SBF takes the stand, ‘buy Bitcoin’ searches soar and other news: Hodler’s Digest, Oct. 22-28

Top stories of the week

Sam Bankman-Fried appears in court over FTX collapse

Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried testified this week in an ongoing criminal trial in the Southern District of New York, denying any wrongdoing between FTX and Alameda Research while admitting that “significant mistakes” were made during the company’s explosive growth. Highlights of his testimony included denials of directing his inner circle to make major political donations in 2021 and claims that FTX’s terms of use covered transactions between Alameda and cryptocurrency exchanges. Additionally, Bankman-Fried testified that he requested additional hedging strategies for Alameda in 2021 and 2022, but those strategies were never implemented. The trial is expected to wrap up in the coming days.

Search queries for “buy Bitcoin” on Google in the UK surged 826%

As cryptocurrencies surge, Google searches for “buy bitcoin” have surged around the world, with searches in the UK increasing by more than 800% in the last week. According to research by Cryptogambling.tv, searches for the term “buy Bitcoin” in the UK surged 826% in seven days. In the U.S., data from Google Trends shows that searches for “should I buy Bitcoin right now?” have increased by more than 250%, while more niche searches including “can I buy Bitcoin at Fidelity?” rose by more than 250% last week. 3,100%. Narrowing the scope further, the search term “Is now a good time to buy Bitcoin?” saw global gains of 110% last week.

U.S. court authorizes Grayscale ruling, paving way for SEC to review spot Bitcoin ETF

Following the decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals issued an order requiring the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to review Grayscale Investments’ application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). In an Oct. 23 filing, the court’s “formal authorization” came into effect, paving the way for the SEC to review its decision on the Grayscale Spot Bitcoin ETF. The authorization follows the court’s preliminary ruling on Aug. 29 and the SEC’s failure to appeal by Oct. 13. To date, the SEC has not approved a single spot crypto ETF to be listed on a U.S. exchange, but it has been for investment vehicles tied to Bitcoin and Ethereum futures.

Coinbase challenges SEC’s cryptocurrency authority, ultimately dismisses regulator’s lawsuit

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission overstepped its authority when it classified Coinbase-listed cryptocurrencies as securities, the exchange argued in a final lawsuit that dismissed the securities regulator’s lawsuit. In an Oct. 24 filing in New York District Court, Coinbase criticized the SEC, claiming its definition of a security was too broad and arguing that the cryptocurrencies listed by the exchange did not fall within the regulator’s purview. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Coinbase on June 6, claiming that the exchange listed a variety of tokens that were considered securities but failed to register them with the regulatory agency, violating U.S. securities laws.

Gemini sues Genesis over GBTC shares being used as Earn collateral, currently worth $1.6B

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini filed a lawsuit against bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Genesis on October 27. At issue is the fate of 62,086,586 Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares. They are used as collateral to secure loans to Genesis through the Gemini Earn program for 232,000 Gemini users. The collateral is currently worth nearly $1.6 billion. According to the lawsuit, Gemini has obtained $284.3 million through foreclosure for the benefit of Earn users, but Genesis contested the action, preventing Gemini from distributing the proceeds. Genesis filed for bankruptcy in January. It suspended withdrawals in November 2022, which affected the Gemini Earn plan.

winners and losers

This weekend, Bitcoin (Bitcoin) lie in $34,143Ether (Ethereum) exist $1,789 and Ripple exist $0.54.The total market capitalization is $1.26 mega, according to to CoinMarketCap.

Among the 100 largest cryptocurrencies, the top three gaining altcoins this week are Pepe (PEPE) 72.08%, Mina (Mina) 55.47% and FLOKI (Floki) is 53.33%.

The three altcoins with the biggest declines this week are Bitcoin SV (BSV) is -10.27%, Eastcoin (Ton) -3.14% and Trust wallet tokens (writing) is -0.82%.

For more information on cryptocurrency prices, be sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

most memorable quotes

“The way the witness (Sam Bankman-Fried) answered the questions was interesting.”

Louis KaplanSenior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

“When it comes to illicit finance, cryptocurrencies are not the enemy – the bad guys are.”

Cynthia LoomisUnited States Senator

Bitcoin Bitcoin surged $34,000 over the weekend as attention turned to its price performance relative to macro assets. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows BTC/USD holding steady, maintaining its early-week gains.

The largest cryptocurrencies have avoided major moves as the weekly and monthly close, a key moment in October’s uptrend, draws closer.

“I think Bitcoin is going to hang around in this range for a while,” popular anonymous trader Daan Crypto Trades told X subscribers in several posts on October 27. “My view is around $33-35,000. Eyeing a potential sweep of any of these levels on a quick trade,” he wrote.

Most talked about FUD this week

UK passes bill allowing authorities to seize Bitcoin used in crimes

British lawmakers have Pass legislation that would allow authorities to seize and freeze cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, used for illegal purposes. Introduced in September 2022, the bill aims to expand the authorities’ ability to combat the use of cryptocurrencies for criminal activities such as cybercrime, fraud and drug trafficking. One provision of the bill allows for the recovery of cryptoassets used in crimes without conviction, as some people may avoid conviction by keeping their distance.

Scammers create Blockworks clone website to drain crypto wallets

Phishing scammers have cloned the websites of crypto media outlet Blockworks and Ethereum blockchain scanner Etherscan to trick unsuspecting readers into connecting their wallets to cryptocurrency drains. A fake Blockworks website showcased a fake “big” news story about an alleged multi-million dollar “approval vulnerability” on decentralized exchange Uniswap and encouraged users to visit the fake Etherscan website to revoke their approval. This fake Uniswap news article was posted on several popular subreddits on Reddit.

Kraken will suspend USDT, DAI, WBTC, WETH and WAXL trading in Canada

Kraken will suspend all transactions in Canada related to Tether, Dai, Wrapped Bitcoin, Wrapped Ether and Wrapped Axelar in November and December. This suspension may not come as a surprise to many Canadian cryptocurrency users, as several other prominent exchanges took similar actions in 2023. OKX ceased operations in Canada in June after Binance announced its intention to cease operations in the country in May.

5,050 Bitcoin in 2009: Helsinki claims cryptocurrency fame

Helsinki has a long and fascinating history with cryptocurrencies, including the first exchange of Bitcoin for U.S. dollars.

So far this year, the former GTA developer studio has launched $2.3B in Web3 games on platforms such as the Epic Games Store in partnership with Immutable and Brawlers.

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Editorial Staff

Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.