SEC probes Kraken, Coinbase decries staking ban rumours, Craig Wright hits copyright snag, Kyle Davies snubs subpoena

SEC probe into Kraken

Kraken is reportedly facing a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) probe that may set an impactful precedent for cryptocurrency regulation. Bloomberg reports an investigation into Kraken’s offerings to American citizens, some of which the SEC deems to violate securities laws. SEC Chair Gary Gensler has been adamant that many cryptocurrencies should be regulated as securities and thus fall under the purview of the market watchdog.

“The SEC does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation,” an SEC spokesperson told DL News.

All is quiet on the Kraken front thus far. No word either from oft-prolific provocateur, Kraken’s departing CEO Jesse Powell.

Craig Wright loses first battle in UK court

The man who claims to be the secretive Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakomoto has hit another roadblock, as a UK judge ruled Tuesday that Bitcoin’s file format can’t be copyrighted. Craig Wright, whose UK lawsuit asserts that he should have copyright authority on all Bitcoin business activity, has waged a flurry of legal battles in several countries to confirm his claimed identity. The ruling is one of many to come, as Wright’s multi-faceted UK case makes several claims, including copyright to Bitcoin’s 2008 white paper.

Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong laments crypto staking rumors

Rumors abound over SEC activities yet again, as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong addressed another possible hit to the industry within the US. In a February 8 Twitter thread, Armstrong addressed rumours that the SEC may be planning on closing crypto staking for retail investors, a move the CEO decried as a “terrible path” for US regulators to take. Armstrong, whose $15 billion exchange is among the largest in the world, is currently facing an SEC probe over Coinbase’s staking programmes.

Bitcoin ATM operator Coin Cloud is bankrupt

Bitcoin ATM operator Coin Cloud has filed with a US court for bankruptcy protection. The company, which has over 4,000 crypto ATMs in the States and Brazil, owes between $100 million and $500 million to creditors such as crypto lender Genesis Global Trading, which filed for bankruptcy in January.

Kyle Davies not responding to subpoena

Three Arrows Capital (3AC) co-founder Kyle Davies is giving authorities the cold shoulder on Twitter. The US Bankruptcy Court issued an electronic subpoena on January 6, as Davies and his partner Su Zhu remain abroad and unaccounted for. Lawyers representing the liquidators made a February 7 filing that accuses Davies of negligence for ignoring the subpoena. Since the collapse of 3AC in May of last year Davies and Zhu have remained active online, and are even raising funds for a new venture. The implosion of 3AC has been said to have triggered the domino-like wave of collapses across the industry

Robinhood board agrees to buy SBF’s stake

The board at retail trading giant Robinhood approved a plan to buy out disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s $587 million stake in the company. The confirmation came on Wednesday in a fourth quarter report. The ex-CEO bought around 55 million shares of the company by tapping sister firm Alameda Research for loans. The shares, which amount to 7% of the company, were seized by the US Department of Justice in January, following the 2022 collapse of FTX, Alameda and a host of other related companies.

Found on the web...

FTX’s collapse created a new hope for OpenBook. Now Orca is gaining ground instead - DL News

Satoshi-Era Bitcoin address awakens to make colossal 120,000,000% gains after 11 idle years - Benziga

Dubai clarifies rules for crypto companies - Decrypt