Here’s what happened in crypto today

Need to know what happened in crypto today? Here is the latest news on daily trends and events impacting Bitcoin price, blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, Web3 and crypto regulation.

Polygon co-founder Jaynti Kanani steps down, will contribute “from the sidelines.” The U.S. Department of Justice said its charges against Sam Bankman-Fried remain valid despite there being no specific U.S. crypto regulations. And District Court Judge Analisa Torres rejected the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s motion to file an interlocutory appeal in the Ripple case.

Polygon co-founder steps down, will contribute ‘from the sidelines’

Polygon co-founder Jaynti Kanani announced on Oct. 4 that they’ll be stepping down and contributing from the sidelines. The former Polygon CEO stepped back from chief executive duties in 2021, ceding the way for then chief legal officer Marc Boiron to assume the position. 

It was a great ride for sure and I had a whole lot of fun working alongside you.

New adventures and milestones coming soon! All the best

— Anurag Arjun (@anuragarjun) October 4, 2023

Kanani said they hadn’t been involved in the “day to day grind” for some six months in a post on Twitter discussing his feelings over stepping back after six years. The general sentiment surrounding the departure appeared to indicate that the community appreciated Kanani’s contributions and would miss their involvement in the Polygon platform.

The co-founder’s quiet departure marks both a new phase for Polygon, as it continues towards its “road to 2.0” and, perhaps, an opportunity for them to work on more recent business endeavors. Kanani’s LinkedIn profile shows that they’ve founded two tech companies in 2023, Morphic and Mozak.

FTX-SBF charges valid despite lack of US crypto laws, DOJ says

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion in court on Oct. 4, claiming the lack of crypto regulations in the U.S. is no bar to the criminal charges made against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF).

The DOJ’s letter was filed in response to the defendant’s lawyers argument that their client was “not guilty because FTX was not regulated in the United States, and he followed the rules concerning FTX US.”

The DOJ called this argument irrelevant, claiming that even though the existence of legislation may be necessary to prove a legal obligation, the lack of it does not affect whether the defendant’s victims committed money to him. The DOJ noted that the defendant’s claim about a lack of regulations related to customer funds usage is false as there are existing rules against it.

The DOJ further argued that the existing laws prohibit companies from stealing customer assets, and the defendant has been charged under the same. Furthermore, the defendant committed substantial misrepresentations to customers, as well as having stolen money from them.

The DOJ argued that it is irrelevant to whether the defendant made substantial misstatements or omissions in the supposed “absence of clearly applicable laws or regulations.“ It cannot be proven that the wire fraud allegations are “actus reus,” meaning a guilty act, regardless of whether there is regulation or not.

SBF faced his first day of jury trial on Oct.3, with reports suggesting the trial could last as long as six weeks.

Judge rejects SEC’s motion to file interlocutory appeal in Ripple case

In an Oct. 3 court order, Judge Analisa Torres rejected the SEC’s motion to file an immediate appeal over its loss against Ripple Labs, the company responsible for issuing the XRP token.

Torres declared that the financial regulator failed to meet its burden to show that there were controlling questions of law or that there were substantial grounds for differences of opinion on the ruling.

Crypto lawyer Jeremey Hogan declared the rejection a “disaster” for the agency, saying that the appeal allowed Torres to explain parts of her ruling even further. According to Hogan, this means that a future appeal from the SEC would be even more difficult to win.

The SEC's motion for interlocutory appeal DENIED.

Which means, the case either goes to trial in April, or goes away.

AND, this Order allowed the Judge to explain parts of her ruling even better, making appeal that much harder for the SEC to win.

Disaster for the agency. https://t.co/y1Gz8LolrG pic.twitter.com/hkktKMD4Ut

— Jeremy Hogan (@attorneyjeremy1) October 4, 2023

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