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Legal intrigue was the theme of the week, keeping Crypto Twitter perched on the edge of its seat\u2014booing and cheering in equal measure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On Monday, a federal judge <\/span>declined to dismiss<\/span><\/a> the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) ongoing lawsuit against Coinbase, finding most of the regulator\u2019s key arguments \u201cplausible\u201d and generally concurring that the SEC has jurisdiction over much of the crypto industry.<\/span><\/p>\n Coinbase\u2019s leadership quickly dismissed the ruling as expected and clarified that it in no way meant the crypto exchange had lost\u2014only that the case was now proceeding towards trial.<\/span><\/p>\n Today, the Court decided that our SEC case will move forward on most of the claims, but dismissed the claims against Coinbase Wallet. We were prepared for this, and we look forward to uncovering more about the SEC\u2019s internal views and discussions on crypto regulation. 1\/6<\/p>\n \u2014 paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) March 27, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n But legal experts were clearly surprised that the case\u2019s judge\u2014who at one point <\/span>appeared persuaded<\/span><\/a> by Coinbase\u2019s arguments\u2014found so much of the logic underpinning the SEC\u2019s arguments to be sound.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I did not expect full dismissal, no. But CB’s best legal arguments are not getting any traction. And it’s bewildering.<\/p>\n \u2014 Scott Johnsson (@SGJohnsson) March 27, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n The buzz around the ruling got big enough that even Edward Snowden weighed in\u2014dismissing it as meaningless and predicting that other rulings, political developments, and legal structures in the United States will eventually force the SEC to drop its enforcement campaign against huge swathes of the crypto industry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This doesn’t bother me. If the SEC keeps acting in bad faith like this, they’re going to lose so hard in court that they’ll never be able to do this to anyone ever again. Remember when the SEC got spanked so badly that Gensler had to approve BTC ETFs with tears in his eyes? yeah https:\/\/t.co\/XWOwmoaICN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Edward Snowden (@Snowden) March 27, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Of course, the biggest legal news of the week came on Thursday, when disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was <\/span>sentenced to 25 years<\/span><\/a> in federal prison for his involvement in criminal fraud at his crypto exchange.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Details from the sentencing hearing were principally filtered from the Manhattan courtroom where it took place into the world via a single Twitter account\u2014InnerCityPress<\/a>\u2014which<\/span>\u00a0often live tweets the transcripts of trials in New York City.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The transcript of Bankman-Fried\u2019s sentencing was replete with gems that instantly went viral\u2014from the former billionaire\u2019s defense attorney praising him as \u201ca beautiful puzzle\u201d to the case\u2019s judge, Lewis Kaplan, excoriating the crypto founder\u2019s testimony as the worst he\u2019s seen from a defendant in almost 30 years on the bench.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Mukasey: He’s an awkward math nerd. He’s into veganism. He has an off the chart intellect. He is a beautiful puzzle. He can parse words better than a Talmudic scholar. He was a billionaire unconcerned about material possessions<\/p>\n \u2014 Inner City Press (@innercitypress) March 28, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Judge Kaplan: When not lying, he was evasive, hair splitting, trying to get the prosecutors to rephrase questions for him. I’ve been doing this job for close for 30 years. I’ve never seen a performance like that.<\/p>\n \u2014 Inner City Press (@innercitypress) March 28, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Many crypto users ravenously consuming live tweets of the sentencing hearing were clearly more accustomed to tracking ever-fluctuating crypto prices, than tuning into hours-long legal proceedings. Almost two hours into the hearing\u2014which saw Bankman-Fried, his attorney, an FTX victim, and Judge Kaplan all give lengthy speeches\u2014some Twitter users hit their limit, desperate for the headline announcement of the length of the defendant\u2019s sentence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n brother in christ just say the words<\/p>\n \u2014 CR1337 (@cryptonator1337) March 28, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n GO ON ALREADY I’M DYING HERE<\/p>\n \u2014 overHere (@overHere_gg) March 28, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Soon enough, the news came. And when it did, Crypto Twitter was split\u2014between those who had hoped Bankman-Fried would have received a more draconian sentence and others who found 25 years in a <\/span>likely rough federal prison<\/span><\/a> to be an adequate punishment for a first-time non-violent offender.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n SBF got off really easy given the gravity of the crimes he committed and how many victims there are.<\/p>\n \u2014 Hashoshi | Crypto Over Coffee \u2615\ufe0f (@hashoshi4) March 28, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n i get that some of you wanted to see SBF serve a longer sentence, but 25 years in prison is not “getting off easy” or a “slap on the wrist”<\/p>\n \u2014 Molly White (@molly0xFFF) March 28, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Unmistakably, though, Bankman-Fried\u2019s sentencing was a historic\u2014and cathartic\u2014milestone for the crypto industry, one that was quickly immortalized in a <\/span>typically dark<\/span><\/a> and provocative creation by the digital artist Beeple.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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