In this week’s edition of the weekly recap, Sam Bankman-Fried appeared to implement a documented media playbook from prison, former SafeMoon CEO Braden Karony received a 100-month sentence, and Strategy introduced perpetual preferred shares to fund Bitcoin purchases.
Bankman-Fried executes documented media approach
- Court records and recent prison communications indicate the convicted FTX founder is implementing a media strategy outlined in a January 15, 2023 Google document created shortly after his arrest.
- The document detailed 12 tactics Bankman-Fried considered to generate favorable media coverage following his indictment, arrest, extradition, and arraignment.
- Recent communications show Bankman-Fried shifting politically rightward and praising Trump’s cryptocurrency policies.
SafeMoon executive sentenced to prison
- Former CEO Braden Karony received a 100-month sentence Monday in Brooklyn federal court for stealing millions in customer funds and using them for personal enrichment.
- A federal jury convicted Karony in May of last year on charges including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
Strategy introduces variable dividend preferred stock
- The Bitcoin (BTC) treasury company is expanding its use of preferred stock to fund cryptocurrency purchases while reducing exposure to market volatility.
- CEO Phong Le told Bloomberg in a February 12 interview that the company is offering perpetual preferred shares branded “Stretch” to attract investors seeking digital asset exposure without extreme price fluctuations.
- The product pays a variable dividend adjusted monthly, providing an alternative financing mechanism for the company’s ongoing Bitcoin accumulation strategy.
Grayscale files AAVE ETF application
- The investment firm reportedly submitted an S-1 application to the Securities and Exchange Commission for an AAVE spot exchange-traded fund according to regulatory filings.
- The filing follows increased attention to AAVE, a decentralized finance protocol, after a governance vote on decentralizing its operational structure received community support.
Kalshi partners with sports insurance broker
- The prediction market platform announced collaboration with sports insurance broker Game Point Capital and made an entry into the sports insurance market according to CEO Tarek Mansour.
- The partnership targets the fast-growing sports insurance and reinsurance industry, currently valued at approximately $9 billion annually and projected to double by 2030.
Binance launches prepaid card in CIS markets
- The exchange introduced its prepaid Mastercard crypto card in several Commonwealth of Independent States countries.
- The card offers instant crypto-to-fiat payments and cashback rewards according to marketing lead Anka Tsintsadze’s Friday confirmation.
South Korean police lose custody Bitcoin
- Gangnam Police Station confirmed Friday that 22 Bitcoin worth approximately ₩2.1 billion (roughly $1.6 million) were lost from police custody.
- The Bitcoin was voluntarily surrendered by suspects during a 2021 investigation and held in custody since then.
Robinhood debuts layer-2 testnet
- The trading platform launched a public testnet version of its proprietary layer-2 network developed using Arbitrum’s technology stack.
- Robinhood Chain is currently accessible to a closed group of partners and developers who can experiment with integration, access points, and documentation.
Hoskinson clarifies Midnight privacy strategy
- Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson stated Thursday at Consensus Hong Kong that privacy-focused blockchain Midnight doesn’t plan to recruit Monero and ZCash users, calling them a “different demographic” already caring deeply about privacy.
- Midnight will instead target “billions of people that don’t know they need privacy” with default privacy protection rather than optional features.
BitMine continues Ethereum accumulation
- The company added 40,613 Ethereum (ETH) valued at approximately $83.2 million to its industry-leading Ethereum holdings last week despite unrealized losses currently sitting near $7.5 billion.
- Total holdings reached 4,325,738 Ethereum worth over $8.8 billion, representing about 3.58% of circulating ETH supply.
- Chairman Tom Lee stated “BitMine has been steadily buying Ethereum, as we view this pullback as attractive, given the strengthening fundamentals.”
Strategy maintains Bitcoin purchases despite losses
- Strategy announced Monday it acquired an additional 1,142 Bitcoin last week even as its nearly $50 billion holdings remain underwater following last week’s cryptocurrency market plunge.
- The firm purchased coins for approximately $90 million total, with a cost basis of $78,815 per Bitcoin.
