This Week on Crypto Twitter: Shaq Served with Two Crypto Lawsuits on Same Day

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A slow news cycle resulted in the fourth consecutive week of flat prices in the crypto markets. Crypto Twitter was similarly sedate throughout the week, although markets briefly panicked on Monday when a machine-generated mockup of an explosion at the Pentagon went viral.

An AI image of an explosion near the Pentagon caused the market to sell off violently for a few minutes before it was debunked and removed.
Run it back. pic.twitter.com/xP82HCBmys
— K A L E O (@CryptoKaleo) May 22, 2023

That day, HuffPost Senior Editor Andy Campbell showed his followers how fake news slips through people’s nets.

Prime example of the dangers in the pay-to-verify system: This account, which tweeted a (very likely AI-generated) photo of a (fake) story about an explosion at the Pentagon, looks at first glance like a legit Bloomberg news feed. pic.twitter.com/SThErCln0p
— Andy Campbell (@AndyBCampbell) May 22, 2023

Coinbase shared a one-minute video of its CEO Brian Armstrong explaining the importance of regulating crypto sensibly before all the innovation is driven offshore.

This week, DC will see a new TV campaign that explains how crypto moves America forward and why it’s the most important technology we have to create more economic freedom.
It’s time to update the system. Crypto can help.
Learn more at https://t.co/6Hf1DAqeIV pic.twitter.com/hmAQuNiA34
— Coinbase 🛡️ (@coinbase) May 22, 2023

Coinbase recently announced a global expansion drive, acquired a license to operate in Bermuda and used the license to open an international exchange offering Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures.

These maneuvers come at a time when U.S. regulators are hounding the industry with enforcement actions instead of offering guidance or new rules, which are desperately needed, according to industry players.

A coalition of FTX users who have banded together “to get more than whole AND build a safer, better exchange for all” on Monday tweeted the timetable towards FTX’s relaunch.

Basketball legend Shaquille O’ Neale had a tough week after getting served with two different lawsuits on the same day while he was broadcasting during an NBA game. Web3 lawyer Ariel Givner shared her thoughts about the complaint pertaining to Shaq’s NFT project Astrals. The other complaint is about his promotional work for FTX.

Shaq got sued today in a class action lawsuit for his Astrals NFT.
Why? Plaintiffs claim the Astrals tokens and NFTs (allegedly Shaq’s “brainchild”) were unregistered securities.
It’s truly never a dull day in crypto land.
— Ariel Givner, Esq. (@GivnerAriel) May 24, 2023

On Wednesday, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said there were bullish signs coming from China that day.

CCTV (China Central Television) just broadcasted crypto. It’s a big deal. The Chinese speaking communities are buzzing. Historically, coverages like these led to bull runs.
Not saying past predicts the future. And not financial advice.https://t.co/2wcArnPI93
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) May 24, 2023

Meanwhile, Zhao’s exchange reiterated its commitment to help U.S. authorities take down North Korean cyber criminals.

We are proud to have assisted US law enforcement in seizing $4.4M and freezing accounts linked to North Korean organized crime.
Kudos to our law enforcement partners and the Binance Investigations team for their unwavering commitment to combating crime worldwide.
— Binance (@binance) May 24, 2023

Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal that day tweeted about the legal challenge to U.S. sanctions against crypto transaction privacy tool Tornado Cash. He was impressed by the plaintiff’s arguments and summarized them in a thread.

Argument #1: These sanctions depend on assuming that anyone who happens to hold a digital token (TORN) is a member of a legally-recognized entity called “Tornado Cash.” That’s novel as a legal theory, and it’s wrong as a factual matter. 3/7
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) May 24, 2023

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was in Germany on Thursday having productive discussions about AI regulation.

had a great meeting with Chancellor Scholz this morning and a fun talk at TUM this afternoon, and finally enjoying a quiet moment in a beautiful city pic.twitter.com/1jV1X0bswr
— Sam Altman (@sama) May 25, 2023

Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss was doing the same in Ireland.

Awesome meeting this morning with @LeoVaradkar, the Prime Minister of Ireland. We talked about the profound promise of crypto and the importance of common sense regulation to realize that promise. We believe MiCA is that common sense regulation. We also announced that @Gemini has… pic.twitter.com/Iv3NmPTmju
— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) May 25, 2023

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