Crypto Trial Update, Deep Fake Scams, and Ethereum’s Historic Moment: A Comprehensive Overview
We are outside today of the Manhattan Court where Sam Bankman Freed’s criminal trial does kick off today. I want to update you on what’s happening with crypto, including day one of the SBF trial, week one of the Ethereum Futures ETFs now live, and Mr. Beast and AI.
SBF Trial Day 1 Recap
Let’s start with Sam Bankman SBF Trial Day 1 Recap: Freed’s trial begins, and the jury should be seated by Wednesday. It’s all about jury duty today, so they are still trying to find an impartial and fair group of jurors. They’re asking questions about preconceptions about cryptocurrency or S. Bankman Freed and FTX. Also, do you have any thoughts on ADHD that might affect Sam Bankman Freed’s body language? For example, they’re asking the jurors about that as well.
Trial Proceedings
For set to get opening arguments after that and then also witness testimonies. Some of the high-profile executives who have pleaded guilty are expected to testify. Caroline Ellison, Gary Wong, and NAD Singh, S. Bankman Freed’s inner circle cooperating with the prosecution. So, the FTX Founder’s trial kicked off Tuesday morning with a jury pool exceeding 50 people and around 40 reporters present.
All jurors have yet to be selected as of press time as the problem stands. The morning was spent weeding out potential jurors who face hardships if they had to sit for a 6-week trial.
Significance of the Case
Prosecutors are saying that this could be one of the most significant cases of financial fraud in the history of the US if Sam Bankman Freed is found guilty. Bankman Freed has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. He is accused of essentially siphoning money from his cryptocurrency exchange FTX to a sister investment firm hedge fund, Alameda.
Michael Lewis’s Perspective
Now, in this new footage, Kevin O’Leary said about all this. I want to share this with you. But information as the trial heads into day two. Today, we learned from day one per court proceedings in the SPF fraud case: The prosecution states that S. SPF was never offered a plea deal. That means Caroline Ryan and Gary provided meaningful intel to convict. Holy crap, no plea offer. That means the prosecution is going for blood.
Michael Lewis’s Take
Earlier today, the DOJ source said, “A light sentence would be 30 years.” This is a reminder that Madoff got 150, and SPF’s fraud crimes allegedly are so much more significant from a monetary value. The trial is expected to last about six weeks.
Michael Lewis’s Perspective on SBF
Michael Lewis makes the case that SBF is a sociopath, the dumbest take on the FTX fraud. Michael Lewis has lost the plot. This 60 Minutes interview is unhinged. Even Coffeezilla attests they finished reading Michael Lewis’s new book, so you don’t have to be misled by the 60 Minutes interview. It’s a full-out defense of SPF.
Kevin O’Leary’s Involvement
He spends more time questioning the intentions of the bankruptcy lawyer, John Ray, than he does SPF. I’m speechless. And by the way, Michael Lewis, an author and journalist, has always been so respected amongst his peers. But it is interesting in his press tour. Michael Lewis’s psych portrait of SBF seems consistent with the profile of a sociopath.
Kevin O’Leary’s Perspective
So, he would be the first to admit that he figured out from a very young age that he didn’t. He wasn’t born with a standard compliment of human feelings; he didn’t have it.
The oddest thing he couldn’t do was make facial expressions. So he realized, you know, at some point in childhood that people weren’t relating to him because when you said something that was supposed to be funny, he didn’t pretend to laugh, you know? And so he had to learn how to act to laugh in front of a mirror, yeah, taught himself facial expressions.
So what he’s doing is decoding the way people are so he can fit in. And you see him in the story, like, learning, getting better and better at projecting as an average person.
Kevin O’Leary’s Involvement in the Scam
When they meet, new information comes out on Kevin O’Leary. Binance is next to fail. How involved Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary was with SPF. Now we know why Kevin O’Leary likes SPF so much. He was paid nearly $1 million per hour to shill for Sam. This direct excerpt reads 15.7 million to Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary, for example, for 20 service hours, 20 social posts, one virtual lunch, and 50 autographs. Just that for 15.7 million.
Cryptocurrency’s Resilience
And now it makes more sense why Kevin O’Leary is still trying to blame all of this on the CZ of Binance. Take down CZ of Binance, but the point was the promise of crypto remains. It’s still there. In digital payment systems, the security of Bitcoin to restore value in itself is still there, and to retain value as digital gold is still there.
Institutional interest is still there. Nothing’s changed because of FTX, and Binance is on its way out, too, but all the crypto cowboys who were the founders of this industry will be gone soon. The CZs and the Sam Bankman Freeds were great pioneers, but now they have arrows in their bag.
Ethereum Futures ETF
So let’s talk about this Mr. Beast news along with Ethereum. Historic moment for Ethereum, VanEck ETF. ETF joining us now is VanEck CEO Yan VanEck. Yan, it’s great to have you on. I do want to start with this Ethereum Futures ETF. What does it bring to the Market? And I ask that because there is all this focus on spot ETFs, too. But it’s a very different product when we’re talking about the future. It tends to be a more sophisticated trader. How do you expect this to play out?
Ethereum’s Role
So VanEck is one of these legacy institutions offering an Ethereum Futures product. Today’s a big day in ETF history if you will. So, to the first point, yes, traditional investors now have access to Ethereum, which I call a pure-play blockchain play because Bitcoin has this sort of aspect of gold.
SEC’s Stance
And remember, this is great for optics but doesn’t do that much for price. If it was a spot ETF, that’s huge for price. I wonder how this does pave the way, if it does, for whether it is Bitcoin or whether it is Ether, these spot ETFs, which I know you have applications out there for. Yes, it has to be a positive that the SEC is allowing these ETFs to go forward, even though they’re not spot. We are seeing signs after the Ripple and Grayscale decisions that the SEC is just relaxing their stance and allowing some of these funds to get to Market.
Alex Mashinsky’s Trial
Ethereum is an aggressive growth investment, sort of a high-tech stock. Also, Alex Mashinsky’s jury trial is scheduled for September 2024, according to a New York court. The former Celsius CEO will remain free on a $40 million bail through the legal proceedings, so you may see this man walking the streets publicly. Just know his trial starts in September of next year.
Deep Fake Scams
And be aware of what is currently happening to Mr. Beast, and I warn you because this could quickly happen to Altcoin Daily. There’s so much footage of our faces and voices in the Ether. And as stated by Mr. Beast, many people are getting this deep fake scam out of me. Are social media platforms ready to handle the rise of AI deep fakes? This is a severe problem.
