SBF Appeal Fails, 25-Year Term Upheld; ARK Buys $500M SpaceX as Fear Grips Crypto

Crypto News

A Philippine technology firm serving as Binance’s local partner has shortlisted a domestic virtual asset service provider for a formal partnership, signaling fresh momentum for regulated altcoin and crypto trading access in the country. BlockShoals Technologies selected a VASP licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on June 13, with the candidate’s identity withheld pending due diligence. The move supports BlockShoals’ pilot under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s strategic sandbox, known as StratBox. Onboarding and systems integration are slated to begin once the tie-up is finalized, the firms indicated, positioning the partnership as a route toward compliant exchange infrastructure in the Philippines.

Sam Bankman-Fried lost his bid to overturn his fraud conviction and 25-year prison sentence on June 12, after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan ruled unanimously against him. The court described the prosecution’s evidence as “strong, to say the least,” and rejected arguments that the trial judge had improperly barred testimony. The decision keeps intact one of the most consequential criminal outcomes in crypto history, reaffirming the verdict reached by a Manhattan federal jury in 2023 over the collapse of the FTX exchange and its affiliated trading arm.

Prosecutors had characterized the case as a “fraud of epic proportions,” alleging Bankman-Fried diverted roughly $8 billion in FTX customer funds to cover losses at hedge fund Alameda Research, channeling money into real estate, political donations and investments. He was convicted on seven felony counts after pleading not guilty to two fraud charges and five conspiracy counts. The appeals court underscored that fraud is complete the moment victims are deceived into parting with money, regardless of any later intent to make them whole, dismissing the defense’s claim that FTX retained sufficient assets to meet withdrawals.

Bankman-Fried, now held at a low-security federal facility near Santa Barbara, California, becomes eligible for release in 2044. His legal team may seek a rehearing before the full Second Circuit bench or petition the U.S. Supreme Court for review. Separately, the Department of Justice’s pardon office confirmed he has requested clemency from President Donald Trump; the White House and the DOJ did not immediately comment. The ruling closes off his most direct appellate avenue and reinforces the message that misuse of customer deposits carries severe consequences under U.S. law.

Regulatory clarity remains the central hurdle in the Philippine case. Reports earlier in the week noted that neither Binance nor BlockShoals currently holds a license to operate as a VASP in the country, and that participation in the SEC sandbox does not waive the separate BSP licensing required to provide trading rails. BlockShoals legal director Marie Antonette Quiogue stated that aligning with a BSP-regulated VASP was a built-in requirement of the firm’s approved pilot from the outset, framing the partnership as a compliance prerequisite rather than a shortcut around domestic authorization.

Capital rotation away from digital assets sharpened this week as ARK Invest bought nearly 3.3 million SpaceX shares worth more than $500 million on the day of the company’s record IPO. The stock, priced at $135, closed at $160.95, up more than 19.2%. To fund the purchase, Cathie Wood’s firm sold over $325 million across at least 13 companies. With ARK running a spot Bitcoin algorithmic-driven product and Wood a vocal bitcoin bull, even her pivot toward high-beta space and AI listings suggests risk capital may keep draining from crypto, deepening the prevailing bear-market mood.

Viewed together, these developments trace a single arc: institutional capital is rotating toward AI and space equities while regulators tighten accountability around crypto’s past failures and its future market structure. COINOTAG’s proprietary aggregate data reinforces the caution, with the Fear & Greed Index at 20/100 (Extreme Fear) and total crypto market capitalization near $1.87 trillion. Bitcoin dominance stands at 70.3%, a concentration that historically pressures altcoins and leaves the broader market well below its all-time-high. With Bitcoin trading near $66,000, our read is that defensive positioning and regulatory overhang will continue to govern flows until conviction returns.