Linqto Shareholders Revolt Against Bankruptcy Filing, Caitlin Long Calls Out the Fed
Linqto’s investors aren’t staying quiet and neither is Caitlin Long, as she takes aim at the Fed’s anti-crypto playbook
Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the Crypto In America newsletter!
What you’ll read: Investors in a pre-IPO platform revolt over bankruptcy, Caitlin Long joins the podcast, and a look at some of the week’s top headlines.
A majority of Linqto shareholders have formed a coalition to challenge the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, accusing management of bypassing shareholder consent and jeopardizing the company’s future.
Linqto, once a popular platform for investing in pre-IPO shares of companies like Ripple, Kraken, and BitGo, filed for bankruptcy Tuesday in the Southern District of Texas after months of regulatory scrutiny by the SEC and FINRA over alleged securities violations. According to court filings, Linqto holds $500 million worth of shares in 111 private companies on behalf of its customers.
The company says bankruptcy protection will help preserve its assets and explore strategic options. But shareholders aren’t convinced.
In a letter to investors, the coalition raised red flags over new CEO Dan Siciliano’s quiet creation of a Texas-based shell company, “Linqto Texas,” earlier this year, and flagged a $60 million loan from Sandton Capital Partners that they say carries steep interest and senior priority over other claims. The group is also scrutinizing whether the bankruptcy was properly authorized by the board under the company’s bylaws.
The group says it has retained bankruptcy counsel and is exploring legal options to challenge the filing.
Caitlin Long on DC Corruption, Crypto Banking, and the Fight for Financial Access
In this week’s Crypto In America episode, Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long delivered a candid and critical assessment of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s role in shaping crypto banking policy.
Long, who has been locked in a high-profile legal battle with the Fed over its denial of Custodia’s master account, described how banking policy has been shaped by backroom politics, regulatory double standards, and what she calls “incredible corruption” in Washington.
Watch the episode on all platforms here.
Midweek Update
ICYMI. Here are some of the biggest stories so far this week:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissed Coin Center’s appeal over Treasury’s sanctions on Tornado Cash. The move followed a joint agreement to end the case after the U.S. eased sanctions on the software tool.
A group of crypto advocates, including Paradigm, DeFi Education Fund, and others, filed an amicus brief supporting Michael Lewellen’s opposition to the DOJ’s motion to dismiss his case. Lewellen, a blockchain developer and founder of Tarski Technologies, is challenging the government’s use of money transmission laws to prosecute developers of open-source, non-custodial crypto software.
President Trump’s Truth Social filed an S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch the Crypto Blue Chip ETF holding Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cronos, and XRP.
CoreWeave, an AI cloud infrastructure provider, announced plans to acquire data center operator Core Scientific in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $9 billion.
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