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☆ FTX Collapse Draws Senate Hearing Scrutiny as Crypto Oversight in Focus
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Senators with a plan to regulate cryptocurrencies are due to question the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s chairman about the failure of the digital-asset exchange FTX and on legislation that would give that agency more power over the volatile market. CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam is scheduled to testify at Thursday’s hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee. The panel’s chairwoman, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.), and its ranking member, Sen. John Boozman (R., Ark. ), introduced a bill that would regulate trading in bitcoin, ether and some other cryptocurrencies through the commission. Giving the CFTC, a relatively small agency, authority to police trading in the most valuable crypto assets would mark a substantial expansion of its authority.

☆ FTX Collapse Draws Senate Scrutiny as Lawmakers Push for Crypto Oversight
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Lawmakers should pass legislation that would impose strict rules on cryptocurrency exchanges, including rules to limit or prohibit the conflicts of interest that contributed to FTX’s collapse, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam said Thursday. Speaking to members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Mr. Behnam said he still supported a bill that would give his small agency authority to police trading in bitcoin, ether and other digital assets classified as commodities. FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried also lobbied in support of the legislation before the firm’s collapse last month.

☆ U.S. CFTC chairman says met with former FTX chief 10 times over clearing application
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman Rostin Behnam told lawmakers on Thursday that he met with former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried 10 times to discuss the company's clearing house application. Behnam said he and his team met with Bankman-Fried and his FTX team 10 times over the past 14 months in addition to follow-up calls and messages. "We were doing what we were required to do by law," he said during a Senate hearing into the FTX collapse. Reporting by Chris Prentice and Hannah LangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. CFTC chair to be questioned over FTX collapse by lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Hannah Lang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The hearing, entitled "Lessons Learned From the FTX Collapse, and the Need for Congressional Action", will take place at 10am Eastern Time (1500 GMT). The committee, which oversees the CFTC, could also press Behnam on meetings between the commodities regulator and FTX staff, including founder Sam Bankman-Fried. The CFTC had “many meetings” with FTX over its application to directly clear customer trades, Behnam said Monday at a Financial Times event. Offices for Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the Democratic chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, along with its Republican ranking member Sen. John Boozman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Many Senate Agriculture Committee members have previously agreed with Behnam that the CFTC should take on a larger role.

☆ Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried met with top officials at the CFTC more than 10 times over the past 14 months, says chairman Rostin Behnam
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — The founder and former CEO of failed cryptocurrency exchange Sam Bankman-Fried met with high-level officials at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission more than 10 times over the past 14 months, including with CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam. The proposed change was still pending approval by the time FTX filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. Over the past 14 months, we met 10 times in the CFTC office at their request all in relation to this (derivatives clearing organization); this clearinghouse application," Behnam told committee chair Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. Later in the hearing, Behnam told Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., that emails were also exchanged between the parties. And I felt I needed to be engaged as the chairman of the agency that met directly with FTX and Mr.

☆ Washington lawmakers hold on to crypto holdings despite calls for new laws in wake of FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Another lawmaker, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, disclosed at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing about FTX on Thursday that he, too, holds some crypto assets. Tuberville's most recent disclosure reports from this year reviewed by CNBC do not show any crypto stock purchases. Out of all ten offices contacted, only one said they sold their crypto stock holdings after FTX imploded. Rep. Marie Newman, D-Ill., who lost her bid for reelection owned crypto stock up until last week, recently sold her digital token stocks as the industry took a hit. Toomey told CNBC "HODL" when asked about whether he plans to sell his crypto stock following FTX's collapse.

BlockFi users must still account for gains and/or losses on their 2022 taxes, but there are ways to reduce your tax bill. The crypto lender says it's requesting approval from the Court to restore withdrawal activities for those with BlockFi Wallet accounts. BlockFi also asked users not to submit any deposits to the BlockFi Wallet or its interest accounts. Georgia Quinn, General Counsel of Anchorage Digital, believes coverage for crypto users could be stronger. In addition, users are typically last to receive payouts in the event of crypto bankruptcy, since companies settle debts with creditors first.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File PhotoNEW YORK, Dec 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A congressional grilling on cryptocurrency answered a lot of questions, but far more about the ignorance on Capitol Hill than digital currencies. More bizarrely, Roger Marshall, also a Republican, suggested a “pause in this cryptocurrency digital world” while Congress gets its “arms around it,” a process he said could take years. Marshall also referenced central bank digital currencies, but those will fall under the U.S. Federal Reserve’s purview if the central bank approves such a project. Bitcoin has been around for more than a decade, however, and Congress has failed to craft relevant laws to oversee crypto. The hearing was the first of several planned to examine FTX’s bankruptcy, cryptocurrency regulation, and agency jurisdiction over digital assets.

☆ One of the only solvent members of Sam Bankman-Fried's fallen crypto empire is contributing $175 million to FTX bankruptcy proceedings, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

LedgerX is preparing to make $175 million available to FTX's bankruptcy proceedings, sources told Bloomberg. The company is one of the few solvent members of Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire. FTX acquired LedgerX in September 2021 for an undisclosed amount and then renamed it FTX US Derivatives. The $175 million to be transferred initially had been set aside as part of a $250 million fund that was meant for a bid to garner regulatory approval to clear derivatives trading. But FTX US Derivatives withdrew its application with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11.

☆ Sen. Sherrod Brown calls on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to help rein in cryptocurrency firms after FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bahamas-based crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. on Nov. 11, 2022, seeking court protection as it looks for a way to return money to users. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown urged Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday to work with lawmakers and financial regulators to help write legislation to rein in the cryptocurrency market in the wake of the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Brown sent the letter the day before Congress holds its first hearing on FTX's collapse. Brown encouraged partnership between Congress, Treasury and the White House, even referencing Treasury's coordination with the President's Working Group on Financial Markets. "Congress and the financial regulators must work to get all of this right.

Sales over the two most recent weeks totalled 149 million barrels, the fastest rate since early March, in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Similar to the week before, last week’s selling was concentrated in crude (-89 million barrels), specifically in Brent (-71 million barrels). Two-week crude sales totalled 137 million barrels, with Brent totalling 100 million barrels, according to position records published by ICE Futures Europe and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The number of crude positions, WTI as well as Brent, fell to just 306 million barrels (9th percentile for all weeks since 2013) down from 443 million barrels (40th percentile) on Nov. 8. The ratio of bullish long positions to bearish short ones fell to 3.28:1 (27th percentile) from 5.36:1 (62nd percentile) two weeks earlier.

☆ FTX remains focus of 'active' investigation, Bahamas attorney general says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nov 27 (Reuters) - Collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX remains the subject of "an active and ongoing investigation" by Bahamian authorities, Bahamian Attorney General Ryan Pinder said on Sunday, as he praised the Bahamas' regulatory regime and swiftness with which it responded to the crisis. FTX, which had been among the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is headquartered in the Bahamas. In mid-November, the Royal Bahamas Police said that government investigators in the Bahamas were looking at whether any "criminal misconduct occurred." read more"We are in the early stages of an active and ongoing investigation," Pinder said on Sunday, according to prepared remarks for the speech. Bahamas securities regulators had revoked FTX Digital's license and began involuntary liquidation proceedings the day before the U.S. bankruptcy case kicked off.

☆ 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.

But you have to go back centuries in some cases to get anything nearly as bad as 2022 for 'safer' sovereign bonds. "2023 will be the year of the bond," claimed Chris Iggo, chair of the AXA IM Investment Institute. "Road to recession - bullish bonds and quality credit," was how SocGen entitled their view. And while stock volatility makes forecasters nervy, there's a clear attraction for long-term funds in seeking both the fixed income as well as the lift to bond funds when sub-par price discounts disappear into maturity for most high-quality names. "Long high quality bonds in the U.S. and Europe seems like an obvious strategy for 2023," said hedge fund manager Stephen Jen at Eurizon SLJ Capital.

☆ FTX Hires Ex-Regulators to Investigate Firm’s Collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, whose recent collapse has led to questions about lacking regulatory oversight, has hired a fitting team to help untangle the mess: former senior U.S. regulators. FTX said this week it has been in contact with investigators, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. FTX, which is based in the Bahamas, also has hired Nardello & Co., an investigations firm that specializes in anti-corruption and fraud cases, Mr. Bromley said in court Tuesday. The name of the cybersecurity company wasn’t disclosed because of concerns over continuing cyberattacks on FTX, he said. The collapse of FTX has set off the largest crypto-related bankruptcy ever, and court filings are already shedding light on what went wrong and how complicated things could get.

☆ Billionaire Bill Ackman says crypto 'is here to stay' in the wake of the FTX collapse, as the one-time skeptic outlines some of his investments
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman said "crypto is here to stay," in a Tweet thread published Sunday. Calling himself an initial crypto skeptic, Ackman said he is a small investor in a "hobbyist" capacity. He outlines his crypto observations following the dramatic collapse of crypto exchange FTX. "As such, I was initially a crypto skeptic, but after studying some of the more interesting crypto projects, I have come to believe that crypto can enable the formation of useful businesses and technologies that heretofore could not be created." The world's once third-largest crypto exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Friend is seeking bankruptcy protection in the US and could leave up to 1 million creditors exposed to losses.

☆ Morning Bid: Bucking the trend
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

With an anxious look at China's worsening COVID surge, the U.S. dollar appears revitalized just as speculators turn against it for the first time this year. Peak interest rates, peak COVID, peak energy all get discussed as themes for 2023, along with recession risks, a return of bonds and a cresting of the supercharged dollar - which has already given back almost half its near 20% surge this year. With one eye on Federal Reserve meeting minutes later in the week, futures markets continue to nudge peak Fed rates next year further above the 5% level. Also anxious about the unfolding property bust, China's central bank and banking and insurance regulator said domestic banks should step up credit support for the economy. The dollar also got a lift from the widening crypto shock, with bitcoin falling back below $16,000 on Monday.

☆ U.S. Senate to hold FTX hearing on Dec. 1, CFTC chairman to testify
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday said it will hold a hearing on Dec. 1 to examine the sudden collapse of FTX, one of the world's biggest crypto exchanges. FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, leaving an estimated 1 million customers and other investors facing billions of dollars in total losses. Rostin Behnam, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is the first witness named for the hearing, titled, "Why Congress Needs to Act: Lessons Learned from the FTX Collapse." U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow also on Thursday called on Congress to pass the bipartisan Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act, which she said, "would have prohibited the misconduct and risky behavior undertaken by FTX." The U.S. House Financial Services Committee has also said it plans to hold a hearing in December to investigate FTX's collapse.

Although most-active CBOT corn futures were unchanged in the week ended Nov. 15, the contract had traded down more than 2% by Nov. 15 before rallying back late in the session. Money managers axed more than 78,000 gross CBOT corn longs in the two weeks through Nov. 15, the most for any two-week stretch since July 2016. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its monthly supply and demand and U.S. crop production reports during the week ended Nov. 15. Most-active CBOT wheat futures were also unchanged in the week ended Nov. 15 but had been down more than 3% at one point. Money managers were more active on the downswing, reducing their net long by about 11,000 to 92,965 CBOT soybean futures and options contracts.

Funds' historic short position in two-year Treasuries futures coincides with the recent ramping up in anti-inflation rhetoric from Fed policymakers, including those of a more dovish inclination, such as San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly. Hedge funds, going by Commodity Futures Trading Commission positioning data, have thrown in the towel completely. A short position is essentially a wager that an asset's price will fall, and a long position is a bet it will rise. In bonds and rates, yields fall when prices rise, and move up when prices fall. Funds' record short position in two-year Treasuries futures suggests that's exactly what speculators are positioning for again.

☆ Collapsed FTX owes nearly $3.1 billion to top 50 creditors
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN Business —Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which has filed for US bankruptcy court protection, said it owes its 50 biggest creditors nearly $3.1 billion. The exchange owes about $1.45 billion to its top ten creditors, it said in a court filing on Saturday, without naming them. The crypto exchange said on Saturday it has launched a strategic review of its global assets and is preparing for the sale or reorganization of some businesses. FTX’s rapid collapse marked a stunning downfall for one of the biggest and most powerful players in the crypto industry. The Bahamian authorities have also taken control of cryptocurrency assets held by FTX Digital Markets, The Bahamas-based FTX unit that filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection Tuesday.

☆ 'There is no such thing as a free lunch.' 4 lessons for crypto investors from the FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Bahamas-based crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. on Nov. 11, 2022, seeking court protection as it looks for a way to return money to users. "I think the collapse of FTX will end up being good for traditional finance companies like Fidelity who are entering the crypto space, because they come with a certain level of trust," Lum said. Earlier this month, Fidelity Investments announced plans to launch a commission-free crypto product, allowing investors to buy and sell bitcoin and ether. The FTX collapse has also renewed interest in cold storage, or taking digital currency offline, making it less susceptible to hacks. The [FTX] collapse should be a lesson that any individual company — be it a crypto exchange or more traditional business — can go bankrupt in times of distress.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's mom once wrote an essay about fixing problems rather than assigning blame when 'something goes terribly wrong'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sam Bankman-Fried's mother, a Stanford law professor, once wrote an article titled "Beyond Blame." Barbara Fried asked what would happen if the focus was on fixing problems and not assigning blame. Her son Sam Bankman-Fried co-founded FTX, which last week filed for bankruptcy. She has written pieces for the Boston Review, a quarterly political and literary magazine, arguing that attributing "personal blame" in times of crisis had "ruined criminal justice and economic policy," suggesting it was "time to move past blame." "The next time something goes terribly wrong, suppose that instead of immediately asking who is to blame, we were to ask: How can we fix this problem?"

Ray's statement came with a flurry of Saturday morning filings in Delaware bankruptcy court. In those filings, FTX asked for permission to pay outside vendors, consolidate bank accounts, and establish new ones. The new FTX CEO asked that employees, vendors, customers, regulators and government stakeholders "be patient" with them. FTX said in a filing that there could be more than one million creditors in these Chapter 11 cases. FTX's bank accounts reflect the global influence of the crypto-asset empire.

☆ U.S. dollar net positioning turns net short for 1st time since July 2021 -CFTC, Reuters data
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar's net positioning turned net short in the latest week for the first time since mid-July 2021, according to calculations by Reuters and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday. The value of the net short dollar position amounted to $10.5 million in the week ended Nov. 15, from net longs of $2.36 billion in the previous week. Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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