The Breakdown First Five - Wednesday June 7, 2023

Welcome back to The Breakdown First Five — the 5 most interesting and/or important stories in bitcoin, crypto, and markets to start your day.

5. Prime Trust to be sold off

Crypto custodian Bitgo is stepping in to buy out rival Prime Trust. Term sheets have been exchanged but the deal is still pending. Prime hit a snag this week after becoming embroiled in the Binance case, as the US exchange’s custodial partner. The custodian which once served half the industry has been shedding clients at a rapid pace, with Swan Bitcoin and Strike the most recent to find alternate partners.

4. Wartime Executive Switch

Circle has appointed hard-nosed former CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert as its new Chief Legal Officer. Tarbert is a veteran government lawyer, serving in multiple roles from Treasury to the DOJ and even at the World Bank. Most recently he helmed Citadel Securities legal team. While CEO Jeremy Allaire appears in Forbes, asking Congress for regulation, this heavyweight appointment seems designed to intimidate regulators away from the Courtroom.

3. “I don’t think any of the developers give a shit”

Solana labs says it didn’t issue securities. Cardano echoes that rebuke. Neither platform will get to see their day in court as the SEC has refused to give them a seat at the table in legal battles that will decide the future of their assets. Builders keep building though, a developer at Solana lab’s hacker house NYC said “I don’t think any of the developers give a shit”.

2. Stablecoins back on the Agenda

Patrick McHenry’s push to get Crypto regulation done continues with another draft stablecoin bill from the House Financial Services Committee. The bill, which was revised in under a month, takes into consideration Democrat concerns voiced in May. A hearing will take place on Tuesday to air out remaining issues, but one thing is clear, Republicans are moving quickly to get legislation passed.

1. Fiat rails closed at Binance.US 

Overnight Binance.US announced that fiat rails would be closed shortly. USD deposits are already closed and customers have until Tuesday to request a withdrawal. Binance will be in court that day to fight an order to freeze assets on the US platform, although the SEC did not ask for customers' money to be locked up. Instead, Binance blames its banking partners for deciding to walk away from servicing the exchange. Investor protection at its finest.

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Thanks for reading -NLW