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FTX CEO hints Nishad Singh should remain free to assist bankruptcy case

John Ray, who took over as FTX CEO in November 2022, suggested Nishad Singh’s cooperation in the firm’s bankruptcy would be “important to maximize recovery” for creditors.

Scheduled to be sentenced on the afternoon of Oct. 30, former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh has submitted an eleventh-hour letter from the company’s current CEO, who said he would provide “further assistance and cooperation” in the firm’s bankruptcy case.

In an Oct. 29 filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Singh’s lawyers filed a sentencing letter from FTX Trading Ltd. CEO John Ray detailing the former engineering director’s assistance in the firm’s Chapter 11 case. According to the FTX CEO, Signh assisted the FTX debtors with information about the firm’s computers shortly after the firm filed for bankruptcy, provided relevant documents, and helped return Bahamian property purchased with company funds.

Source: SDNY

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Cryptoquant Report: Record-Breaking Activity Propels Altcoins to New Heights

President Biden thanks Nigerian President for Binance exec’s release

A former IRS special agent and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, Tigran Gambaryan had been in Nigerian custody with reports of deteriorating health since February.

United States President Joe Biden spoke to President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, offering his appreciation that Binance’s head of financial crime compliance had been released on humanitarian grounds.

According to an Oct. 29 notice from the White House, President Biden had a call with President Tinubu in which he thanked the Nigerian leader for helping secure “the release on humanitarian grounds of American citizen and former US law enforcement official Tigran Gambaryan.”

The Binance executive had been in Nigeria custody for roughly eight months until being allowed to leave the country on Oct. 23.

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Cryptoquant Report: Record-Breaking Activity Propels Altcoins to New Heights

US gov’t cites ex-FTX exec’s ‘exemplary cooperation’ before sentencing

Prosecutors asked Judge Lewis Kaplan to consider Nishad Singh’s “substantial assistance” to the government in its case against Sam Bankman-Fried at sentencing.

Prosecutors said former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh, who pleaded guilty and cooperated with authorities, provided “substantial assistance” to the United States government, hinting the judge should be lenient at sentencing.

In an Oct. 23 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, US Attorney Damian Williams asked Judge Lewis Kaplan to consider Singh’s cooperation, which helped in the prosecution of former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried and former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame. Singh is scheduled to appear before the judge on Oct. 30 for sentencing after pleading guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges in 2023.

According to prosecutors, Singh’s testimony at SBF’s trial was a “core part” of the government’s case by helping the jury understand “how FTX’s code permitted the illegal use of customers’ funds” and “identif[ying] in detail the transactions by Bankman-Fried that involved the use of stolen money.”

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Cryptoquant Report: Record-Breaking Activity Propels Altcoins to New Heights

Ripple ‘made a mistake’ not talking to regulators early, says CEO

Ripple should have engaged with US regulators a lot earlier, says the firm’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse, adding it’s now “trying to make up for lost time.”

Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse conceded that his company should have engaged with United States regulators earlier, and now it and the crypto industry are playing catch-up after being on the receiving end of legal enforcement actions.

“I’ve made far more trips to DC in the past few years than I did in the years before that,” Garlinghouse said in an Oct. 23 appearance at DC Fintech Week.

Ripple is one of the US crypto firms that has been entangled in a legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a regulator many US crypto executives claim is antagonistic and unfair to the industry.

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Cryptoquant Report: Record-Breaking Activity Propels Altcoins to New Heights

Former Celsius CEO to return to court on Nov. 13

Judge John Koeltl ordered Alex Mashinsky and prosecutors to appear in court on Nov. 13 to address the former Celsius CEO’s motion to dismiss fraud and market manipulation charges.

Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of crypto platform Celsius, will appear in a New York courtroom for the first time in months for oral arguments related to his motion to dismiss charges.

In an Oct. 23 filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge John Koeltl ordered Mashinsky and prosecutors to appear in court on Nov. 13 to “preserve testimony” and address the former Celsius CEO’s motion to dismiss certain charges in the indictment. In January, Mashinsky’s lawyers filed motions to dismiss charges related to commodities fraud and market manipulation.

Source: SDNY

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Cryptoquant Report: Record-Breaking Activity Propels Altcoins to New Heights

Judge delays sentencing of IcomTech promoter to allow testimony

Gustavo Rodriguez, who was initially scheduled to be sentenced following his conviction for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, will testify under oath on Oct. 25.

Gustavo Rodriguez, one of the promoters of the cryptocurrency mining and trading firm IcomTech convicted of wire fraud, will have a few more days to prepare for his testimony and cross-examination before sentencing in a New York courtroom.

In an Oct. 22 hearing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Rodriguez’s lawyers requested Judge Jennifer Rochon grant an evidentiary hearing, claiming the former IcomTech promoter wanted to testify at his March 2024 trial. Judge Rochon said the court would hear testimony from Rodriguez and a witness on Oct. 25.

Rodriguez was one of two IcomTech promoters — along with his colleague David Brend — charged in the indictment against the project’s founder, David Carmona. Authorities alleged IcomTech amounted to a crypto-based Ponzi scheme, siphoning more than $8 million from users between 2018 and 2019.

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Cryptoquant Report: Record-Breaking Activity Propels Altcoins to New Heights

Indicted NYC mayor leaves questionable crypto legacy as controversy mounts

Before his indictment on criminal charges, NYC Mayor Eric Adams promised to turn the city into a major crypto hub.

Three years before cryptocurrency became a talking point in the United States presidential election for the first time, a different crypto-focused race was brewing in New York City to determine who would replace outgoing Mayor Bill DeBlasio.

Democrat Eric Adams was squaring off against Republican Curtis Sliwa, and both were campaigning on the promise of being pro-crypto mayors. Adams had recently defeated Andrew Yang, another crypto proponent, in the Democratic Party primary. 

On the campaign trail, Adams promised to make NYC the “center of Bitcoins.” He was elected mayor in November 2021, after which he continued to pledge the city would become “the center of the cryptocurrency industry” and argued cryptocurrency should be taught in schools.

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Cryptoquant Report: Record-Breaking Activity Propels Altcoins to New Heights

Ryan Salame requests self-surrender date be pushed to Dec. 7

The former FTX executive claimed the need for “continuing medical treatment” after being bitten by a dog in June.

Former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame, scheduled to report to a federal correctional institution for a seven-and-a-half-year sentence, asked a judge to delay his self-surrender date by roughly two months.

In an Oct. 9 filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Salame’s lawyers requested he be allowed to serve his sentence starting on Dec. 7 rather than Oct. 11. Judge Lewis Kaplan granted a continuance in July after Salame reported being “mauled” by a German Shepherd on June 29.

The medical information related to Salame’s request to push back his self-surrender date was redacted but included a statement from a Virginia physician. According to the filing, the former FTX executive required “continuing medical treatment” before reporting to prison.

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Cryptoquant Report: Record-Breaking Activity Propels Altcoins to New Heights

Crypto.com sues SEC to ‘protect the future of crypto’ in US

Crypto.com’s lawsuit against the US SEC follows the exchange’s receipt of a Wells notice from the agency.

Major cryptocurrency exchange and service provider Crypto.com is launching a legal battle against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission with the goal of protecting the future of the crypto industry in the country.

Kris Marszalek, co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com, took to X on Oct. 8 to officially announce that the company has filed a suit against the US SEC.

“This unprecedented action by our company against a federal agency is a warranted response to the SEC’s regulation by enforcement regime, which has hurt more than 50 million American crypto holders,” he wrote.

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Cryptoquant Report: Record-Breaking Activity Propels Altcoins to New Heights

Binance co-founder CZ free — What’s next and what it means for crypto

After four months in jail and social media discretion, CZ is free. What’s next for the former crypto titan who led Binance to the top?

Changpeng Zhao, co-founder and former CEO of Binance — commonly known as CZ — fulfilled on Sept. 27 his four-month sentence for failing to maintain an effective Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program at the Binance cryptocurrency exchange.

Zhao’s options may seem limitless as he’s amassed a personal fortune of $60 billion, placing him as the 25th-wealthiest person in the world.

One thing is for certain: Zhao will not be returning to Binance. According to Binance’s plea agreement filed on Nov. 21, the crypto firm agreed that Zhao was prohibited from “any present or future involvement in operating or managing” the exchange.

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Cryptoquant Report: Record-Breaking Activity Propels Altcoins to New Heights