SBF takes the stand, ‘buy Bitcoin’ searches soar and other news: Hodler’s Digest, Oct. 22-28

This week's featured stories

Sam Bankman-Fried talks about the FTX collapse

Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried testified this week in his ongoing criminal trial in the Southern District of New York, denying any wrongdoing between FTX and Alameda Research while acknowledging making "big mistakes" during the companies' explosive growth. Highlights of his testimony include denying directing his inner circle to make significant political donations in 2021, as well as claims that FTX's terms of use covered transactions between Alameda and the crypto exchange. Additionally, Bankman-Fried testified that she requested additional hedging strategies for Alameda in 2021 and 2022, but they were never implemented. The trial is expected to conclude in the coming days.

'Buy Bitcoin' search queries on Google increase by 826% in the UK

Google searches for "buy Bitcoin" have surged around the world amid a major cryptocurrency rally, with UK searches growing more than 800% in the last week. According to research by Cryptogambling.tv, the search term “buy Bitcoin” increased by a staggering 826% in the UK over the course of seven days. In the United States, Google Trends data shows that searches for “should I buy Bitcoin now?” increased by more than 250%, while more niche searches, including “can I buy Bitcoin at Fidelity?” increased by more than 3,100% in the last week. Zooming out even further, the search term “is it a good time to buy Bitcoin?” experienced a 110% increase worldwide over the past week.

US Court Issues Injunction for Grayscale Ruling, Paving Way for SEC to Review Bitcoin Spot ETF

The United States Court of Appeals has issued a mandate following a decision requiring Grayscale Investments' application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) to be reviewed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In an Oct. 23 filing, the court's “formal mandate” went into effect, clearing the way for the SEC to review its decision on the Grayscale Bitcoin spot ETF. The injunction followed the court's initial ruling on August 29 as the SEC did not file an appeal by October 13. To date, the SEC has yet to approve a single spot crypto ETF for listing on US exchanges, but has given the green light for investment vehicles tied to Bitcoin and Ether futures.

Coinbase Challenges SEC Crypto Authority in Final Bid to Dismiss Regulator's Lawsuit

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission overstepped its authority when it classified cryptocurrencies listed on Coinbase as securities, the exchange said. has argued in its final offer to dismiss a securities regulator lawsuit. In an Oct. 24 filing in a New York District Court, Coinbase rebuked the SEC, alleging that its definition of what qualifies as a security was too broad, and disputed that the cryptocurrencies the exchange lists are not under its purview. of the regulator. The SEC sued Coinbase on June 6, alleging that the exchange violated US securities laws by listing several tokens it considers securities and failing to register with the regulator.

Gemini sues Genesis over GBTC shares used as collateral for Earn, now worth $1.6 billion

Gemini Cryptocurrency Exchange Filed Lawsuit Against Bankrupt Crypto Lender Genesis on October 27. At stake is the fate of 62,086,586 shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. They were used as collateral to secure loans made by 232,000 Gemini users to Genesis through the Gemini Earn program. That guarantee is currently worth about $1.6 billion. According to the lawsuit, Gemini received $284.3 million for the execution of the collateral for the benefit of Earn users, but Genesis contested the action, preventing Gemini from distributing the proceeds. Genesis filed for bankruptcy in January. It had suspended withdrawals in November 2022, which affected the Gemini Earn program.

Winners and losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (btc) I sat down $34,143Ether (ETH) in $1,789 and XRP in $0.54. The total market capitalization is $1.26 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the 100 largest cryptocurrencies, the three altcoins with the biggest gains of the week are Pepe (PEPE) at 72.08%, Mina (MINE) at 55.47% and FLOKI (FLOKI) at 53.33%.

Top Three Altcoin Losers of the Week Are Bitcoin SV (BSV) at -10.27%, Toncoin (TON) -3.14% and Trust Wallet token (Twitter) at -0.82%.

To learn more about cryptocurrency prices, be sure to read Cointelegraph Market Analysis.

Most memorable quotes

"The witness [Sam Bankman-Fried] “He has an interesting way of answering questions.”

Luis Kaplansenior judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

"When it comes to illicit financing, cryptocurrencies are not the enemy, but rather the bad actors."

Cynthia LummisUS senator

“I must say that I am not a lawyer, I am just trying to answer based on my memories. […] At the time [at] FTX, certain customers thought the accounts would be sent to Alameda.”

Sam Bankman-Fritoformer CEO of FTX

"Without prejudging any asset, the vast majority of crypto assets likely meet the investment contract test, making them subject to securities laws."

Gary Genslerchairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission

“I don't think there has been a single serious conversation about a deal between Ripple […] and the SEC. “The SEC is angry and embarrassed and wants $770 million worth of meat.”

John Deatonlawyer

"He [Sam Bankman-Fried] He thought he was going to take that money, and […] “I would outperform the market, pay back the money, and end up half a billionaire, but things never work out that way.”

Antonio Scaramuccifounder of SkyBridge Capital

Prediction of the week

Bitcoin Outperforms S&P 500 in October as $40,000 BTC Price Predictions Come

bitcoin sailed $34,000 at the end of the week as attention turned to BTC price performance against macro assets. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed that BTC/USD remained stable, preserving its gains from earlier in the week.

The largest cryptocurrency avoided significant volatility as the weekly and monthly closes (a key moment for the October bullish trend) grew closer and closer.

“I think Bitcoin will remain in this range for some time,” popular pseudonymous trader Daan Crypto Trades told X subscribers in one of several posts on October 27. "Roughly $33,000 to $35,000 is what I'm looking at as a range. We're keeping an eye on possible sweeps of either of these levels for a quick trade," he wrote.

FUD of the week

UK passes bill that will allow authorities to confiscate Bitcoin used to commit crimes

UK lawmakers have passed legislation allowing authorities to seize and freeze cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin if used for illicit purposes. Introduced in September 2022, the approved legislation aims to expand the ability of authorities to crack down on the use of cryptocurrencies in crimes such as cybercrime, scams and drug trafficking. One of the provisions of the bill allows for the recovery of crypto assets used in crimes without conviction, as some people can avoid conviction by remaining remote.

Scammers Create Blockworks Clone Site to Drain Crypto Wallets

Phishing scammers have cloned the websites of the crypto media Blockworks and the Ethereum blockchain scanner Etherscan to trick unsuspecting readers into connecting their wallets to a cryptocurrency drain. A fake Blockworks site displayed a fake “BREAKING” news report about an alleged multi-million dollar “approval exploit” on decentralized exchange Uniswap and encouraged users to visit a fake Etherscan website to rescind approvals. The fake Uniswap news article was posted on Reddit in several popular subreddits.

Kraken to suspend USDT, DAI, WBTC, WETH and WAXL operations in Canada

Kraken will do it suspend all transactions related to Tether, Dai, Wrapped Bitcoin, Wrapped Ether and Wrapped Axelar in Canada in November and December. The suspensions may not come as a surprise to many Canadian cryptocurrency users as they come on the heels of several other notable exchanges taking similar actions throughout 2023. OKX ceased operations in Canada in June after Binance announced its intention to do so in May.

5,050 Bitcoin for $5 in 2009: Helsinki's claim to crypto fame

Helsinki has a long and fascinating history. with cryptocurrencies, including the first exchange of Bitcoin for US dollars.

$145M Forex Scandal in Australia, Bitget Ranks 4th, China Lifts NFT Ban: Asia Express

Australian police unravel $145 million money laundering scamBitget Gains Market Share in Q3, China Unlocks NFTs, and More.

How blockchain games fared in Q3, Upland token on ETH: Web 3 Gamer

$2.3 billion has been invested in Web3 games so far this yearex-GTA developer studio partners with Immutable, Brawlers to launch on Epic Games Store and more.