Nvidia denies receiving DOJ antitrust subpoena

September 4, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Ex-FTX exec Salame won’t testify in alleged illegal campaign donation case

August 15, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Ryan Salame plans to plead the Fifth if he is asked to testify at Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal trial, according to United States prosecutors.

Former FTX executive Ryan Salame will reportedly avoid testifying about his role in FTX’s alleged illegal campaign donation scheme if he is subpoenaed in Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial.

Lawyers representing the former FTX co-CEO said that Salame will be unavailable as a witness to the case, according to an Aug. 14 motion filed by United States federal prosecutors.

“Salame’s attorney has represented that if subpoenaed, Salame would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination,” the prosecutor’s motion states, adding that Salame would be “unavailable as a witness.”

From the US government's motion in limine in the Sam Bankman-Fried criminal trial: "[Ryan] Salame is unavailable as a witness... Salame’s attorney has represented that if subpoenaed, Salame would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination." pic.twitter.com/NrB5d6PJDH
— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) August 15, 2023

Salame, a former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets with close ties to Sam Bankman-Fried, donated more than $24 million to Republican campaigns, according to Open Secrets.

The former FTX executive is reportedly facing possible finance campaign violation allegations of his own and is considering a plea deal with the federal prosecutors.

He was a substantial beneficiary of loans and payments given to a number of the top executives of FTX by way of the now-bankrupt firms’ trading house Alameda Research.

Salame had his house searched by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation in April. However it remains unknown what exactly they were looking for.

He was considered a close business partner of Bankman-Fried, who is currently imprisoned and is facing fraud charges in his upcoming trial in October.

Magazine: Deposit risk: What do crypto exchanges really do with your money?

Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital hit with another SEC subpoena

May 11, 2023 Coin Telegraph

abu dhabi

The first subpoena was given to Marathon in the third quarter of 2021, concerning whether it may have violated federal securities laws relating to its data center in Hardin.

Bitcoin (BTC) miner Marathon Digital has disclosed that it received another subpoena from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission relating to its 100-megawatt data center in Hardin, Montana.

According to Marathon’s quarterly report filed May 10, it received the subpoena on April 10 “relating to, among other things, transactions with related parties” that occurred while it was creating the facility in Montana, adding:

“We understand that the SEC may be investigating whether or not there may have been any violations of the federal securities law. We are cooperating with the SEC.”

The subpoena is the second one received by Marathon regarding the facility. It also received one late in the third quarter of 2021 in which the SEC ordered the firm to produce a number of related documents and communications.

@SECGov has issued another subpoena to Marathon Digital.

Marathon Digital is a US based #Bitcoin mining firm.

The subpoena relates to ongoing investigation tied to Marathon Digital facility in Montana.

Marathon stated that #SEC may be investigating whether or not there have…
— CryptoSmind (@SmindCrypto) May 11, 2023

A Marathon spokesperson declined to provide any additional comments.

On May 9, Marathon announced that it had partnered with digital assets infrastructure company Zero Two to create a large-scale immersion Bitcoin mining facility in Abu Dhabi.

The facility would consist of two mining mines with a combined 250-megawatt capacity, and Marathon noted that while mining in Abu Dhabi would normally be infeasible, its “custom-built immersion solution” would be sufficient to ensure the mining rigs remained cool.

The announcement came just two months after the Biden administration proposed a new tax for crypto miners operating in the U.S., which would require them to pay a tax equal to 30% of the cost of any electricity used while mining for crypto.

Magazine: $3.4B of Bitcoin in a popcorn tin — The Silk Road hacker’s story

Bittrex Receives Wells Notice From SEC for Alleged Investor-Protection Law Violations

April 17, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Sushiswap Smart Contract Bug Results in Over $3M in Losses; Head Chef Says Hundreds of ETH Recovered

April 10, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Sushi’s head chef addresses community concerns amid SEC subpoena

April 9, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Sushi’s head chef Jared Grey and his counsel described the investigation as a “non-public, fact-finding inquiry,” that doesn’t suggest the SEC has “any negative opinion of any person, entity or asset" related to the DAO.

Japan-based decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) Sushi's head chef Jared Grey and his counsel stated that as far as they know, no one associated with Sushi has violated U.S. federal security laws, while providing reassurance that he is cooperating with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subpoena.

In an April 8 statement, Grey answered the most commonly asked questions from the community in an FAQ format regarding the subpoena served to him, suggesting it is unknown what actions the SEC will take towards others associated with Sushi in the future.

“We do not know, one way or the other, whether the SEC has purported to serve a subpoena on any other person or entity that it believes represents the Sushi community” it was noted.

Grey assured the community that the investigation does not imply any wrongdoing. He stated:

“The investigation does not mean that the SEC has concluded that Jared, Internet Three Software Company, or Sushi has violated any law. Also, the investigation does not mean that the SEC has a negative opinion of any person, entity, or asset.”

Grey acknowledged the Sushi DAO legal defense fund – a dedicated $3 million he proposed to the community on March 21 after the subpoena was served – stating he is trying to ensure adequate funds to “handle legal needs for operational continuity and protect core contributors.”

He emphasized that any unused funds in the Sushi DAO Legal Defense Fund shall be refunded, provided that all legal costs have been covered.

Following the statement, Grey told his Twitter followers on April 9 that they can expect Sushi’s newly deployed concentrated liquidity model, V3, to be officially announced next week.

We've yet to officially announce V3 on Sushi (early next week, homies), but we've already noticed a 100% increase in V3 TVL in the past 24 hours. Things will get interesting over the coming weeks, with 30+ networks supporting V3 on the second most OG DEX, Sushi.
— Jared Grey (@jaredgrey) April 8, 2023

Cointelegraph reached out to Grey for comments but stated he “can’t comment further than what the FAQ provides.”

This comes after news on Feb. 1 that MakerDAO, the issuer of DAI (DAI) launched a $5 million legal defense fund, dedicated to legal expenses, to serve as a self-insurance tool for its participants, as the developers pointed out that such costs could not be transferred through traditional insurance.

Magazine: US enforcement agencies are turning up the head on crypto-related crime

3AC co-founder can answer subpoena or ‘take his chances’ — US judge

March 24, 2023 Coin Telegraph

3AC

The U.S. judge presiding over the Three Arrows Capital bankruptcy case has upped the pressure on Kyle Davies to comply with a January-issued subpoena.

Kyle Davies, the co-founder of bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, has been ordered to answer the subpoena issued to him in January or risk being held in contempt of court.

The Jan. 5 subpoena was issued to Davies via Twitter following approval from a New York bankruptcy court, instructing him to provide 3AC’s liquidators with documents such as seed phrases and private keys as well as company communications and other company-related documents within 14 days.

After failing to hear from Davies, the United States Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn granted a motion to compel on March 22, noting that Davies can appear and contest the arguments made by 3AC liquidators, “or he can fail to appear as he has done so far, and, frankly, take his chances.”

There would be peace on Earth if we all spent more time in Bali pic.twitter.com/OgA35g81BE
— Kyle Davies (@KyleLDavies) March 23, 2023

A motion to compel is a legal request that the court will compel one party to provide evidence to the party that brought the motion.

People found to be in contempt of court during civil proceedings are usually hit with a fine, but may also be imprisoned. The purpose of civil contempt is to coerce compliance, so the severity of punishments can increase until the order is carried out.

The current whereabouts of both Kyle Davies and fellow 3AC co-founder Su Zhu remains unknown.

Davies’s most recent tweet, on March 23, appears to show a photograph of him in Bali. However, an earlier tweet from the same day shows him standing with Su Zhu and one other person in Bahrain.

This is not Dubai. This is near World Trade Center in Bahrain pic.twitter.com/owVPctfINA
— Silv (@SilvXBT) March 22, 2023

Su Zhu also shared a tweet with a recognizable landmark in the background on the same day, however, suggesting he may be or have recently been in Dubai.

gm pic.twitter.com/50ykp8mvYF
— Zhu Su 朱溯 (@zhusu) March 22, 2023

According to lawyers for 3AC’s liquidators, Davies has “chosen to ignore his duties to Three Arrows.”

Meanwhile, the pair from 3AC has teamed up with CoinFLEX to launch OPNX, a marketplace aimed at enabling claims in crypto firm bankruptcy proceedings to be bought and sold.

Magazine: Best and worst countries for crypto taxes — Plus crypto tax tips

Robinhood Wallet rolls out on iOS with Android support to follow

March 2, 2023 Coin Telegraph

10-K Filing

The full launch and removal of the 1 million waitlisted users come six months after Robinhood launched its beta version in September.

Trading platform Robinhood has launched its Web3 wallet on Apple’s App Store, becoming available to iOS users in over 130 countries.

Robinhood shared the news in a Mar. 1 post, stating that users would no longer need to sit on a waitlist to access the new multi-chain, self-custody wallet. It added that it will be supported on Android “later this year.”

#RobinhoodWallet is now available to everyone with iOS: https://t.co/yUdL8jCgJN pic.twitter.com/q7RIWBJUIT
— Johann Kerbrat (@JohannKerbrat) March 1, 2023

Since the beta launch of the Robinhood Wallet in September, the trading platform integrated Ethereum — in addition to already supporting Polygon — and added 50+ ERC tokens to be bought, sold and held on the self-custody wallet.

Among the tokens now supported include USDC, UNI, MATIC and SHIB.

These tokens can be traded without paying transaction fees and users are able to use these cryptocurrencies to interact with a range of decentralized applications (Dapps).

*A preview of the Robinhood Web3 Wallet. Source:* *Robinhood.*

Robinhood Crypto general manager Johann Kerbrat said the support for Ethereum and ERC-20 tokens came in response to customers wanting access to more coins and tokens on more chains.

Since the beta launch, Robinhood Wallet has also added a nonfungible token (NFT) feature to enable users to collect and store their favorite collectibles on Ethereum and Polygon.

A Robinhood spokesperson told Cointelegraph that Robinhood NFTs would not be subject to Apple’s 30% commission on apps and in-app purchases of digital goods and services.

While the Robinhood Wallet is self custodied there is a range of self-verification methods that can be implemented to provide security to its Web3 users:

“When users get started, they need to set up either Face/Touch ID or a custom PIN, which they’ll use to authenticate every time they open the app. They will also be asked to create a secret recovery phrase, also known as a seed phrase, that allows them access to their wallet and crypto.”

Robinhood stated that users “can–and should–back up their wallet” by writing it down, storing it offline, or saving it in a secure manner.

However, not everyone is on board with the security mechanisms set in place with the Robinhood Wallet.

A Reddit poster by the name of “StamInBlack” wasn’t happy with the option of having seed phrases stored on iCloud, while others in the same thread expressed unrelated reservations with the trading platform.

*An additional method to secure the Robinhood Wallet. Source:* *Robinhood.*

However, Kerbrat said the feedback on the Robinhood Wallet thus far has been ”extremely positive.”

The rollout comes two days after Robinhood Markets revealed in a 10-K filing that it received a subpoena from the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in December to conduct an investigation into its cryptocurrency listings, custody and platform operations.

Robinhood subpoenaed by SEC over crypto listings and custody

February 28, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The firm said it received an investigative subpoena in December regarding its crypto listings, crypto custody and platform operations.

Robinhood Markets has revealed thait had received an investigative subpoena from the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) over its digital asset business' crypto listings, custody and platform operations.

In a 10-K filing, the brokerage said it received the investigative subpoena in December shortly after crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy in November, and after "several other major cryptocurrency trading venues and lending platforms earlier in 2022," including Three Arrows Capital, Voyager Digital Holdings and Celsius Network.

The investigative subpoena was in relation to its cryptocurrency listings and custody services, which they said came in response to the crypto bankruptcies last year:

"In December 2022, following the 2022 Crypto Bankruptcies, we received an investigative subpoena from the SEC regarding, among other topics, RHC’s supported cryptocurrencies, custody of cryptocurrencies, and platform operations."

In April 2021, Robinhood received subpoenas from the California Attorney General’s Office seeking information about its crypto arm's trading platform, business and operations, custody of customer assets and coin listings.

Robinhood’s crypto division was hit with a $30 million fine by the New York District of Financial Services (NYDFS) on Aug. 2 for failing to “invest the proper resources and attention to develop and maintain a culture of compliance.”

The brokerage was also scruitinized by the Massachusetts Securities Division (MSD) in August, 2021 for allegedly targeting inexperienced investors.

Investigative subpoenas are issued by a court at the request of another person or entity for the purposes of obtaining the information necessary to decide whether to pursue legal action against the subpoenaed person or entity.

Cointelegraph reached out to Robinhood but the firm declined to comment on the matter.

Voyager subpoenas FTX and Alameda execs as judge orders fee examiner

February 8, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Alameda Research

On behalf of Voyager, law firm Kirkland & Ellis subpoenaed four executives from FTX and Alameda requesting an enormous array of documents.

Lawyers representing bankrupt crypto broker Voyager Digital have served former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and other FTX and Alameda Research executives with subpoenas requesting information.

The subpoenas have a very wide scope, with Voyager’s lawyers seeking copies of any documents and communication between FTX entities and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Department of Justice (DOJ) according to the Feb. 6 filing.

Amongst a plethora of other requested documents, the lawyers also want to see information relating to the loan portfolio between Alameda and Voyager as well as FTX’s financial condition before and after it filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, 2022.

The other executives who were served subpoenas include former Alameda CEO, Caroline Ellison, FTX co-founder, Gary Wang and FTX’s head of product, Ramnik Arora — each was asked to provide the requested information by Feb. 17.

*Little is known about Wang (left) who co-founded FTX with Bankman-Fried, Ellison (right) has cooperated with authorities since the exchange's bankruptcy.*

The financial ties between Voyager and Alameda are deep, with Alameda seeking to recover $446 million it repaid Voyager. In a Jan. 30 filing, it argued because it had paid Voyager back within 90 days of filing for its own bankruptcy it can “claw back” the funds for the benefit of its creditors.

In response, Voyager claimed its creditors had suffered “substantial harm” after Alameda made a bid for Voyager’s assets that it was unable to honor, which cost Voyager $100 million and rendered Alameda’s claim subordinate to those of its other creditors.

Meanwhile, United States bankruptcy judge Michael Wiles said he would be appointing a fee examiner to look at professional fees in Voyager’s Chapter 11 case, according to a Feb. 7 Law360 report.

Congrats to Voyager creditors for several victories today

* Appointment of fee examiner
* Judge ordering release of full report
* Scrutiny on $10M transferred on eve of BK to pay legal fees for directors out of creditors pockets https://t.co/NCswHgc7z3
— Shingo Lavine (@shingolavine) February 7, 2023

Wiles reportedly suggested the professional fees incurred within the bankruptcy case were higher than he expected, and the argument provided by the U.S. Trustee had convinced him that a fee examiner would be beneficial.

Wiles did note that an examiner could end up costing the estate more than it would be able to save in other professional fees, however, and recommended a cap was put on the examiners own fees.

Subpoena