a price drop. 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 with no fundamental value has stopped working.

CME Group Defends Monopoly Through the Courts

The operator of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CME Group, is suing the regulator CFTC over permission granted to the Kalshi platform to launch perpetual futures. Formally, CME appeals to investor protection and the Dodd-Frank Act, but in reality, it is defending its monopoly on benchmarks. A similar pattern is observed with ICE, demanding "equal rules" due to the growth of the Hyperliquid platform.

Global Trend: The Destruction of Communication Privacy

The UK government is preparing a law on a complete ban on social media for citizens under 16, while in France and the EU, an initiative for mass scanning of personal messages on smartphones is being promoted. As Pavel Durov noted, the forced abandonment of end-to-end encryption will not stop criminals but will make the corporate networks of banks and funds vulnerable. To maintain privacy, users will have to switch to decentralized services.

My expert conclusion: This week showed that the crypto industry is moving from chaos to a structured confrontation with regulators and traditional finance. Tether and SBF demonstrate that even under strict restrictions, loopholes can be found, and the CBDC ban in the US opens the door for private stablecoins. However, the main lesson is that the market is becoming more mature: memecoins are fading, and assets with real value are taking their place.