Linklaters

The blockbuster trial of Sam Bankman-Fried wrapped up its third day, with multiple witnesses, including former FTX software developer Adam Yedidia, Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang, and FTX cofounder Gary Wang, taking the witness stand. Joshua Ashley Klayman, Senior Counsel, U.S. Head of FinTech and Head of Blockchain & Digital Assets at Linklaters, discusses the main takeaways from the trial so far, the surprising testimonies given by former close associates of SBF, and how the prosecution and defense plan to paint a picture of who SBF is to the jury. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Show highlights: What Josh's biggest takeaways from the trial are so far Why Josh felt that the jury had “a lot to take in” in order to understand the basics of the case Whether the different backgrounds of the jury will affect the outcome of the trial Why the prosecution is arguing that regardless of the technical aspects of the case, the key issue is fraud How the defense plans to argue that SBF did not intend to defraud investors Why the selection of the first witness, a former FTX customer, is an "interesting" choice, according to Josh What is the fiat@ftx.com account and how it contributed to FTX’s undoing How they discovered the $8 billion hole in the FTX balance sheet and SBF's reaction at the time What an email revealed about the lack of corporate governance in FTX and Alameda Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com Hedera Popcorn Network Guest Joshua Ashley Klayman, Senior Counsel, U.S. Head of FinTech and Head of Blockchain & Digital Assets at Linklaters Previous appearances on Unchained: Gary Gensler vs. Crypto: What Will the SEC Attack Next? How Crypto And Blockchain Technology Should Be Regulated Links Previous coverage by Unchained on the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried: SBF Trial, Day 1: Possible Witnesses Include FTX Insiders, Big Names in Crypto, and SBF’s Family SBF Trial, Day 2: DOJ Says Sam Bankman-Fried ‘Lied’ While Defense Claims His Actions Were ‘Reasonable’ Here’s How Sam Bankman-Fried’s High-Stakes Trial Could Play Out SBF Trial: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Might Try and Win His Case The High-Stakes Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried Begins: What to Expect In the SBF Case, Elite Corruption Is What’s Really on Trial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joshua Ashley Klayman

Senior Counsel, U.S. Head of FinTech and Head of Blockchain & Digital Assets

Linklaters

Two lawyers, Josh Klayman, head of digital assets at Linklaters, and Marc Boiron, chief legal officer at Polygon Labs, offer their takes on the SEC’s recent crypto crackdown. They share what they heard from SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s Congressional testimony, whether this crackdown was inevitable or sparked by FTX, and why a proposed change to the definition of an exchange could be an existential threat for DeFi in the U.S. Show highlights: what Gary Gensler’s approach to crypto was when he took office whether the FTX collapse had any impact at all on the SEC’s recent actions whether the actions against Coinbase are “inappropriate” what the differences between Coinbase and Kraken staking services are why the concept of “exemptive relief” is important for exchanges whether the SEC is looking to go after AMM-based decentralized exchanges why SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce says that complying with a new proposal wouldn’t be possible for much of DeFi why, according to Marc, the industry should be “pushing very hard” against the newly proposed definition of an exchange whether the SEC’s ability to pursue enforcement actions against ETH is diminished by the statements of the previous SEC chair Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com Halborn Guests: Josh Klayman, head of blockchain and digital assets at Linklaters,  Marc Boiron, chief legal officer at Polygon Labs. Sufficient Decentralization Previous coverage of Unchained on the SEC’s actions:  ‘Is ETH a Security?’ Why Gary Gensler Couldn’t Give Congress a Straight Answer Rep. Emmer on Why He Believes Gary Gensler Is a ‘Bad-Faith Regulator’ Is the Government Trying to Kill Off Crypto in the US? Coinbase’s Top Lawyer Calls SEC Wells Notice a ‘Massive Overreach’ SEC Chair Gary Gensler Avoids Question: ‘Is Ethereum a Security?’ SEC Sues Bittrex, Names Dash, Algorand and Other Tokens ‘Crypto Asset Securities’ Links CoinDesk: U.S. SEC Moves Toward DeFi Oversight as It Reopens Proposed Regulations Proposed rule: Amendments Regarding the Definition of “Exchange” and Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs) Rendering Innovation Kaput: Statement on Amending the Definition of Exchange POLITICO: McHenry clashes with SEC’s Gensler over crypto crackdown Forbes: Crypto Exchange Beaxy Shuts Down Amid SEC Charges Treasury Releases 2023 DeFi Illicit Finance Risk Assessment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Josh Klayman

Head of Digital Assets

Linklaters

Marc Boiron

Chief Executive Officer

Polygon Labs