• Specs News
  • Posts
  • 8/14/23: SBF Going To Prison After Bail Revoked

8/14/23: SBF Going To Prison After Bail Revoked

Author

Valko
August 14, 2023

Today’s News:

  • FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried going to prison after bail was revoked

  • Trump holds $500k in crypto

  • Legal scholars rally behind Coinbase in legal battle against SEC

FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried going to prison after bail was revoked

I'm primarily concerned about the possibility of his detention at the MDC, which isn't considered a five-star facility. However, I recognize that he may have a dedicated laptop there.

Judge Kaplan

  • Sam Bankman-Fried jailed after bail revoked ahead of trial, believed to have tampered with witnesses.

  • Sam is booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn (MDC); which previously held Ghislaine Maxwell and Martin Shkreli, the eccentric former pharmaceutical CEO infamous for a price-gouging scandal. Martin said, "Sucks for Sam".

  • Judge Kaplan stated that Sam may have access to a laptop and internet connection. Maybe we’ll see him back on League of Legends.

  • If Sam’s parents weren’t pissed yet, they definitely are now. Thanks to Sam’s breach of bail, they + fellow Stanford professors, stand to lose $250M in collateral posted Sam’s bail.

  • Last but not least, an unusual $10M payment from Sam to his father raises questions. With email chains between them discussing having this payment structured as a gift from Alameda (Sam’s hedge fund) to his father.

Trump holds $500k in crypto

  • Trump's Ethereum wallet holds $500k according to a recent filing with the US Office of Government Ethics.

  • Sparks debate if Trump is an ETH supporter or if this is simply tied to previous NFT sales - which generated between $500k and $1M.

  • Makes you wonder if we will see a pro-crypto president in the white house soon with Trump on the Republican side of things and openly pro-crypto Democratic candidate Robert F. Kennedy's on the Democrat side of things.

Legal scholars rally behind Coinbase in legal battle against SEC

  • Six legal scholars submitted an amicus brief in favor of Coinbase against the SEC.

  • Scholars argue that an 'investment contract' requires a 'contractual undertaking,' opposing the SEC's notion.

  • On the same day, Senator Cynthia Lummis filed another amicus brief stating that the SEC is attempting to “circumvent the political process” by establishing itself as the main authority on crypto.