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☆ Caroline Ellison made $6 million at Alameda – a fraction of Sam Bankman-Fried's $2.2 billion's haul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Pete Syme | Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Caroline Ellison received $6 million by Alameda, according to court documents filed Wednesday. Sam Bankman-Fried transferred himself $2.2 billion, while $587 million went to Nishad Singh. Alameda Research has been accused of using customer deposits from Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange FTX for daily operations, including risky investments. FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 11 after it imploded, wiping out billions in customer deposits. Court documents filed Wednesday show he transferred $2.5 million from Alameda to American Yacht Group in March 2022, with the cited reason "for the benefit of John Samuel Trabucco."

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried, U.S. prosecutors near new bail agreement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 17 (Reuters) - Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried are nearing an agreement with U.S. prosecutors on revised bail conditions for the indicted FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder, who is trying to convince a skeptical judge he should remain free. Bankman-Fried's lawyers have said their client was trying to help, not interfere. At the March 10 hearing, prosecutors and defense lawyers proposed giving Bankman-Fried a flip phone with no internet capability and a basic laptop with limited functions. In Friday's letter, Everdell also sought the judge's permission to let Bankman-Fried in the meantime use a laptop to access some FTX materials. The case is U.S. v. Bankman-Fried, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ Victims of the Fed: How a year of rate hikes cratered stocks - and fueled the demise of FTX and Silicon Valley Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US central bank has lifted borrowing costs from near-zero to just under 5%, starting with its initial raise on March 16, 2022. Lender Silicon Valley Bank failed and FTX imploded after borrowing costs rose. "Stocks had become reliant on low interest rates as a crutch," Dan Kemp, CIO at Morningstar Investment Management, told Insider. "If valuations had been lower, then the reaction to the Fed's rate hikes would've been far less severe." Rising interest rates in a particular country tend to strengthen its currency, because they attract foreign investors seeking higher yields.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's companies racked up a $400,000 DoorDash bill, documents show, after reportedly giving staff $200 a day to spend on food deliveries
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Court documents filed Wednesday show Sam Bankman-Fried's companies spent over $400,000 with DoorDash. FTX US gave employees $200 of DoorDash food credit every day, the FT previously reported. The documents filed in the Delaware bankruptcy court on Wednesday show bills of a combined $403,765 from the food delivery firm to FTX entities. The food delivery company is still owed $46,239 by Alameda, the documents show. Former employees previously told the Financial Times that FTX US gave employees $200 of DoorDash food credits a day.

☆ Bodycam footage shows cops forcefully arresting a Black family at a Starbucks car park. A jury awarded them $8.25 million in damages.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Black mother and her two daughters were detained at a Starbucks car park in California in 2019. A California jury awarded the family more than $8 million on Wednesday, court documents show. After an altercation, Holland ordered all three family members out of the car and detained them, the video shows. The Alameda County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to Insider's for comment. It happened in a Starbucks car park, not in the actual shop.

☆ FTX transferred $2.2 bln to Bankman-Fried via related entities, new managers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 16 (Reuters) - Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX made transfers of about $2.2 billion to company founder Sam Bankman-Fried through related entities, the company's new management said. Overall more than $3.2 billion was transferred through payments and loans to company founders and key employees, FTX said in a statement on Wednesday. FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in November, saying it was unable to completely repay customers who had deposited funds on its exchange. FTX's new CEO, John Ray, has said his top priority was recovering assets to repay FTX customers. read moreReporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank show the risks of banks concentrating in one area
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Crypto-focused Silvergate , which announced its plans to liquidate this week, is suffering from woes similar to that of failed Silicon Valley Bank . That is, Silvergate's distress is linked to rising interest rates – rather than the whims of digital assets. There is also an impact from the rising interest rate environment banks now find themselves in. "As the bank of choice for crypto, Silvergate Bank's failure is disappointing, but predictable," she tweeted Wednesday afternoon . Now, customers must be made whole [and] regulators should step up against crypto risk."

☆ Judge to weigh Bankman-Fried's trial schedule, bail conditions at hearing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | 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: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge is expected on Friday to consider what restrictions Sam Bankman-Fried should face while free on bail, and whether the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder's Oct. 2 fraud trial should be pushed back. In a letter to Kaplan on Wednesday, Bankman-Fried's lawyers said they may need more time than expected to review the evidence and prepare a defense in light of the new charges. Ellison and Wang, once among Bankman-Fried's closest associates, have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government. Prosecutors, defense lawyers and Kaplan began revisiting Bankman-Fried's bail conditions after the government said he sought to contact FTX Chief Executive John Ray and an in-house lawyer in what prosecutors described as a possible attempt to tamper with witnesses. Defense lawyers said Bankman-Fried was trying to help, not interfere.

☆ FTX's former chief engineer hands over his $3.7 million vacation home to the US government as it's believed to be linked to his crimes, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX's Nishad Singh forfeited a $3.7 million vacation home to the US government, Bloomberg reported. The SEC accused Singh of withdrawing $6 million from FTX for personal expenditure. Singh pleaded guilty to six criminal counts including wire fraud and conspiracy charges in February. The Securities and Exchange Commission separately accused Singh of creating a code that allowed Bankman-Fried to easily divert the funds to Alameda. They also accused him of taking $6 million from FTX for personal expenditure and making donations to charity.

☆ Judge concerned Sam Bankman-Fried is too ‘technologically savvy,’ could find a way around tech restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Lauren Del Valle | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan indicated at a hearing Friday he might modify FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions, but only after attorneys further tighten the restrictions on Bankman-Fried’s access to technology. Kaplan said he’s still not convinced that the founder of bankrupt crypto trading platform FTX wouldn’t be able to circumvent the more-restrictive bail conditions that were filed last week. “If he’s determined and inventive and I suspect he’s very inventive and technologically savvy he could find a way around it and conceivably not get caught,” Kaplan said in court Friday. Bankman-Fried, who did not attend Friday’s hearing, is currently under house arrest at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, Calif. Judge Kaplan asked the defense to submit an updated bail modification order that would tighten the restrictions to address his concerns.

☆ Crypto bank Silvergate says it'll shut down as the market meltdown claims its 1st mainstream casualty
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"In light of recent industry and regulatory developments, Silvergate believes that an orderly wind down of bank operations and a voluntary liquidation of the bank is the best path forward," Silvergate Capital, the holding company for Silvergate Bank, said Wednesday. But the combination of the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest-rate hikes and FTX's collapse in November cast a shadow over its future. Last week, Exness strategist Wael Makarem warned of the potential fallout for the crypto market and industry. "As a result, the market could be exposed to new price corrections while investors could be concerned about a potential impact on other market players," he said. Read more: Troubled crypto bank Silvergate sees regulators swoop in to try to help it stay afloat

☆ Bodycam footage shows cops forcefully arresting a Black family at Starbucks. A jury awarded them $8.25 million in damages.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Black mother and her two daughters were detained at a Starbucks in California in September 2019. Bodycam footage shows the family were handcuffed after the mother refused to show her ID. A California jury awarded the family more than $8 million on Wednesday, court documents show. After an altercation, Holland ordered all three family members out of the car and detained them, the video shows. The Alameda County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to Insider's for comment.

NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers said on Wednesday it may be necessary to delay the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder's scheduled Oct. 2 criminal trial, arguing it may take more time than expected to review the evidence and prepare a defense. Both have since pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. "While we are not making such an application at this time, we wanted to note this issue for the Court now," Christian Everdell, one of Bankman-Fried's lawyers, wrote in the letter. Bankman-Fried was released on $250 million bond and has been under house arrest at his parents' Palo Alto, California home. The trial schedule and Bankman-Fried's bail conditions are expected to be discussed at a court hearing on Friday.

☆ Analysis: Bankman-Fried's bid to shift blame complicated by new charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | 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: +4 min

Former FTX technology chief Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, formerly the CEO of Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research hedge fund, had each previously pleaded guilty and are cooperating. Bankman-Fried previously pleaded not guilty to stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at Alameda. The 31-year-old former billionaire and his lawyers have suggested they will attempt to shift blame onto Ellison and dispute her expected testimony at his Oct. 2 trial. In unveiling the new charges in a superseding indictment, prosecutors dismissed the idea that Bankman-Fried was in the dark about his former colleagues' crimes. Despite the hurdles, experts said Bankman-Fried will still likely dispute that he knew former members of his inner circle were breaking the law, Kasten said.

☆ More pain for the crypto industry means a chance for startups to pivot
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

After an awful 2022 that saw one of the industry's high-profile figures implode, the crypto market is looking for a bounceback. McDermott laid out to Insider's Bianca Chan and Dakin Campbell how tough times for crypto startups mean more realistic valuations and, in some cases, a reevaluation of the business model. Once of the most common critiques I hear about crypto is "It's a solution looking for a problem." The most recent crypto winter could force startups to be a bit more pragmatic about the specific problem they are looking to address. "If you can solve fraud in crypto, you can solve fraud in basically any part of finance," Meier told Insider.

Companies Grayscale Investments LLC FollowMarch 6 (Reuters) - FTX said on Monday its affiliate Alameda Research had sued asset manager Grayscale Investments for imposing a "redemption ban" that "could realize over a quarter billion dollars" of asset value for the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange's customers. If Grayscale had reduced its fees and did not implement redemption prevention measures, which the cryptocurrency exchange alleges are improper, FTX's shares would be worth nearly 90% more than the current value of those locked up with the asset manager, FTX said. FTX also accused Grayscale owner Digital Currency Group of breaching trust agreements and fiduciary duties. Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Gourmet fish bladder races chicken, beef to profitability in Singapore's lab meat push
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Chen Lin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Two years after Singapore greenlighted lab-grown meat for human consumption, mass production has yet to start. The technological, regulatory and scale barriers to entry for cultivated meat are very high compared to plant-based meat, said Didier Toubia, chief executive of Israel's Aleph Farms, which makes cultivated beef steak. "It's too high and it's embarrassing ... We lose money every time someone enjoys our cultivated chicken," Eat Just CEO Josh Tetrick said. Hong Kong-based Avant Meats is more bullish than Eat Just, with ambitions to make a premium food, cultivated fish maw. Fish maw is the swim bladder of a fish, a delicacy prized in China that could fetch up to thousands of dollars per kilogram, depending on its grade.

☆ Why Silvergate’s post-FTX financial woes could spell trouble ahead for crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Further, the spillover into a traditional bank and its stock price could fuel regulators' arguments that crypto poses a systemic risk. The big problem in crypto is that to buy bitcoin, you eventually have to interact with the traditional banking system. Silvergate's crypto bet worked for the bank, particularly in bull markets. A big part of Silvergate's crypto banking efforts was the Silvergate Exchange Network, better known as SEN, a platform that institutions used to move money to crypto exchanges. Custodia is a Wyoming-chartered special purpose depository institution designed to bridge the crypto and traditional banking systems.

NEW YORK, March 4 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried should be allowed while on bail to have a flip phone with no internet capability and a basic laptop with limited functions, but be forbidden from using other electronic communication devices, the U.S. Department of Justice said. The judge said he did not want to set Bankman-Fried "loose in this garden of electronic devices," following accusations that Bankman-Fried tried to contact possible government witnesses and used a virtual private network to watch football. The proposed flip phone or other non-smartphone for Bankman-Fried would be limited to voice calls and SMS text messages. Laptop internet use would be restricted to specified virtual private networks, 23 websites for personal use including news, sports and food delivery, and websites to help Bankman-Fried prepare for his scheduled Oct. 2 trial. The parents agreed to submit sworn affidavits that they would not bring other electronic devices into their home or let their son use theirs.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried is now restricted to a flip phone with 'no internet,' but can still watch Netflix on a laptop
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The letter said he can use a flip phone or non-smartphone device with "no internet capabilities." The FTX founder and his parents have been required to install security software on their devices. He is now allowed to use "a flip phone or other non-smartphone with either no internet capabilities or internet capabilities disabled," prosecutors wrote. They will also be required to install security software on their devices that will take periodic videos and selfies of them, the letter stated. Representatives for Bankman-Fried didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider made outside normal working hours.

☆ Prosecutors want Sam Bankman-Fried to use a flip phone as part of a more restrictive bail package
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The use of a flip phone, or some non-smartphone, is one of several restrictions that prosecutors and Sam Bankman-Fried’s attorneys are jointly asking the judge to approve. Bankman-Fried also would be restricted from scrolling the internet, with his access limited to court-approved websites. The lawyers proposed several sites to help prepare his defense, including YouTube, read-only websites showing crypto prices, and research websites. Bankman-Fried also asked to view others for his personal use, including news sites, Netflix, Spotify, Uber Eats, Amazon and baseball and football sites. The judge previously raised concerns about Bankman-Fried’s access to his parents’ computers, cell phones and internet.

☆ FTX has a massive $9.5 billion shortfall in top crypto and cash needed to repay customers, the bankrupt exchange's new bosses say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

FTX has a $9.5 billion shortfall in top crypto and cash to repay customers, bankruptcy lawyers say. Just $694 million in assets of $2.2 billion recovered are easy to cash in. FTX US also has a shortfall, with $191 million in assets versus $335 million of customer claims and $283 million of related party claims payable. In January, bankruptcy lawyers said they had recovered $5.5 billion in liquid assets from FTX. The Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has estimated that $8 billion of client money had been lost by the exchange.

☆ Silvergate Capital shares drop more than 50% after the crypto bank delays its annual report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of Silvergate Capital plummeted Thursday after the bank delayed the filing of its annual 10-K report as it evaluates events that have happened since the end of 2022. The company, which provides banking services to crypto businesses, was last lower by 52%. JPMorgan downgraded Silvergate shares Thursday along with other Wall Street analysts. Silvergate is has been facing several challenges since the end of last year, following the blowup of crypto exchange FTX. The crypto services company said in a statement that has de minimis corporate exposure to Silvergate and that it has stopped accepting or initiating payments to or from Silvergate.

☆ Silvergate slumps 28% after delaying annual report, warning about viability
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 1 (Reuters) - Silvergate Capital (SI.N) shares plummeted 28% late on Wednesday after the cryptocurrency-focused bank warned it was delaying its annual report and said it was evaluating its ability to operate as a going concern. Federal prosecutors in Washington are probing Silvergate and its dealings with FTX and Alameda Research. In January, three U.S. senators asked Silvergate for details about its risk management practices and its dealings with FTX. "The Company is currently analyzing certain regulatory and other inquiries and investigations that are pending with respect to the Company," Silvergate wrote in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. Silvergate said it does not expect to file its report by an extension date of March 16.

☆ Meet the real Rosie the Riveter, who was unknown until a years-long investigation revealed her identity
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Erin Mcdowell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Rosie the Riveter is one of the most iconic images in pop-culture history. For 30 years, Geraldine Hoff Doyle was believed to be the inspiration for Rosie the Riveter. An investigation in the 2000s found that another worker, Naomi Parker Fraley, inspired the image. For three decades, Geraldine Hoff Doyle was widely acknowledged as the inspiration behind Rosie the Riveter. However, an investigation conducted in the 2000s revealed that Naomi Parker Fraley, who worked at the Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, had served as the true inspiration behind the image.

Persons: Rosie, Geraldine Hoff Doyle, Rosie the, Naomi Parker Fraley, — Organizations: Service, Naval Air Station, Business Locations: Alameda , California

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