In this weekly recap, we cover:
- Changpeng Zhao’s Four-Month Sentence: The former CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, commonly known as “CZ”, was sentenced to four months in prison for violating the Bank Secrecy Act, concluding a lengthy Department of Justice investigation into Binance’s anti-money laundering practices.
- DeFi Token Decline Post-Airdrop: Tokens from DeFi protocols Renzo and Kamino suffered steep declines following their market debut.
- Tether Records a Stellar Q1: Tether achieved a record-breaking profit of $4.52 billion in the first quarter, driven by substantial holdings in US Treasuries, Bitcoin, and gold.
- Regulatory Roadblocks for Stablecoins: Efforts to regulate stablecoins in the U.S. faced setbacks as proposed legislation failed to attach to the FAA reauthorization bill.
- Hong Kong Leads with Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs: Hong Kong’s financial markets marked a first in Asia with the successful launch of six spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs,.
- A16z’s Strategic Investment in Optimism: Venture capital firm a16z invested $90 million in Optimism’s OP token, reinforcing its commitment to Ethereum’s Layer 2 scalability solutions.
- Tax Fraud Charges Against ‘Bitcoin Jesus’: Roger Ver, also known as “Bitcoin Jesus”, faces allegations of tax fraud for failing to report capital gains from significant Bitcoin sales in 2017.
- FTX Continues Liquidation with Solana Token Sales: The FTX estate progressed in its liquidation efforts, concluding a second auction of locked Solana tokens with substantial investor interest.
- Legal Scrutiny Over Crypto Privacy Tools: Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez pleaded not guilty to charges related to operating a privacy-centric crypto service.
