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Solana, Pump.fun Named in Amended RICO Suit Alleging $5.5B Meme Coin Gambling Scheme
Kvants Insights delivers sharp analysis and key updates for digital asset investors navigating a rapidly evolving market.
KVANTS DAILY NEWSLETTER - JUL 24, 2025Today, US spot Ether ETFs mark a robust first year with $16B in assets, affirming institutional demand for regulated crypto exposure, while Solana boosts its block capacity by 20% amid ongoing scalability pushes and faces a sweeping RICO lawsuit over alleged meme coin gambling. Ethereum grapples with an 18-month high validator exit queue affecting network security, and PayPal debuts a global fiat payments platform positioned against stablecoins. Australian fintech Finder wins a precedent-setting crypto yield product court case, clarifying regulatory scope. Meanwhile, an upcoming US government report may set a blueprint for state-managed Bitcoin reserves, signaling elevated government crypto engagement. US Ether ETFs celebrate 1 year with bullish inflow streakMultiple spot Ether exchange traded funds in the United States have reached a one year milestone since their debut and have attracted sustained investor capital. Major financial institutions such as BlackRock, Fidelity, Bitwise, VanEck and others are responsible for managing these funds which now collectively oversee more than sixteen billion in assets under management due to robust net inflows over three consecutive weeks. LINK IMPORTANCEThe accumulation of assets in United States based spot Ether exchange traded funds is a critical development for the maturation of the broader cryptocurrency market and signals strengthening legitimacy in the eyes of traditional asset managers. With more than sixteen billion dollars now managed across leading firms and resilient inflows observed even during market volatility these funds serve as a vital bridge for legacy investors looking to expand their portfolios into blockchain based assets. PayPal’s New Fiat Platform a Stablecoin Killer?PayPal is introducing a platform called PayPal World designed to connect major domestic digital wallets for international payments using fiat currencies. This effort is being positioned as a potential alternative to stablecoins by enabling low cost and fast cross border money transfers without requiring users to hold cryptocurrency. However there are technical and regulatory factors that could limit how effectively PayPal World competes with established stablecoin systems. LINK IMPORTANCEPayPal’s move to launch PayPal World signals a significant effort by a mainstream payments giant to capture flows typically dominated by stablecoins and blockchain based settlement layers. If successful it could redefine how both consumers and enterprises perceive legacy fintech versus blockchain for remittance and cross border payment solutions. Australian fintech Finder wins court battle over crypto yield productFinder.com secured a significant legal victory when the Australian Federal Court ruled that its yield generating product, Finder Earn, is not considered a financial instrument. The court findings confirm that Finder Wallet and Earn complied with relevant consumer financial laws, thereby dismissing claims by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission that the company violated licensing requirements. LINK IMPORTANCEThe outcome sets a critical legal benchmark for the treatment of crypto yield products by Australia's regulatory bodies, offering greater clarity for fintech organizations seeking to develop and promote digital asset based products. By establishing that such offerings do not automatically constitute debentures or other regulated financial products, the judgment lowers significant compliance and licensing barriers for Australian crypto innovators. Solana, Pump.fun Named in Amended RICO Suit Alleging $5.5B Meme Coin Gambling SchemeSolana Labs, Solana Foundation and executives along with Jito and Pumpfun face allegations in a federal court case asserting their involvement in an unlicensed gambling platform which facilitated meme coin trading. The lawsuit expands upon accusations of violating securities laws, banking secrecy provisions, FinCEN rules and OFAC sanctions and introduces claims of racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations activities potentially constituting illegal gambling, money laundering, intellectual property infringement and unauthorized money transmission. LINK IMPORTANCEThe case draws significant attention due to its scope encompassing not only a prominent decentralized trading platform but also core developers and foundational bodies in the Solana ecosystem. The invocation of RICO statutes greatly amplifies legal risk by permitting both civil and potentially criminal penalties and signals a more aggressive enforcement tone towards digital asset projects. Trump’s Crypto Working Group Set to Deliver ReportThe Crypto Working Group assembled under the current US administration is preparing a key report with potential guidance on how the federal government might accumulate Bitcoin holdings without relying on direct taxpayer funding. Industry specialists anticipate that these recommendations could outline mechanisms related to leveraging partnerships public asset management and the use of portfolio strategies similar to those traditionally employed by sovereign wealth funds. LINK IMPORTANCEThe anticipated report could be a foundational milestone for American institutional participation in the digital asset sector and may help shape the legal and operational landscape surrounding governmental crypto reserves. By providing structured guidance for strategic Bitcoin accumulation while explicitly avoiding usage of taxpayer resources the administration could reduce political friction and enhance legitimacy surrounding public sector crypto involvement. |