XRP to $4 next? SBF’s parents seek Trump pardon, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Jan. 26

Top Stories of The Week

Binance claims ‘no special relationship’ with Hamas, argues to dismiss lawsuit

A federal judge has not yet issued a ruling on a motion to dismiss a lawsuit, filed by families of victims affected by the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, against cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its former CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.

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On Jan. 30 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, lawyers representing Binance presented oral arguments in connection with the company’s motion to dismiss the families’ complaint filed in January 2024. According to reporting from Inner City Press, the exchange’s legal team argued crypto was “not inherently dangerous,” pushing back against allegations that Binance facilitated transactions benefiting Hamas.

“There was no special relationship between Hamas and Binance,” said a lawyer for the exchange.

Kraken restores staking services in US after 2-year hiatus

Crypto exchange Kraken has resumed staking services for US clients for the first time in nearly two years. Customers’ ability to stake had been paused since 2023, when the exchange reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over the services.

Customers in 37 US states will now be able to access staking services for 17 digital assets, including Ether, SOL, and Cardano’s ADA.

Kraken was among the first crypto exchanges to provide staking services to customers, which it began offering in 2019. The exchange agreed to stop providing the services in February 2023 as part of a $30 million settlement with the SEC.

SBF’s parents seek pardon from President Trump: Report

The parents of former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried are reportedly exploring the possibility of a presidential pardon for their son, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison last March.

According to a Jan. 30 Bloomberg report citing anonymous sources, Bankman-Fried’s parents have already met with lawyers and other figures close to the Trump administration to determine whether clemency was possible.

Once considered to be the golden child of crypto, Bankman-Fried’s house of cards fell apart in late 2022 when FTX couldn’t fulfill customer withdrawals. The exchange collapsed in a matter of days, revealing a business built on fraud, embezzlement and misuse of customer funds.

Elon Musk’s dad plans $200M raise with ‘Musk It’ memecoin

Elon Musk’s father may be the next influential figure to raise funds through a memecoin amid growing interest in celebrity-backed meme tokens.

Retail investor interest returned to memecoins after President Donald Trump launched the Official Trump memecoin on Jan. 18 and the Official Melania Meme token on Jan. 19 on the Solana network

Joining the ranks, Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, is reportedly looking to launch his own memecoin token project called Musk It.

Musk’s father hopes to raise as much as $200 million from the memecoin project, which he plans to use to support a for-profit think tank called the Musk Institute, he told Fortune.

MicroStrategy announces pricing of strike preferred stock offering

MicroStrategy announced the pricing of its perpetual strike preferred stock offering at a public listing price of $80 per share and will issue the corporate securities on Feb. 5.

The company forecasts $563.4 million in revenue from the tranche of perpetual strike preferred stock, which features an 8% coupon and a liquidation value of $100.

According to the announcement, the proceeds from the sale will go toward acquiring more Bitcoin and covering operating expenses.

MicroStrategy continues to lean into its “21/21” plan of issuing $21 billion in equity and $21 billion in fixed-income securities to finance Bitcoin acquisitions, and it has become the most prominent BTC-holding firm.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $102,408, Ether (ETH) at $3,311 and XRP at $3.05. The total market cap is at $3.52 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Onyxcoin (XCN) at 63.67%, MANTRA (OM) at 49.60% and Jupiter (JUP) at 24.35%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) at 36.44%, Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) at 27.96% and Official Melania Meme (MELANIA) at 21.31%. For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

“Bit of a nothing burger FOMC press conference. Not dovish, not hawkish. Walking a very diplomatic line, and I think the market was expecting Powell to be more vocal about Fed independence.”

Huf Haus, founder of Pear Protocol and former TradFi trader

“I think we’re moving past what truly felt like an unlawful war on crypto.”

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs

“I’m not so sure ‘Musk It’ will hit the heights some Trump family memecoins have reached. It feels like Elon’s personal stamp is what really gets people excited about these projects.”

Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert

“This could mean that Bitcoin still has room for further upside, but traders should closely monitor the ratio of young coins to long-term holdings for potential warning signs of a top.”

CryptoQuant

“This is a perfect example of the contrasting behaviors between whales and retail traders and it is often considered a better choice to follow whales rather than retail investors.”

Darkfost, pseudonymous CryptoQuant contributor

“Bitcoin’s price is less a standalone reflection of its market fundamentals and more tied to broader macroeconomic shifts, particularly in risk sentiment.”

Bitfinex analysts

Prediction of The Week

XRP’s 50% rally outperforms crypto market in January — Is $4 the next stop?

The XRP token staged an impressive 50% rally throughout January, outperforming the wider cryptocurrency market. Technical chart patterns are now targeting a longer-term breakout above $4 in the future.

XRP rose over 50% during the past month, outperforming Bitcoin’s 13% rally and Ether’s near 4% decline, Cointelegraph Markets Pro data shows.

FUD of The Week

Tether disappointed with ‘rushed actions’ on MiCA-driven USDT delisting in Europe

Stablecoin operator Tether addressed European cryptocurrency regulations amid exchanges like Crypto.com preparing to delist its USDt stablecoin in Europe tomorrow.

Tether expressed disappointment over market developments in Europe amid changes triggered by the enforcement of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.

Crypto.com, a global crypto exchange, confirmed on Jan. 29 that it will start delisting Tether’s USDt stablecoin and nine other tokens on Jan. 31 to comply with MiCA regulations.

“It is disappointing to see the rushed actions brought on by statements which do little to clarify the basis for such moves,” a spokesperson for Tether told Cointelegraph.

China convicts BKEX staff for illegal gambling via crypto contracts

A Chinese court ruled that cryptocurrency exchange BKEX engaged in illegal gambling through its contract trading platform and sentenced several employees and agents to prison for their roles in the operation.

The People’s Court of Pingjiang County, Hunan Province, determined on Jan. 29 that BKEX’s contract transactions functioned as a form of online gambling, and those involved were accomplices in the crime of “opening a casino.”

According to the ruling, BKEX allowed users to place bets using USDt, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, and apply high leverage — up to 1,000x in some cases — to wager on the price movements of Bitcoin, Ether and other cryptocurrencies.

Gemini won’t hire MIT grads unless university drops ex-SEC chair Gensler

Crypto exchange Gemini won’t be hiring any graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology unless the university drops former US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler from his teaching role.