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Crypto bull market ‘hasn't started yet’ — LONGITUDE panel

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Crypto’s worst quarter since the FTX crisis has many investors worried about the end of the bull market, but according to an industry panel, Bitcoin and altcoins’ parabolic moves haven’t even begun yet. 

In a panel discussion at the LONGITUDE by Cointelegraph event in Paris, France, MN Capital founder Michael van de Poppe said he thinks the bull market is “actually getting started from this point.” 

While it’s hard to believe that following Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent plunge below $80,000 on global tariff woes, “we know from history” that chaotic sell-offs create favorable conditions for a reversal, he said.

Van de Poppe drew parallels between the current market dump and the COVID-19 crash in 2020, when Bitcoin plunged by nearly 40% in a single day.

“That was the actual bottom, and since then, Bitcoin went 20x,” said van de Poppe. 

Cointelegraph Managing Editor Gareth Jenkinson, left, moderates a panel with three crypto experts in Paris, France, on April 7. Source: Cointelegraph

Messari CEO Eric Turner agreed, saying, “We never had a bull market,” but rather “two sides of the market.” 

“We had Bitcoin where all the flows went into [exchange-traded funds]” and “then you have pockets of things,” such as the memecoin frenzy and other short-term trends, he said.

“I actually think the real question is, when does the bull market come? If you ask me, that’s going to be Q3, Q4 of this year,” said Turner.

Beyond short-term price action, it helps to look at the big picture, especially in the United States, said John Patrick Mullin, the co-founder and CEO of Mantra. Mullin said he’s “excited” about all of the favorable policy tailwinds coming from the United States, including the Executive Branch.

Related: VC Roundup: 8-figure funding deals suggest crypto bull market far from over

Favorable policy, bad macro environment

US President Donald Trump is overseeing an overhaul of crypto regulations in Washington, with lawmakers moving closer to passing landmark stablecoin and market structure bills

Trump has also appointed pro-crypto leaders to various positions, chief among them being Paul Atkins, who recently moved one step closer to securing the nomination as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

However, these positive developments have failed to kickstart the bull market or bring meaningful capital flows into the industry, largely because Trump’s other agenda items — namely, tackling perceived trade imbalances — have triggered growth fears. 

Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2 were perceived by many investors as an egregious attempt to rewrite the terms of global trade, as they went beyond the 10% universal tariff proposed initially. 

Source: Andrea Junker

The tariff announcement triggered the largest exodus from US stocks since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

However, if past crises like COVID-19 are anything to go by, the US Federal Reserve will likely step in at some point to backstop the market should things get progressively worse.

“[…] If you go back in time with another crisis and at some point the Fed steps in to lower the rates and to print money to stimulate the internal economy,” van de Poppe said during the panel discussion.

“So, it’s going to happen. The question is when,” said van de Poppe.

Magazine: Bitcoin heading to $70K soon? Crypto baller funds SpaceX flight: Hodler’s Digest, March 30 – April 5

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Trump’s use of presidential seal at memecoin event raises legal questions

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President Donald Trump is facing scrutiny after speaking at a private event for top investors in his $TRUMP memecoin while standing behind a lectern emblazoned with the official presidential seal — a move that may violate federal law.

The event took place Thursday at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, where Trump addressed 220 investors in his cryptocurrency project.

According to US law, the presidential seal cannot be used in any manner that could imply government approval or sponsorship. Violators can face fines or up to six months in prison.

Trump, who arrived at the club aboard a military helicopter, praised attendees and took aim at the Biden administration’s crypto stance.

When asked about potential conflicts of interest, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president’s involvement was personal. “It is not a White House dinner,” she told reporters. “It’s not taking place here at the White House.”

Related: Pictures give glimpse inside Trump’s memecoin holder dinner

Trump features presidential seal at private properties

This isn’t the first time Trump has featured the presidential seal at his private properties. Forbes has previously reported its use as golf markers at several Trump-owned clubs.

In a May 22 letter to the Justice Department, 35 House members asked the public integrity section acting chief, Edward Sullivan, to launch an inquiry over the memecoin dinner to determine whether it violated the federal bribery statute or the foreign emoluments clause of the US Constitution. 

Under the emoluments clause, a US president is barred from accepting any gift from a foreign state without the approval of Congress.

Source: Molly Ploofkins

Bloomberg reported that a majority of the attendees at the memecoin dinner were likely foreign nationals based on their connections to crypto exchanges. 

“US law prohibits foreign persons from contributing to US political campaigns,” said the letter. “However, the $TRUMP memecoin, including the promotion of a dinner promising exclusive access to the President, opens the door for foreign governments to buy influence with the President, all without disclosing their identities.”

Related: US lawmaker introduces anti-corruption bill ahead of Trump’s dinner

Trump embraces crypto despite previous skepticism

Trump’s embrace of crypto marks a sharp turn from his skepticism during his first term. The $TRUMP memecoin, launched earlier this year, peaked at $74.34 before falling to $14.44 by May 22.

High-profile guests at the dinner included Tron founder Justin Sun, ex-NBA player Lamar Odom, and Asian crypto executives Sangrok Oh and Vincent Liu.

Sun, who reportedly invested over $40 million in $TRUMP tokens and spoke at the dinner, also has deep ties to Trump’s crypto ventures. He’s the top backer of World Liberty Financial, a Trump-affiliated firm currently under regulatory scrutiny.

Magazine: Crypto scam hub expose stunt goes viral, Kakao detects 70K scam apps: Asia Express

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Coin Market

Trump’s use of presidential seal at memecoin event raises legal questions

Published

on

By

President Donald Trump is facing scrutiny after speaking at a private event for top investors in his $TRUMP memecoin while standing behind a lectern emblazoned with the official presidential seal — a move that may violate federal law.

The event took place Thursday at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, where Trump addressed 220 investors in his cryptocurrency project.

According to US law, the presidential seal cannot be used in any manner that could imply government approval or sponsorship. Violators can face fines or up to six months in prison.

Trump, who arrived at the club aboard a military helicopter, praised attendees and took aim at the Biden administration’s crypto stance.

When asked about potential conflicts of interest, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president’s involvement was personal. “It is not a White House dinner,” she told reporters. “It’s not taking place here at the White House.”

Related: Pictures give glimpse inside Trump’s memecoin holder dinner

Trump features presidential seal at private properties

This isn’t the first time Trump has featured the presidential seal at his private properties. Forbes has previously reported its use as golf markers at several Trump-owned clubs.

In a May 22 letter to the Justice Department, 35 House members asked the public integrity section acting chief, Edward Sullivan, to launch an inquiry over the memecoin dinner to determine whether it violated the federal bribery statute or the foreign emoluments clause of the US Constitution. 

Under the emoluments clause, a US president is barred from accepting any gift from a foreign state without the approval of Congress.

Source: Molly Ploofkins

Bloomberg reported that a majority of the attendees at the memecoin dinner were likely foreign nationals based on their connections to crypto exchanges. 

“US law prohibits foreign persons from contributing to US political campaigns,” said the letter. “However, the $TRUMP memecoin, including the promotion of a dinner promising exclusive access to the President, opens the door for foreign governments to buy influence with the President, all without disclosing their identities.”

Related: US lawmaker introduces anti-corruption bill ahead of Trump’s dinner

Trump embraces crypto despite previous skepticism

Trump’s embrace of crypto marks a sharp turn from his skepticism during his first term. The $TRUMP memecoin, launched earlier this year, peaked at $74.34 before falling to $14.44 by May 22.

High-profile guests at the dinner included Tron founder Justin Sun, ex-NBA player Lamar Odom, and Asian crypto executives Sangrok Oh and Vincent Liu.

Sun, who reportedly invested over $40 million in $TRUMP tokens and spoke at the dinner, also has deep ties to Trump’s crypto ventures. He’s the top backer of World Liberty Financial, a Trump-affiliated firm currently under regulatory scrutiny.

Magazine: Crypto scam hub expose stunt goes viral, Kakao detects 70K scam apps: Asia Express

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Judge overturns fraud convictions in Mango Markets exploit case

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A US federal judge has vacated key fraud and manipulation convictions against Avraham Eisenberg, the trader at the center of the case involving a $110 million exploit of the decentralized exchange Mango Markets.

On Friday, US District Judge Arun Subramanian ruled that the evidence presented at trial failed to support the jury’s conclusion that Eisenberg made materially false representations to Mango Markets.

The decision vacates Eisenberg’s convictions for commodities fraud and market manipulation and acquits him of a third charge, significantly weakening the government’s case.

Eisenberg, a self-proclaimed “applied game theorist,” was convicted in 2024 for artificially inflating the price of Mango’s MNGO token by over 1,300% in a matter of minutes and using the resulting gains as collateral to withdraw $110 million in crypto assets from the platform.

Related: US DOJ seizes $24M in crypto from accused Qakbot malware developer

Judge sides with Eisenberg

The Justice Department argued that he deceived Mango’s smart contract-based lending system, but Eisenberg’s defense maintained that he merely exploited poorly designed, permissionless code — without making any false representations.

Judge Subramanian agreed, writing that “Mango Markets was permissionless and automatic,” meaning the system couldn’t be deceived in a legal sense. “There was insufficient evidence of falsity,” the judge added, siding with Eisenberg’s interpretation of DeFi mechanics.

US judge siding with Eisenberg on nature of the exploit. Source: Bwbx.io

The judge also rejected prosecutors’ argument that the case should be heard in New York. Eisenberg was in Puerto Rico at the time of the trades, and the court found that no meaningful activity tied to the alleged crime occurred in New York.

The DOJ had cited a Poughkeepsie-based Mango user and a third-party vendor in Manhattan, but the judge ruled these were not enough to establish proper venue.

The US government must now decide whether to refile the vacated charges, though the Trump administration has recently signaled a reduced focus on crypto enforcement. Eisenberg still faces civil suits from both the SEC and CFTC.

While this ruling clears Eisenberg in the Mango Markets case, he remains behind bars.

Related: Mango Markets exploiter sentenced to over 4 years on child abuse material charges

Eisenberg charged with child pornography

In a separate case, Eisenberg was sentenced to nearly four years in prison on May 1 after pleading guilty to possessing child pornography — a charge stemming from unrelated evidence uncovered during his arrest.

In December 2022, US federal law enforcement authorities arrested Eisenberg in Puerto Rico. FBI officials charged the hacker with one count of commodities fraud and one count of commodities manipulation.

jury found Eisenberg guilty of wire fraud, commodities fraud, and commodities manipulation in April 2024. The defense argued that the exploit was not a cybercrime and represented a “successful and legal trading strategy.”

Magazine: Crypto scam hub expose stunt goes viral, Kakao detects 70K scam apps: Asia Express

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