Lummis Reveals SBF Pardon Bid, CLARITY Act's Sentence Impact
Senator Cynthia Lummis disclosed that Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the convicted founder of the now-defunct FTX exchange, attempted to secure a presidential pardon. Lummis stated that had the CLARITY Act, a proposed crypto regulation, been enacted, Bankman-Fried would have faced a sentence "much longer than 25 years."
Bankman-Fried is serving a 25-year prison sentence after his conviction for stealing billions in customer funds from FTX. Lummis's comments followed reports of Bankman-Fried's praise for the Trump Administration's handling of crypto legislation. Lummis publicly rejected any support from Bankman-Fried for the CLARITY Act, stating, "We do not need, nor want your support."
The senator emphasized the CLARITY Act is distinct from the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA), a bill Bankman-Fried had publicly endorsed in 2022. This prior endorsement, made before FTX's collapse, was rendered irrelevant, Lummis noting his support "counted for nothing."
UK Seizes Record $4B Bitcoin; Fraudster Convicted
UK authorities executed the world's largest Bitcoin seizure, confiscating 61,000 $BTC, valued at $4 billion. This followed the conviction of Chinese national Zhimin Qian for a large-scale fraud operation.
Qian's conviction is linked to defrauding 128,000 victims. The confiscated $BTC represents proceeds from this activity.
Axiom Exchange Faces Insider Wallet Access Allegations
Crypto investigator ZachXBT alleged that employees at $AXM Exchange abused internal tools to access private user wallet data for profit, engaging in insider trading by monitoring user wallet movements. These allegations were made public on February 27, 2026.
The investigation specifically implicated Brooks Bauer (@WheresBroox) for misusing internal access tools to gain an unfair advantage. This activity commenced in early 2025 and spanned six months. ZachXBT's findings indicate Bauer stole approximately $250,000 through these illicit activities. Leaked screenshots were cited as evidence.
The revelation of these allegations was met with negative community sentiment, with social media discussions registering sentiment scores as low as -92% and ranging up to -25% bullish.
A Polymarket user, "predictorxyz," profited over $400,000 by betting on ZachXBT's revelation of $AXM Exchange. This wager was placed prior to the announcement. Additional allegations against Brooks Bauer surfaced, claiming involvement in corrupt practices with @ourbit, where he facilitated the sale of exchange funds at an 80% discount.
The allegations led to user concerns over platform security and increased mentions of alternative trading venues.
Wood Alleges Binance Glitch Caused $28B Deleveraging; CZ Unfollows
Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, alleged on Fox News Business that a software glitch at the Binance cryptocurrency exchange caused a $28 billion crypto market deleveraging. Wood stated this malfunction led to a market correction on October 10, 2025.
Wood claimed the internal system error initiated capital outflow and price adjustment.
Following Wood's comments, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), Binance's CEO, responded on social media by unfollowing Cathie Wood's account on X. This unfollow served as Binance's immediate public response to Wood's allegations regarding operational integrity and market impact.
Bitcoin ETFs See Record $1.1B Inflow, IBIT Leads
Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) recorded a record single-day net inflow of $1.1 billion on March 12, the largest daily accumulation since their U.S. launch. BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, led this inflow.
The record $1.1 billion inflow on March 12 marks a significant acceleration in capital allocation to regulated Bitcoin investment products, building on the strong institutional adoption seen since the ETFs' January launch.