| Bitcoin | $47,885 | 7 day: unch | | Ethereum | $1,502 | 7 day: -3.1% | | All crypto | $1.44T | 7 day: -0.5% | | Bitcoin dominance | 60.7% | 7 day: -0.5% | Prices as of 12:40 p.m. EST
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BitMEX's Arthur Hayes, indicted for federal crimes by the U.S. Dept. of Justice (DoJ), could enter the U.S. in April 2021. - A court transcript dated Feb.16 revealed that one of Hayes’s lawyers, Jessica Greenwood, told a federal judge that she has "discussed" Hayes's possible surrender to U.S. law enforcement authorities in Hawaii.
- Vanity Fair's recently published article, "The Rise and Fall of a Bitcoin Billionaire," suggested that Hayes could be in Singapore. Greenwood confirmed this.
- Greenwood has been in contact with Hayes and his BitMEX co-founders, Ben Delo and Gregory Dwyer.
- The U.S. DoJ indicted the trio in October 2020 for operating an illegal crypto derivatives trading platform and violating the Bank Secrecy Act.
- Samuel Reed, the fourth defendant, was arrested last year and released on a $5M bond.
- After months of silence, Hayes recently reemerged on social media.
Click to tweet the following text (you can edit it before sending): Former CEO of BitMEX Arthur Hayes could meet U.S. law enforcement authorities in Hawaii this coming April. Coindesk 
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 CBOE Global Markets logo Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Global Markets has facilitated the application for a U.S. bitcoin ETF named VanEck Bitcoin Trust, which State Street Corp. administers. - Forbes says that the application resembles Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss's proposal for an exchange-traded product for bitcoin, which the SEC rejected in July 2018 due to bitcoin's susceptibility to price manipulation.
- The CBOE application states its bitcoin ETF mitigates concerns about investor risks, market volatility, and management fees.
- The renewed effort for a bitcoin ETF registered in the U.S. comes after the success of Purpose Bitcoin ETF — a Canadian ETF launched two weeks ago.
- According to the submission, State Street Corp. would be the fund administrator and transfer agent for the VanEck Bitcoin ETF.
- In 2019, CBOE filed for SEC approval for VanEck's SolidX Bitcoin Trust, but had to withdraw the submission due to the U.S. government shutdown.
- The new application, submitted on March 1, is currently under the consideration of U.S. regulators.
Click to tweet the following text (you can edit it before sending): CBOE, the largest U.S. options exchange, resubmits an application to the SEC for a VanEck #bitcoin ETF listing. Forbes
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As expected, Ripple's billionaire executive chairman, Chris Larsen, has filed a motion to dismiss the SEC's lawsuit related to his illegal sales of XRP (XRP). The motion is Larsen's first step into a court battle that will likely continue into 2022. The motion contends that the SEC has failed to show that Larsen knowingly committed wrongdoing. Details: - U.S. District Court Judge Analisa Torres received the letter from Larsen's lawyers on March 3. It argues that regulators failed to prove the billionaire knew of any securities violations at the time of his actions.
- On Dec. 22, 2020, the SEC sued Ripple, its CEO Bradley Garlinghouse, and Larsen for selling securities worth over $1.3B illegally and without applying for an exemption.
- In the amended complaint filed in February 2021, the SEC emphasized that Larsen "knowingly" proceeded with illegal XRP sales or "provided reckless assistance" to other defendants.
- Larsen's lawyers say that the SEC is yet to prove that their client assisted substantially in carrying out XRP transactions.
Click to tweet the following text (you can edit it before sending): Ripple $XRP executive chairman Chris Larsen asks the court to dismiss the SEC securities violation lawsuit, beginning a court battle that could last years. Coindesk
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Ripple's long-time RippleNet and On-Demand Liquidity user, MoneyGram (NASDAQ:MGI), faces a class-action lawsuit for allegedly misleading investors about XRP. It is customary for independent law firms to announce class-action lawsuits after major legal actions against public companies. In this case, Rosen Law Firm wants investors who bought MoneyGram (MGI) securities between June 17, 2019, and Feb. 22, 2021, to join its class of defendants. More: - Rosen Law Firm believes MoneyGram investors are entitled to compensation after the SEC stated in December 2020 that XRP is a security.
- In its recently filed suit, Rosen Law Firm alleges that MoneyGram misled investors regarding its use of XRP, causing losses when the SEC lawsuit news spread in the market and before the company withdrew from its RippleNet partnership.
- Ripple has paid over $61M to MoneyGram in "market development fees" for using XRP in settlement services since 2019.
Click to tweet the following text (you can edit it before sending): A class-action lawsuit was filed against Ripple $XRP user MoneyGram $MGI for misleading investors. Coindesk
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Gary Gensler, the incoming Chairman of the SEC, answered Senate Banking Committee questions regarding crypto in a nomination hearing. - On March. 2, 2021, Gensler answered questions about crypto, Robinhood, GameStop, and even the diversity of corporate directors during his Senate Banking Committee hearing.
- The former Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) partner is President Joe Biden's nominee to head the SEC, succeeding Jay Clayton.
- He praised blockchain as a catalyst for change. Although he wants to encourage innovation, he also emphasized regulating illegal behavior.
- Gensler said crypto raises investor security concerns that demand the SEC's attention.
- The ex-Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner (CFTC) chairman, if approved by the Senate, will examine the investor protection statutes as they apply to crypto exchanges, according to a report.
Click to tweet the following text (you can edit it before sending): Biden-nominated SEC chairman Gary Gensler calls blockchain technology a catalyst for change. Although he wants to encourage innovation, he emphasized regulating illegal behavior. Coindesk
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The Block Crypto's Wolfie Zhao addresses peculiar aspects of the recent BTC.com and 500.com merger. - The online gambling site had a hard time during 2015's crackdown on Chinese lotteries, but 500.com (NYSE:WBAI) survived. Following the Chinese regulators' ban on selling lottery tickets online, the company began to sell them through physical stores.
- 500.com acquired the mining pool BTC.com on Feb. 17, 2021. Before its acquisition, ex-Bitmain CEO Jihan Wu's Blockchain Alliance owned BTC.com.
- 500.com's CEO said the company's goal is to realize profits through BTC.com's mining farms.
- BTC.com possesses approximately 10% hashpower of the entire bitcoin network; years ago, it was once bitcoin's largest mining pool.
- The U.S.-listed online lottery company has been busy acquiring bitcoin mining equipment since 2013.
- When the company went public in the U.S., it raised $58M at a $330M valuation.
Click to tweet the following text (you can edit it before sending): Article by @TheBlock__ discusses how a struggling Chinese lottery company acquired what was once the largest $BTC $XBT mining pool. The Block Crypto
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- Coindesk sources indicate that PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) could acquire a crypto custody company called Curv in a deal worth about $500M.
- Australia-based bitcoin miner Iris Energy doubled its fundraising round amid strong pre-IPO investor interest.
- The creator of BitShares (BTS), Steemit (HIVE), Steem (STEEM), Aspire (ASP), former CTO of Block.one (EOS), and the man behind the contentious slogan "Beyond Bitcoin," Dan Larimer, announced yet another blockchain project named Clarion.
- Canadian bitcoin ETF backer Evolve has filed a preliminary prospectus for an Ethereum exchange-traded product on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
- Brave (BAT) is launching a search engine previously known as Tailcat.
- Binance is investing in Multicoin Capital, a hedge fund that invests in blockchain-related projects. Other Multicoin investors include Marc Andreessen, Union Square Ventures, and Ribbit Capital.
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 |  | Curated by Associated Press fanboy, eye-strained news terminal watcher, and bitcoin follower since $1, Aaron Wise. Temporarily listening to news squawk boxes in Florida while awaiting the construction of cryptopia. |  | | Editor | Charlotte Hayes-Clemens is an editor and writer based in Vancouver. She has dabbled in both the fiction and non-fiction world, having worked at HarperCollins Publishers and more recently as a writing coach for new and self-published authors. Proper semi-colon usage is her hill to die on. | |
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