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☆ Elon Musk says he wants 'Twitter 2.0' to have video chat, voice calls, and encrypted DMs — and has enlisted the help of Signal's founder
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Musk said in the meeting he wants to encrypt DMs for security and add voice and video chat functions. The creator of messaging app Signal, a former Twitter employee, could help with the plans, Musk said. Under the plans, DMs would be encrypted, meaning the text could only be read by participants, as is the case on platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal. Musk added that he had spoken with the creator of Signal, Moxie Marlinspike, an ex-Twitter employee, who is "potentially willing to help out" with encrypting Twitter DMs. In August, an ex-employee was found guilty of spying after passing Twitter users' information to Saudi Arabia, having been paid over $300,000 to do so.

On social media, families say they’ve hunted for hours for Tamiflu and the first-line antibiotics amoxicillin and Augmentin. They have one viral illness after another. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of US states have “high” or “very high” respiratory virus activity. As for the antibiotics amoxicillin and Augmentin – a combination of amoxicillin and clavulanate, an agent that helps guard against antibiotic resistance – it’s not entirely clear why demand is so high. Some viral illness, like influenza, can leave the body more vulnerable to secondary bacterial infections that may need treatment with antibiotics.

☆ Investors flock to short crypto funds, products as negative sentiment deepens -CoinShares
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Crypto products and funds saw inflows of $44 million, as of the week ended Nov. 18, but 75% of those flows represented investments in short crypto products, data showed. The total assets under management have plunged to $22 billion, the lowest in two years, CoinShares said. FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States more than a week ago in the highest-profile crypto implosion to date. CoinShares data also showed that bitcoin posted inflows of $14 million, but when offset by inflows into short investment products, the net flows were a negative $4.3 million. Investors poured in record inflows to short-Ethereum products of $14 million.

☆ This is what kind of legal trouble FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried could now face, based on details from the crypto exchange's latest bankruptcy filing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

FTX's bankruptcy filing shed new light on potential legal trouble for the crypto exchange and its former execs. New CEO John J. Ray III delivered a blistering assessment, calling FTX's implosion " a complete failure of corporate controls." Read some of the most incendiary parts of the bankruptcy filing and what experts say it all might mean. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — delivered daily to your inbox. "The appointment of the Directors will provide the FTX Group with appropriate corporate governance for the first time."

☆ FTX employees were claiming expenses through online chat and random managers used emojis to approve them, new CEO says in bankruptcy filings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX employees claimed expenses through chat messages, its new CEO said. Random managers would then approve the official claims by using personalized emojis, John Ray added. In his damning report, Ray said FTX failed to keep communication, hiring, and financial records. New CEO John Ray said FTX employees submitted payment requests to a "disparate group of supervisors," who would approve expenses "by responding with personalized emojis," FTX's Thursday bankruptcy filing shows. Ray said FTX "never had board meetings" and that the exchange used employees' personal names to purchase real estate in the Bahamas with corporate funds.

☆ Warren Buffett's Berkshire warns about crypto website using its name
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 18 (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N), run by billionaire Warren Buffett, on Friday warned investors it has no affiliation with a purported cryptocurrency brokerage website using the Berkshire Hathaway name. It includes purported customer testimonials and says the broker is regulated in the United States, United Kingdom, Cyprus and South Africa, using incorrect names for two regulators. In a statement, Buffett's company said it learned about the website, berkshirehathawaytx.com, on Friday afternoon. "The entity who has this web address has no affiliation with Berkshire Hathaway Inc or its Chairman and CEO, Warren E. Buffett," Berkshire said. Buffett has run Berkshire Hathaway Inc since 1965.

The new CEO of FTX issued a searing indictment of the company’s operations Thursday in a court filing as part of the company’s ongoing bankruptcy process. New CEO and restructuring officer John Ray wrote that the company had a striking lack of financial records, internal communications or even a clear idea of who worked there. Bankman-Fried and FTX did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Throughout his filing, Ray insisted that the financial records of the organizations overseen by Bankman-Fried are frequently either nonexistent or untrustworthy. “One of the most pervasive failures of the FTX.com business in particular is the absence of lasting records of decision-making,” Ray said.

☆ Emoji for expenses, penthouses and slipshod accounting: The most damning details from new FTX CEO's report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Penthouses, perks and personal items"In the Bahamas, I understand that corporate funds of the FTX Group were used to purchase homes and other personal items for employees and advisors. Other reports have detailed lavish perks allegedly given to FTX employees in the Bahamas. Ray's filing indicated that corporate funds were used to purchase homes for employees and advisors, sometimes in their name. For example, employees of the FTX Group submitted payment requests through an online 'chat' platform where a disparate group of supervisors approved disbursements by responding with personalized emojis." It isn't immediately clear what platform FTX used, although the company is known to have used Slack for internal communications.

☆ FTX's new CEO blasted Sam Bankman-Fried over 'a complete failure of corporate controls' in a scathing bankruptcy filing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX's new CEO issued scathing remarks about Sam Bankman-Fried in a bankruptcy filing on Thursday. He cited "inexperienced" execs, auto-deleting messages, and "a complete failure of corporate controls." Ray said that FTX "did not keep appropriate books and records, or security controls, with respect to its digital assets." Ray said that many companies in the FTX Group also lacked "appropriate corporate governance," with some of the entities never holding board meetings. FTX Group had "unclear records and lines of responsibility" related to its staff and contractors, Ray wrote.

☆ Special Report: FTX's Bankman-Fried begged for a rescue even as he revealed huge holes in firm's books
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Angus Berwick Anirban Sen Elizabeth Howcroft Lawrence Delevingne | Angus Berwick | Anirban Sen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +22 min

Sequoia was shocked at the amount of money Bankman-Fried needed to save FTX, according to the sources, while Apollo first asked for more information, only to later decline. The booklet flagged the risks of crypto trading, particularly how sudden sales of tokens could trigger a "domino effect" that would lead to a "cascading set of liquidity failures." Using profits from Alameda, Bankman-Fried launched FTX in 2019. From almost nothing in 2019, FTX handled about 10% of global crypto trading this year, a September document shows. At one point, he lived in a penthouse overlooking the Caribbean, valued at almost $40 million, according to two people who worked with FTX.

☆ 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.

☆ What to Watch in the FTX Bankruptcy as Details Remain Scarce
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Becky Yerak | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Details are scarce in the multibillion dollar free-fall of cryptocurrency firm FTX, and the crypto industry is grappling with what bankruptcy means for companies in a relatively unregulated sector. Here is what to watch in bankruptcy court as the case unfolds. Who filed for bankruptcy? More than 130 FTX entities have filed for bankruptcy including FTX Trading Ltd., the company presiding over the global trading website FTX.com. In bankruptcy, all of the action will eventually be consolidated under one entity.

☆ Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and allies lose influence in Washington as company collapses
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and his allies are losing advocates in Washington, as the company hits rock bottom. 2 Senate Democrat told CNBC on Monday that the contribution "will be donated to an appropriate charity." It was announced in February that FTX and FTX US were joining the group's board of directors. A spokesman for the crypto trade group told CNBC that "on Thursday, ADAM removed FTX.com and FTX.US from its membership." The lobbying group is led by the former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge.

☆ FTX: Customers who trusted crypto giant may be left with nothing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But a liquidity crunch last week forced FTX to halt withdrawals, leaving customers and investors in limbo. In theory, FTX’s customers should get a cut of what’s left of the company’s assets at the end of the bankruptcy process. And FTT coins, the crypto token issued by FTX, have lost more than 90% of their value over the past week.) But I think this is actually good for the industry long-term.”The giant crypto exchange briefly emerged as a lifeline for FTX before reversing course last week. Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the name of the law firm Loeb & Loeb.

☆ Crypto lender BlockFi says it has significant exposure to FTX
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency lender BlockFi said on Monday it has significant exposure to Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange FTX, and associated entities, that last week filed for bankruptcy. FTX founder Bankman-Fried also resigned as chief executive, after the biggest blowup in the crypto industry drew calls for tighter regulation. "We do have significant exposure to FTX and associated corporate entities that encompasses obligations owed to us by Alameda, assets held at FTX.com, and undrawn amounts from our credit line with FTX.US," BlockFi said. The crypto industry has been bracing for a fallout of the FTX collapse with several firms counting their exposure in millions to the beleaguered firm. In July, FTX had signed a deal with BlockFi to provide it with a $400 million revolving credit facility with an option to buy it for up to $240 million.

☆ Exclusive: At least $1 billion of client funds missing at FTX
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Angus Berwick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The exchange's founder Sam Bankman-Fried secretly transferred $10 billion of customer funds from FTX to Bankman-Fried's trading company Alameda Research, the people told Reuters. While it is known that FTX moved customer funds to Alameda, the missing funds are reported here for the first time. Asked about the missing funds, Bankman-Fried responded: "???" Bankman-Fried showed several spreadsheets to the heads of the company's regulatory and legal teams that revealed FTX had moved around $10 billion in client funds from FTX to Alameda, the two people said. The documents showed that between $1 billion and $2 billion of these funds were not accounted for among Alameda's assets, the sources said.

☆ EXCLUSIVE At least $1 billion of client funds missing at failed crypto firm FTX – sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Angus Berwick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The exchange's founder Sam Bankman-Fried secretly transferred $10 billion of customer funds from FTX to Bankman-Fried's trading company Alameda Research, the people told Reuters. While it is known that FTX moved customer funds to Alameda, the missing funds are reported here for the first time. Asked about the missing funds, Bankman-Fried responded: "???" The documents showed that between $1 billion and $2 billion of these funds were not accounted for among Alameda's assets, the sources said. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating FTX.com's handling of customer funds, as well its crypto-lending activities, a source with knowledge of the inquiry told Reuters on Wednesday.

☆ FTX is investigating 'abnormal transactions' of customer funds after the crypto platform filed for bankruptcy: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Crypto exchange FTX is investigating abnormal transactions of customer funds after a potential hack. The trading platform filed for bankruptcy and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried resigned on Friday. More than $260 million worth of crypto assets were withdrawn from the platform, analysts estimate, the newspaper reported. when he was asked about the missing funds. FTX, once valued at more than $30 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday and Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO after the company failed to secure a rescue deal.

The firm's founder Sam Bankman-Fried had transferred $10 billion of customer funds to his trading company, Alameda Research, the sources said. Blockchain analytics firm Nansen said it saw $659 million in outflows from FTX International and FTX U.S. in the last 24 hours. In January, FTX had raised $400 million from investors at a $32 billion valuation. "Over four years, FTX raised $1.8 billion from venture capital and pension funds. In its bankruptcy petition, FTX Trading said it has $10 billion to $50 billion in assets, $10 billion to $50 billion in liabilities, and more than 100,000 creditors.

☆ At least $1 billion of client funds missing at failed crypto firm FTX, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

At least $1 billion of customer funds have vanished from collapsed crypto exchange FTX, according to two people familiar with the matter. The exchange’s founder Sam Bankman-Fried secretly transferred $10 billion of customer funds from FTX to Bankman-Fried’s trading company Alameda Research, the people told Reuters. While it is known that FTX moved customer funds to Alameda, the missing funds are reported here for the first time. Asked about the missing funds, Bankman-Fried responded: “?? The documents showed that between $1 billion and $2 billion of these funds were not accounted for among Alameda’s assets, the sources said.

The crypto giant FTX and its affiliated companies have started the process of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with founder Sam Bankman-Fried stepping down as CEO. Bankman-Fried sent out a series of tweets on Friday stating his hope that FTX would be able to continue as a going concern following its bankruptcy. Media outlets have reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department are now investigating FTX. In the days following the report, rival crypto exchange Binance announced it was liquidating its FTT holdings. Unable to find an out, FTX announced its bankruptcy filing Friday morning.

☆ Factbox: What are FTX's investors saying?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Here's what investors in FTX are saying now:SOFTBANKThe total investment of SoftBank Group Corp's (9984.T) Vision Fund in the U.S. and international operations of FTX is less than $100 million, a source close to SoftBank said on Friday. The complications at FTX mark the latest difficulty for the Vision Fund, which has been hit in recent quarters by a global tech rout. SEQUOIA CAPITALSequoia Capital said on Wednesday that it would mark down its total investments in FTX to $0. ONTARIO TEACHERS PENSION PLANThe Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) said on Thursday it had invested a total of $95 million in FTX. CIRCLEFintech company Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a tweet on Wednesday that "Circle is a tiny equity holder of FTX, and FTX is a tiny equity holder of Circle."

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.

He is seeking the remainder from other funds, including current investors in FTX such as venture capital fund Sequoia Capital, the source added. Tether's chief technology officer, Paolo Ardoino, tweeted that it had "no plans to invest in or lend assets to FTX." FTX also got hit by the Bahamas Securities Commission, where the company is based, freezing assets of FTX Digital Markets "and related parties". In a tweet, FTX said it had reached a deal with Tron to establish a special facility that would allow clients to swap some crypto assets from FTX to external wallets. Bankman-Fried told investors that Alameda owes FTX about $10 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.

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