SBF guarantors
Grab a cup of coffee and settle in, because we've got some exciting developments in the world of cryptocurrency to discuss.
From the unsealing of SBF's guarantors' names to the SEC's lawsuit against Paxos, there's plenty to unpack here. We'll be exploring the controversies and implications of these events, so get ready for a wild ride!
On January 30th United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan granted a joint petition from 8 major media outlets seeking to unseal the guarantors' names. A week after, on February 7th, SBF's lawyers filed an appeal to prevent the order from being enforced saying guarantors could face similar intrusions as SBF's parents.
Judge expected an appeal and said the guarantors have voluntarily signed individual bonds in a highly publicized criminal proceeding and thus voluntarily opened themselves to public scrutiny.
Now we finally got the names!
Alongside Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried, parents of SBF, Larry Kramer, a former dean of Stanford Law School, and Andreas Paepcke, a senior Stanford university research scientist, signed individual bonds.
Kramer said his contribution was made to help close friends in a time of crisis just as they helped him and his family during his family's battle with cancer.
Is still unclear what connection Paepcke may have to SBF or his parents but we will let you know the moment that information will be public.
BUSD Paxos
SEC lawsuit against Paxos baffled the whole crypto community. Let's take a look at why.
To determine whether something is security or not we have to take a Howey test. It has 4 criteria:
1. An investment of money
2. In common enterprise
3. With expectations of profit
4. To be derived from the efforts of others
It's a controversial take that people would expect to profit from stablecoins but after a lot of reading and researching it could make sense.
BUSD isn't pegged 100% of the time. It fluctuates, significantly less than other crypto assets but non the less a move of ≈2-3% to the upside or downside in times of crisis isn't something unusual. This gives an opportunity to people to make a profit from stablecoins.
Chairman Gary Gensler recently said stablecoins whose value is backed directly or synthetically by an instrument deemed to be a security, whether equities or other cryptocurrencies, may face enforcement action or civil litigation under the theory that, in economic reality, the stablecoin is simply a derivative of a security.
We don't think Gary is doing it to protect the consumer at all rather he just wants to control the space and wants to do it with enforcement actions. It's just disappointing to see an attack on what's good while doing nothing, or even worse – collaborating with the bad players, *cough* FTX *cough*.
Fortunately, Binance is financially strong enough to not suffer from this or any other kind of FUD.
Whether you're a crypto enthusiast or a casual observer, the unsealing of SBF's guarantors' names and the SEC's lawsuit against Paxos are sure to stir up some conversation. From the implications of the Howey test to Chairman Gensler's motivations, there's no shortage of opinions on these topics. But no matter where you stand, one thing is clear: the crypto world is full of surprises, and we can't wait to see what comes next.
So, keep your eyes peeled and your ears open - there's never a dull moment in the world of cryptocurrency.
