SEC LOSES FIFTH CIRCUIT ROUND ON DEFI JURISDICTION The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit just dealt the SEC a stinging setback in a high-stakes case testing whether the agency can stretch its reach over decentralized finance protocols. In a ruling issued April 17, 2025, the court vacated a lower-court injunction that had…
Regal Commodities v Tauber: Court Slams Trader With $2.3 Million Judgment New York’s Appellate Division has affirmed a $2.3 million default judgment against cryptocurrency trader James Tauber, ending a four-year legal battle that began when Regal Commodities accused him of misappropriating customer funds in a commodities-futures scheme. The ruling sends a clear message: courts will…
Oracle Gave Larry Ellison and His Co-CEOs Nearly $1 Billion in Stock Options. By Year End, Every Single One Was Underwater Oracle awarded Larry Ellison and the company’s co-CEOs stock options valued at nearly $1 billion. By the end of the year, however, every one of those options was underwater—meaning the market value of Oracle…
**CFTC WINS KEY RULING ON FOOD GIANT’S TRADING DATA** The Seventh Circuit has ordered Kraft and Mondelēz to hand over internal trading records to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, ending a two-year battle over how much information the regulator can demand from commodity-market participants. The decision strengthens the CFTC’s hand in enforcement actions that could…
Judge Halts SEC Crypto Crackdown: Fifth Circuit Says Agency Overstepped Its Bounds The Fifth Circuit just handed the SEC a stinging defeat, ruling that the agency exceeded its authority when it attempted to impose sweeping new disclosure requirements on digital-asset markets. In a decision that could reshape how crypto is regulated in the U.S., the…
Judge Orders Consolidation in Crypto Broker Cases Federal panel just merged three lawsuits against a crypto brokerage into one courtroom in Chicago. The ruling matters because it concentrates scattered legal firepower into a single venue, giving plaintiffs stronger leverage and forcing the exchange to defend itself on multiple fronts at once. The dispute began when…
Morning Minute: NEAR Intents Hacked for $3.8M — Was It a Bullish Hack? NEAR Intents was reportedly hacked, with losses estimated at $3.8 million. The available information does not provide details about how the exploit occurred, which assets were affected, or whether the funds have been recovered. The incident matters because attacks on crypto protocols…
Court Deals CFTC Major Blow Over “Actual Delivery” of Metals The Ninth Circuit just ruled that Monex Credit Company’s precious-metals margin business is not a regulated commodity futures platform, dealing the CFTC a stinging defeat and tightening the legal fence around what counts as a “leveraged retail transaction.” For traders and exchanges watching the blurred…
Stripe to expand stablecoin cards to over 100 countries by the end of the year Stripe plans to significantly widen the reach of its stablecoin card programs, aiming to make them available in more than 100 countries by the end of the year, according to comments from Stripe’s stablecoin and crypto lead Henri Stern in…
CFTC Loses Appeal, Crypto Futures Test Case Survives Trevor Kitchen just handed the CFTC a rare courtroom defeat that could ripple through every U.S. crypto derivatives platform. The D.C. Circuit reversed the agency’s order and sent the case back for a fresh hearing, ruling that the Commission had applied the wrong legal standard when it…
‘Uptober’ Starts Green as Bitcoin ETFs Draw $134 Million Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $134 million in net inflows, giving October a positive start for investment products tied to the cryptocurrency. The figure highlights continued investor demand for regulated Bitcoin exposure through exchange-traded funds, which allow market participants to gain exposure without holding the asset directly….
CFTC Wins, Crypto Loses: Ninth Circuit Backs Enforcement Power The Ninth Circuit just handed the CFTC a decisive win, ruling that it has authority to pursue fraud claims against a Bitcoin trader who allegedly ran a Ponzi scheme. The decision matters because it cements the agency’s power over crypto markets, signaling that regulators can treat…
COURT DELIVERS CRYPTO WALLET SEIZURE BLOW TO TAX EVADERS The D.C. federal court just green-lit the IRS’s seizure of twenty-four cryptocurrency wallets tied to tax evasion, ruling that digital assets are fully reachable under civil forfeiture statutes. This decision arms the government with a clearer path to pursue hidden crypto holdings and signals that anonymity…
SEC LOSES FIRST ROUND TO BINANCE IN D.C. The SEC just took a hit in its crypto crackdown. A federal judge in Washington denied the agency’s request to shut Binance.US immediately, keeping the exchange alive while the broader lawsuit crawls forward. Markets exhaled, but the fight is far from over. The SEC sued Binance last…
Morning Minute: Uptober Off to a Green Start October has opened on a positive note for the crypto market, setting an upbeat tone for the month ahead. The early gains mark a stronger start than the market experienced at the close of the previous month. However, with no further details available on the assets or…
**Delaware Court Pulls Plug on Crypto Startup’s $1.3 Million ICO Suit** A Delaware judge just tossed a crypto startup’s fraud lawsuit against a former consultant, ruling that the company’s own reckless fundraising practices killed any chance of recovery. The decision signals that courts will not rescue token issuers who skip basic legal hygiene, even when…
Court Hands Grayscale a Win—SEC Must Revisit Bitcoin ETF Denial Grayscale just forced the SEC back to the drawing board. In a unanimous ruling from the D.C. Circuit, the court vacated the agency’s 2022 order that blocked Grayscale’s spot bitcoin ETF, saying the Commission failed to explain why it treated the firm’s product differently from…
**CFTC Wins—Donelson’s Appeal Crashes Out** The Seventh Circuit just handed the CFTC a clean win, affirming that James Donelson’s trading operation violated the Commodity Exchange Act and that the agency can police it. For traders, exchanges, and would-be DeFi operators, the ruling signals that U.S. regulators still hold the high ground when financial instruments touch…
Hester Peirce Leaves SEC After Years at the Center of U.S. Crypto Policy Hester Peirce has left the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after years of involvement in the development of the country’s crypto policy. Her departure marks the end of a prominent period at the agency for an official closely associated with debates over…
**Coinbase Wins First Round, SEC Authority Faces Fresh Test** The Third Circuit just handed Coinbase a procedural win that could slow the SEC’s crypto enforcement campaign. Judges ruled the agency must face a federal appeals court before forcing Coinbase to register as an exchange. The decision shifts power away from the SEC’s own administrative process…
