Former SafeMoon CEO sentenced to 8 years in prison

2026-02-11 by admin

BlockBeats News, February 11th, according to Coindesk, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York sentenced former SafeMoon CEO Braden John Karony to 8 years in prison this Tuesday.

Braden was convicted on multiple federal charges last year for defrauding investors in his digital asset business. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Karony participated in manipulating the price of the SafeMoon token and stole millions of dollars through illegal liquidity control of the company. After a three-week trial, he was found guilty of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.

Co-conspirator Thomas Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud in February 2025 and has not yet been sentenced. Another alleged co-conspirator in the SafeMoon fraud case, Kyle Nagy, is still being sought by authorities.

It is reported that SafeMoon (SFM) is a cryptocurrency token launched in March 2021, emerging during the meme coin and DeFi frenzy of the previous bull market. Its tokenomics stipulates that each transaction incurs a 10% tax, with a portion (typically 5%) automatically distributed as dividends to all holders, another portion added to the liquidity pool, tokens burned to create deflation, and another portion used for project development. The design philosophy is to “encourage holding, penalize selling,” allowing holders to earn tokens passively, hoping the token price can “safely go to the moon.” Its market capitalization once soared to $1 billion, attracting a large number of retail investors and FOMO players. Subsequently, the project’s contract vulnerability was hacked, and the team was accused of fraud, liquidity manipulation, and fund misappropriation. After a prolonged decline, its current market capitalization is only $2.08 million.

PANews reported on February 13th that, according to The Block, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated at a Senate Banking Committee hearing that prediction markets are a "huge problem" and a shared regulatory focus with Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig. Atkins pointed out that prediction markets have "potential jurisdictional overlap," currently primarily under the jurisdiction of the CFTC, but the two agencies will work together. When asked about the development of clear rules, he said "we'll have to wait and see," adding that "securities are securities, and the definition of prediction markets and their products depends on the specific wording." CFTC Chairman Selig stated that he will ensure "reasonable rules and safeguards" are in place for prediction markets to prevent them from being pushed overseas. The question of who has the right to regulate prediction markets has become a focal point of contention between federal and state governments. Operators argue that, under the Commodity Exchange Act, all event contracts should fall under the jurisdiction of the CFTC; while some states argue that these platforms involve activities such as sports betting, violating local gambling laws. Prediction markets have also recently received additional attention due to insider trading allegations and restrictive legislation targeting political betting.

BlockBeats news, on February 13, Coinbase released its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 financial results after the U.S. stock market closed this morning. Despite the overall downturn in the crypto market, Coinbase achieved multiple historic highs, with trading volume and market share doubling, but Q4 revenue slightly missed expectations and recorded a net loss.Coinbase reported a net loss of $667 million in the fourth quarter, with a loss per share of $2.49, far exceeding analysts' expectations. Total revenue was $1.78 billion, down 5% quarter-over-quarter and approximately 22% year-over-year, falling short of market expectations of $1.83 billion to $1.85 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.66, adjusted net income was $178 million, and adjusted EBITDA was $566 million.Coinbase faced pressure in the fourth quarter but delivered strong full-year performance, with total trading volume reaching $5.2 trillion, a 156% year-over-year increase, crypto trading market share doubling to approximately 6.4%, subscription and service revenue growing 23% to about $2.8 billion, Coinbase One paid subscribers nearing 1 million, and platform assets and USDC balances hitting all-time highs.Coinbase stated that it is advancing its "Everything Exchange" strategy, including derivatives expansion and stablecoin payments. Despite short-term headwinds from the bear market, Coinbase views 2025 as a strong year and remains optimistic about product innovation and market recovery in 2026.

Deep Tide TechFlow reports, on February 12, according to Bloomberg, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick ruled on February 12, 2026, that Coinbase Global Inc.'s board must disclose deposition records related to an insider trading lawsuit against CEO Brian Armstrong, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, and other board members. The judge rejected the defense argument that 'witnesses would be less candid if they knew their depositions might be public,' ordering the company's special litigation committee to disclose deposition records of angel investor Gokul Rajaram and the head of the internal investigation legal team, Joseph R. Slights III.