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Sentencing for ex-FTX execs set for October, November

Former FTX executives Nishad Singh and Gary Wang, who both testified at Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial, are scheduled to be sentenced later this year.

A federal judge who oversaw the trial of former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried has scheduled sentencing hearings for FTX co-founder Gary Wang and former engineering director Nishad Singh.

In a July 9 docket entry in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Lewis Kaplan said Singh’s sentencing would be held on Oct. 30, and Wang’s was set for Nov. 20. There was no mention of Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research who testified at SBF’s 2023 trial, at the time of publication.

Wang and Ellison were among the first to plead guilty to charges related to their roles in the collapse of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX in 2022. Singh pleaded guilty to multiple felony counts, including fraud and money laundering, in February 2023. The three former executives testified against Bankman-Fried in his criminal trial, which likely contributed to Judge Kaplan sentencing the former CEO to 25 years in prison. 

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Cynthia Lummis backs Ian Cain over crypto lawyer John Deaton for Senate

Pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis cited Republican Ian Cain’s understanding of blockchain technology and the digital economy in his campaign to unseat Democrat Elizabeth Warren.

Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the more outspoken cryptocurrency advocates in the United States Congress, has endorsed Republican Ian Cain for a Massachusetts Senate seat.

In a July 8 announcement, Cain’s campaign said Senator Lummis was backing the Republican candidate, citing his understanding of the “digital economy” and his embrace of innovation. The endorsement could give Cain an edge in a primary between his opponents, including engineer Robert Antonellis and crypto-focused lawyer John Deaton.

“From the border to blockchain, Ian Cain understands the issues facing his community and he will fight hard everyday for the Commonwealth,” said Senator Lummis.

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Dogecoin to $1? Traders say a 140% DOGE rally could happen before February

Microsoft, Google, Nvidia and more filed SEC warnings that AI could ruin business

The reasons ranged from cannibalizing their own businesses to releasing potentially inferior products.

Over a dozen of the biggest names in the United States technology industry have filed “risk factor” reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicating that artificial intelligence (AI) could threaten company finances. 

While not uncommon, these risk reports outline internal thinking when it comes to the potential pitfalls of dedicating resources and funds to the development of nascent technologies such as AI.

Those filing warnings, according to a report from Bloomberg, include Adobe, Dell, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, Palo Alto Networks, Uber and at least a few others.

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Dogecoin to $1? Traders say a 140% DOGE rally could happen before February

Robinhood is now available in Hawaii and select US territories

The brokerage platform took advantage of Hawaii’s recent change to money transmitter licensing to expand to the non-contiguous United States.

Robinhood has expanded its services to Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the brokerage platform announced on July 2, following a significant regulatory change by Hawaii’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA).

On June 28, the Hawaiian regulator announced that cryptocurrency services no longer needed a money transmitter license to operate in the state. This shift marks a big win for the industry, considering Hawaii represents one of the strictest financial regulatory climates in the United States, along with California and New York.

According to a recent Bloomberg article, Robinhood is also considering using the regulatory licenses held by Bitstamp to offer crypto futures trading to customers in the U.S. and Europe.

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Dogecoin to $1? Traders say a 140% DOGE rally could happen before February

Roaring Kitty GME class action lawsuit dropped after 3 days

A GameStop investor who accused Roaring Kitty of committing securities fraud has voluntarily dropped the complaint "without prejudice" meaning he can file another similar lawsuit again in the future.

A GameStop (GME) investor who sued Keith ‘Roaring Kitty’ Gill over alleged securities fraud has dropped his lawsuit just three days after filing it. 

Plaintiff Martin Radev dropped the suit on June 1 after submitting a voluntary motion to dismiss in the Eastern District Court of New York.

It’s not clear why the lawsuit was dropped so quickly and the law firm representing Radev — Pomerantz Law — did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

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Dogecoin to $1? Traders say a 140% DOGE rally could happen before February

Hawaii crypto firms no longer need MT license, regulator rules

While being exempt from the Money Transmitter License requirement, crypto firms in Hawaii will still have to comply with any federal licensing laws.

Cryptocurrency firms in Hawaii are now officially exempt from the requirement to receive a Money Transmitter License (MTL) to run business in the state.

The Hawai‘i Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) informed the public that the state concluded the collaborative crypto research project Digital Currency Innovation Lab (DCIL) on June 30, 2024.

Initiated in 2020, DCIL aimed to explore the landscape of digital currency activity within the state as well as assess the regulatory framework required for crypto-related companies.

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Dogecoin to $1? Traders say a 140% DOGE rally could happen before February

Vitalik Buterin says crypto regulations have created ‘anarcho-tyranny’

The Ethereum co-founder says we’d all be better off with either anarchy or tyranny but not both.

Ethereum’s outspoken co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, recently expressed his frustration over the current state of cryptocurrency regulation and offered up a surefire solution to the problem.

Responding to a user on Warpcast, a social media platform built on the Farcaster protocol, Buterin described a situation where current regulatory efforts have essentially painted good-faith cryptocurrency developers into a corner:

On the anarchy side of things, there appears to be no end to the glut of bad actors, scammers, and baseless hypesters proliferating on social media and sharing platforms.

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Dogecoin to $1? Traders say a 140% DOGE rally could happen before February

IRS reveals final regulations for crypto broker rules

The Internal Revenue Service did not include decentralized exchanges or self-custodial wallets under its broker reporting requirements.

The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revealed its final draft of the new crypto broker reporting requirements on June 28, and clarified the scope of industry participants affected by the new rule changes.

According to the IRS' new reporting guidelines, decentralized exchanges and self-custody wallets will not be subject to the new reporting rules. In the recent update, the IRS explained that it reviewed the widespread comments and complaints from industry respondents, ultimately deciding it needed "more time to consider the nuances" of completely decentralized networks.

Moreover, stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets were not exempt from the government agency's new reporting requirements and will be treated the same as other digital assets.

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Dogecoin to $1? Traders say a 140% DOGE rally could happen before February

Democratic incumbent targeted by crypto Super PAC ads loses primary

Millions of dollars from political action committees may have contributed to challenger George Latimer’s defeat of incumbent Jamaal Bowman in a June 25 Democratic primary.

Update (June 26 at 6:07 pm UTC): An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Shomari Figures won a primary in the state of California. It has been corrected to a primary in Alabama.

Jamaal Bowman, a House Representative for New York’s 16th Congressional District, has lost the Democratic primary, which could have allowed him to keep his seat in 2025.

According to a June 26 projection from NBC News, Democratic challenger George Latimer will defeat Bowman by roughly 58%–42%, with 84% of the vote reporting at the time of publication. The Fairshake political action committee (PAC) spent more than $2 million on a media campaign opposing Bowman’s reelection — not attacking his record on voting against pro-crypto bills, but claims of “pushing dangerous conspiracy theories.”

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Dogecoin to $1? Traders say a 140% DOGE rally could happen before February

US politicians who may be spinning the news with crypto

Donald Trump seems to have doubled down on digital assets after he was convicted of 34 felony counts in New York.

Though it is an election year in the United States, politicians are not new to using topical issues to divert attention away from less-than-favorable media coverage. Cryptocurrency seems to be one of the latest methods some U.S. lawmakers employ to ‘wag the dog’ on information that could potentially harm them when voters go to the ballot boxes in November. 

For members of the Republican Party, this could mean making a popular statement against issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or equating cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) with financial freedom. Some Democrats might choose to associate crypto transactions with the financing of terrorism or break ranks with many party members and come out in support of digital assets.

On June 18, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ethics announced that it would be investigating Florida Representative Matt Gaetz for obstruction related to allegations of “sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.” Gaetz has previously backed legislation favoring crypto regulation, including the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act. However, he has rarely made public statements suggesting digital assets were central to his position as a lawmaker.

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Dogecoin to $1? Traders say a 140% DOGE rally could happen before February