A top executive of a crypto asset management firm says that the company has sold its multi-million dollar claim in FTX’s bankruptcy. In a lengthy thread, Ikigai Asset Management chief investment officer Travis Kling tells his 98,100 followers on the social media platform X that the firm sold its $65 million claim in FTX’s bankruptcy […]
The post Crypto Asset Management Firm Sells $65,000,000 Claim in FTX Bankruptcy, According to CIO appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
The head of Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal defense admitted the odds of winning the FTX fraud trial were stacked against the former CEO.
The lawyer responsible for Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial defense has admitted that the case was “almost impossible” to win from the outset.
In a one-on-one interview with Bloomberg, Stanford Law School professor David Mills recounts how Bankman-Fried’s reluctance to follow his recommendations and the damning testimony of his former associates had the FTX founder’s back against the ropes.
Related: Caroline Ellison wanted to step down but feared a bank run on FTX
Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried are not filing any post-trial motions after the disgraced FTX founder was convicted on seven criminal counts related to the misuse of the crypto exchange’s customer funds. In a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, lawyers Mark S. Cohen and […]
The post Sam Bankman-Fried Won’t Pursue Post-Trial Motions After Fraud Conviction: Lawyers appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
The former FTX CEO was found guilty of seven felony charges on Nov. 2, for which he could face up to 115 years in prison.
Following his conviction on federal fraud charges on Nov. 2, former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried will not pursue any post-trial motions.
In a Dec. 1 letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, lawyers representing Bankman-Fried said they had “decided not to file any post-trial motions” but reserved their rights to pursue claims on appeal. The filing was the latest following SBF’s conviction on Nov. 2 as he awaits sentencing on March 28.
It’s unclear whether prosecutors plan to move forward with Bankman-Fried’s second trial in March.
Related: What’s next for the ‘crypto king’ Sam Bankman-Fried?
After the jury verdict was handed down, Bankman-Fried returned to the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, where he is expected to remain until sentencing. 30, crypto blogger Tiffany Fong interviewed a former mob enforcer, Gene Borrello, who reported on some of SBF’s experiences in jail.
Gene Borrello, a former prisoner at the Metropolitan Detention Center told crypto blogger Tiffany Fong that Sam Bankman-Fried was targeted for his timid nature and having “the body of the 80-year-old.”
Sam Bankman-Fried was reportedly worried for his safety during his pre-trial detention time at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center and even considered paying another inmate for “protection,” according to a former inmate.
New York mob enforcer-turned-informant Gene Borrello told crypto blogger Tiffany Fong in a Nov. 30 interview that spent time with Bankman-Fried in the lead-up to his criminal trial.
I got a chance to interview Gene Borrello, a former mob enforcer who was in jail with Sam Bankman-Fried. pic.twitter.com/nszTXVUrSQ
— Tiffany Fong (@TiffanyFong_) November 30, 2023
Borrello said during his time there, other prisoners saw the former crypto mogul as timid, having “the body of the 80-year-old,” and was presumed to have access to money.
“He has the body of the 80-year-old. He has, like, no shape to him, you know what I mean?”
A prisoner attempted to make Bankman-Fried fearful to extort him for protection money.
A bankruptcy court is ruling that debtors of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX can begin selling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Grayscale and Bitwise shares. In a new filing, a court in Delaware is granting a motion filed earlier this month that would allow the debtors of FTX and its affiliates to start selling […]
The post Bankruptcy Court Declares FTX Debtors Can Begin To Sell $744,000,000 Worth of Grayscale and Bitwise Shares appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
Binance and CZ’s ongoing legal drama with United States law enforcement ended with a plea deal.
Last week, the legal drama featuring the world’s largest crypto exchange and United States law enforcement ended with a plea deal. Binance and Changpeng “CZ” Zhao have admitted violating U.S. Anti-Money Laundering laws, agreeing to pay $4.3 billion in fines. CZ resigned as CEO of Binance as part of the deal. Binance’s former head of regional markets outside the U.S., Richard Teng, is the new CEO.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson reflected on the plea deal news, calling it “the end of an era.” In Hoskinson’s opinion, entrepreneurs must comply with regulations or develop permissionless protocols that can’t be regulated. Hoskinson warned that the world is changing and that entrepreneurs will no longer be able to get by using centralized systems while simultaneously not complying with regulations. This is because “the United States has a financial regime that basically has been weaponized,” and this regime will not allow entrepreneurs to open up markets that let “the enemies of America to basically trade and do things.”
Meanwhile, Kraken, another major crypto exchange, has been dragged into another legal fight with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). In a complaint filed in a San Francisco federal court, the SEC claimed that Kraken has been operating a platform that unlawfully facilitated the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies since 2018. Additionally, the SEC alleged Kraken’s business practices and “deficient” internal controls saw the exchange commingle up to $33 billion worth of customer assets with its own. The SEC said this resulted in a “significant risk of loss” for its clients. Kraken founder Jesse Powell called the action an “assault on America” and called the SEC the U.S.’s “top decel.” Powell even warned other companies to depart the country.
FTX founder and convicted fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried will remain behind bars after failing to convince a U.S. appellate court that he should be freed while his legal team appeals his conviction. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said Bankman-Fried’s previous attempts to tamper with two witnesses while on pretrial release were a major reason behind rejecting his request. “We have reviewed the Defendant-Appellant’s additional arguments and find them unpersuasive,” the court said. Bankman-Fried’s legal team also argued that the district court failed to consider a less restrictive alternative to detention.
Representatives from BlackRock and the Nasdaq met with the SEC to discuss the proposed rule allowing the listing of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, or ETF. BlackRock presented how the firm could use an in-kind or in-cash redemption model for its iShares Bitcoin Trust. It’s unclear how SEC officials responded to the two proposed models or if they intend to approve a spot BTC ETF after numerous delays and rejections. Many reports have suggested the SEC could be nearing a decision on a spot BTC ETF for listing on U.S. markets. If approved, it would be a significant move toward mainstream crypto adoption. SEC officials also met with Grayscale representatives on Nov. 20 in the firm’s bid to list a Bitcoin ETF.
Tether and Bitfinex have jointly agreed to drop initial opposition to a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request lodged in New York by some high-profile news publications. A statement from the Tether (USDT) stablecoin issuer and cryptocurrency exchange shared with Cointelegraph notes that it is committed to transparently sharing information following a FOIL request from CoinDesk earlier in 2023. Tether and Bitfinex will not appeal against the FOIL request put forward by journalists, including Zeke Faux, Shane Shifflett and Ada Hui, whom they accuse of exhibiting “certain behaviors.”
The ongoing FOIL request relates to Tether and Bitfinex reaching an agreement with the New York Attorney General in February 2021. As initially reported by CNBC, the agreement involved paying an $18.5 million fine to settle a two-year-long legal dispute regarding the alleged commingling of $850 million of client and corporate funds.
The former billionaire paid four “macks” for a haircut before his trial while staying at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center.
The crypto trading days of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried are over, and the recently convicted founder has found a new thing to trade while in jail — fish.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Nov. 23 that Bankman-Fried recently traded four packets of Mackerel — known in prison as “macks” — for a haircut before his criminal trial last month.
Mackerel packets have risen to be the hottest trading commodity in United States prisons since tobacco products were banned. Postage stamps and soup packets — “soups” — respectively come second and third on the value hierarchy. The commissary of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) where Bankman-Fried is housed sells mackerel packets for $1.30.
Bankman-Fried is sharing a cell at the Brooklyn prison with former Honduran president Juan Hernández and a former senior Mexican police officer, sources familiar with the matter told The Journal.
Social media pundits questioned the legitimacy of the reports and controversial tech figure Martin Shkreli known as “pharma bro” — who spent more than four years in federal prison — confirmed macks were a staple currency in U.S. jails.
In a Nov. 24 post on X (formerly Twitter), Shkreli claimed paying four macks for a haircut was a “rip off” but noted it was still less than paying someone a book of stamps.
Related: FTX Foundation staffer fights for $275K bonus promised by SBF
Shkreli explained in the MDC that the market for macks was larger than stamps compared to a regular state federal prison but warned against holding too many mack packs, saying any more than 500 becomes suspicious.
four mack is a ripoff. but if you're stunting you would toss homie a book (a book of stamps).
— Martin Shkreli (e/acc) (@wagieeacc) November 23, 2023
in MDC mac spot market is bigger than stamp spot market. in prison prison, stamp spot market is more liquid. mac is very dense and its suspicious to be holding 500 macs. however, it's…
As a vegan, Bankman-Fried wouldn’t eat mackerel, making them a more easily traded commodity for the recently convicted former billionaire.
On Nov. 21, the court of appeals denied Bankman-Fried’s request to be released from prison while he awaits his sentencing hearing, currently scheduled for March 28 next year.
Bankman-Fried was found guilty of seven fraud- and money laundering-related charges on Nov. 2.
Magazine: This is your brain on crypto — Substance abuse grows among crypto traders
MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor and Cathie Wood, the founder and CEO of ARK Investment Management, complete the top 5 rankings for most followed crypto entrepreneurs on social media.
A mix of highly influential and controversial entrepreneurs make up the latest list of the ten most popular crypto entrepreneurs based on their social media presence, with Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao leading the pack in first place and convicted fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried trailing
The top 10 list was compiled by CoinLedger after shortlisting CryptoWeekly’s 30 most influential people in cryptocurrency in 2023, combined with their respective social media followings to determine the most widely followed crypto personality worldwide.
Sitting at the cool kids' table with CZ are Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Twitter co-founder and Block CEO Jack Dorsey, occupying the top 3 spots, in that order. In CoinLedger's study, CZ emerged as the most popular personality in cryptocurrency, with nearly 9.1 million followers on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram combined.
Buterin and Dorsey followed CZ with combined Twitter and Instagram followers of 7.7 million and 6.4 million, respectively.
MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor and Cathie Wood, the founder and CEO of ARK Investment Management, sit in 4th and 5th place respectively. Saylor has around half of Dorsey’s following at nearly 3.25 million, while Wood has just over 1.6 million followers.
Venture capitalists Chamath Palihapitiya and Marc Andreessen reached 6th and 7th place with 1.6 million and 1.3 million followers, respectively. Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong nabbed the next two spots with 1.25 million and 1.2 million followers.
Related: Slumdog billionaire 2: ‘Top 10… brings no satisfaction’ says Polygon’s Sandeep Nailwal
The last ranking in the list was bagged by Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of the defunct crypto exchange FTX. SBF still has a following of 1.06 million across X and Instagram, even a year after the FTX collapse.
During the FTX implosion, SBF’s overall followers increased from roughly 780,000 to over 1.1 million and have settled at the 1 million mark ever since, according to Socialblade data.
Magazine: Breaking into Liberland: Dodging guards with inner-tubes, decoys and diplomats
A U.S. bankruptcy court judge has ordered the end of an automatic holding placed on claims settlement proceedings between the two bankrupt crypto companies FTX and BlockFi.
Bankrupt crypto companies FTX and BlockFi have been allowed to proceed in negotiations for their claims settlement, according to a new court filing.
On Nov. 13, United States bankruptcy judge Michael Kaplan ordered the end of an automatic holding placed on proceedings between the two firms. FTX debtors can now pursue their "arguments, defenses, counterclaims, setoffs, or otherwise” concerning the BlockFi claims in the FTX bankruptcy proceeding.
Both entities filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy status in November of 2022, after the implosion of FTX at the beginning of that month. BlockFi is estimated to have had around $355 million in funds frozen on the FTX platform, with an additional $671 million owed by Alameda Research.
The order also said that FTX debtors would have no right to “receive an affirmative distribution from the BlockFi Debtors” and that both parties should file a mediation with the Delaware Bankruptcy court as soon as possible.
Once such a mediation is filed, mediation will begin “no later” than Dec. 24, 2023.
Related: Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team moves to pursue theory on FTX terms of service
The CEO of BlockFi, Zac Prince, testified against Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, during his five-week criminal trial in which he was found guilty on all seven counts.
Prince and the BlockFi team presented evidence on Oct. 13 that had FTX not gone under, BlockFi would not have had to file for bankruptcy, regardless of the ongoing bear market conditions. The company lost “a little over a billion dollars."
BlockFi was allowed by the court in August to repay U.S.-based Wallet customers, though at the time withdrawals were not permitted. Shortly after, in September, BlockFi creditors approved a bankruptcy restructuring plan, which was then approved by the court on Sept. 26.
On Oct. 24, BlockFi released a blog post saying it will begin to pay back some of its creditors and that withdrawals “are currently available to nearly all Wallet customers.”
Magazine: Exclusive: 2 years after John McAfee’s death, widow Janice is broke and needs answers
