The Next Speaker of the House a Crypto Bull?

The Next Speaker of the House a Crypto Bull?

Author

Nathaniel Whittemore
October 04, 2023

The Breakdown First Five - Wednesday October 4, 2023

Welcome back to The Breakdown First Five — the 5 most interesting and/or important stories in bitcoin, crypto, and markets to start your day.

5. Trabucco will Testify

The first day of the SBF trial dragged on with jury selection overflowing into a second day. The bombshells came from the prosecutors table, where a list of prospective witnesses revealed former Alameda CEO Sam Trabucco, former FTX COO Constance Wang and perhaps even Anthony Scaramucci will testify. Trabucco hasn’t been heard from since he quit Alameda last August to go sailing.

4. More Drug Money Sanctioned

The DOJ has unsealed charges against numerous Chinese firms and employees in relation to drug trafficking. OFAC have added dozens of new names to the sanctions list including a multitude of crypto wallet addresses. In Florida the domestic arm of the drug smuggling ring has also been charged. Both agencies claim crypto was used extensively as a payment mechanism by the operation. This is the second drug related sanctions announcement in a fortnight.

3. SEC Opposition to Coinbase

The SEC have filed their opposition to Coinbase’s motion. Coinbase is asking for the lawsuit to be decided early on the filings. The regulator has stuck to its guns, arguing that its approval of the Coinbase listing was not an approval of its business. They said that Coinbase “seeks to blame the SEC for its current legal predicament” and that they knew all along that token sales were securities transactions if they meet the Howey test.

2. Ripple Appeal Rejected

The Judge has refused to allow the SEC’s interlocutory appeal of the Ripple decision to go ahead. The decision allowed the judge to explain their reasoning and point out that the order was narrow and only related to the facts in the Ripple case. They said the case has limited precedential value to other circumstances. In one final gut punch, the judge noted the SEC had not raised any mistake of law which could be appealed. Trial set for April on remaining issues.

1. Will Tom Emmer Become House Speaker?

The GOP civil war continues with the removal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Matt Gaetz led the charge to remove McCarthy after he secured a deal to fund the government on Saturday. A furious Patrick McHenry grabbed the gavel on an interim basis to adjourn the House until a new vote on Wednesday. Crypto champion Tom Emmer is a front runner as the next House Speaker, which could help move the crypto agenda in Washington.

Thanks for reading -NLW