Episode Details

17th June: Crypto & Coffee at 8
🚨SEC vs Ripple $102.6 M settlement offer 🚨Riot Platforms, Inc. V/S Bitfarms 🟠 MicroStrategy to buy more hashtag#BTC 👮🏻‍♂️Owners of Darknet- “Empire Market” charges

🚨SEC vs Ripple — Update
- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sought a hefty $2 Billion penalty from Ripple. However, this has been lowered to $102.6 Million s just a day after Ripple filed a legal brief arguing that the original $2 Billion penalty was unreasonable.

❗ A legal document shared by defence lawyer James Filan via Twitter (Now X) revealed a substantial reduction in the SEC’s proposed settlement amount for Ripple. Info here https://lnkd.in/dTBd5Gcu 

❗ Ripple argued that the SEC typically seeks penalties between 0.6% and 1.8% of the defendant’s revenue in such cases, and proposed a settlement of only $10 Million. The SEC, however, rejected Ripple’s comparison, claiming it was irrelevant to their case. 

🟠 Important to note
- Accepting the $102.6 million settlement wouldn’t clarify XRP’s legal status, leaving ambiguity for Ripple.
- Rejecting the settlement could lead to a lengthy court battle with an uncertain outcome and a potentially harsher penalty.

🚨 Riot Platforms 🆚 Bitfarms: 
The corporate battle between crypto miners Riot Platforms and Bitfarms has escalated. On June 11, Riot increased its stake in Bitfarms to 13.1% by acquiring six million shares worth over $111 million. This move followed Bitfarms’ suggestion of a “poison pill” defense to prevent Riot from reaching a 15% stake. Riot’s earlier acquisition proposal was rejected by Bitfarms. Internal issues at Bitfarms, including the firing and subsequent lawsuit from former CEO Geoffrey Morphy, add to the ongoing dispute.

🟠 MicroStrategy, co-founded by Michael Saylor, plans to raise up to $786 million through the issuance of unsecured senior convertible notes. The funds will be used to buy more Bitcoin and for general corporate purposes. MicroStrategy currently holds 214,400 BTC, making it the largest institutional holder of the cryptocurrency. They plan to issue $500 million worth of unsecured senior convertible notes to buy up more BTC and further increase its record holding, the firm upsized that offering today to $700 million. Info via Decrypt here https://lnkd.in/d2PwTCzG

🟠 Owners of “Empire Market” Charged in Chicago With Operating $430 Million Dark Web Marketplace Official info via U.S. Department of Justice here https://lnkd.in/d6Ex3tpf Thomas Pavey and Raheim Hamilton have been charged in Chicago for operating “Empire Market,” a dark web marketplace that facilitated over $430 million in illegal transactions using cryptocurrency between 2018 and 2020. They face charges of drug trafficking, fraud, counterfeiting, an