Today&#8217;s edition of the weekly recap covers Ethereum&#8217;s successful Pectra activation, Binance, Coinbase, stablecoin legislation and Doodles&#8217; ecosystem expansion. CZ begins Trump pardon application process Coinbase buys Deribit, Armstrong says &#8216;no&#8217; to Saylor&#8217;s strategy Ethereum revamp GENIUS Act rejected Steak…

Ethereum update goes live, Coinbase buys Deribit, Genius Act dead | Weekly Recap

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet Inc. has added 1,241 more Bitcoin to its 
treasury, pushing its total holdings above 6,700 BTC. According to a May 12 
public filing, the latest purchase, made at an average price of ¥14.85 million 
(around $95,700)…

Japan’s Metaplanet adds 1,241 Bitcoin, bringing total holdings to 6,796 BTC

US federal prosecutors have rebutted claims they suppressed evidence in their 
case against the co-founders of the crypto mixing service Samourai Wallet, 
arguing their disclosure of a conversation with Treasury Department staff was 
made within the required timeframes.
In a May 9 letter to a Manhattan federal court, prosecutors opposed a request 
for a hearing, claiming they handed over &#8220;all known substantive 
communications&#8221; between them and the Treasury&#8217;s Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Network (FinCEN) regarding Samourai &#8220;months in advance of pretrial motions and 
trial.&#8221;
&#8220;The defendants will have seven months to make use of the information before 
trial,&#8221; they wrote. &#8220;Nothing more is warranted.&#8221;
On May 5, Samourai co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill asked the 
court for a hearing, claiming that prosecutors were late to disclose that 
FinCEN representatives told them six months before they charged the pair that 
under the agency&#8217;s guidance, the service &#8220;would not qualify as a &#8216;Money 
Services Business&#8217; requiring a FinCEN license.&#8221;
However, prosecutors still charged the pair in February 2024 with conspiracy 
to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and money laundering 
conspiracy, unsealing the charges and arresting the pair in April that year. 
They have both pleaded not guilty.
In their letter, prosecutors argued they &#8220;acted in good faith&#8221; in disclosing 
the &#8220;contents of this informal conversation&#8221; between them and Kevin O&#8217;Connor, 
the chief of FinCEN&#8217;s Virtual Assets and Emerging Technology Section in the 
Enforcement and Compliance Division, and Policy Division staffer Lorena 
Valente.
_A highlighted excerpt of the prosecutors &#8216; letter arguing that they disclosed 
a discussion with FinCEN on time and the discussion was an &#8220;informal 
conversation.&#8221; Source: PACER_
They claimed O&#8217;Connor and Valente&#8217;s comments were &#8220;their individual, informal, 
and caveated opinion&#8221; on whether Samourai would need to register as a money 
transmitter under FinCEN regulations.
## FinCEN &#8220;did not have a sense&#8221; of broaching Samourai
The prosecutor&#8217;s letter noted that an email from one of the prosecutors 
summarizing the August 2023 call with FinCEN said that because Samourai 
doesn&#8217;t take custody of the crypto, it &#8220;would strongly suggest that Samourai 
is NOT acting as an MSB [money services business].&#8221;
However, it noted FinCEN staff &#8220;did not have a sense of what FinCEN would 
decide if this question were presented to their FinCEN policy committee.&#8221;
_An excerpt of an email from prosecutor Andrew Chan said FinCEN &#8220;did not have 
a sense&#8221; of what it would decide on Samourai. Source: __CourtListener_
Samourai&#8217;s lawyers had claimed that the call showed Rodriguez and Hill &#8220;were 
not money transmitters under FinCEN&#8217;s guidance&#8221; and that they &#8220;could not 
possibly be prosecuted for not having a license.&#8221;
The Samourai co-founders had bid to dismiss the case in April, pointing to 
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche&#8217;s memo released that month saying the 
Justice Department wouldn&#8217;t prosecute crypto mixers for &#8220;unwitting violations 
of regulations.&#8221;
In their letter, prosecutors addressed the memo, arguing the court &#8220;should not 
consider&#8221; it, as the memo states it &#8220;may not be relied upon to create any 
right or benefit&#8221; against the US or its departments.
_**Legal Panel:**__**XRP win leaves Ripple a &#8216;bad actor&#8217; with no crypto legal 
precedent set**_ _** **_

Feds deny late disclosure of evidence in Samourai Wallet case

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compilation of the most relevant crypto and 
economic news from Latin America over the past week. In this week’s edition, 
Bolivia completes a crypto comeback story by announcing its digital currency, 
the Brazilian stock exchange launches SOL and ETH futures, and Belo Horizonte 
aims to become a bitcoin capital. De-Dollarization […]

Latam Insights: Bolivia Announces Digital Currency, Solana and Ether Futures Approved in Brazil

XRP is inching closer to a potential breakout, trading just under the key 
resistance zone between $2.45 and $2.46. Although it attempted to push above 
this level, a clear move above has not yet occurred. This price range is 
currently…

XRP eyes fresh breakout above $2.45 as SuperTrend indicator flashes buy signal

Bitcoin has surged above $104,000, nearing its January record high and adding 
over 10% in value over the past week. As of press time, Bitcoin (BTC) is 
trading at $104, 325, just 3.79% below its all-time high of $108,786 reached…