Welcome to State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. I’m your host, Nikhilesh De. Attorneys for Sam Bankman-Fried filed their response to the U.S. Department of Justice in their ongoing effort to appeal his conviction before the Second Circuit. Friday's filing continued the defense team's efforts to convince the appeals court panel that Judge Lewis Kaplan was biased against the defendant.
|
|
|
Welcome to Amberdata’s End-of-Year Report for 2024—a period marked by notable growth and maturation across the crypto asset spectrum. Over the past twelve months, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a variety of stablecoins each underwent significant shifts in ownership patterns, on-chain activity, and overall market structure. Institutional engagement deepened as whales selectively re-accumulated, while mid-tier holders helped stabilize price discovery. At the same time, retail adoption surged, with newcomers arriving in waves to boost address counts and spur network participation.
Download your free copy today!
|
|
|
Amberdata delivers comprehensive digital asset data and insights into
blockchain networks, crypto markets, and decentralized finance empowering
institutions with the critical data required to participate in digital assets.
Trusted by Citi, NAB, Nasdaq, Franklin Templeton and more. |
|
|
Sam Bankman-Fried (Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk) |
Sam Bankman-Fried's appeals team filed their rejoinder to the U.S. Department of Justice's argument that the FTX founder and former CEO's trial was fair and his conviction on seven different counts was reached properly. Friday's filing argues that Judge Lewis Kaplan violated a number of procedural rules and precedents that would have helped Bankman-Fried's team mount a stronger defense.
|
Every lawyer I spoke to after Bankman-Fried's 2023 trial said an appeal would be a difficult process for him. That's not stopping his lawyers from trying to persuade a panel of judges that his trial did not afford him due process, and a fresh trial with a different judge is an appropriate remedy.
|
The filing reiterated past arguments that the judge biased the jury by preventing evidence that would have helped Bankman-Fried from being introduced, and otherwise letting the prosecution do whatever it liked while blocking the defense from introducing helpful witnesses or even arguments.
Moreover, the defense argued, FTX's bankruptcy proceedings showed that FTX customers, Alameda investors and other harmed parties did not "lose everything," as prosecutors alleged.
"At every turn, the judge put his thumb on the scale. The result was a one-sided trial, where the district court allowed the government to present damning false information, concealed contrary information from the jury, erroneously instructed the jury about the law, and effectively directed a guilty verdict," the filing said.
A federal judge approved FTX's bankruptcy plan last October. The plan will provide a majority of FTX creditors with more than 100% of the value of their lost holdings, at 2022 prices (crypto prices have obviously gone up quite a bit since FTX collapsed).
"But the larger point is all such nuance was missing from trial. Whether anyone was 'made whole' may be a debatable definitional question. But the government told the jury, over and over, that everyone lost all their money, period. That wasn’t nuanced or complicated — it was just false," the filing said.
Judge Kaplan was himself biased against Bankman-Fried and demonstrated his bias before the jury, the filing said, reiterating another argument the appeals team made before. While the DOJ said in its last filing that media reports (hi) exaggerated Kaplan's comments about Bankman-Fried, Friday's filing said the judge's own quotes demonstrate his bias. (For the record, if you are the DOJ lawyer who wrote that reporters "played up the drama" of Kaplan's comments, no hard feelings.)
As before, the appeal seeks a new trial "or at minimum, an evidentiary hearing" for Bankman-Fried.
In other news, Bankman-Fried's parents are hoping to convince U.S. President Donald Trump to issue a pardon for the former crypto executive, Bloomberg reported. A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried declined to comment. |
|
|
Stories you may have missed |
|
|
| 15:15 UTC (10:15 a.m. ET) The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing for Senators to question Howard Lutnick, the Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Donald Trump nominated to be secretary of Commerce. Some questions about Lutnick's ties to Tether came up. |
|
|
| (The Washington Post) A now-former senior U.S. Treasury Department official, David Lebryk, who served as Acting Treasury Secretary until Scott Bessent's confirmation, was forced out of the Treasury Department after the Post reports, referring to the newly renamed Department of Government Efficiency led by the Tesla and SpaceX chief. The system is used to disburse funds on behalf of government entities, including Social Security payments, the Post said. (Reuters) More Elon Musk aides have joined the Office of Personnel Management, accessing systems and locking career employees out of certain systems. (CNN) A number of Donald Trump's executive orders resemble proposals in Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation initiative for a conservative presidency that Trump distanced himself from during the 2024 presidential campaign. (The Washington Post) A number of federal prosecutors who pursued cases against Capitol rioters were fired Friday. (The New York Times) Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr sent a letter to NPR and PBS saying the entity was going to investigate the news stations and whether they violated regulations by "recognizing financial sponsors on the air." (Reuters) The Colombian government refused to accept two deportation flights because they were flown on U.S. Air Force transport craft and not civilian airliners. The Trump Administration threatened to impose sanctions and tariffs, and later said the Colombian government backed down. The Colombian government just said it had "overcome the impasse." (Politico) This week saw the first aviation disaster in the U.S. since 2009's Colgan Air 3407 crash after a U.S. Army H-60 helicopter collided with an American Eagle CRJ700 over the Potomac River. The CRJ700 was moments away from landing at Reagan National Airport. There were 67 casualties. The National Transportation Safety Board has only just begun its investigation, but the incident has renewed focus on a stretched Air Traffic Control system and busy air traffic corridors. A day after the incident, the Office of Personnel Management sent an email to various government agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, urged employees to consider leaving the public sector for private sector roles. |
|
|
Join the CoinDesk Flash Waitlist
Your Portfolio Will Thank You
CoinDesk Flash gives you the power of news that moves markets — be the first to get the latest crypto financial opportunities, trends, and technology insights. |
|
|
If you’ve got thoughts or questions on what I should discuss next week or any other feedback you’d like to share, feel free to email me at [email protected] or find me on Bluesky @nikhileshde.bsky.social. You can also join the group conversation on Telegram. See y’all next week! |
|
|
|
