Crypto
Crime
Sam Bankman-Fried allowed to meet with lawyers for supervised, one-time Internet access
The six-and-a-half hour meeting represents the only court-approved Internet access that Mr. Bankman-Fried currently will be allowed.
AI
Federal judge rules art generated purely by AI cannot be copyrighted
The judge ruled that copyright only applies to works created by a human author.
NFTs
Yuga Labs of Bored Apes fame draws away from OpenSea over royalty fee policy
Yuga said it will end support for OpenSea's marketplace contract, Seaport.
Tokenization
Ethereum’s new ‘Holesky’ testnet to launch in September
The new network will replace the project's current Goerli testnet.
Regulation
SEC moves to appeal Ripple’s earlier victory
The SEC aims to contest rulings that determined certain XRP offers were not securities.
Stablecoins
Kraken introduces support for PayPal’s stablecoin, PYUSD
The company will begin trading on Aug. 21 and has already opened deposits.
Earnings
SpaceX saw valuation of Bitcoin holdings fall by $373M over two years: WSJ
Details of the company's crypto holdings are still largely unknown, but Bitcoin has not provided a return.
Bankruptcy
Federal Reserve shuts down Farmington Bank over unapproved stablecoin project
The bank worked with Fluent Finance on its US+ stablecoin in 2022 but did not seek Fed approval before beginning the project.
Legal
SEC permitted to move for interlocutory appeal against Ripple
The SEC will need to file its motion for appeal by Aug. 18, while Ripple will need to file its opposition papers by Sept. 1. The SEC will need to file any reply by Sept. 8.
Stablecoins
Tether stops minting USDT on three blockchains, including Bitcoin’s Omni Layer
The Bitcoin version of USDT will soon be available on a new network called RGB.
Legal
Former SEC official comments on Binance.US’ request for protection
Former Chief of Internet Enforcement at the SEC, John Reed Stark, has commented that the issue will likely be resolved through a compromise.
Legal
Ripple files opposition to SEC’s expected appeal
Ripple has argued that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's earlier request for an interlocutory appeal is unjustified and should not proceed.