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☆ The ultimate insider's guide to the dramatic downfall of Sam Bankman-Fried, Caroline Ellison, and FTX
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Sam Bankman-Fried is facing criminal charges and is expected to enter a plea on Jan. 3. Read Insider's coverage of Bankman-Fried:FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried gets by on 4 hours' sleep and multitasks on 6 screens. Now hit with 7 criminal charges, Ellison has pleaded guilty and expressed contrition before the New York federal court presiding over the criminal cases involving Bankman-Fried. Sam Bankman-Fried is in jail, but legal watchers are wondering: Where's ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison? Sam Bankman-Fried hit with 8 criminal charges, including fraud and conspiracy for allegedly 'misappropriating' FTX customer fundsThe SEC has charged Sam Bankman-Fried and accused him of 'orchestrating a massive, years-long fraud'The criminal charges against Sam Bankman-Fried carry big penalties and jail time if proven, legal experts sayRead the CFTC complaint against FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried and his associates Caroline Ellison and Gary WangThe charges against Caroline Ellison, SBF, and FTX cofounder Gary Wang — in 60 seconds

☆ From TerraUSD's meltdown to the collapse of a $32 billion crypto empire, here is a full timeline of the crypto market's year in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Insider spoke with several crypto experts and charted the most influential events for the industry in 2022. The firm filed for insolvency in June, leading to widespread contagion. A month later, the firm filed for bankruptcy, listing $4.31 billion in assets and $5.5 billion in liabilities. The world's largest asset manager agreed to offer clients access to Coinbase's crypto trading and custody services. Radix's Epstein warned the industry must brace for more FTX contagion, but predicted crypto markets will rebound eventually.

☆ Bitcoin still has a big opportunity in payments despite 60% drop this year and choppy waters ahead
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Investors are constantly reminded that despite the myriad coins, projects and innovations in crypto, bitcoin may be the only "safe" crypto asset to buy. And while Tesla didn't credit the volatility for its reversal, many observers saw it as evidence that the belief in bitcoin's payments capabilities were misguided. "Bitcoin's price on any given day — as a remittance vehicle — has no effect on us," he said. The group that runs the Lightning Network, a payment protocol built on the Bitcoin network, is committed to making Bitcoin network payments even faster, less costly and more readily confirmed than transactions made directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. Crypto investors, on the other hand, were "disproportionately high-income, almost always had a traditional banking relationship, and typically had other retirement savings."

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSolana soars, and Bahamian regulator says it seized $3.5 billion of FTX assets: CNBC Crypto WorldCNBC 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. On today's show, Konstantin Richter, the founder and CEO of Blockdaemon, breaks down whether crypto's adoption rate will slow down following the collapse of FTX.

Critically, experts say, nothing that's transpired in the crypto market in 2022 undermines the inherent value of the blockchain. "So while this has been a shock to the market, a lot of people in the space remain sanguine about the future of blockchain technology." He said stock trading, buying and selling real estate, and borrowing and lending money remain ripe for disruption by blockchain technology. "The ethereum blockchain could turn out to be this major infrastructure layer for the future of technological services," Abner said. He said prospective crypto users must prepare for a steep learning curve going forward, because it ultimately involves trusting only yourself to be in charge of your assets.

The events of the year took many investors by surprise and made the task of predicting bitcoin's price that much harder. The crypto market was awash with pundits making feverish calls about where bitcoin was heading next. When asked about his $250,000 target earlier this month, the Draper Associates founder told CNBC $250,000 "is still my number" — but he's extending his prediction by six months. The entrepreneur says he's also done making bitcoin price predictions. Buehler said lack of risk management in the crypto industry, missing regulation and fraud have also been major factors affecting prices.

☆ Analysts expect these Nasdaq stocks to rally in 2023, with some forecast to double
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Though the Nasdaq Composite has been beaten down in 2022, there are some stocks that could rally in the new year. Nearly half, or 48.8%, of analysts rate the stock a buy, with the average price target implying the stock could rally 115.2% over the next year. Further down the list, Advanced Micro Devices could rally 37.6%, based on the average analyst price target. Pandemic darling Zoom also made the list, as the video conferencing platform has an average price target showing it could gain 31.2%. Just above one-fifth, or 21.6%, of analysts rate the stock a buy.

☆ Black Americans saw crypto as a path to building wealth. Now they're bearing the brunt of its decline.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Many Black Americans have invested in cryptocurrency in recent years. Closing the wealth gap is among the reasons some Black investors turned to crypto in the first place. As of September 2021, 18% of Black Americans overall had invested in, traded, or used a cryptocurrency, compared to 13% of white Americans, according to a Pew Research poll of over 10,000 US adults. First, some Black investors may see crypto as a way to close the racial wealth gap. An April Ariel and Charles Schwab survey found 28% of Black Americans distrust banks, compared to 18% of white Americans.

☆ Mark Cuban says last year's crypto boom was '99% noise' – and Sam Bankman-Fried's arrest could pop the bubble
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Mark Cuban said there's still some underlying value in crypto despite the ongoing sell-off. "99% of it was noise but there's real value there," he told 'The Problem with Jon Stewart' Monday. Cuban added that Sam Bankman-Fried's arrest on fraud charges will force crypto to "get its act together". "There's the signal and the noise," Cuban told Apple TV+'s "The Problem with Jon Stewart". Stablecoin issuer Terra and hedge fund Three Arrows Capital collapsed earlier in 2022 as the crypto selloff brought to light potential instabilities in the digital asset sector.

☆ FTX flameout showed investors bought crypto for the wrong reasons. Why most are hoping that'll change in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In some ways, disgraced FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried helped bring more legitimacy to crypto, pushing it further into the mainstream. Decentralized finance has exploded in popularity, but there are other uses for digital assets that people are excited about. Now is a good time for investors to gain knowledge, and doing so would help them solidify their crypto investment thesis in 2023, he said. Specifically, Blumberg added, leaving funds on centralized exchanges is far more dangerous than keeping custody of funds yourself. "The smart investors are seeing this and remembering that what we have here is a fixed supply and, growing demand."

☆ A US recession is coming - here are 5 reasons why
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Bank of America's strategists said the US could fall into a recession over the next 10 to 12 weeks. Bank stocks have tumbled in recent days. Frankly, a broad recession won't be a surprise to anyone at this point (especially Opening Bell readers). In other news:Whether or not the US is in a recession is a politically charged debate. These nine funds offer strong positioning through a recession and into the next bull market, in Bank of America's view.

☆ FTX's collapse prompted the largest-ever outflow of bitcoin from crypto exchanges, with investors pulling $1.5 billion last month
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In November, investors pulled nearly $1.5 billion in bitcoin from crypto exchanges. The fallout of FTX's collapse has rocked the crypto market, and November's bitcoin outflows were the highest ever. Meanwhile, in the first week of December, investors pulled 4,545 bitcoin from centralized exchanges, up from 3,846 in the same period in 2021. Former FTX Group CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's downfall has renewed concerns about the safety of user funds held in centralized exchanges. All this has weighed on public confidence in crypto, and traders have grown more wary over security.

☆ Send Sam Bankman-Fried to prison, Elon Musk suggests, while Binance's boss calls him a 'master manipulator'. 8 top figures weigh in on the disgraced FTX founder.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is racking up critics after the implosion of his crypto exchange. Here's what top voices like Elon Musk, Bill Ackman and Binance boss CZ have said, in 8 top quotes. Now the crypto CEO is under fire from all sides, from Elon Musk and Bill Ackman to "Shark Tank" investor Mark Cuban. Given that, the crypto exchange boss said he feels like the mainstream media has given Bankman-Fried softball interviews. The crypto bull believes Bankman-Fried will probably end up in jail, but doesn't think he was acting alone.

☆ Binance boss says Sam Bankman-Fried's trading firm tried to undermine key token Tether — risking a crypto rout
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Binance boss Changpeng Zhao accused Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research of trying to drive down the price of Tether, according to the New York Times. The stablecoin’s collapse would likely trigger a crypto crash, analysts have warned. US federal prosecutors are already investigating Bankman-Fried for manipulating the price of both of those cryptocurrencies, the New York Times reported Wednesday. Having reached $1 again in July, Tether slipped away to fall to $0.9963 on November 10 as FTX's bankruptcy sent ripples through the crypto sector. Analysts have repeatedly warned that the stablecoin's collapse would cause a wider crypto crash — and argued that Tether poses a systemic risk to the crypto sector.

☆ Social media financial content is a 'Wild West.' Here are the red flags to watch out for before investing your money
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Platforms should implement checks and balances for their content, Yang said. But there are red flags that people should watch for in the content they consume before they put their money at risk. By taking a balanced approach to your investments, that will give you the biggest chance to create long-term wealth, Barnes said. But it is possible to spot these schemes by doing some research on your own and comparing an investment's promises to normal returns, Yang said. The S&P 500 Index 's returns over the past 40 or 50 years would be a good benchmark, he said.

☆ Goldman Sachs plans to spend millions on crypto-related investments after FTX's downfall, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Goldman Sachs plans on spending tens of millions on crypto company investments, Reuters reported. "We have seen more client interest since the demise of FTX," Goldman's head of digital assets said. In fact, the Wall Street giant plans to spend "tens of millions" on investments in crypto companies even after FTX's implosion, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Amid continued layoffs in crypto, Goldman sees the time as a recruitment opportunity to snatch up talent in the industry. Goldman Sachs did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The answer is simple, according to more than a dozen Washington insiders, FTX employees, and crypto industry observers who spoke with Insider. I don't think anyone believed that he was going to fund candidates who were, quote unquote, committed to ending pandemics who were also hostile to the crypto industry." Alex Wong/Getty ImagesRebuffed by the SEC, Bankman-Fried turned his attention to Congress. "It's not that he was welcoming regulation," says the senior figure in the crypto industry who attended meetings with Bankman-Fried. But while Bankman-Fried was busy wooing Washington, FTX was about to become Exhibit A in the case for more effective oversight of the crypto industry.

☆ The unraveling of $3 billion crypto lender BlockFi amid FTX's 'death spiral', according to bankruptcy filings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The crypto platform owes $30 million to the SEC, per bankruptcy filings. FTX, which once offered BlockFi a $400 million credit line, ultimately led to the firm's bankruptcy. BlockFi cited significant exposure to Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire, which filed for bankruptcy on November 11. Ironically, once FTX's "death spiral" began, BlockFi's liquidity crisis ensued and the company paused user account withdrawals on its platform. Due to the loan agreement and $355 million in digital assets held on FTX, BlockFi had substantial exposure.

☆ The SEC is suing real-estate mogul Kent Swig's shady crypto partner for perpetuating a 'pump-and-dump' scheme with a different gold-backed crypto currency
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Alex Nicoll | Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Now the SEC is suing the CEO of Swig's company for an earlier, separate gold-backed crypto scam. According to the SEC, Braverman was said to be the chief operating officer of one of two companies the regulator targeted in the complaint. When Swig's company announced Digau, cryptocurrencies were on a sugar high, with bitcoin trading above $60,000. Neither Swig nor Dignity Gold would reveal to Business Insider any of the specific site locations where the company plans to mine. To extract the gold, Swig partnered with a mining company called Apache Mill Tailings.

☆ Andreessen Horowitz's buzzy tech publication Future is shutting down
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Rob Price | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

A source familiar with Andreessen Horowitz's content strategy confirmed to Insider that Future is shutting down. An Andreessen Horowitz spokesperson declined to comment on the record. Joe LonsdaleIn this new climate, many tech and venture firms' media strategy has shifted from glorified marketing to a more full-fledged editorial operation. In 2021, an army of more than two dozen marketers at Andreessen Horowitz doubled down on this approach. Disclosure: Melia Russell's husband is a former employee of Andreessen Horowitz.

☆ The rise and fall of FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried, who became a crypto billionaire in just 4 years before losing most of his wealth in a day and resigning from his beleaguered company
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | Sarah Jackson | Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sam Bankman-Fried catapulted into a crypto billionaire, but it took just one day for most of his fortune to be wiped out. The co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and Alameda Research saw his net worth plummet from nearly $16 billion to $1 billion. He had a cryptocurrency exchange called FTX, a trading firm called Alameda Research, and $15.6 billion to his name, according to estimates from Bloomberg. On November 11, FTX announced Bankman-Fried was resigning as CEO and would be replaced by John J. Ray III. In addition, FTX, Alameda Research, and roughly 130 affiliated companies have begun Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

☆ Crypto startup MoonPay hires Time president to lead its enterprise business
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Riley De León | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In this article LTH Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTKeith Grossman, Time president TIMEPieces Artist Jeremy CowartTime president Keith Grossman is leaving the legacy publisher to take on a new role as the president of enterprise at crypto startup MoonPay, effective December 31. Before his three-plus years at Time, Grossman had held leadership posts at major publishers including Bloomberg and Condé Nast-owned Wired. "I think it's important to separate a bad actor from an industry," Grossman said of the FTX fallout. Crypto's confidence crisisIn the 12 months since bitcoin topped out at over $68,000, the crypto industry, once valued at roughly $3 trillion, has fallen to around $900 billion. Enterprise adoption has been fueling this belief, with companies including Nike , McDonald's , Adidas and Starbucks launching their own NFT collections.

☆ Mark Cuban still believes in crypto's fundamental value but thinks FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried is headed for jail
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban isn't giving up on cryptocurrencies despite the collapse of FTX. He told TMZ on Saturday that crypto still has underlying value, urging people to "separate the signal from the noise." As for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, Cuban said "I don't know all the details, but if I were him, I'd be afraid of going to jail for a long time." The billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team and "Shark Tank" investor told TMZ on Saturday that faith in fundamentals outweigh the short-term turbulence. Cuban also touched on Bankman-Fried, and said that the former FTX chief executive should be worried about potential jail time.

☆ Cathie Wood breaks down FTX, Elon Musk, and Twitter in a new interview. Here are her 9 best quotes.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Cathie Wood spoke to Bloomberg on Tuesday in a wide-ranging conversation on crypto, FTX, Elon Musk, and investing. She compared Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX to Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, and shared her thoughts on Elon Musk, Twitter, and Tesla. "We do think bitcoin — and you can see through the behavior of the infrastructure it hasn't skipped a beat, not one beat — it's more secure than yesterday, the day before, the day before. "We think bitcoin is coming out of this smelling like a rose." "Think about the amount of data Twitter has, and think about the combination of that and artificial intelligence.

☆ How FTX's implosion put crypto news sites like CoinDesk, The Block, and Decrypt in the spotlight as they work to fend off an ad slump and conspiracy theories about their coverage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Reed Alexander | Steven Perlberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Crypto news sites like CoinDesk, The Block, and Decrypt have dominated coverage of the FTX implosion. Now, crypto media staffers are wondering whether more dominoes falling from FTX could further hurt the industry or cripple their ad revenues. "We cover the good, the bad and the ugly," Dan Roberts, the editor-in-chief of Decrypt, told Insider. "In general, I think these things are good for crypto media," he said. Stacy-Marie Ishmael, the managing editor for Bloomberg's crypto team, likened burgeoning crypto coverage to 1990s coverage of the Internet.

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