Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Binance have filed a joint motion to pause their legal case for 60 days, citing the newly formed SEC Crypto Task Force’s potential impact on regulations, analysts tip a 90% chance of a Litecoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) this year, and US authorities have proposed a plea deal for Eric Council Jr., who is accused of helping to hack the SEC’s X account in January 2024.SEC and Binance seek 60-day pause in crypto caseThe US SEC and Binance filed a joint motion to pause their legal case for 60 days, marking the first move toward halting major cryptocurrency litigation since Mark Uyeda took over as acting SEC chair.The motion, filed on Feb. 10, asked to pause the case against the exchange for 60 days, citing the establishment of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force.“The work of this task force may impact and facilitate the potential resolution of this case,” the SEC and Binance wrote in the motion.According to some industry observers, other crypto firms like Ripple, Coinbase and Kraken will likely follow suit by filing similar joint motions with the SEC.Following the 60 days, the SEC and Binance plan to issue a joint report on whether a continuation of the stay would be warranted.“As this is a joint motion, there is no prejudice to any party here, and a stay could save the parties resources because, if an early resolution could be reached, it would obviate the need to continue merits discovery,” the parties said.Analysts tip 90% chance Litecoin ETF will be approved in 2025Bloomberg exchange-traded fund (ETF) analysts have tipped a 90% chance that the US securities regulator will approve a spot Litecoin ETF before the end of the year. Bloomberg’s James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas see its chances of being approved in 2025 as higher than other ETFs currently proposed, including a spot XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL) and Dogecoin (DOGE) ETF — which they see as having a 65%, 70% and 75% chance respectively. Posting on X, the pair said that Litecoin’s path toward SEC approval may be the most straightforward as S-1 and 19b-4 forms have already been filed and acknowledged, while the SEC also likely views it as a commodity.Alleged hacker behind fake SEC post could forfeit $50,000 in plea dealUS authorities have proposed a plea agreement for Eric Council Jr., the individual who allegedly helped compromise the Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account in January 2024.In a Feb. 9 filing in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, federal prosecutors proposed a forfeiture order that could require Council to pay $50,000 he “personally obtained” as a result of the posting a message to X suggesting that the SEC had approved spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for the first time. The alleged hacker would also plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.Council has been accused of being a member of the group that temporarily took control of the SEC’s X account in January 2024 through a SIM swap attack. The breach allowed the hackers to post a false message featuring an image of then-SEC Chair Gary Gensler announcing the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. The SEC removed the message and officially announced greenlighting the investment vehicles less than 24 hours later. According to a Feb. 10 order, he will return to court on May 16 for sentencing.