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⌐◪-◪ → Today, Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Finance and ex-girlfriend of Sam Bankman-Fried, faces sentencing for her role in the FTX collapse. She pleaded guilty to seven charges but assisted prosecutors, which may reduce her sentence—potentially even to zero.

Polymarket bettors are split, giving her a 50% chance of avoiding jail time entirely, which is quite the contrast to SBF’s sentencing. As another point of reference, Bernie Madoff’s former prosecutor is also “all-in” on zero jail time.

On one hand, it feels odd to reward someone for turning on their friends, even if it aids in bringing justice. It sends a message that "crime is okay, as long as you’re the first to flip."

Meanwhile, SBF's trial has taken a strange turn with a group of doctors filing an amicus brief suggesting that his autism and ADHD affected how he was perceived during the trial. They claim his lack of access to medication may have contributed to the situation.

Imagine if Sam and Caroline are back on the streets, like a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, a couple reunited. Would be wild—possibly bullish.

💬 How long do you think Caroline deserves? LMK → Specs.Chat.

⌐◪-◪ → Yesterday, a panel of federal judges grilled the SEC in Philadelphia for its lack of regulatory clarity regarding crypto. Here’s a quick recap of the situation/timeline courtesy of @TheDeFiDefender:

• July 2022: Coinbase petitioned the SEC to propose crypto rules.

• Late 2023: SEC denied the request.

• Coinbase then asked the court to compel the SEC to respond.

• Now: Enter yesterday’s hearing, where the Judges were perplexed

One Judge roasted SEC’s attorney, Ezekiel Hill, for being unable to clarify whether Bitcoin and Ether are commodities or securities. Two of my favorite quotes from the hearing are:

• "You won't even tell us how the Howey Test applies to Bitcoin or Ether."

• "It almost looks, to an outside observer, as if you're going after [crypto] platforms in a way that will crush the industry without really getting into rulemaking."

The SEC’s inability to provide clear guidance continues to frustrate both the courts and the industry, leaving companies like Coinbase in regulatory limbo. For more context on the case, check out what Coinbase’s CLO said on Twitter.

💬 How do you think this case pans out? LMK → Specs.Chat.

⌐◪-◪ → Coinbase’s new wrapped Bitcoin token (cbBTC) just launched on Solana, but it’s already catching heat for lacking proof of reserves. This has been a sticking point for on-chain analytics platforms like Defi Llama, which hasn’t listed the token due to the inability to verify Coinbase's total value locked (TVL) claims.

A Coinbase Product representative, Lukas Staniszewski, assured the community that proof of reserves has been part of the plan since the “early days,” but they didn’t announce it earlier because it was still under development.

Whether you see this as a proactive measure or reactionary PR, it’s up to you. I tend to give Coinbase the benefit of the doubt here—Coinbase has built a strong reputation for compliance and transparency in the space.

That said, it’s surprising that Coinbase launched cbBTC on Ether, Base, and Solana without proof of reserves. However, they may have been rushing to market given the market opportunity by BitGo’s custody issues with wBTC presented, a timely opening for cbBTC.

💬 Can Coinbase be trusted here? LMK → Specs.Chat.

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