On August 29, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must review Grayscale Investments’ application to convert its “Grayscale Bitcoin Trust” product to a spot Bitcoin ETF.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) seeks to prevent all seven expert witnesses proposed by Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) from testifying in the FTX trial scheduled for October. The DOJ's filings argue that these witnesses, including a British lawyer, four consulting firm leaders, a law professor, and a business school assistant professor, do not meet the minimum qualifications for criminal proceedings.

Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, has announced the launch of 'Send Cash' in Latin America. This new feature will enable users in nine countries within the region to transfer cryptocurrency to bank accounts quickly, easily, and cost-effectively via Binance Pay. 

Top Stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Appellate Court Says SEC’s Rejection of Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF Proposal Was 'Arbitrary and Capricious'
• DOJ Seeks to Exclude Sam Bankman-Fried's Expert Witnesses in Upcoming FTX Trial
• Binance Unveils 'Send Cash' Feature for Seamless Crypto-to-Bank Transfers in Latin America

Appellate Court Says SEC’s Rejection of Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF Proposal Was 'Arbitrary and Capricious'

On August 29, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must review Grayscale Investments’ application to convert its “Grayscale Bitcoin Trust” product to a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Circuit Judge Neomi Jehangir Rao stated: “It is a fundamental principle of administrative law that agencies must treat like cases alike. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved the trading of two bitcoin futures funds on national exchanges but denied approval of Grayscale’s bitcoin fund. Petitioning for review of the Commission’s denial order, Grayscale maintains its proposed bitcoin exchange-traded product is materially similar to the bitcoin futures exchange-traded products and should have been approved to trade on NYSE Arca. We agree. The denial of Grayscale’s proposal was arbitrary and capricious because the Commission failed to explain its different treatment of similar products. We therefore grant Grayscale’s petition and vacate the order.“

The SEC is now presented with multiple courses of action: they can contest the court's ruling; approve Grayscale's request to launch its spot Bitcoin ETF; allow it to pass through by taking no action; or initiate a renewed attempt to deny the application, citing new reasons.

On X (formerly known as Twitter), James Seyffart, an ETF research analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, correctly pointed out that “there is nothing in here giving us any timelines on when the SEC has to issue another order.”

DOJ Seeks to Exclude Sam Bankman-Fried's Expert Witnesses in Upcoming FTX Trial

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking to prevent all seven expert witnesses proposed by Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) from testifying in the FTX trial scheduled for October. The DOJ's filings argue that these witnesses, including a British lawyer, four consulting firm leaders, a law professor, and a business school assistant professor, do not meet the minimum qualifications for criminal proceedings. The authorities are concerned that their testimonies could be unreliable, potentially confusing the jury, and unfairly prejudicial.

These experts were slated to testify on various facets of FTX and Alameda Research, such as terms of service, accounting practices, software infrastructure, campaign finance laws, and foundational blockchain technology use cases. 

The DOJ specifically opposes one expert, Joseph Pimbley, principal at Maxwell Consulting, claiming his expertise on FTX's code is redundant. They argue that their own witnesses, former CTO Nishad Singh and Director of Engineering Gary Wang, already provide sufficient expertise in this domain.

In addition to seeking the exclusion of these witnesses, the DOJ has also requested a Daubert hearing to scrutinize the qualifications of any expert not excluded. This type of hearing allows both parties to challenge the admissibility of an expert's testimony in an open court setting.

Binance Unveils 'Send Cash' Feature for Seamless Crypto-to-Bank Transfers in Latin America

Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, has announced the launch of 'Send Cash' in Latin America. This new feature will enable users in nine countries within the region to transfer cryptocurrency to bank accounts quickly, easily, and cost-effectively via Binance Pay. 

The service leverages licensed transfer processing providers to facilitate these transactions.

The 'Send Cash' feature aims to simplify digital transfers by reducing time and costs, utilizing Binance Pay's crypto payment technology and the services of licensed providers. Initially, the service will be available to Binance users in Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Argentina, Costa Rica, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Mexico. 

During the first stage, funds can be sent to recipients with bank accounts in Colombia and Argentina at market-leading low costs. Min Lin, Regional VP for Latin America at Binance, stated that the launch of 'Send Cash' reaffirms Binance's commitment to financial inclusion and the crypto industry in Latin America. The company aims to develop new ways of using crypto in daily life, catering to the specific challenges faced by individuals and businesses in the region.

According to the World Bank's Global Fintex 2021 report, 42% of adults in Latin America and the Caribbean still lack access to a bank account, compared to 24% globally. Binance says it aims to bridge this gap by offering crypto solutions that not only provide financial inclusion but also reduce transaction time and costs for those already in the traditional financial system.

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