Key Insights:

• SEC dropped the charges against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen, fueling speculation of an SEC appeal.
• US lawmakers push the US Administration into tackling the use of crypto in financing terrorism.
• BTC-spot ETFs: Fake news and optimism toward a BTC-spot ETF market.

SEC Dropped the Case Against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Co-Founder Chris Larsen

On Thursday, the SEC dropped the charges against Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen and CEO Brad Garlinghouse.

Significantly, the court filing stated the intent to meet with Ripple and discuss the possibility of a briefing schedule. In a briefing schedule, both parties would attempt to find resolutions to the remaining charges vis-à-vis the institutional sales of XRP. The SEC requested the court to allow until November 9, 2023, failing which requested the court to date a briefing schedule “on a contested basis.”

Investors responded to the news, with XRP striking a Friday session high of $0.5313. However, speculation that the SEC dropped the charges to expedite an appeal of the Court ruling on the Programmatic Sale of XRP impacted buyer appetite.

XRP was up 5.39% to $0.5135, Monday through Saturday morning.

Fake News and Optimism Toward a BTC-Spot ETF Approval

Fake news hit the crypto news wires on Tuesday, sending BTC to $30,127 before returning to sub-$30,000. Investors responded to the fake news of the SEC approving the Blackrock (BLK) BTC-spot ETF. Blackrock addressed the fake news, stating that the iShares Bitcoin ETP application was still under review.

While fake news hit the markets on Tuesday, anticipation of the SEC approving BTC-spot ETF applications grew on Friday. BTC revisited the $30,000 handle before ending the day at $29,698.

Fidelity and Grayscale filed amended BTC-spot ETF applications, raising the market bets on imminent SEC approvals.

Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart recently raised the chances of the SEC approving the Ark BTC-spot ETF application to 90%.

BTC was up 9% to $29,652, Monday through Saturday morning.

Binance Faces Increased Scrutiny After Hamas Attack on Israel

This week, Israeli authorities ordered Binance to freeze 100+ Hamas-linked crypto accounts. The authorities also requested account details on 200 more crypto accounts, most reportedly with Binance.

The news comes at a difficult time for Binance, which is in a legal battle against the SEC.

In June, the SEC filed thirteen charges against Binance, CZ, and Binance US. The SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s statement about the charges resonated. The SEC Chair said,

“[…], we allege that Zhao and Binance entities engaged in an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and calculated evasion of the law.”

However, the latest news puts Binance under the scrutiny of US lawmakers again.

US Lawmakers Call for US Administration Action Against Illicit Crypto Activity

This week, US lawmakers sent a bipartisan letter to the US Administration requesting the Administration to address the crypto financing of terrorism.

The letter stated,

“Congress and this Administration must take strong action to thoroughly address crypto illicit finance risks before it can be used to finance another tragedy.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren was among US lawmakers co-signing the letter.

US lawmakers responded to the news of Israeli authorities demanding Binance to freeze 100+ Hamas-linked crypto accounts.

On Friday, Senator Warren shared an update from the US Administration, saying,

“Major announcement by the US Treasury Department Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo to crack down on crypto financed-terrorism. I led 100+ lawmakers raising concerns, and the Biden administration is taking swift and significant action. Congress must also step up and close crypto money laundering loopholes.”

The Wall Street Journal reported,

“The Biden Administration is set to designate international “mixers,” cryptocurrency exchanges that provide customers anonymity, as money-laundering hubs that threaten national security, a significant regulatory step.”

Coinbase Attempts to Steer Clear of US Administration Scrutiny

On Tuesday, Coinbase (COIN) issued a statement outlining its approach to preventing illicit crypto activity. The statement was in response to the news of Hamas-linked accounts with Binance.

According to the statement,

“[…] Coinbase focuses on rooting out bad actors seeking to use crypto for illicit purposes. We maintain a robust compliance program which includes KYC checks, sanctions screening, suspicious activity reporting, and strong law enforcement partnerships, to prevent and detect illicit activity on our platform.”

The statement went on to say,

“Further, blockchain analytics technology allows us to trace, report, and even prevent terrorist financing.”

Coinbase is also in a legal battle with the SEC. The SEC filed charges against Coinbase in June, days after filing the charges against Binance.