SBF builds a $100 million prison startup, Tether challenges MiCA, and the US bans the digital dollar: top events of the week
This week, the crypto industry is experiencing several tectonic shifts simultaneously. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, while serving a 25-year sentence, is already planning a $100 million startup capital for a new crypto project. Tether, in turn, has found an elegant way to bypass the European MiCA regulation by refusing a direct license. And the U.S. appears to be definitively exiting the CBDC race, banning the digital dollar until 2030. Let's break down the details.
SBF: From Prison Cell to Crypto Empire?
Sam Bankman-Fried, whose name has become synonymous with one of the largest financial frauds in history, is not losing optimism. According to sources, he is discussing launching a cryptocurrency project with a cellmate that, in his words, "will attract everyone." To realize these ambitions, he will need between $50 and $100 million. Simultaneously, SBF has appealed to Donald Trump for a presidential pardon, and his parents have hired lobbyists. Against this backdrop, investors recall that FTX's venture assets (stakes in SpaceX, Anthropic, Solana) are currently valued at $114 billion, but bankruptcy administrators liquidated them for a pittance.
My analysis: Even if SBF is truly a genius investor, his reputation is destroyed. Regaining trust after the illegal use of client funds is nearly impossible. Any new project of his will be met with extreme skepticism, if not outright hostility.
Tether: MiCA Circumvented, But at a High Cost
The European regulator ESMA has issued an ultimatum: by July 1, all crypto platforms must obtain a MiCA license or leave the EU. Tether's management refused direct licensing, deeming the requirement to hold 60% of reserves in European banks too risky. Instead, the company chose a "bypass strategy"—investing in partners that already have legal status in the EU. Through them, fully legitimate stablecoins will be issued, allowing Tether to maintain a market presence without direct subordination to regulators.
My analysis: The forced delisting of USDT in Europe will hit market makers and complicate cross-exchange arbitrage. However, Tether's strategy is a brilliant example of how a major player can dictate terms to regulators without engaging in direct confrontation.
U.S. Exits the CBDC Race
American lawmakers embedded a ban on issuing a digital dollar (CBDC) into an affordable housing bill. The provision blocking the Federal Reserve from working in this direction until the end of 2030 passed thanks to this "packaging." Key concerns include total surveillance of transactions, control over spending (as with the digital yuan), and the displacement of commercial banks. Private stablecoins, however, remain outside the ban, effectively making them an official alternative to a state-issued digital currency.
Memecoins: The Bubble Has Burst
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 supply) to halt the decline. Investors are massively withdrawing liquidity from unregulated instruments, returning to TradFi. The practice of buying assets with no fundamental value has stopped working—the market is becoming safer.
CME Group Defends Its 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, this is under the pretext of investor protection, but in reality, it is about defending a monopoly on benchmarks. Similar actions are being observed from ICE, which demands "equal rules" due to the rise of Hyperliquid.
Privacy of Correspondence Under Threat
The UK is preparing a law for a complete ban on social media for citizens under 16, while the EU is pushing for mass scanning of private messages. Pavel Durov rightly notes: the forced abandonment of end-to-end encryption will not stop criminals but will make ordinary citizens and corporate bank networks vulnerable.
My analysis: Weakening encryption is a direct threat to the entire crypto infrastructure. If users lose privacy, decentralized services will become the only refuge.