Standard Chartered expects SEC to greenlight spot Ether ETF this week

Christy Goldsmith Romero of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will step down on May 31, leaving three seats open at the financial regulator.In a May 16 announcement, Romero said her last day at the agency would be on May 31, ahead of her initial plans to leave if the Senate confirmed former commissioner Brian Quintenz as the new chair. Her departure will come just one day after Commissioner Summer Mersinger is expected to step down to join the crypto advocacy organization the Blockchain Association as CEO.“It has been a tremendous honor to conclude my 23 years of federal service at an agency with such an important mission to ensure that financial markets perform their critical role in the US and global economies,” said Romero.Romero and Mersinger’s upcoming departures would leave the CFTC with only two Senate-confirmed members: acting chair Caroline Pham and Commissioner Kristin Johnson, each taking one Republican and Democratic seat, respectively. The shakeup in leadership gives President Donald Trump the opportunity to pick two more commissioners after the Senate addresses Quintenz’s nomination.This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

A federal judge has sentenced Eric Council Jr., one of the individuals responsible for posting a fake message announcing regulatory approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, to 14 months in prison.Following a May 16 hearing in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department announced that Council would serve 14 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. He was part of a group that compromised the X account of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) through a SIM swap attack in January 2024, claiming the regulatory body would be approving spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs.“Schemes of this nature threaten the health and integrity of our market system,” said Jeanine Pirro, interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia. “SIM swap schemes threaten the financial security of average citizens, financial institutions, and government agencies.”Prosecutors had requested that the judge impose a two-year sentence, while Council’s lawyers asked for one year and one day. Court filings showed he earned roughly $50,000 through SIM swap attacks like the one that compromised the SEC’s X account — funds likely subject to forfeiture.Related: Coinbase faces $400M bill after insider phishing attackThe judge ordered Council to serve 36 months of supervised release after his sentence. It was unclear at the time of publication when he would report to prison, but he has been free on a personal recognizance bond since his arrest in October 2024.Other crypto figures have their days in courtCouncil was the latest individual to be sentenced who drew the attention of the crypto industry. Though high-profile criminal cases like those involving executives from cryptocurrency exchange FTX have largely been concluded, others remain ongoing.On May 8, former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years following his guilty plea on two felony counts. The criminal trial of former SafeMoon CEO John Karony is also expected to continue for several more days in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.Magazine: Danger signs for Bitcoin as retail abandons it to institutions: Sky Wee

Zach Witkoff, one of the co-founders of the Donald Trump family-backed crypto platform World Liberty Financial (WLFI), has rebuffed efforts by US lawmakers to investigate the president’s potential conflicts of interest.In a May 15 letter to Senator Richard Blumenthal, lawyers for World Liberty Financial claimed a call to investigate the crypto platform was based on “fundamentally flawed premises and inaccuracies.” Witkoff did not specifically address any allegations, claiming that WLFI was “too busy building” for oversight.“The Company rejects the false choice between innovation and oversight,” said the letter. “What it opposes is the misuses of regulatory authority and uncertainty to suppress lawful innovation.”May 15 letter to Sen. Blumenthal. Source: Zach WitkoffBlumenthal, the ranking member of the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, was one of many Democrats calling for investigations and legislative changes in response to Trump’s ties to WLFI, as well as his TRUMP memecoin and its dinner scheduled for the top tokenholders on May 22. The GENIUS Act, a bill to recognize stablecoins as payment instruments currently being considered in Congress, may be a bellwether for how lawmakers intend to handle the president’s potential conflicts of interest.Stablecoin bill debate continues in Republican-controlled CongressOne of Blumenthal’s and many US lawmakers’ concerns about Trump’s connection to WLFI is the USD1 stablecoin, which the platform launched in March. An Abu Dhabi-based investment firm announced in May that it would use the stablecoin to settle a $2-billion investment in Binance, a crypto exchange that had previously been the target of an investigation by US authorities. “WLFI’s financial entanglements with the President, his family, and the Trump Administration present unprecedented conflicts of interest and national security risks, including potential violations of the foreign emoluments clause,” Blumenthal wrote in a May 6 letter to Witkoff. Related: What are the next steps for the US stablecoin bill?Some Democrats have called for clarification within the GENIUS Act to ensure that Trump was not able to personally profit from stablecoins whose legislation he may have influenced and then have the opportunity to sign into law. However, as of May 16, it was unclear whether any future vote on the bill would address these concerns. Cointelegraph reached out to Sen. Blumenthal’s office for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication. Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions