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☆ How Sam Bankman-Fried's ex-girlfriend and early recruit helped put the FTX founder behind bars for 25 years
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Yuki Iwamura | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesIn sentencing FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to a 25-year prison sentence on Thursday, Judge Lewis Kaplan cited testimony from Caroline Ellison, an ex-girlfriend of the defendant and early recruit into his crypto enterprise. In a Google document from February 2022 shared with the Times, Ellison wrote, "I have been feeling pretty unhappy and overwhelmed with my job. The government presented a series of Signal exchanges involving Bankman-Fried, Ellison, Wang and other top execs. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Prosecutors relied heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Prosecutors relied heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried.

Persons: Caroline Ellison, Yuki Iwamura, FTX, Sam Bankman, Judge Lewis Kaplan, Kaplan, Ellison, FTX spiraled, Damian Williams, she's, Fried, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Jane Rosenberg, SBF Ellison, She'd, Michael Lewis, Caroline, Sam, Lewis, Nishad Singh, Gary Wang, Attorney Thane Rehn, Bankman, Binance, Sam Trabucco, Danielle Sassoon, Wang, SDNY Ellison, Um Organizations: Alameda Research, Bloomberg, Getty, Department of Justice, Manhattan U.S, U.S, District, Federal Court, Reuters, Jane, Stanford, Alameda, The New York Times, Times, Attorney, Google, Alameda's Locations: New York, Manhattan, FTX, New York City, Fried, California, Hong Kong, Bahamas, Alameda

☆ Circle confidentially files for IPO following banner year for crypto stocks
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The public listing is expected to take place once the SEC finishes its review, "subject to market and other conditions," Circle said in the two-paragraph press release Thursday. Founded in 2013, Circle is best known as the issuer of USD Coin, the world's second-biggest U.S. dollar pegged stablecoin, which was launched in 2018. But the SPAC market collapsed in 2022, and Circle ended that agreement in December of that year, just after crypto exchange FTX spiraled into bankruptcy. Coinbase , which took a stake in Circle in August, jumped almost 400% in value in 2023, and other crypto stocks such as MicroStrategy and bitcoin miner Marathon Digital enjoyed hefty rallies. WATCH: SEC approves spot bitcoin ETFs

Persons: USDC, Bitcoin, — CNBC's Rohan Goswami Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, U.S, Concord, Corp, Marathon Digital

☆ Secret recording of Caroline Ellison meeting with Alameda staff exposed in SBF criminal trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Caroline Ellison, former chief executive officer of Alameda Research LLC, leaves Manhattan Federal Court after testifying during the trial of FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, on October 10, 2023 in New York City. Rick Best, a trader who had joined Alameda just days earlier, was directly to Ellison's right and secretly recording the meeting as audio. "Alameda borrowed a bunch of money," which it used to make investments, Ellison said on the recording. At one point on the recording, Ellison giggled. "FTX basically always allowed Alameda to, like, borrow user funds, as far as I know" she said on the recording.

Persons: Caroline Ellison, Sam Bankman, Christian Drappi, Drappi, He's, Rick Best, Ellison, FTX, Ellison giggled, Um, Sam Organizations: Alameda Research, Bankman Locations: Manhattan, New York City, Hong Kong, Alameda, Bahamas, FTX, YOLO

☆ FTX ex-engineering chief Nishad Singh pleads guilty to criminal charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, arrives at court in New York, US, on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. FTX ex-engineering head Nishad Singh pleaded guilty to criminal charges in New York on Tuesday, becoming the latest member of Sam Bankman-Fried's former leadership team to agree to a deal. The six charges against Singh include conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws. In December, Bankman-Fried was charged with eight criminal accounts, including securities fraud and money laundering. Two of the charges against Singh are related to wire fraud and another is conspiracy to commit commodities fraud.

☆ House Republicans move to regulate crypto industry with a new subcommittee
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The unregulated nature of the crypto industry emerged as a pressing concern late last year after the collapse in November of crypto exchange FTX. Hill has been an enthusiastic supporter of the crypto industry. Emmer described actions taken by Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler as "haphazard and unfocused." Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have already begun to prepare their own efforts to oversee the crypto industry and dictate enforcement actions. The commission charged crypto lender Genesis and crypto exchange Gemini with the unregistered sale and offering of securities on Thursday, the same day that Hill announced the subcommittee.

Silbert is the founder of Digital Currency Group (DCG), a crypto conglomerate that includes the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and trading platform Genesis. Winklevoss, along with his brother Tyler, co-founded Gemini, a popular crypto exchange that, unlike many of its peers, is subject to New York banking regulation. Winklevoss and Silbert were linked through an offering called Earn, a nearly two-year-old product from Gemini that promoted returns of up to 8% on customer deposits. With Earn, Gemini loaned client money to Genesis for placement across various crypto trading desks and borrowers. Silbert has avoided responding directly to Winklevoss' latest accusation, though the company has taken up his defense.

Three people close to FTX and Bankman-Fried told CNBC that the former CEO lobbied aggressively for a partnership with 11-time Grammy Award winner Taylor Swift. Bankman-Fried's commitment to getting the Swift deal done despite the deteriorating business environment fit a pattern of ignoring his lieutenants and going it alone, a half-dozen former company insiders and business partners said. The Financial Times reported earlier that FTX held talks with Swift about a potential sponsorship. Part of the Swift deal would have included the production by the singer of a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or digital items that can rise and fall in value. Beyond that, there was a lack of clarity over what Swift would be doing for the company, sources said.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's Robinhood stake is tied up in FTX bankruptcy proceedings, CEO Tenev says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Robinhood Markets, Inc. CEO and co-founder Vlad Tenev and co-founder Baiju Bhatt pose with Robinhood signage on Wall Street after the company's IPO in New York City, U.S., July 29, 2021. Robinhood Markets CEO Vlad Tenev said Tuesday he's unclear what Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former CEO of FTX, is going to do with his 7.6% stake in his trading app. In May, Bankman-Fried took a 7.6% stake in Robinhood worth $648 million in the belief that the shares "represent an attractive investment." As FTX spiraled into bankruptcy, Bankman-Fried's Robinhood stake became the biggest liquid line item on his balance sheet that he could potentially sell. The Robinhood CEO said he's still bullish on cryptocurrencies despite the FTX collapse.

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