The crypto market capped off a volatile week on a mixed note Saturday, as the Second Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld Sam Bankman-Fried's 25-year fraud sentence, sending the disgraced FTX founder to seek a presidential pardon as his last remaining option. In a separate but equally significant development, Standard Chartered declared "winter is over" for crypto, with analyst Geoff Kendrick arguing Bitcoin's recent fall to ~$59,000 marked the cycle bottom. Meanwhile, tokenized SpaceX share offerings collapsed as Binance, Bybit, and Bitget refunded customers after the xStocks platform failed to secure allocations. Bitcoin trades at $62,400 — up from intraweek lows — as markets digest a flurry of legal, institutional, and regulatory signals.
Saturday's session saw Bitcoin grind higher from Friday's close, gaining roughly 1% as the weekend session opened with thinner liquidity but a moderately more optimistic tone following Standard Chartered's bottom call and a slight deceleration in ETF outflows. Ethereum remains under pressure below $1,700, while altcoins are mixed. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index improved to 28 (Fear) from last week's extreme fear levels of 18, though sentiment remains fragile.
Data as of June 13, 2026, ~12:00 UTC. Sources: CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit unanimously upheld Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud conviction and 25-year prison sentence on Friday, rejecting every argument raised by the FTX founder's legal team. The Manhattan-based judges described the government's evidence against him as "conservatively" characterized, and dismissed claims of judicial bias, insufficient jury instructions, and improper evidentiary rulings.
With the appellate route exhausted, Bankman-Fried has applied for a pardon from President Trump, which is now his one remaining path out of prison. The pardon request comes as no surprise — Bankman-Fried's family has been actively lobbying political contacts, and the FTX founder has reportedly been cooperative with DOJ investigations into other figures in the crypto ecosystem. However, legal experts note that presidential pardons for financial fraud of this magnitude — involving $8 billion in customer losses — are historically rare.
Standard Chartered's global head of digital asset research Geoff Kendrick published a note Friday arguing that the crypto market has likely hit its lowest point following Bitcoin's fall to nearly $59,000 — representing a 53% drawdown from its October 2025 all-time high of $126,000. "I think we have now seen the low in crypto asset prices," he wrote, describing the recent sell-off as crypto winter's "most frigid conditions."
Kendrick's call is based on several converging factors: Bitcoin's realized price of approximately $53,600 acted as a floor during the sell-off; ETF outflows, while still negative, are decelerating; and macroeconomic tailwinds including potential Fed rate cuts and the U.S. presidential election cycle could provide catalysts for a recovery. Standard Chartered maintains its long-standing year-end Bitcoin price target of $100,000, though the bank acknowledges that the recovery path may be uneven.
Binance, Bybit, and Bitget all refunded customers on Friday who had deposited funds hoping to purchase tokenized SpaceX (SPCX) shares after tokenized equities platform xStocks failed to secure allocations of the underlying stock. SpaceX made its historic Nasdaq debut on Friday at $135 per share, closing with a market cap exceeding $1.8 trillion — but crypto traders who participated in the tokenized campaigns were left empty-handed.
Bybit posted on X: "Due to xStocks' inability to deliver the underlying assets, no SpaceX allocations were received." Binance had raised over $557 million in USDC deposits from approximately 27,689 wallet addresses for its tokenized IPO campaign. The refunds came as a disappointment to the thousands of small retail investors who had hoped to gain exposure to SpaceX through crypto markets. On Hyperliquid, SPCX perpetual futures had been trading at a ~30% premium to the IPO price before the listing, implying crypto traders expected a strong first-day pop — which did materialize, with SPCX closing near $185 on its first day of trading.
Video game retailer GameStop has renewed its Bitcoin options arrangement with Coinbase, keeping nearly all of its BTC holdings tied up in contracts that trade away potential price appreciation for upfront cash. The arrangement, disclosed in GameStop's quarterly SEC filing covering the three months through May 2, 2026, revealed that the company rolled its Coinbase options deal forward after an earlier batch expired in late May.
The strategy is notable because GameStop's Bitcoin is classified differently under this arrangement — it no longer counts as a direct holding on the balance sheet, and the company earns a fixed premium instead of benefiting from BTC price appreciation. GameStop reported a record quarter in terms of revenue, but analysts noted that the Bitcoin deal did little to contribute to its financial performance. The renewal suggests GameStop remains cautious about direct BTC exposure, preferring the guaranteed-but-limited returns of options premiums over the volatility of spot Bitcoin holdings.
A new study commissioned by the Coalition for Prediction Markets — an industry group including Kalshi, Crypto.com, and Coinbase — found that Americans were responsible for up to $34 billion in offshore prediction market trading volumes during the 12-month period ending April 2026. The study, conducted by Rutgers professor and CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee member Harry Crane, estimates that U.S. users could be wagering up to $133 billion annually on offshore platforms by 2030 if regulatory clarity is not established.
The findings come as the CFTC continues to grapple with how to regulate prediction markets, particularly after Polymarket and other offshore platforms gained massive traction during the 2024 and 2026 U.S. election cycles. The study is expected to be cited by the Coalition in its push for a clearer regulatory framework that would allow regulated U.S. operators to compete with offshore alternatives — rather than having American users access unregulated, non-compliant platforms.
Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs has identified multiple World Cup-themed crypto fraud operations tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, just days before the tournament kicks off. The scams include fake ticket sales, fraudulent betting platforms, and phishing campaigns targeting crypto users. TRM Labs' warning comes alongside separate alerts from FIFA and the FBI about ticket scams exploiting the massive demand for World Cup matches across North America.
Crypto scammers are using social media and targeted ads to promote fake ticket sales portals that accept cryptocurrency payments — then disappear after receiving funds. TRM Labs has identified multiple wallet addresses linked to these operations and is working with law enforcement to track the flow of funds. The warning is particularly timely given that Kraken is the official crypto exchange of the World Cup and Coinbase has extensive branding partnerships, which scammers may exploit to lend false legitimacy to their schemes.
South Korean electronics giant LG Electronics is partnering with Ethereum layer-2 network Arbitrum to build a blockchain-based advertising platform targeting the $679 billion global ad market. The platform will use Arbitrum's scalable infrastructure to record ad impressions, verify delivery, and automate payments between advertisers and publishers — addressing long-standing industry problems of ad fraud, opaque supply chains, and slow settlement cycles.
LG's initiative is part of a broader trend of traditional enterprises adopting blockchain for supply chain transparency and settlement. By building on Arbitrum — one of the most active Ethereum layer-2 networks — LG gains access to a mature developer ecosystem, stable infrastructure, and a growing suite of DeFi tools for settlement and treasury management. If successful, the project could demonstrate that blockchain's real-world utility extends well beyond finance into core infrastructure for the global digital economy.
FOMC Decision (June 17): The Federal Reserve's rate decision is the most consequential macro event of the week. Markets are pricing a 78% chance of a hold. A hawkish hold — especially with updated dot plots showing fewer cuts — could pressure risk assets. A dovish surprise would likely trigger a sharp BTC rally.
FIFA World Cup Kickoff: The 2026 World Cup begins this week, bringing seven weeks of unprecedented crypto mainstream exposure. Kraken is the official crypto exchange partner, Coinbase has extensive branding, and prediction markets could see billions in volume. Historically, major sporting events have driven retail interest in crypto, though the current bearish sentiment may dampen the effect.
Bitcoin at $62.4K: With Standard Chartered calling the bottom and the realized price floor at $53.6K holding, the question is whether BTC can build momentum toward $65K resistance. Deceleration in ETF outflows would be the most bullish signal. Watch for Monday's ETF flow data — three consecutive days of inflows would be a strong vote of confidence.
SBF pardon saga continues: Bankman-Fried's pardon request to President Trump adds a political dimension to the crypto narrative. While a pardon appears unlikely, the story will keep FTX in the headlines and may influence how the broader public perceives crypto industry accountability.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research.
Get the weekly AI & crypto digest — every Monday, zero spam.
Ready to help · Ask me anything