ftx
Dems and Reps join forces to pressure SBF to testify before Congress
The leadership with the United States House Financial Services Committee have separately called on former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to appear in an investigative hearing scheduled for Dec. 13. In Dec. 2 posts on Twitter, House Financial Services Committee chair Maxine Waters, a Democrat, and ranking member Patrick McHenry, a Republican, requested SBF speak at a hearing aimed at investigating the events around the collapse of FTX. It’s unclear if the U.S. lawmakers intended the former FTX CEO to appear in person or remotely from the Bahamas. “[Sam Bankman-Fried], we appreciate that you’ve been candid in your discussions about what happened at FTX,” said Waters. “Your willingness to talk to the public will help the company’s customers, investors, and others.” “As you said, [Sam B...
FTX US ex-president reportedly seeks $6M funding to launch crypto startup
Just a month after the controversial fall of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange and 130 affiliated companies, a former high-ranking executive is reportedly seeking out investors to launch a crypto startup. The ex-president of FTX US, Brett Harrison, is on the lookout for $6 million in funding to launch a start-up that would build crypto trading software for big investors, according to The Information. Harrison’s funding round would be against a $60 million valuation. On Sept. 27, Harrison announced his plans to step down as the president of FTX US as he moved into an advisory role — over a month before the infamous fall of FTX. As a result, the entrepreneur was not immediately accused of having direct involvement in misappropriating users’ funds. Like most here, I was surprised and saddened ...
Never mind FTX — Fine arts institutions should still onboard to blockchain
The reality is that blockchain technology can still deliver substantial benefits, particularly within the fine arts. And for those who have been paying attention, 2022 has been a year of incredible normalization for nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Simply put, major institutions across various sectors have dipped their toes into Web3. In November, Instagram announced that creators would soon have the functionality to make and sell NFTs. Apple similarly announced in September that NFTs could be sold in its App Store. Put together, that’s 3.5 billion people (2 billion from Instagram and 1.5 billion from the App Store). Although each of these major institutions has its own quirks and rules, most notably the fees associated with using their platforms, the reality is that they are still some of the l...
DeFi ecosystem still haunted by FTX contagion: Finance Redefined
Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you significant developments over the last week. The FTX contagion that started in the second week of November is still haunting various crypto protocols in the DeFi ecosystem. The latest to fall prey to the contagion includes the Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX) Serum, of which Alameda and FTX were backers. Another DeFi crypto trading firm Auros Global missed its principal repayment on a 2,400 Wrapped Ether (wETH) DeFi loan. Looking at some other key news in the DeFi ecosystem, popular DEX protocol Uniswap launched its nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace aggregator, allowing users on the platform to trade NFTs. Ankr became the latest victim of an explo...
Mike Novogratz: Bankman-Fried is ‘delusional’ and headed to jail
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has been lambasted this week following a series of controversial public appearances, with Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz one of the latest to dish out a lashing to the former kingpin of crypto. On Dec. 1, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz unleashed a tirade of criticism towards SBF concerning his interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times annual DealBook Summit on Nov. 30. Speaking to Bloomberg, Novogratz characterized SBF as “delusional” following his declaration in the live interview that he never tried to commit fraud. “It’s kind of surprising that his lawyers are letting him speak,” Novogratz said before adding “having watched two interviews, the word delusional kept coming to mind.” The lambasting didn’t stop there with Novogratz ec...
US Senate committee hearing on FTX fail brings gaps in regulatory authority to light
United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Rostin Behnam told a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee meeting Dec. 1 that his agency’s regulations contain “core elements that have served the markets for decades.” But as the fallout from the FTX collapse gets sorted out, notable gaps in current legislation have come to light, Behnam and the senators agreed. Sen. Tina Smith called the FTX collapse “shocking, not surprising,” and said that future crises will continue to occur as long as regulatory gaps remain. Behnam pointed out that the Securities and Exchange Commission has the authority to require basic safeguards be in place, such as separation of house and customer money and best execution of investment trades. “We know how to do this,” Behnam said. Non...
What is tokenization and how are banks tapping into its design principles?
Tokenization is the process of converting something with tangible or intangible value into digital tokens. Tangible assets like real estate, stocks or art can be tokenized. In a similar vein, intangible assets like voting rights and loyalty points can be tokenized, too. We see Avios as an example of tokenized loyalty points by the traditional credit card industry. However, when tokens are created on a blockchain, they add a level of transparency that previous iterations of tokens couldn’t achieve. There are several banks that are experimenting with tokenization. But, before diving into the use cases in banking, it would be useful to understand the qualitative advantages that tokenization brings to financial services. As major financial institutions enter the crypto space, they pay spe...
DEX token GMX rallies 35% after beating Uniswap on trading fees for the first time
The price of GMX rallied to its second-highest level in history on Dec. 1 as traders assessed the decentralized exchange’s ability to evolve as a serious competitor to its top rival Uniswap (UNI). GMX established an intraday high of $54.50 in a recovery that started on Nov. 29 from $40.50. Its rally’s beginning coincided with crypto research firm Delphi Digital’s tweet on the GMX decentralized exchange, as shown below. GMX/USD four-hour price chart. Source: TradingView GMX beats Uniswap in fees for the first time Notably, GMX had earned about $1.15 million in daily trading fees on Nov. 28, which surpassed Uniswap’s $1.06 million trading fees on the same day. GMX Flipped Uniswap in Daily Fees on Nov. 28. Source: Delphi Digital This seemingly renewed buyin...
Crypto trading firm Auros Global misses DeFi payment due to FTX contagion
Crypto trading firm Auros Global appears to be suffering from FTX contagion after missing a principal repayment on a 2,400 Wrapped Ether (wETH) decentralized finance (DeFi) loan. Institutional credit underwriter M11 Credit, which manages liquidity pools on Maple Finance, told its followers in a Nov. 30 Twitter thread that the Auros had missed a principal payment on the 2,400 wETH loan, which is worth in total around $3 million. M11 Credit suggests that it is always in close communication with its borrowers, particularly after events in the last month, and said Auros is experiencing a “short-term liquidity issue as a result of the FTX insolvency.” We remain committed to providing transparent updates whenever possible, and are working with Auros to provide a joint statement that provides fur...
Legal professionals astonished as SBF admits failures, apologizes 12 times in interview
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried apologized or admitted failure at least 12 times during his appearance at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit on Nov. 30. In a wide-ranging video interview, Bankman-Fried was asked to answer a number of questions surrounding the downfall of the now-defunct exchange, with some even suggesting that some of his statements could be used to incriminate him in legal proceedings. In a Nov. 30 Twitter post, crypto attorney Jeremy Hogan, Partner at Hogan & Hogan said that the “light cross-examination” of Bankman-Fried at the DealBook Summit has already returned “at least 3 incriminating statements so far.” SBF is getting a light cross-examination at the NYT/Dealbook Summit and has made at least 3 incriminating statements so far. Why are his lawyers (...
Bankman-Fried claims: ‘I unknowingly commingled funds’ at DealBook Summit
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has claimed to have “unknowingly commingled funds” between Alameda and customer funds at FTX. Bankman-Fried was speaking at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit via video conference on Nov. 30, in which journalist Andrew Sorkin noted “there appears to be a genuine commingling of the funds that are FTX customers that were not supposed to be commingled with your separate firm.” Sam Bankman-Fried speaking at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit. Source: New York Times Bankman-Fried denied knowing about the commingled funds and blamed it on poor oversight. “I unknowingly commingled funds […] I was frankly surprised by how big Alameda’s position was which points to another failure of oversight on my part and failure to appoint someone to be chiefly in ...
FTM price rebounds 50% as Fantom reveals 30 years runway (without having to sell its token)
Fantom (FTM) continued its upward momentum on Nov. 30 amid reports that the Fantom Foundation generates consistent profits and has 30 years of runway without having to sell any FTM tokens. Fantom’s FTM holdings up from 3% to 14% FTM price gained nearly 13.5% to reach $0.24, its highest level in three weeks. The rally came as a part of a broader rebound trend that started when it bottomed out at around $0.17 on Nov. 22. This amounts to a 50% price rebound in the last eight days. Interestingly, the rally picked up momentum after the Fantom Foundation’s “Architect,” Andre Cronje, released the firm’s financial records on Nov. 28, revealing that it had $340 million worth of digital assets and had been earning over $10 million annually. Notably: ...
