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Newsletter: The SEC is still busy even though it may soon be undermined, crypto industry capture of government continues to worsen, and several media outlets botch their crypto reporting at a time it’s needed most.
Starting off this issue with a HUGE thank you to those of you who support my work 
The SEC has hit a subsidiary of Jump Crypto with a $123 million fine for their backroom dealings with the operator of the now-collapsed Terra stablecoin. They’ve also fined Cantor Fitzgerald — a company owned by a close Trump ally — for $6.75 million.
![The SEC has levied a $123 million fine against Jump Crypto subsidiary Tai Mo Shan [W3IGG], which was involved in a secret deal with Terraform Labs to help prop up the floundering Terra stablecoin in May 2021. Jump spent $20 million to help the supposedly “self-healing” stablecoin regain its $1 peg, earning about $1.28 billion in the process, and Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon would later claim that the restoration to a $1 price was thanks to an automatic feature of the Terra project and not some backroom deal [I54, 60].10 This lie by Terraform Labs and Jump Crypto helped build confidence in the sustainability of the Terra token, which collapsed horrendously a year later.
The SEC has also reached a settlement with Cantor Fitzgerald, which will pay a $6.75 million fine over allegations that two special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) had misled investors when they claimed that they had not been in contact with the eventual targets of their acquisitions.11 While the companies were not crypto-related (one is a now-bankrupt “smart glass” manufacturer called View, the other an Earth-observation satellite company called Satellogic), SEC action against a company helmed by Trump’s transition team co-chair and soon-to-be Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is noteworthy. Cantor Fitzgerald is also closely linked to the Tether stablecoin [I71].](https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/113/705/080/427/216/268/original/1b2601b3c6183b42.png "The SEC has levied a $123 million fine against Jump Crypto subsidiary Tai Mo Shan [W3IGG], which was involved in a secret deal with Terraform Labs to help prop up the floundering Terra stablecoin in May 2021. Jump spent $20 million to help the supposedly “self-healing” stablecoin regain its $1 peg, earning about $1.28 billion in the process, and Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon would later claim that the restoration to a $1 price was thanks to an automatic feature of the Terra project and not some backroom deal [I54, 60].10 This lie by Terraform Labs and Jump Crypto helped build confidence in the sustainability of the Terra token, which collapsed horrendously a year later.
The SEC has also reached a settlement with Cantor Fitzgerald, which will pay a $6.75 million fine over allegations that two special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) had misled investors when they claimed that they had not been in contact with the eventual targets of their acquisitions.11 While the companies were not crypto-related (one is a now-bankrupt “smart glass” manufacturer called View, the other an Earth-observation satellite company called Satellogic), SEC action against a company helmed by Trump’s transition team co-chair and soon-to-be Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is noteworthy. Cantor Fitzgerald is also closely linked to the Tether stablecoin [I71].")
Despite the looming administration change, the SEC has still been sending out Wells notices. Crypto.com, however, is so confident the SEC will be hobbled by the new administration that they withdrew a lawsuit against the agency — the same day their CEO met with Trump.
![Crypto.com has abruptly dropped the lawsuit it had only just filed against the SEC in October [I68] — a lawsuit which seemed to be a direct response to a Wells notice issued by the agency against the company in August. This unusual move just so happened to coincide with a meeting between Donald Trump and Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek, who posted a photograph with the president-elect on Twitter with the caption “Honored to have a seat at the table.”12 A spokesperson explained, “We withdrew our action against the SEC given our intent to work with the incoming administration on a regulatory framework for the industry.” Trump and Marszalek reportedly discussed crypto-related political appointments and the prospect of a Bitcoin strategic national stockpile.5
Do you think Marszalek asked to take the picture in front of the framed Kim Jong Un photo, or was that just coincidence?](https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/113/705/084/006/691/934/original/4259050d6d9b285f.png "Crypto.com has abruptly dropped the lawsuit it had only just filed against the SEC in October [I68] — a lawsuit which seemed to be a direct response to a Wells notice issued by the agency against the company in August. This unusual move just so happened to coincide with a meeting between Donald Trump and Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek, who posted a photograph with the president-elect on Twitter with the caption “Honored to have a seat at the table.”12 A spokesperson explained, “We withdrew our action against the SEC given our intent to work with the incoming administration on a regulatory framework for the industry.” Trump and Marszalek reportedly discussed crypto-related political appointments and the prospect of a Bitcoin strategic national stockpile.5
Do you think Marszalek asked to take the picture in front of the framed Kim Jong Un photo, or was that just coincidence?")
Trump’s new director of the “Crypto Council” is Bo Hines, whose qualifications are apparently 1) playing football in college; 2) losing the 2022 midterm general election for a North Carolina House seat; and 3) losing even worse in 2024.
All that and more in this recap issue. If you like my writing and want to support my work, please consider signing up for a pay-what-you-want subscription! It really helps me to keep doing this.
@molly0xfff I can't afford a subscription right now, but wanted to say that you're an absolute legend and your reporting on these shenanigans is amazing!
@daaain thank you so much!
@molly0xfff
I appreciate the Citation Needed newsletter and subscribed to support your good and important work.
Usually I read the newsletter but listened to the voice over for the first time while driving back from vacation yesterday. Thanks for providing that format as well, it was nice to be able to get caught up. (You have good reading voice and now I'll be hearing it internally when I read the newsletter. :-) )
I did note that it was hard for me to distinguish topic changes
1/
@molly0xfff
despite your pauses between topics.
Have you considered adding an audio cue between topics?
Dropping a coin on a table might be appropriate. 
Suggesting it because once I noticed my difficulty I realized that for another information dense podcast (Minimum Competence by Andrew and Gina Leahey) they use the sound of a page being flipped to audibly indicate a new topic.
If adding in the audible cue is just too much, no problem since I'm learning your pacing.
Thanks for your work!
2/2
@roytoo thanks for the feedback! i've considered it, although i change topics often so it might become really repetitive. i do try to take a pause, but i know some podcast players try to remove silence, which can cause things to really run together. a dilemma...
@molly0xfff
Thanks for replying, I figured you had already been thinking about it.
@molly0xfff Trump doesn't like two page resumes. He had the job at college football
@molly0xfff 4) his name is Bo
@molly0xfff Bo Knows Nothing
(Yeah, that’s kind of a deep cut at this point, but I’m sticking with it…)
Class solidarity amongst scam artists.
@molly0xfff Wow, the audio version sounds great and totally not recorded on a webcam's mic! 
@molly0xfff They are trying to push crypto in Europe too. This will be such a monumental financial fuckup when crypto "suddenly" crashes like 5000 times before... Just at larger scale and now involving actual governments and banks and not just individuals who were scammed into thinking they'll get rich with crypto. Yay...
GOP donors who want the US government to become the greatest fool of last resort.
@molly0xfff Meanwhile FTC i Taiwan stops a tech-merger. The idea that corp's should not own governments will survive.
@molly0xfff may I suggest reading this short article? “romance baiting” sounds much better imo
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/interpol-calls-end-pig-butchering/
