The Securities and Exchange Commission will host a roundtable on May 12 to discuss the growing role of tokenization in financial markets. The event, titled “Tokenization — Moving Assets Onchain: Where TradFi and DeFi Meet,” will run from 1 p.m.…

SEC announces tokenization roundtable details as Peirce says it could ‘substantially change’ finance

Indonesia has temporarily frozen World’s Electronic System Organizer 
Registration Certificate (TDPSE) due to alleged violations of electronic 
system regulations. World’s Violation of Electronic System Rules The 
Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Digital has temporarily frozen the 
Electronic System Organizer Registration Certificate (TDPSE) for World 
(formerly Worldcoin) and Worldid services, citing alleged violations of 
electronic system […]

Indonesia Freezes World’s License Over Regulatory Violations

With Bitcoin&#8217;s market cap nearing $2 trillion, Solv Protocol&#8217;s Ryan Chow says 
BTCFi could scale far beyond Ethereum&#8217;s decentralized finance if even a 
fraction becomes productive. Bitcoin&#8217;s (BTC) decentralized finance space — 
better known as BTCFi — is still in…

Solv founder sees BTCFi outpacing Ethereum DeFi on $2t potential

Crypto users are weighing in as Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of Celsius 
Network, prepares to stand before a judge on May 8 to face sentencing for 
commodities fraud and a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the price of the 
platform&#8217;s token.
In a May 2 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New 
York (SDNY), prosecutors released several impact statements from individuals 
affected by the collapse of Celsius filed after the initial deadline. Though 
at least one suggested clemency for the former CEO, many told the court about 
the financial and personal losses caused by the crypto firm filing for 
bankruptcy, and hinted that Mashinsky should be held accountable for 
misrepresenting the company.
&#8220;Many of the people who participated in this fraud, benefited from this fraud, 
and potentially orchestrated this fraud will get away with zero legal 
consequences,&#8221; said Daniel Frishberg of Hillsborough County, Florida, in an 
April 24 statement. &#8220;Please do not allow Mr. Mashinsky to be one of those 
people (such as with probation/house arrest, as some people supporting him 
have requested). Please throw the book at him.&#8221;
_A victim impact statement from a Celsius user filed with the SDNY on May 2. 
Source: PACER_
Prosecutors have requested that Mashinsky serve up to 20 years in prison for 
his role in Celsius&#8217; fraud, while the former CEO&#8217;s legal team asked for a year 
and one day. The judge will consider guidelines and victim statements at 
sentencing on May 8.
## Calls for leniency and harsh prison time
Not everyone who sent in a letter to the prosecutors seemed to be in favor of 
Mashinsky being sent away for decades, as was former FTX CEO Sam &#8220;SBF&#8221; 
Bankman-Fried. SBF stood before a different federal judge in the same district 
in March 2024 and was handed a 25-year sentence, which he is currently serving 
in a California prison.
&#8220;While Celsius [sic] collapse caused significant losses, particularly for 
Bitcoin holders, shareholders, and borrowers, despite his mistakes, Mr. 
Mashinsky was, at times, the more conservative voice in an industry 
overflowing with unchecked greed,&#8221; said Artur Abreu in a victim impact 
statement.
&#8220;The twenty-year sentence suggested by the US DOJ is fair in my opinion, as 
Mashinsky caused pain and suffering for many crypto investors across the globe 
&#8211; even resulting in suicide for some of those involved,&#8221; said Web3 Deep Dive 
podcast host and former Cointelegraph reporter Rachel Wolfson, who lost access 
to Bitcoin worth about $5,000 at the time. &#8220;Harsh punishment for bad actors in 
the crypto industry has become necessary to ensure that the space legitimizes 
over time.&#8221;
Mashinsky&#8217;s sentencing will be one of the first in significant crypto cases in 
the district since Jay Clayton became interim US Attorney for SDNY. A Trump 
appointee, Clayton was previously the chair of the US Securities and Exchange 
Commission and a crypto proponent on many issues.
Critics have suggested that Clayton would take a softer approach to crypto 
enforcement, given his ties to Wall Street firms and the industry. However, he 
also released a statement in April regarding a $12-million crypto case, 
suggesting that he supported accountability for fraudulent actions. His 
response to Mashinsky&#8217;s sentencing and other future cases could be a 
bellwether for the US Attorney&#8217;s approach to crypto.
_**Related:**__**US prosecutors file over 200 victim statements in Celsius ex- 
CEO &#8216;s case**_

What do crypto users want to happen to Alex Mashinsky?

The Bitcoin price faced a rejection following its surge to $97,000 last week. 
Technical expert Tony Severino has commented on this development and alluded 
to the LMACD indicator, which has revealed what is next for the flagship 
crypto. What Is Next For The Bitcoin Price After Rejection At $97,000 In an X 
post, Tony Severino stated that multiple BTC timeframe analyses using the 
LMACD indicator suggest that the Bitcoin price is in a precarious position. He 
remarked that if the daily momentum crosses bearish, it could prevent the 
weekly bullish crossover and pull the weekly LMACD below zero. This would 
cross the monthly LMACD back bearish. Related Reading: Bitcoin Raging Bull 
Indicator Turns Back On, But This Level Holds The Key With several important 
timeframes in sync, Severino warned that market participants could see a more 
aggressive down move for the Bitcoin price. On the other hand, the technical 
expert noted that the daily LMACD diverging upward could cross the weekly 
bullish and avoid another monthly crossover, which could be bullish. However, 
he suggested that a Bitcoin price decline is more likely at the moment, as the 
monthly LMACD is the most dominant of the three signals, which looks to hint 
at a downtrend. He added that this indicator also has the strength to pull the 
other timeframes with it. Severino failed to mention how low BTC could drop on 
this projected price decline. Meanwhile, crypto analyst Ali Martinez also 
warned about a potential Bitcoin price decline. In an X post, he stated that 
BTC could soon pull back as the TD Sequential indicator is flashing a sell 
signal. The analyst warned that if Bitcoin loses the $94,765 support level, it 
could drop to as low as $90,000 or even $86,000. How History Could Repeat 
Itself For BTC Crypto analyst Rekt Capital raised the possibility of the 
Bitcoin price repeating a similar move from last year. For history to repeat 
itself, he noted that BTC would need to reject from $99,000, hold above 
$93,500, break the $97,000 to $99,000 range, reject from $104,500, hold the 
$97,000 to $99,000 range as support, and then break out to new all-time highs 
(ATHs). Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Confirms Breakout To $106,000 As 
Technicals Align Commenting on the current price action, crypto analyst Titan 
of Crypto noted that the Bitcoin price is pulling back to a key support 
confluence. He added that a strong reaction from this current zone would 
confirm that the upward trend remains intact. His accompanying chart showed 
that the $95,423 price level is the area to watch. Failure to reclaim this 
level soon enough could start a downtrend for the flagship crypto. At the time 
of writing, the Bitcoin price is trading at around $94,700, down in the last 
24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Unsplash, 
chart from Tradingview.com

LMACD Indicator Reveals Where The Bitcoin Price Is After Rejection From $97,000

The United States has imposed sanctions on a Myanmar warlord and the militia 
he leads for their involvement in major cyber scams, including cryptocurrency- 
related fraud, that have harmed U.S. citizens. U.S. Department of Treasury’s 
Office of Foreign Assets Control announced…