DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Penthouse to prison: Sam Bankman-Fried's journey from crypto king to convicted conman
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of failed crypto exchange FTX, will head on Thursday to a federal court in downtown Manhattan, where U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan will deliver his sentencing. After a month of personally dabbling in the market, Bankman-Fried launched Alameda Research, named after the California county that housed his first office. The so-called crypto winter of 2022 wiped out hedge funds and lenders across the crypto universe. May of 2022 brought the crash of stablecoin Luna, creating a domino effect that sent crypto prices plunging, devastating other lenders. On Nov. 2, 2022, crypto trade site CoinDesk publicized details of Alameda's balance sheet, which showed $14.6 billion in assets.

Persons: Samuel Bankman, MacKenzie Sigalos, Sam Bankman, Fried, Damian Williams, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, they'd, FTX, Amr Alfiky, Jane Street, Goldman Sachs, stablecoin Luna, Solana, Changpeng Zhao, Binance, Zhao, Jane Rosenberg, he'd, Cromwell, John J, Ray, confidants, — CNBC's Rohan Goswami Organizations: CNBC, Metropolitan Detention, U.S, District, Prosecutors, Reuters, Jane, Alameda Research, Formula, Democratic, Voyager, Alameda, FTX, Industry, Investors, Enron, Securities and Exchange Commission, Stanford University Locations: San Francisco, he's, Brooklyn, Manhattan, U.S, New York City, South Korea, Alameda, California, Miami, Washington, Solana, FTX, New York, Palo Alto , California

☆ Celsius Network pivots to bitcoin mining after bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Celsius Network logo and representations of cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration taken, June 13, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Crypto lender Celsius Network has scaled back its post-bankruptcy business plans to focus only on bitcoin mining, citing U.S. regulators' skepticism of its other planned business lines. A U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan had approved Celsius' Chapter 11 plan on Nov. 9, clearing the company to return cryptocurrency to customers and create a new company owned by Celsius creditors. The SEC did not definitively say during Celsius' bankruptcy case whether the new company's business plans would violate U.S. law, but it reserved the right to make that determination later. Bitcoin mining was always meant to be the "core business" of the new company, Celsius said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, BlockFi, Dietrich Knauth, Alexia Garamfalvi, Richard Chang Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Securities & Exchange Commission, SEC, Arrington Capital, Bitcoin Corp, Voyager, Thomson Locations: U.S, Manhattan, New Jersey

☆ Crypto lender Celsius Network cleared to exit bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Crypto lender Celsius Network received U.S. bankruptcy court approval for a restructuring plan that will return cryptocurrency to customers and create a new company owned by Celsius creditors. Crypto lenders BlockFi and Voyager Digital were wiped out in bankruptcy, and cryptocurrency exchange FTX remains stuck in Chapter 11 proceedings. In addition to their stake in the new company, Celsius customers will receive a partial repayment of the cryptocurrency assets they deposited on the platform. Celsius had 600,000 customers who held about $4.4 billion in interest-bearing Celsius accounts when it filed for bankruptcy, according to court documents. The restructuring plan includes a settlement that values Celsius's proprietary crypto token, CEL, at 25 cents.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Martin Glenn, Michael Arrington, BlockFi, Arrington, Alex Mashinsky, Mashinsky, Dietrich Knauth, Alexia Garamfalvi, Lisa Shumaker, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Bankruptcy, LLC, Arrington Capital, Voyager, Nasdaq, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New Jersey, New York

☆ A timeline of Sam Bankman-Fried trial: Key moments leading up to FTX founder's conviction
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Indicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves the United States Courthouse in New York City, U.S., July 26, 2023. MAY 2019Bankman-Fried and former Google employee Gary Wang found FTX as a new platform to trade crypto tokens and derivatives. Bankman-Fried debuts on the Forbes billionaires list, which estimates his net worth at $22.5 billion. Alameda gives crypto lender Voyager Digital a $200 million credit facility, and FTX gives lender BlockFi a $250 million loan. In a post-arrest blog post, Bankman-Fried denies stealing funds and blames FTX's collapse on a broader downturn in crypto markets.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Amr Alfiky, Gary Wang, Larry David, CoinDesk, Binance, FTX, Changpeng Zhao, David, Tom Brady, Wang, Caroline Ellison, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Nishad Singh, Kaplan revokes, Luc Cohen, Noeleen Walder, Daniel Wallis Organizations: United, REUTERS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Jane Street Capital, Alameda Research, Google, Forbes, Alameda, NFL, DEC, U.S, District, New York Times, Metropolitan Detention Center, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Alameda, Bahamas, Manhattan, United States, Palo Alto , California, New York

☆ Who is former crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Samantha Delouya | Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York (CNN) — Sam Bankman-Fried, once known as a cryptocurrency whiz kid, was found guilty on Thursday for his role in the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. His entrepreneurial drive didn’t stop there: In 2019, Bankman-Fried co-founded cryptocurrency exchange FTX and became its CEO. In December 2022, Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas after US prosecutors filed criminal charges against him. Jane Rosenberg/ReutersBankman-Fried was found guilty of stealing billions of dollars from accounts belonging to customers of his once-high-flying crypto exchange FTX. Immediately following FTX’s crash, crypto exchange Gemini, which was founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, froze customer redemptions in its lending unit, citing market turmoil.

Persons: — Sam Bankman, FTX, Jane Street, ”, Fried, “, …, ” Sam Bankman, Erika P, Rodriguez, Jane, Caroline Ellison, Binance, Sam Bankman, Danielle Sassoon, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Jane Rosenberg, Joe Bankman, Barbara Fried, Bankman, Allan Joseph Bankman, Yuki Iwamura, Samuel Bankman, Saul Loeb, ingratiated, Tom Brady, Stephen Curry, Naomi Osaka, Larry David, Cameron, Tyler Winklevoss Organizations: CNN, Jane, Capital, MIT, Alameda Research, Chicago Tribune, Tribune, Service, SoftBank, U.S, District, Reuters, Bloomberg, Royal Bahamas Police Force, Billionaire, Stanford, FTX, Getty, Democratic Party, Federal, Commission, Republican, Agriculture, Nutrition, Forestry, Miami Heat, ”, New Locations: York, Alameda, North Berkeley , California, Nassau, Bahamas, BlackRock, Bankman, Hong Kong, United States, FTT, New York City, U.S, FTX, New York, Washington ,

☆ Crypto lender BlockFi begins post-bankruptcy wind-down
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO; Figurines with smartphones and computers are seen in front of the BlockFi logo in this illustration, November 28, 2022. BlockFi estimated in court filings that customers who had interest-bearing Earn accounts will receive between 39.4% and 100% of the value in their accounts. In its bankruptcy filing in November 2022, BlockFi had cited its loans to FTX's sister firm Alameda as one of the reasons for its collapse. Those with BlockFi Interest Accounts and Retail Loans will be repaid over the coming months, but the amounts they receive could vary based on the outcome of the FTX bankruptcy, BlockFi said. Crypto lenders, the de facto banks of the crypto world, boomed during the pandemic, attracting retail customers with double-digit rates in return for their crypto deposits.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, BlockFi, Sam Bankman, Fried, Crypto, Niket, Dietrich Knauth, Shailesh Kuber, Anil D'Silva, Will Dunham Organizations: REUTERS, Arrows Capital, Thomson Locations: Jersey City , New Jersey, Alameda, Manhattan, Bengaluru, New York

Eventually, according to Ellison, Bankman-Fried chose the one that omitted a line saying "FTX borrows," hiding $10 billion in borrowed customer money. When asked by Sassoon why she continued with the scheme, Ellison said, "Sam told me to." She said Bankman-Fried told her she should have hedged and, "speaking loudly and strongly," said it was her fault. CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesEllison then went into her own emotional state. After all the movement of FTX money, the company only had $4 billion to cover $12 billion in customer holdings, she said.

Persons: Caroline Ellison, Yuki Iwamura, Sam Bankman, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Ellison, Fried, Danielle Sassoon, Genesis, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, Bankman, FTX, Mark Cohen, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Jane Rosenberg, Sassoon, Sam, Mohammed bin Salman, Jane Street, Slack, she'd, who'd, sloppily Organizations: Alameda Research, Bloomberg, Getty, Saudi Crown, U.S, District, Federal Court, Reuters, Stanford, Bankman, Wall, Alameda, New York Times, MBS, Vox, Forbes, Twitter, Toyota Corolla, Fried Bloomberg Locations: New York, Bankman, Alameda, FTX, New York City, U.S, San Francisco Bay, Saudi, Japan

Wang, 30, is one of three FTX insiders who have pleaded guilty to fraud charges and entered a cooperation agreement with the government. Wang testified on Thursday that while at FTX, he created software code at the direction of Bankman-Fried that gave "special privileges" to Alameda, allowing it to withdraw unlimited funds. While Wang is the first cooperator to take the stand, jurors have so far heard from three other witnesses. He said Bankman-Fried appeared worried and told him the companies were "not bulletproof" as they had been the year before. Zac Prince, the founder of crypto lender BlockFi, is among the witnesses expected to testify after Wang finishes when the trial resumes next Tuesday.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Eduardo Munoz, Gary Wang, Wang, Fried, FTX, Matt Huang, Adam Yedidia, Zac Prince, Jody Godoy, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, Alameda Research, Prosecutors, Alameda, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Alameda, FTX

REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 3 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial, which is set to kick off on Tuesday, marks the culmination of a yearlong legal saga stemming from the dramatic collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded. Below is a timeline of key events leading up to the 31-year-old former billionaire's trial. MAY 2019Bankman-Fried and former Google employee Gary Wang found FTX as a new platform to trade crypto tokens and derivatives. Alameda gives crypto lender Voyager Digital a $200 million credit facility, and FTX gives lender BlockFi a $250 million loan. In a post-arrest blog post, Bankman-Fried denies stealing funds and blames FTX's collapse on a broader downturn in crypto markets.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Eduardo Munoz, Gary Wang, Larry David, Fried, CoinDesk, Binance, FTX, Changpeng Zhao, David, Tom Brady, Wang, Caroline Ellison, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Nishad Singh, Kaplan revokes, Luc Cohen, Noeleen Walder, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Jane Street Capital, Alameda Research, Google, Forbes, Alameda, NFL, DEC, U.S, District, New York Times, Metropolitan Detention Center, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Alameda, Bahamas, Manhattan, United States, Palo Alto , California

On day one of Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal trial, assistant U.S. attorney, Danielle Sassoon, rattled off a lengthy list of potential witnesses who might be called to testify for either the government or the defense. The list, which was compiled jointly by both sides, was released during the afternoon session and included Bankman-Fried's brother, Gabe, as well his parents, Allan Joseph Bankman and his wife, Barbara Fried. Parents of the disgraced former CEO of FTX are themselves the subject of new scrutiny. Other entities that may take the witness stand included various venture funds and crypto-focused companies like Genesis, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Ontario Teachers Pension Fund, Third Point, Signature Bank, and Voyager Digital. Many of these businesses were hurt or wiped out by the collapse in cryptocurrency prices triggered in part by FTX's implosion.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Danielle Sassoon, Gabe, Allan Joseph Bankman, Barbara Fried, Ellison, FTX, Wang, Anthony Scaramucci, Fried Alfred Lin, Sequoia Capital Zac Prince, Michael Lewis Organizations: Alameda Research, U.S, SkyBridge, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Ontario, Pension Fund, Signature Bank, Voyager Locations: Bankman, Manhattan

☆ The $8 billion Sam Bankman-Fried criminal trial starts today — here's what's at stake and how we got here
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +19 min

In the first trial, Bankman-Fried faces seven criminal counts related to the collapse of the crypto empire he built, including wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. Alameda, FTX and a host of subsidiaries Bankman-Fried founded filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware. FTX's own terms of use specifically forbade him, or Alameda, from using customer money for anything — unless the customer allowed it. And from FTX's inception, there was a lot of customer money. Bankman-Fried and other executives admitted to each other that "FTX customer funds were irrevocably lost because Alameda had appropriated them."

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Ellison, FTX, Wang, Judge Lewis Kaplan, Samuel Bankman, MacKenzie Sigalos, San Francisco —, SBF, Wang —, Nishad Singh —, Goldman Sachs, Binance, Damian Williams, Rehypothecation, —, Crypto, Solana, Zhao, he'd, Cromwell, John J, Ray, John Ray's, — CNBC's Rohan Goswami Organizations: Alameda Research, Southern, of, Stanford, MIT, U.S, New York Times, Bankman, That's, CNBC, Jane, Capital, University of California, Formula, Democratic, Twitter, Securities Exchange Commission, SEC, Futures Trading, United States Attorney's Office, CFTC, Alameda, Alameda didn't, Voyager, BlockFi, FTX, Industry, Investors, Zhao, Publicly, Sullivan, Enron Locations: Bahamas, Manhattan, New York, Alameda, of New York, FTX, Brooklyn , New York, San Francisco, South Korea, Alameda , California, Fried's Alameda, Berkeley, Miami, Washington, Delaware, California, Federal, Solana, Fried

☆ Robinhood pays $605 million for 55 million shares once owned by Sam Bankman-Fried following a 4-way tussle
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Robinhood bought 55 million of its shares worth $605 million that Sam Bankman-Fried once owned. Robinhood, SBF, FTX, and a bankrupt crypto lender had all laid claim to the seized shares. AdvertisementAdvertisementRobinhood has bought back more than $600 million worth of its own shares that were owned by Sam Bankman-Fried before his arrest. In a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Friday, the trading platform said it had acquired 55 million shares from the United States Marshal Service (USMS). Shares in Robinhood closed 2% higher Friday following the release of the filing, valuing the company at about $10 billion.

Persons: Robinhood, Sam Bankman, Fried, FTX, BlockFi Organizations: Department of Justice, Morning, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, United States Marshal Service, DoJ, Emergent Fidelity Technologies, Emergent Fidelity, Marshal Service Locations: Bankman, Robinhood

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFTX, Genesis and BlockFi customer data compromised in Kroll breachCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry.

Persons: explainers Organizations: Kroll, CNBC

☆ Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital predicts 35% customer payout
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - Crypto lender Voyager Digital said Wednesday that customers will recover about 35% of their cryptocurrency deposits as the company winds down its operations after a failed buyout attempt by crypto exchange Binance.US. It initially sought to sell its assets for $1.42 billion to FTX, a deal that failed when FTX imploded in November. If Voyager fully prevails in the FTX litigation, customers' expected recovery would be 63.74%, according to Voyager's court filings. Voyager intends to repay customers with the same type of cryptocurrency that they had in their accounts. Voyager was one of several crypto lenders to file for bankruptcy in 2022 after a boom in the COVID-19 pandemic.

☆ Startups want to use blockchain technology to improve the carbon-credit markets. Here's why big names in the climate industry are warming up to the idea.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Startups including Toucan and Topl are building blockchain tools for issuing carbon credits. Several companies, including Toucan, Return, Topl, and Open Forest Protocol, are now aiming to improve the transparency and reliability of carbon credits by coupling climate initiatives with blockchain technology. Erin MurphyThe need for greater transparency in carbon marketsCompanies buy carbon credits to offset the amount of greenhouse-gas emissions their business activity generates. Aureus EarthThe potential benefits of credits on the blockchainThat's where blockchain technology comes in, Murphy and other proponents said. Despite the flaws of that initial attempt, it showed ample market demand for blockchain-based carbon credits, Hoopes said.

☆ Lawmakers seek details on ‘unusually cozy’ ties between tech executives and SVB
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Democratic lawmakers sent letters to 14 of the largest depositors at Silicon Valley Bank, seeking details about the lender’s “unusually cozy” relationships with its well-heeled clients. Silicon Valley Bank was known to cater to the tech startup world. But Warren and Ocasio-Cortez, citing media reports, raised concerns about whether the bank’s relationships went beyond industry standards and potentially hastened its collapse last month. SVB reportedly provided lower-interest-rate mortgages for tech start-up founders whom other banks wouldn’t lend to, according to the New York Times, while sponsoring industry ski trips, conferences, and fancy dinners, the lawmakers wrote. “Silicon Valley Bank’s unusually cozy relationship with its clients increased the threat of contagion when the bank went under,” said Senator Warren in a statement.

☆ Warren, AOC press top Silicon Valley Bank depositors about any cushy treatment they received
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Two top progressive lawmakers questioned whether Silicon Valley Bank offered its largest depositors unusually cushy treatment, one month after the institution collapsed and sparked broader damage to the banking system. "Silicon Valley Bank's unusually cozy relationship with its clients increased the threat of contagion when the bank went under," Warren said in a statement. "The American people deserve to know how these mutual backscratching arrangements developed, who benefitted from them, and what role they played in Silicon Valley Bank's failure." Over 95% of the bank's deposits were uninsured as of December, which threatened companies' ability to make payroll after the bank failed. Warren and Ocasio-Cortez asked the depositors to provide details on any special treatment they received from SVB by April 24.

☆ SVB depositors including Roku and Roblox are under scrutiny from Elizabeth Warren and AOC for their 'unusually cozy' relationships with the failed bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Top SVB depositors got letters from Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "Silicon Valley Bank's unusually cozy relationship with its clients increased the threat of contagion when the bank went under." The Democrats representing Massachusetts and New York on Sunday sent letters to 14 of SVB's largest depositors about a month after SVB's implosion, the report said. "Silicon Valley Bank's unusually cozy relationship with its clients increased the threat of contagion when the bank went under," Warren told Bloomberg in a statement. Warren and Ocasio-Cortez also sent letters to BILL, Eiger, Ginkgo Bioworks, iRhythm Technologies, LendingClub, Oncorus, Payoneer Global, Protagonist Therapeutics, Rocket Lab USA, and Sangamo Therapeutics.

☆ Factbox: Which companies are affected by SVB collapse?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

ROKU (ROKU.O)Streaming devices maker says it has about $487 million, or 26% of its cash and cash equivalents, held in deposits with SVB. CIRCLEUS cryptocurrency firm Circle says $3.3 billion of its $40 billion of USD Coin reserves are at SVB. BLOCKFIBankrupt crypto lender BlockFi Inc has roughly $227 million in unprotected funds at SVB, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. VIR BIOTECHNOLOGY (VIR.O)Biotech firm says it maintains operating accounts at SVB with about $220 million as of Friday. EUROPEAround 16 tech and life sciences companies in Europe have disclosed about $190 million in exposure to SVB in the UK and the United States.

☆ Bankrupt BlockFi Has $227 Million in Unprotected Funds at Silicon Valley Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Becky Yerak | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi Inc. faces risks of having its funds locked up at Silicon Valley Bank, which collapsed Friday after a run on deposits doomed the bank’s plans to raise fresh capital. BlockFi, which filed for bankruptcy in November, had roughly $227 million in unprotected funds at the bank, the U.S. Trustee, a unit at the Justice Department overseeing bankruptcies, said in a court filing Friday.

☆ Coinbase, Gemini and other big crypto names have rushed to ditch Silvergate after the bank warned of building troubles
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Zinya Salfiti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Crypto companies are cutting ties with Silvergate, once the go-to bank for digital currenciesThis comes after the crypto bank flagged doubts about its survival. Coinbase, Paxos Trust, Circle Internet Financial and Galaxy Digital Holdings all said Thursday they plan to suspend banking with Silvergate, as did the Winklevoss twins' Gemini. The exodus of crypto exchanges, stablecoin issuers and trading desks came after Silvergate flagged doubts about its future in business. Shares have fallen almost 95% in the past 12 months, as more than a dozen of its crypto firm customers shut down, were fined or came under investigation. Silvergate used to be the go-to bank for the biggest names in crypto, operating a key payments network used for real-time transfers between the firms.

☆ Premarket stocks: What you need to know about this earnings season
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —About 99% of all S&P 500 companies have reported fourth quarter earnings and the results aren’t great. Companies listed in the S&P 500 index beat analysts’ earnings estimates by an average of just 1.3% last quarter. The market is “rewarding positive earnings surprises more than average and punishing negative earnings surprises much less than average for the fourth quarter,” reports FactSet. Inflation is (still) a big dealMore than 325 S&P 500 companies have cited the term “inflation” during their earnings calls for the fourth quarter. This marks the lowest number of S&P 500 companies using the “I”-word on their calls since the third quarter of 2021.

☆ Visa, Mastercard pause crypto push in wake of industry meltdown - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Manya Saini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The crypto industry saw a stunning reversal of fortunes in 2022 as bankruptcies of industry majors FTX and BlockFi rattled investors and increased regulatory scrutiny on the sector. Card companies, which pocket a small percentage of the dollar value of transactions they process, had announced multiple partnerships with crypto firms and put in place dedicated teams to explore blockchain technology. Mastercard teamed up with crypto lender Nexo in April to launch what it called the world's first "crypto-backed" payment card. But it is not viewing crypto tokens as a strategic priority in the near-term, a source familiar with the matter said. They are related to an uncertain regulatory environment for crypto and demand/interest for crypto services declining in the near term."

☆ Robinhood says it was subpoenaed by the SEC soon after FTX crashed as regulators crack down on the crypto world
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Robinhood said it received an investigative subpoena by the SEC in December soon after FTX's collapse. The subpoena called for information regarding the trading app's crypto business, it said in a 10-K filing. Regulators are clamping down on the crypto industry following the FTX fiasco – targeting firms including Gemini and Kraken. The investigative subpoena asked for information regarding the company's "supported cryptocurrency listings, custody of cryptocurrencies, and platform operations," it said. At the same time, the company said it will buy back shares seized from FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried worth more than half a billion.

☆ Crypto Company CoinEx Sued by New York Over Failure to Register
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

The New York attorney general’s office has sued cryptocurrency platform CoinEx, alleging it failed to register as a securities and commodities broker-dealer and misrepresented itself as a crypto exchange. But New York prosecutors said CoinEx isn’t registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or designated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as an exchange, as required by New York state law. The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James said its prosecutors also were able to buy and sell crypto on CoinEx in New York, despite the fact the company isn’t registered in the state. New York law requires securities and commodities brokers to register with the state to do business there. The suit, announced Wednesday, is the latest action by the New York attorney general in policing the crypto sector and using the state’s laws to protect investors.

Search resuls for: "BlockFi"

25 mentions found