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Sander Lutz

Sander Lutz

Sander is a senior writer at Decrypt reporting on crypto policy from the White House. He covers crypto's impact on politics, law, and culture. Sander graduated from UC Berkeley and holds a masters in history from Cambridge. Disclosure: No significant crypto holdings.

Stories by Sander Lutz

  • Elizabeth Warren. Image: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    Democratic Opposition to Clarity Act Grows in Crypto Bill's Do-or-Die Final Weeks

    Key Senate Democrats have begun mounting an impassioned case against passage of the Clarity Act in its current form, as the sprawling crypto bill enters a climactic final hurdle. On Monday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote a letter urging Senate leadership to ensure the Clarity Act includes language barring President Donald Trump and his family from profiting off the crypto sector. Such restrictions have not yet been added to the bill, even after filings revealed the president made over $1.2 b...

    NewsLaw and Order
    3 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • Source: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    Democrats Call for Senate Hearings on Trump's Massive Crypto Profits

    Democratic senators are calling for congressional hearings into President Donald Trump’s crypto holdings after new financial disclosures revealed they generated over $1.2 billion in income for him last year. Five Senate Democrats—Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Ron Wyden (D-OR)—said the disclosures raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, foreign influence, and Trump’s role in shaping crypto policy while profiting off...

    NewsLaw and Order
    2 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • President Donald Trump. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Trump Won't Sign Housing Bill With CBDC Ban—Will It Become Law Tonight Anyway?

    President Donald Trump said Thursday he will not sign a bipartisan housing bill that includes a multi-year ban on the issuance of a U.S. central bank digital currency, or CBDC. Unless the president actively vetoes the legislation before midnight tonight, however, it will automatically become law. "I will not sign the housing bill," Trump wrote on Truth Social, calling his move a "protest" over the Senate's failure to pass the SAVE America Act, a controversial bill restricting voting rights he ha...

    NewsLaw and Order
    2 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • Anthropic. Image: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    Anthropic AI Oversight Board Adds Ben Bernanke, Who Oversaw 2008 Financial Crisis at Fed

    Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who led the U.S. central bank through the 2008 global financial crisis, has joined Anthropic’s independent oversight body, the AI giant announced Thursday. The Anthropic Long-Term Benefit Trust is supposed to ensure the company develops advanced AI for the long-term benefit of humanity. It has the power to appoint Anthropic board members, and advises the board and company leadership on decisions related to AI’s societal impact. Bernanke is now one of...

  • SEC Chair Paul Atkins. Image: SEC/Decrypt

    SEC's Long-Promised Crypto Safe Harbor to Be Introduced as Soon as This Month

    The SEC said Tuesday it plans to introduce its long-awaited crypto rulemaking as soon as this month, bringing the agency a step closer to establishing a regulatory safe harbor for certain crypto-related activities in the United States. An updated SEC agenda for 2026 has the rule penciled in for a potential July release, which would then be followed by a period of public comment on the proposed policies. The rules would govern the offer and sale of crypto assets, and also include "certain exempt...

    NewsLaw and Order
    2 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • Tron token. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Treasury Department Sanctions Over 130 ISIS-Affiliated Crypto Wallets on Tron

    The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned more than 130 cryptocurrency wallet addresses this week tied to ISIS, with the overwhelming majority operating on the Tron blockchain. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added 134 crypto wallets to existing sanctions on ISIS-K, the Islamic State's affiliate operating in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia. Of those addresses, 131 were on Tron and three on Monero. The sanctioned Tron addresses have received more than $1.4...

    NewsLaw and Order
    2 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • Strategy is the world's largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. Source: Decrypt/Twitter

    FBI Director Kash Patel's Undisclosed Stock Buy in Bitcoin Giant Strategy Is Down 44%

    FBI Director Kash Patel has seen his stake in Strategy collapse since making a sizable, previously undisclosed investment in the Bitcoin treasury firm last November. Patel bought between $100,000 and $250,000 worth of stock in the Michael Saylor-founded company on November 21, according to new government filings. MSTR was trading around $181 at the time. The stock has since collapsed over 44%, to $100.55 at writing.  The FBI director did not initially disclose his investment in Strategy. He ame...

    NewsLaw and Order
    2 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • Ethereum. Image: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    BitMine, Sharplink and Joe Lubin Accelerate Wall Street Ethereum Push With Nonprofit Launch

    A new nonprofit aimed at onboarding Wall Street to Ethereum launched Wednesday, marking the second major Ethereum-focused initiative backed in recent weeks by network co-founder Joe Lubin alongside top treasury firms BitMine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink. Ethereum Institutional will serve as an independent point of contact for banks, asset managers, and other financial institutions seeking to get more involved with tokenization, stablecoins, and other on-chain financial infrastructure, a...

    NewsBusiness
    2 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • Kalshi. Image: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    Kalshi Sports Markets Banned in Michigan as Temporary Blackout Takes Effect

    Kalshi has blocked all users in Michigan from accessing sports-related wagers, following a key ruling against the prediction market platform in state court. On Monday, a circuit court judge in Ingham County issued a temporary restraining order temporarily prohibiting Kalshi from offering sports markets in the state for 14 days. The ban, requested by state regulators, takes hold as Kalshi and Michigan continue to battle over the regulatory fate of prediction markets—which state regulators across...

    NewsLaw and Order
    2 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • Source: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    Supreme Court Says Trump Can Fire SEC, CFTC Commissioners at Will—At a Crucial Moment for Crypto

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday overturned a landmark ruling forcing presidents to fire federal agency commissioners only in extraordinary circumstances—undoing nearly a century of precedent and granting President Donald Trump even more authority over key regulatory areas including crypto. In a 6-3 decision, the court’s conservative majority affirmed Trump’s right to fire Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic FTC commissioner, clarifying he now has the right to terminate other agency commissioners a...

    NewsLaw and Order
    3 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • Binance. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Spanish Regulator Says No Extensions for EU Crypto Deadline as Binance Remains Unlicensed

    Spain’s top securities regulator said Friday the country will not extend a fast-approaching deadline for crypto firms to register under new regulations—even as Binance struggles to do so. Under the European Union’s newly implemented MiCA crypto framework, firms have until July 1 to register with a member country and remain operational. If they fail to register by next week, then they will be obligated to cease doing business. European customers will not be able complete transactions with unautho...

    NewsLaw and Order
    2 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • Polymarket. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Polymarket to Refund Users After Scammers Swipe Millions in Website Exploit

    One of Polymarket’s third-party vendors suffered a hack Thursday, the prediction market said, leaving its website vulnerable to an exploit that analysts said led to millions of dollars lost for users of the platform. Polymarket declined comment when reached by Decrypt, and did not say publicly which of its vendors was compromised. But the attack allowed hackers to inject malicious code into the prediction market’s front-end, the company said in an X post. Ultimately, the hackers stole some $3 m...

    NewsBusiness
    2 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • Kalshi. Image: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    Kalshi Sues Illinois Over New State Tax on Sports-Related Prediction Markets

    Kalshi sued Illinois Wednesday, claiming in federal court that the state has no right to levy taxes on prediction markets. Last week, Illinois governor JB Pritzker signed a bill into law that, in addition to creating a statewide tax on crypto transactions, also established a “Sports Wagering Fund.” The fund, set to launch on July 1, will tax gross receipts from sports-related prediction market wagers at 15%. In taxing such wagers, Illinois asserted that sports-related prediction markets are a fo...

    NewsLaw and Order
    2 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • President Donald Trump. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Trump Cancels Signing of Bipartisan Housing Bill Containing CBDC Ban: 'Of Minor Importance'

    President Donald Trump abruptly canceled a signing ceremony Wednesday for a sweeping, bipartisan housing bill—one that contains a provision banning the U.S. government from issuing a central bank digital currency until 2031. The bill, dubbed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, is the rare piece of federal legislation with overwhelming support from both political parties. It cuts restrictions on building new homes across the United States, and would also prohibit Wall Street heavyweights from...

    NewsLaw and Order
    2 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • US Capitol building. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Crypto’s Clarity Act Has a New Enemy: Catholic Leaders

    The crypto industry’s long-coveted Clarity Act has attracted plenty of opponents in recent months, among them Wall Street leaders, consumer advocates, law enforcement groups, and Native American tribes. Now, the market structure bill has attracted the ire of a new and perhaps unexpected constituency: Catholics. In a letter sent Tuesday to Senate leaders in both parties, a coalition of Catholic leaders and organizations warned that the legislation—which would legalize most crypto activity in the...

    NewsLaw and Order
    3 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • U.S. Capitol building. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Crypto Industry Urges Congress to Pass Tax Bill—But Will It Happen This Year?

    The crypto industry is urging Congress to approve a new digital asset tax bill—and claim that changing the legislation at all could risk derailing its chances of passage. In a letter sent this week to the top-ranking Republicans and Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee, the heads of three top industry trade groups—the Blockchain Association, the Crypto Council for Innovation, and the Digital Chamber—pressed lawmakers to quickly pass a bill that would change how rewards generated by c...

    NewsLaw and Order
    3 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • Kalshi prediction data displayed in Times Square. Image: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    Kentucky Sues Kalshi, Polymarket as Prediction Market Legal Battle Swells

    Kentucky became the latest state to sue prediction market platforms this week, accusing industry leaders Kalshi and Polymarket of operating illegal sports betting platforms. “Kalshi and Polymarket are operating illegal sportsbooks in Kentucky and breaking our laws,” the state’s attorney general, Russell Coleman, said in a statement. “These multi-billion dollar corporations and their legal fictions don’t pass the sniff test.” Kentucky is one of numerous states across the country that have taken...

    NewsLaw and Order
    2 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell. Image: Decrypt

    Jerome Powell Supports Fed's New Stablecoin Policies—But Chair Kevin Warsh Abstains

    The Federal Reserve on Thursday issued a proposed rulemaking dictating how American crypto firms will have to evaluate customers and discourage money laundering now that stablecoins have been formally legalized. The rulemaking, proposed jointly with President Donald Trump’s administration agencies including the Treasury Department and the FDIC, interprets how to implement provisions of the GENIUS Act pertaining to customer identification requirements. The GENIUS Act, enacted last summer, formal...

    NewsLaw and Order
    2 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • Polymarket. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Michigan Federal Judge Rules Sports Prediction Markets Are Not Under CFTC Purview

    A federal judge in Michigan issued a forceful judgment Wednesday against Polymarket, ruling that sports-related prediction market wagers do not constitute swaps under the CFTC’s jurisdiction. A U.S. District Court judge in the Western District of Michigan denied Polymarket’s request for a preliminary injunction against Michigan regulators, who seek to restrict the prediction market platform from offering sports-related wagers in the state. The state says such wagers constitute illegal sports be...

    NewsLaw and Order
    3 min read
    Sander Lutz
  • FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried outside Manhattan federal court in July 2023. Photo: Decrypt/André Beganski

    Sam Bankman-Fried Loses Appeal as Federal Court Upholds 'Robust' Fraud Conviction

    FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried lost a bid to overturn his 25-year prison sentence and fraud conviction Friday, with a panel of federal appeals judges unanimously upholding the verdict. The Manhattan-based judges, of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, picked apart Bankman-Fried’s arguments for overturning the judgment, finding each of them uncompelling. “Bankman-Fried makes these arguments in the face of a trial at which the government’s evidence against him was, conservatively...

    NewsLaw and Order
    3 min read
    Sander Lutz
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