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☆ The China-brokered Saudi-Iran deal has big repercussions for the Middle East — and the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Taking up a specific role that the U.S. could not have fulfilled, this was Beijing's first foray into Middle East mediation, an area that for the past few decades was largely occupied by Washington. "I think China was a good partner to do this. I think they're the right people," he said, noting that China invests heavily in Saudi Arabia and is its top trading partner. Chinese President, Xi Jinping (L) is welcomed by Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (R) at the Palace of Yamamah in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 8, 2022. And not just economically, as it already exports an immense amount of goods to the Middle East and is the largest importer of Saudi oil – but politically.

☆ The Twitter leaders Elon Musk put in place keep quitting or getting fired. See who's left and who's recently been hired, including engineers from Google's DeepMind and a Tesla superfan.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

About half of the 20 people who reported to Elon Musk after his takeover have left Twitter. Musk has hired some new people, including engineers who may be working on an AI project. Elon Musk's Twitter is ruled by chaos. None have been directly replaced, the people familiar said, although Musk has also hired some new people from outside his companies. Below is a complete list of who Musk set as his direct reports, including those who have already left the company.

☆ CFTC Picks Former Cybercrime Prosecutor as Enforcement Chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The CFTC has played a less conspicuous role than the SEC in policing the crypto market but has brought enforcement cases against BitMEX and Coinbase. WASHINGTON—The Commodity Futures Trading Commission hired a former cybercrime prosecutor who oversaw some early federal cases involving cryptocurrencies as its enforcement chief, the latest example of regulators adapting to the risks posed by digital assets and other financial innovations. In his new post, Ian McGinley oversees a team of 120 civil-enforcement attorneys who investigate fraud and misconduct in futures markets tied to energy and agricultural commodities, as well as the newer world of digital assets that qualify as commodities, CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam said Monday in an interview.

Law firms Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP FollowNEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has hired a former New York prosecutor with expertise in cryptocurrency and cyber crimes to lead its enforcement unit, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday. CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam in the statement described McGinley as a "leader in combatting modern financial fraud". "His background as a prosecutor with unique experience in commodities, crypto, and cyber-crimes and frauds makes him an ideal person to lead the CFTC’s enforcement team," Behnam said. McGinley, whose appointment is effective immediately, replaces the CFTC's acting director of enforcement and veteran CFTC official Gretchen Lowe. Reporting by Chris Prentice Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Elon Musk's mood and intensity at Twitter are 'worse' than during Tesla's existential crisis 5 years ago, staff says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

People who have worked for him at Tesla and now Twitter think recent months have proved worse. There's a new refrain among some Tesla employees who continue to work out of Twitter's San Francisco headquarters: "worse than 2018." Still, there is "zero talk" inside Twitter of a new CEO coming in to replace Musk, this person added. There are some similarities between Musk at Tesla then and him at Twitter now. Musk's overall mood at Twitter seemed to start deteriorating toward the end of last year, two of the people familiar said.

☆ Fact Check-No evidence ‘RNA technology’ in chicken feed behind infertility or U.S. egg shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Some posts also reference studies unrelated to the contents of chicken feed, to chicken fertility or to RNA to imply that a feed additive is behind egg shortages and increased prices. One post says, “RNA technology in chicken feed causing chickens to stop laying“ and can be seen (here) . There is also no evidence of alleged additives in chicken feed affecting the laying habits of chickens. “Also, there is no such thing as adding RNA to chicken feed,” Abasht said. There is no evidence that “RNA technology” is present in chicken feed, or causing infertility in chickens or involved in the current egg shortage in the United StatesThis article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team.

☆ Tesla ≠ Apple. Elon Musk ≠ Steve Jobs. Cars ≠ iPhones.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I'm Diamond Naga Siu, and today, we're looking at where tech workers are getting hired. Startups and Big Tech have major cultural differences, according to some startup founders. My colleague Rebecca Knight and I found that tech jobs remain abundant — they just aren't necessarily in the tech industry. Elon Musk ≠ Steve Jobs. Many industry experts are quick to compare Tesla to Apple and Musk to Jobs.

☆ One of the last remaining execs from 'Twitter 1.0' confirmed he has left the company
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

One of the last remaining execs from pre-Elon Musk Twitter has left the company. Behnam Rezaei, Twitter's head of product and engineering, had worked at the company since 2017. Musk said in December that Twitter had around 2,000 staff left. Behnam Rezaei, Twitter's head of product and engineering, said in a series of tweets that he left Twitter on Tuesday. Former Twitter staff have used the moniker "Twitter 1.0" to refer to the company pre-Musk.

☆ One of the last pre-Elon Musk Twitter executives to leave the company said he and the billionaire exchanged ideas at 3 a.m.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A former Twitter exec said he and Elon Musk used to swap ideas for the site late at night. Behnam Rezaei, Twitter's head of product and engineering, said on Wednesday that he had left Twitter the previous day. Rezaei said that he had worked with Musk "to transform the company towards his vision" and they had exchanged 3 a.m. texts about "product ideas or bugs." Rezaei's posts suggests an amicable parting, in contrast to the thousands of other Twitter staff who were abruptly laid off the week Musk took charge of the company. Schiffer said that he resigned from the company, though in his tweets Rezaei did not specify whether he quit or was laid-off.

☆ One of the last remaining execs from 'Twitter 1.0' has left the company, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

One of the last remaining execs from pre-Elon Musk Twitter has quit, tech journalist Zoë Schiffer says. Musk said in December that Twitter had around 2,000 staff left. Since buying Twitter in late October, Elon Musk has laid off thousands of the company's staff. Some Twitter users suggested that Marcotte may have chosen to stay at the company until the end of the severance period for the roughly 50% of Twitter staff laid off on November 4. Former Twitter staff have used the moniker "Twitter 1.0" to refer to the company pre-Musk.

☆ Weapons for Russia, anti-government protests and the nuclear deal: What lies ahead for Iran in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The Biden administration went from encouraging negotiations on reviving the Iranian nuclear deal to levying more sanctions on Tehran and condemning it for providing lethal weapons and training to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine. Iran's Foreign Ministry denies knowing about Iranian weapons transfers to Russia, despite evidence of Iranian-made drones wreaking havoc on Ukrainian cities. Sergei Savostyanov | AFP | Getty Images"2023 is going to be a pivotal year for Iran," Ali Vaez, Iran project director at non-profit Crisis Group, told CNBC. The nuclear deal: too far gone? Ukraine has blamed Iran for providing Russia with drones, which have been used to attack Kyiv.

☆ These top deputies of Sam Bankman-Fried were former regulators who tried to expand FTX's reach in Washington, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Some of Sam Bankman-Fried's top advisers were former officials at the CFTC and SEC, according to the LA Times. And in August 2021, Wetjen requested a meeting with CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam and his chief of staff. "Reaching out to seek some time to discuss with you a LedgerX matter of considerable urgency," Wetjen wrote to Behnam. Behnam was forthright about his meeting with Bankman-Fried when asked on December 1 by the Senate Agriculture Committee, and said the meeting was related to FTX's clearinghouse application. Bankman-Fried."

☆ Iran's state media denies abolition of 'morality police' as three-day strike begins
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Atta Kenare | Afp | Getty ImagesSome Western media outlets are facing backlash from Iranian activists over headlines printed Sunday saying that Iran was abolishing its "morality police." Many Iranian anti-government activists now feat it will distract from three days of major strikes around the country. What's more, the higher branches of Iran's government have not confirmed it, and Iranian state media has denied any abolition of the morality police. "In reality morality police have been inactive since protests started, but there is no substantive news on their future." "This disinfo was propagated today to distract media attention from the 3 days of major protests in Iran which begin tomo.

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.

☆ 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.

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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam discusses potential crypto regulation following FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | 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 EmailCFTC Chair Rostin Behnam discusses potential crypto regulation following FTX collapseRostin Behnam, chairman of the Commodities Future Trading Commission, also known as the CFTC, joins CNBC's 'Squawk Box' to discuss the need for crypto regulation in the U.S. following the collapse of 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.

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