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Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and chief executive officer of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, during a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. Serious red flags around Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX emerged before the now-embattled cryptocurrency exchange even launched, according to an early would-be investor. Alex Pack, now the managing partner of New York-based venture capital firm Hack VC, said he met Bankman-Fried in 2018. Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO of FTX last Friday as the crypto company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In 2018, Bankman-Fried was a relatively unknown founder seeking a deal in the emerging crypto market.

☆ An executive at an FTX affiliate threw up when he learnt of the crypto exchange's impending collapse, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX Digital Markets' co-CEO threw up when he learnt of FTX's problems, sources told the WSJ. A former EY senior tax account, Salame joined Alameda in 2019 before helping him set up FTX parent company FTX Trading Ltd. In September 2021 Salame became co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, which describes itself as the Bahamian subsidiary of FTX Trading Ltd. "FTX Digital Markets offers users regulated access to FTX's industry-leading derivatives, options, volatility products, and other FTX products and services," it says on its LinkedIn page. FTX Digital Markets filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday in the Southern District of New York.

☆ FTX suggests Sam Bankman-Fried transferred assets to Bahamas government custody after bankruptcy: Filing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

FTX in a bombshell emergency court filing Thursday said evidence suggests Bahamian regulators directed former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to gain "unauthorized access" to FTX systems to obtain digital assets belonging to the company after it had filed for bankruptcy protection. The filing said that Bankman-Fried transferred those assets to the custody of the Bahamian government. It cites an interview published by Vox on Wednesday where Bankman-Fried expresses serious disdain for regulators. In that motion, FTX said the alleged conduct puts "in serious question" a request by Bahamian regulators for recognition as liquidators in the bankruptcy. The appointment of the JPLs and recognition of the Chapter 15 Case are thus in serious question," the filing continued.

☆ The market is not adequately pricing in recession risk, says Cantor Fitzgerald's Eric Johnston
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe market is not adequately pricing in recession risk, says Cantor Fitzgerald's Eric JohnstonEric Johnston, Cantor Fitzgerald head of equity derivatives and cross asset, joins 'Closing Bell' to remark on his latest bearish call, earnings estimates and valuations risks in 2023 and the trajectory of Fed policy.

☆ Crypto broker Genesis suspends redemptions, new loans to shore up liquidity
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Genesis is temporarily suspending redemptions and new loan originations at its lending business, the crypto broker saidon Wednesday, the latest sign of the industry fallout from last week's collapse of major crypto exchange FTX. loading"We have taken the difficult decision to temporarily suspend redemptions and new loan originations in the lending business. We are working diligently to shore up the necessary liquidity to meet our lending client obligations," a Genesis spokesperson said in a statement. The suspension at Genesis "has no impact on the business operations of DCG and our other wholly owned subsidiaries", Digital Currency Group tweeted. Genesis Trading's derivatives business has approximately $175 million in locked funds on FTX, the company said Thursday.

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Crypto broker Genesis Global Capital is suspending redemptions and new loan originations at its lending business, it said on Wednesday, in the latest sign of the industry fallout from last week's collapse of major crypto exchange FTX. "We have taken the difficult decision to temporarily suspend redemptions and new loan originations in the lending business. We are working diligently to shore up the necessary liquidity to meet our lending client obligations," a Genesis spokesperson said in a statement. U.S. court filings showed Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX's founder, is being sued in a U.S. class action by investors alleging the company's yield-bearing crypto accounts violated Florida law. The proposed class action filed late on Tuesday in Miami alleges that FTX yield-bearing accounts were unregistered securities that were unlawfully sold in the United States.

☆ A powerful rally has been driven largely by short covering, but valuations are now very rich
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

It's a sign of how powerful this recent market rally has become. While long buying has been a factor in the rally, "I am seeing short covering recently as the market is surging," he told me. In the second week of November, he saw traders cover $22.1 billion in short bets on S & P 500 stocks. "It is now consensus the Fed will be almost done in the next few months, that China's zero Covid [policy] will be eased, so that is priced into the market," Johnston told me. "If you think the upside for stocks is only 4% [in the near future], you might as well buy a money market fund," Johnston said.

The lending arm of the bank serves an institutional client base and is known as Genesis Global Capital. Genesis Trading, which acts as Genesis Global Capital's broker/dealer, is independently capitalized and operated separately from that lending unit, interim CEO Derar Islim told customers on a call Wednesday, according to CoinDesk. He reportedly added that Genesis' trading and custody services remain fully operational. Sam Bankman-Fried's cryptocurrency exchange FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. last week, according to a company statement posted on Twitter. Approximately 130 additional affiliated companies are part of the proceedings, including Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried's crypto trading firm, and FTX.us, the company's U.S. subsidiary.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried wanted to let retail investors borrow money to trade crypto derivatives: CFTC head
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

He also wanted to offer the contracts directly to users, without having to go through a futures commission merchant. Prior to its bankruptcy filing last week, FTX had a registered derivatives platform with the CFTC called FTX US Derivatives. FTX US Derivatives is one of the few FTX-related properties that's not a part of its bankruptcy proceedings and remains operational today. And Zach Dexter, who was CEO of FTX US Derivatives, says on his LinkedIn profile that he's CEO at LedgerX. Since then, LedgerX has reportedly withdrawn its application for leveraged derivatives trading.

☆ Energy firms' derivatives are financial stability risk, says ECB
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( John O'Donnell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Regulators and policymakers have been examining whether companies' use of such complex instruments, largely unregulated, threatens financial stability. "The volatility in ... energy markets ... has also affected the derivative markets which energy sector firms use to manage risk," the ECB said in its biannual Financial Stability Review, pointing to a concentration of such activity with a small number of big energy firms. The central bank said that about half of energy traders with power and gas derivatives could be hit with similar margin calls should prices rise. Policymakers in Brussels are also concerned and recently circulated a paper suggesting extending tough rules applied to banks to energy firms that trade derivatives. Energy companies say derivatives are chiefly to hedge or protect themselves against swings in prices.

☆ The fallout of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX spreads as Gemini Earn and Genesis Global Capital suspend withdrawals
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The crypto lending arm of Genesis Global Trading is suspending customer withdrawals, days after Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX filed for bankruptcy. Gemini Earn, run by the Winklevoss brothers, said it also paused withdrawals on its lending program. Genesis Global Capital is the lending partner of the Gemini Earn program, which lets users to lend their crypto to institutional borrowers. Genesis Global Capital, which is the crypto-lending arm of Genesis Global Trading, cited "the extreme market dislocation and loss of industry confidence caused by the FTX implosion," according to CoinDesk. Genesis Global Trading is capitalized separately and continues to provide full trading and custody services.

☆ Regulator suspends licence of FTX's Australian unit until mid-May
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Representations of cryptocurrencies are seen in front of displayed FTX logo in this illustration taken November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationNov 16 (Reuters) - The Australian securities regulator has suspended the licence of the local arm of FTX until mid-May next year, it said on Wednesday, adding to the woes of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange as it faces intense global regulatory scrutiny. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) in a statement said FTX Australia's financial services licence will be suspended until mid-May next year, taking back its permit to deal in derivative and foreign exchange contracts to retail and wholesale clients, along with provide general advice. "ASIC is monitoring this situation closely and speaking regularly with international regulators and the external administrators," the regulator said on Wednesday. It added FTX Australia could continue to provide limited financial services for terminating existing derivatives with clients until Dec. 19.

☆ FTX says it could have over 1 million creditors
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Beleaguered cryptocurrency exchange FTX may have more than 1 million creditors, according to a new bankruptcy filing, hinting at the huge impact of its collapse on crypto traders. Last week, when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, FTX indicated that it had more than 100,000 creditors with claims in the case. But in an updated filing Tuesday, lawyers for the company said: “In fact, there could be more than one million creditors in these Chapter 11 Cases.”Typically in such cases, debtors are required to provide a list of the names and addresses of the top 20 unsecured creditors, the lawyers said. Over the past 72 hours, FTX has been in contact with “dozens” of regulators in the U.S. and overseas, the company’s lawyers wrote. Over the weekend, FTX was hit with an apparent cyberattack resulting in the theft of more than $400 million worth of tokens.

☆ FTX crash shares eerie similarities with Bernie Madoff, ex-regulator Sheila Bair says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Sheila Bair, a top regulator during the 2008 financial crisis, told CNN there are eerie similarities between the dramatic rise and fall of Bankman-Fried and FTX and that of infamous Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernie Madoff. Bair notes that 30-year-old Bankman-Fried, like Madoff, proved adept at using his pedigree and connections to seduce sophisticated investors and regulators into missing “red flags” hiding in plain sight. Up until the bankruptcy filing, FTX even had an application pending with federal regulators to clear derivatives, The Wall Street Journal reported. FTX’s bankruptcy filing indicates it had liabilities of $10 billion to $50 billion at the time of the filing. — If you are an FTX customer and want to discuss how you have been impacted by the bankruptcy, please reach out to Matt.Egan@CNN.com

☆ U.K. Pensions Dabble in Stock Derivatives After Bond Blowup
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Julie Steinberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON—Derivatives almost blew up the British bond market. In response, some U.K. pension funds are adding more of them to their stock portfolios. The crisis fueled by LDI, or liability-driven investment strategies, has forced pensions to set aside more cash to meet higher collateral requirements for bond positions. To adjust, some pensions are freeing up cash from their equity holdings, by switching some investments into derivatives such as futures and total-return swaps.

☆ Factbox: From Genesis to Voyager, crypto firms' exposure to FTX is coming to light
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoNov 17 (Reuters) - After major crypto exchange FTX filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection on Friday, the crypto industry is bracing for further fallout. While the extent of the contagion across crypto markets remains unclear, here are some firms that have given information about their exposure to FTX. GENESISThe crypto lending arm of U.S. digital asset broker Genesis Trading suspended customer redemptions on Wednesday, citing the sudden failure of FTX. It said it had no exposure to FTT, no exposure to Alameda Research and no loans to FTX. COINSHARESCrypto asset manager CoinShares has $30.3 million worth of exposure to crypto exchange FTX, CoinShares said in a statement on Nov. 10.

☆ How the smart money got fooled by Sam Bankman-Fried: Here's what happened to 2 hedge funds and a trader.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

3 traders tell what drew them to FTX and how they now have money stuck inside it. Wintermute, a large crypto trading firm, stopped trading on FTX, but still had some funds stuck on the US exchange, CoinDesk reported. The three traders who spoke to Insider all acknowledged having some amount of money stuck inside FTX, despite some pretty sophisticated risk management strategies. FTX's collapse was precipitated when FTX sent billions of dollars to Alameda to cover losses, The Wall Street Journal reported. Bankman-Fried may now face charges for wire fraud, the Wall Street Journal reported this week after talking with securities lawyers about how the US laws might apply.

☆ David Tepper's hedge fund narrows its holdings, dumps Kohls and Occidental Petroleum
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

David Tepper's Appaloosa Management exited small positions in several big name companies during the third quarter as the hedge fund continued to pull back from stocks. Appaloosa exited positions in Kohl's and Occidental Petroleum that had been worth $66.9 million and $51.5 million, respectively, at the end of June, according to a securities filing released Monday . The fund also zeroed out a stake in Micron Technology valued at $31.8 million and positions in Netflix and Disney that were worth less than $10 million. Appaloosa even trimmed some of its biggest holdings, such as Amazon and Alphabet , when accounting for the Google-parent's stock split in July. The latest moves echoed a similarly strategy in the second quarter, when Appaloosa also cut its equity holdings .

☆ Factbox: From Binance to Voyager, crypto firms' exposure to FTX is coming to light
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - After major crypto exchange FTX filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection on Friday, the crypto industry is bracing for further fallout. While the extent of the contagion across crypto markets remains unclear, here are some firms who have given information about their exposure to FTX. loadingCOINBASECoinbase Global Inc (COIN.O) said in a blog post on Nov. 8 that it had $15 million worth of deposits on FTX. It said it had no exposure to FTT, no exposure to Alameda Research, and no loans to FTX. COINSHARESCrypto asset manager CoinShares has $30.3 million worth of exposure to crypto exchange FTX, CoinShares said in a statement on Nov. 10.

☆ Before his epic fall, Sam Bankman-Fried was hailed as a crypto genius. Some clients saw smoke and mirrors.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Gretchen Morgenson | Gretchen Morgenson Is The Senior Financial Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. A Former Stockbroker | She Won The Pulitzer Prize In For Her | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +14 min

Until a few days ago, Sam Bankman-Fried was the king of crypto. “I’m sorry I didn’t do better,” Bankman-Fried said Tuesday in a message to investors reviewed by NBC News. The contentions of the people who spoke with NBC News are echoed in a 2019 lawsuit brought in federal court against FTX Alameda, Bankman-Fried and other executives. But the crypto market does not have the protections or price transparency found in listed stock markets, for example. FTX and Alameda, as a major crypto exchange and market maker, attracted crypto developers to list their projects for trading.

[1/2] Raindrops hang on a sign for Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., October 26, 2020. "At best it reduced the likelihood of a three-quarter point rate hike in December and brought it down to a half-point hike. ET, Dow e-minis were up 148 points, or 0.44%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 19 points, or 0.48%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 69 points, or 0.59%. Shares of megacap companies extended gains in premarket trading, with Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) up 0.8% after a near 9% surge in the previous session. Reporting by Shubham Batra, Sruthi Shankar and Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SINGAPORE/LONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Regulators are moving in on distressed crypto exchange FTX as it scrambles to raise billions in funds to stave off collapse, while its chief executive, Sam Bankman-Fried, faces heightened scrutiny. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas has frozen assets of FTX Digital Markets, an FTX subsidiary. FTX Australia called in administrators on Friday, the Australian Financial Review reported, citing a company statement. Bankman-Fried is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for potential securities law violations, Bloomberg reported, citing a source. This source said helping out FTX was the question for larger investors in FTX.

Meanwhile, the Securities Commission Of the Bahamas said on Thursday it had frozen assets of FTX Digital Markets, an FTX subsidiary. Broker Genesis Trading disclosed its derivatives business has approximately $175 million in locked funds on FTX. "We believe there is a 20-30% chance of a FTX rescue at best," said Matthew Dibb, chief operating officer of Singapore-based crypto investment manager Stack Funds. He is seeking the remainder from other funds, including current investors such as Sequoia Capital, the source added. It was not clear whether Bankman-Fried will be able to raise the funds he needs or if these investors would participate.

☆ War in Ukraine and weather-related disasters have disrupted climate action. Here are 6 ways the private sector can mobilize sustainable transformation.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Bernhard Lorentz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

War in Ukraine and a slew of weather-related disasters have slowed government progress towards climate action. Here are six ways the private sector can mobilize sustainable transformation. The Ukraine conflict in particular has significantly disrupted decarbonization plans and brought into focus concerns around resilience and sovereignty when it comes to ongoing energy transition efforts. Innovate in line with the energy transition to build resilienceInnovation is at the heart of maintaining competitive edge as it replaces costly and inefficient processes with more effective ones. Bernhard Lorentz is the global consulting sustainability & climate strategy leader at Deloitte and the founding chair of the Deloitte Center for Sustainable Progress.

☆ Goldman Sachs breaks down an options trading strategy with an 18-year track record of adding income to investors' portfolios — and recommends making these 4 trades now
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

As markets weather volatility, the investment bank recommends options trades with these 4 stocks. In a recent note to clients, Goldman Sachs breaks down this options trading strategy that the investment bank says has an 18-year track record of adding extra income to investors' pockets. Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research"These strategies have become increasingly popular among investors, especially given the prospects of flat to negative equity markets. For short-term overwriting options trades, the note focuses on three factors when choosing an "attractive" stock: events, implied volatility, and market cap of the company. "We have found that overwriting stocks with these characteristics has added over 500 bps over the past 16 years," the note said.

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