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Tether’s ‘new era for capital raises’ Bitfinex bond flops

November 29, 2023 Coin Telegraph

bitfinex

The ALT2611 tokenized Tether bond from Bitfinex has only managed to raise 15% of its target two weeks after launch.

Bitfinex’s recently launched Tether (USDT) tokenized bond, hailed as a “new era for capital raises,” appears to have failed to garner the investment and interest the firm anticipated.

Bitfinex Securities, a platform focused on listing tokenized real-world assets (RWA), announced its first tokenized bond in October, called ALT2611 Tokenized Bond, with the product going live on Nov. 15.

However, after a two-week offer period, only $1.5 million of a $10 million target has been raised, according to the official website.

The target of 100,000 ALT2611 worth 10 million USDT was set for two weeks after launch in the announcement, but it appears to have been extended by another fortnight as just 15,000 ALT2611, or 15% of the target has been reached so far.

*Screenshot from ALT2611 capital raise. Source: Bitfinex*

ALT2611 is a 36-month 10% coupon bond denominated in USDT and issued by Alternative, a Luxembourg-based securitization fund, managed by Mikro Kapital.

Tokenized bonds are digital representations of traditional bonds issued on the blockchain, which provides several advantages over their traditional paper counterparts, such as liquidity, accessibility, security, transparency, and 24/7 trading.

The minimum initial purchase size was 125,000 USDT, with secondary market trading in denominations of 100 USDT. Moreover, ALT2611 is not offered or made available to American citizens or persons present in the U.S.

Crypto trader Novacula Occami commented, “Bitfinex’s first USDT bond issue is a flop,” before adding, “Sorry Paolo, USDT ain’t going to dominate capital markets. BitFinex Securities Kazakhstan isn’t keeping investment bankers up at night.”

However, when it launched, Tether chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino labeled it as a “new era for capital raises” that would see USDT become the “underlying denomination asset of this new financial system.”

Exciting!
This is the first bond listed on Bitfinex Securities. A new era for capital raises through deep liquid markets and stock/fond markets has begun.

Furthermore $USDt will become the underlying denomination asset of this new financial ecosystem.

And yes. It leverages… https://t.co/ekXj3gY7Xj
— Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) October 25, 2023

The Bitfinex tokenized bond was issued on the Liquid Network, a high throughput Bitcoin sidechain.

Cointelegraph reached out to Bitfinex and Tether for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

In April, Bitfinex Securities received a Digital Asset Service Provider license in El Salvador, which has been looking into issuing its own Bitcoin bonds.

Sovereign dollar bonds in the Central American country have been performing solidly, with a 70% return in 2023 as reported by Cointelegraph in August.

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BarnBridge DAO calls halt to ‘all work’ on DeFi protocol amid SEC probe

July 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

BarnBridge

Some DAO members joked about the situation while others believed there may be an ulterior motive at play.

BarnBridge DAO members have been told to pause “all work” related to the project after a reported probe by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In a July 6 post to the platform’s Discord channel, Douglas Park, a lawyer for the decentralized autonomous organization revealed the news to members.

“I am letting you know that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating BarnBridge DAO and individuals associated with the DAO,” Park said.

pic.twitter.com/ChsjBuGEzM
— BarnBridge (@Barn_Bridge) July 7, 2023

In order to “reduce potential further legal liability,” Park suggested “all work” on BarnBridge-related products should stop — including the closure of liquidity pools — and that individuals should not receive compensation for work flowing from the investment efforts of the DAO.

Co-founder Tyler Ward, presumably dubbed “Lord Tyler” on Discord, confirmed Park’s message was true on BarnBridge’s Discord shortly after.

Park and Ward didn’t explain why the SEC launched a probe into BarnBridge DAO. Park however explained that because the investigation is “ongoing” and “non-public,” only limited information can be shared.

Between June 30 and July 3, 100% of BarnBridge (BOND) token holders — voted on a proposal to retain the law firm Park & Dibadj LLP — of which Park is the managing partner — as legal counsel for the DAO “for various legal work.”

213,000 votes were cast and 201,000, or 94.3%, of them came from the wallet “barnbridge.eth.”

*100% of the 213,000 BOND tokens were placed in favor of the proposal. Source: Snapshot*

The timing and subject of the proposal may suggest the SEC launched an investigation into BarnBridge DAO before June 30.

Some DAO members have raised suspicions over the announcement, however.

One member of the Discord asked for supporting evidence of the SEC’s investigation and implied BarnBridge’s founders may be using it as an excuse to facilitate an “exit strategy” to potentially defraud investors.

Ward refuted the claim stating it would be the “worst thought-out rug attempt in history.”

Other members took the news more lightheartedly with one saying it’s “time to move to Europe” — suggesting DAO members could hide from the SEC.

Another jokingly stated that anyone who interacted with BarnBridge would be “shot” by SEC chair Gary Gensler “on live TV” — alluding to his tough stance on crypto.

*Mixed reactions were recieved from BarnBridge DAO members on Discord. Source: Discord*

BarnBridge is a cross-platform risk management DeFi protocol that attempts to tackle inflation risk and interest rate volatility.

Since the news emerged, the price of its native token BOND has fallen 1.9% to $3.12, according to CoinGecko. The token is down 98.3% since its all-time high price of $185.7 on Oct. 27, 2020, and currently has a market cap of $29 million.

Early last month, the SEC filed lawsuits against two of the industry’s largest exchanges Binance and Coinbase, alleging they offered unregistered securities.

The reported investigation into BarnBridge, a small to mid-sized DAO, could suggest the securities regulator isn’t just looking to target the crypto space's largest organizations.

Cointelegraph contacted the SEC for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

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Ex-Stanford dean says SBF’s parents helped his family battle cancer

February 16, 2023 Coin Telegraph

$250M

One of the previously undisclosed guarantors of Sam Bankman-Fried’s bond told Cointelegraph why he helped out the former FTX CEO.

A former dean of Stanford Law School who co-signed Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail said he did so because SBF’s parents have been “the truest of friends” and helped his family through a “harrowing battle with cancer.”

In an emailed statement to Cointelegraph on Feb. 16, Larry Kramer said he co-signed Bankman-Fried’s bail as a way to return the favor.

“Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried have been close friends of my wife and I since the mid-1990s,” said Kramer.

*Screenshot of Larry Kramer bio on Hewlett Foundation website. Source: Hewlett Foundation*

He said that over the past two years, Bankman and Fried provided food and moral support while “frequently stepping in at moment’s notice to help” during his family’s battle with cancer.

“In turn, we have sought to support them as they face their own crisis,” he added.

Kramer emphasized that he had not been influenced to act as guarantor by any payments made to him by any FTX-related entity, writing:

“My actions are in my personal capacity, and I have no business dealings or interest in this matter other than to help our loyal and steadfast friends.”

Previous statements by Bankman-Fried reportedly corroborate this claim, with the former FTX CEO said to have denied that either of the two previously undisclosed guarantors had received any payments from FTX or sister-firm Alameda Research.

The names of SBF’s bail guarantors have been released: Larry Kramer, former dean of Stanford Law School, signed for $500K & Andreas Paepcke, computer scientist, signed for $200K.

In our last conversation, Sam denied that either guarantor has received payments from FTX or Alameda… https://t.co/cJq2Txi5zY
— Tiffany Fong (@TiffanyFong_) February 15, 2023

Kramer refrained from commenting on the legal predicament faced by Bankman-Fried, noting that this “is what the trial will be for.”

The other guarantor is Andreas Paepcke, a senior research scientist at Stanford University. He did not respond to questions by the time of publication.

The crypto community has been searching the web looking for more details on Paepcke, but there appears to be little information connecting him to Bankman-Fried outside of their association at Stanford University, where Bankman and Fried used to be law professors.

Via his Stanford bio: "Dr. Andreas Paepcke is a Senior Research Scientist at Stanford University. His interests include user interfaces and systems for teaching and learning. He uses data analytics to create tools that benefit these online efforts." pic.twitter.com/xWEDVeNOId
— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) February 15, 2023

United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan had allowed the identities of the two former law professors to be made public on Feb. 15, after being petitioned by eight major media outlets in a Jan. 12 letter.

Bankman-Fried’s lawyers had sought to keep the two anonymous, arguing that the pair could be subject to intrusions, threats and harassment if their names were made public.

Kaplan disagreed, however, noting that the pair had voluntarily signed individual bonds in a “highly publicized criminal proceeding,” and had therefore opened themselves up to public scrutiny.

SBF’s lawyers move to block release of bail guarantors’ identities

February 8, 2023 Coin Telegraph

$250M

The appeal, filed on the last possible day, prevents the names of two bond guarantors for SBF from being revealed until at least Feb. 14.

The names of two guarantors who signed off on part of Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail bond will continue to remain a secret for now.

A judge has also rejected an agreement that would have permitted Bankman-Fried to use certain messaging apps.

Bankman Fried’s lawyers filed an appeal to block the release of the guarantors' names last-minute on Feb. 7. The appeal did not contain further arguments against the disclosure but it will prevent the order from being enforced until Feb. 14 to allow for an application for a further stay.

The appeal was expected after a Jan. 30 ruling in which United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan granted a joint petition from eight major media outlets seeking to unseal the guarantors' names.

*Sam Bankman-Fried in an interview during the Bitcoin 2021 conference. Source:* *Cointelegraph*

At the time, Kaplan noted his order was likely to be appealed given the novelty of the circumstances.

He stated arguments by Bankman-Fried’s lawyers that guarantors “would face similar intrusions” as Bankman-Fried’s parents lacked merit given the size of their individual bonds was much smaller, at $200,000 and $500,000.

Bankman Fried’s parents — Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried — were the other two parties who signed off on the bond.

Additionally, the judge said the guarantors had voluntarily signed individual bonds in a “highly publicized criminal proceeding,” and had therefore opened themselves up to public scrutiny.

Meanwhile, on Feb. 7 Kaplan rejected a joint agreement between Bankman-Fried’s legal team and prosecutors that would have modified bail conditions and allowed Bankman-Fried to use certain messaging apps.

Kaplan did not provide a reason for denying the motion but added the subject would be further discussed in a Feb. 9 hearing.

Kaplan ruled on Feb. 1 that Bankman-Fried was barred from contacting FTX or Alameda Research employees citing a risk of “inappropriate contact with prospective witnesses” after it was revealed the former CEO had been contacting past and present staff.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s life on bail: Armed guards, daily jogs and gawkers

December 29, 2022 Coin Telegraph

bahamas

Compared to his prison accommodations in The Bahamas, the former billionaire appears to be living a pretty decent life while under house arrest.

Sam Bankman-Fried has reportedly been leading a decent lifestyle while under house arrest in his parent’s home in Palo Alto — with daily jogs, a security detail, and a couple of in-home visits.

However, it's not exactly a life of endless luxury either. The former FTX CEO is reportedly required to wear an ankle monitor and is only allowed to leave the house under certain circumstances, among other restrictions.

The aforementioned Palo Alto home, located on the border of Stanford University’s campus is understood to be a $4 million property equipped with 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and a pool according to real estate listings.

The property has had to be barricaded on both ends however, as Bankman-Fried has reportedly faced death threats, while his home has turned into something of a tourist attraction for curious onlookers.

His family is shelling out $10,000 a week for a private security firm, according to a Dec. 27 article from the New York Post.

*The home Sam Bankman-Fried is reported to be confined to. Source: Google Maps.*

As part of the Dec. 22 bond agreement, Bankman-Fried is required to wear an ankle bracelet, has been forced to surrender his passport and is also required to seek approval for any transactions in excess of $1,000. He is also not allowed to possess a firearm, any other weapon or “destructive device”.

He is only able to leave the property for exercise and for substance abuse treatment and mental health purposes — something he is understood to have taken up — with multiple reports indicating he has been going for daily jogs with his security detail in tow.

While this is still a far cry from the Bahamas penthouse he was previously living in, it still appears far better than the conditions of his cell in Fox Hill prison in The Bahamas.

That being said, some in the crypto community have been vocal about Bankman-Fried’s release on bail, particularly considering he was able to do so without any upfront payment.

SBF will be spending Christmas at home with his parents playing video games rather than locked up in a cell. What kind of justice is that?
— Layah Heilpern (@LayahHeilpern) December 23, 2022

Instead, hs parents' property has been put up as security for the record $250 million bond, after Bankman-Fried claimed to only have $100,000 in his bank account following the collapse of FTX.

He’s reportedly already been visited by Michael Lewis, the writer of the popular trading-focused film Big Short who appears to be turning the FTX saga into a movie.

On Dec. 28, cryptocurrency vlogger Tiffany Fong revealed on Twitter she had visited Bankman-Fried in his parent’s home for a "conversation" just the night before.

Fong was one of the first to interview Sam Bankman-Fried after the exchange went bankrupt in November, and the vlogger is expected to write about the meeting after her holiday.

I met with Sam Bankman-Fried last night.

I haven’t written anything thoughtful out about our conversation - I’m just sharing because I’m getting some questions about this. I’m still in holiday mode & am visiting family in SF atm, so please be patient.
— Tiffany Fong (@TiffanyFong_) December 28, 2022

While Bankman-Fried has denied criminal liability numerous times since the collapse of FTX, he is set to appear in a New York federal court on Jan. 3 and is expected to enter a plea agreement to charges of wire fraud and conspiracy.

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