DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Crypto tokens plunged this week after Gensler stepped up SEC's industrywide crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

SEC Chair Gary Gensler stepped up his attack on the crypto industry this week, suing Coinbase and Binance for securities violations and casting doubt on the future of token trading. They include Solana's SOL token, Cardano's ADA token, Polygon's MATIC coin and Protocol Labs' Filecoin token (FIL). "No other coins are affected and your crypto is still safe on Robinhood," the company said in a post. Binance's BNB token, ranked fourth, fell 16%. "The investing public has the benefit of U.S. securities laws," Gensler said in an interview with CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Tuesday.

Persons: Gary Gensler, Coinbase, Crypto.com, Binance's, Biden, Sam Bankman, Gensler, CNBC's Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs, SEC, CNBC, ADA, Labs, Polygon, Solana Locations: Cardano, Solana

☆ Crypto tokens plunged this week after Gensler stepped up SEC crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

SEC Chair Gary Gensler stepped up his attack on the crypto industry this week, suing Coinbase and Binance for securities violations and casting doubt on the future of token trading. In alleging that Coinbase was acting as an unregistered broker and exchange, the Securities and Exchange Commission said at least 13 crypto assets available to the company's customers were considered "crypto asset securities." They include Solana's SOL token, Cardano's ADA token, Polygon's MATIC coin and Protocol Labs' Filecoin token (FIL). Binance's BNB token, ranked fourth, fell 16%. "The investing public has the benefit of U.S. securities laws," Gensler said in an interview with CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Tuesday.

Persons: Gary Gensler, Coinbase, Crypto.com, Binance's, Joe Biden, Sam Bankman, Gensler, CNBC's Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs, SEC, CNBC, Securities and Exchange Commission, ADA, Labs, Polygon, Solana Locations: Cardano, Solana

☆ Coinbase falls 10% after the SEC sues rival crypto exchange Binance for violating securities law
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Coinbase stock fell 10% on Monday after the SEC sued Binance for violating securities rules. Coinbase is currently under SEC investigation and could face an enforcement action tied to its listings of potential unregistered securities. The SEC accused Binance of breaking the law by offering unregistered securities to the general public, including its BNB token and BUSD stable coin. The debate is whether cryptocurrencies are in fact securities, which the SEC has argued yes, they are, while crypto firms like Coinbase have argued the opposite. Coinbase offers its own stablecoin that is listed on its exchange and was not registered with the SEC, and the company also offers its own staking platform, two things the SEC just sued Binance for offering.

Persons: Binance, Coinbase, Bitcoin, —, Changpeng Zhao, Sam Bankman Fried's, shockwaves Organizations: SEC, Service, US Securities and Exchange Commission, Binance, Coinbase

Gemini Trust Co's request was filed in Manhattan federal court, in response to the SEC's Jan. 12 civil lawsuit against the exchange and the cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Capital LLC, a unit of Digital Currency Group. The SEC had sued over Gemini Earn, which let customers lend crypto assets such as bitcoin to Genesis, with Gemini taking an agent fee as high as 4.29%. The SEC said Genesis held $900 million of assets from about 340,000 Gemini Earn customers. Gemini and Genesis were accused by the regulator of having bypassed disclosure requirements meant to protect investors. The case is SEC v Gemini Trust Co et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ Taylor Swift didn't sign $100 million FTX sponsorship because she was the only one to ask about unregistered securities, lawyer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Taylor Swift pulled out of a $100 million sponsorship deal with Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX. The lawyer suing other celebrities for promoting FTX says she was the only one to ask about unregistered securities. Taylor Swift managed to avoid signing a $100 million sponsorship deal with FTX because she was reportedly the only celebrity to question the crypto exchange, according to the lawyer handling a class-action lawsuit against several FTX promoters. "The one person I found that did that was Taylor Swift," Moskowitz told The Scoop's Frank Chaparro. "In our discovery, Taylor Swift actually asked them: 'Can you tell me that these are not unregistered securities?'"

☆ Here's why recent moves by the SEC and CFTC may be just the start of crypto's regulatory troubles
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Both the SEC and the CFTC have taken action against the crypto industry in the last few weeks. He added: "At the end of the day industry participants are searching for regulatory clarity, which has not yet been achieved." "Compliance and regulatory efforts are expensive, but necessary, the personnel will be almost as important as tech people," Yang told Insider. Markets could face more volatility following a crackdown because crypto prices are often sensitive to regulatory news. This, however, would require a widespread effort and coordination between financial regulators, industry participants, and legislators.

Yet investors aiming to amp up their bets face an ominous obstacle: a lack of liquidity that could trigger wild price swings. Slippage, a liquidity measure describing how much prices change between the placement and execution of a trade, has also increased. The vanishing liquidity can be traced back to the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX exchange and hedge fund Alameda Research. Until then, "liquidity is probably going to get worse and worse", said Joseph Edwards, investment adviser at Enigma Securities. "Even if some players haven't left the place, they are on the sidelines right now because of what's happening with banking turmoil," Edwards said.

☆ Binance 'could be in big trouble' as the CFTC lawsuit alleges the crypto behemoth dodged regulators and breached laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Binance is being blow-torched from all angles as US regulators close in on the world's largest crypto exchange. The CFTC sued the exchange this week for violating US financial laws, whilst some reports suggest Binance has engaged in secret fund transfers. On Monday, the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance and Zhao himself, for allegedly breaching US financial laws. Following the shocking implosion of Sam-Bankman Fried's FTX exchange late last year, concerns have risen whether Binance faces similar risks. If US authorities decide the links meant the crypto exchange had control over the US platform, it could expose the company to enforcement action.

Discussions between the SEC and Coinbase broke down in recent weeks, with one source saying the two sides had moved "further apart." The crypto industry believes it operates in a regulatory gray area not governed by existing U.S. securities laws - and that new legislation is needed to regulate the industry. "But if necessary, we welcome the opportunity for Coinbase and the broader crypto community to get clarity in court." Prior to Gensler's arrival, the SEC engaged in targeted enforcement, but the Democratic chair has ratcheted up focus on crypto platforms themselves. "There couldn't be a more significant development for crypto markets and crypto investors," said Philip Moustakis, former SEC enforcement lawyer and partner with Seward and Kissel LLP in New York.

☆ 'Big Short' investor Michael Burry issues a grave warning after Silicon Valley Bank's stock rout: 'It is possible today we found our Enron'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

'Big Short' legend Michael Burry just compared Silicon Valley Bank to Enron. The bank's stock plunged 60% Thursday as its parent company offloaded shares after massive bond losses. "It is possible today we found our Enron," the 'Big Short' investor said Thursday in a now-deleted Tweet, referencing the scandal-hit energy firm that collapsed during the early 2000s. Enron collapsed as the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index plunging 78% in just over two years. The bank's updated investor deck, which was filed Wednesday, showed that the company's $21 billion bond portfolio had a yield of 1.8% and an average duration of just over three years.

☆ Some of Wall Street's top commentators fear a recession is at hand as rates set to go higher for longer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Yesterday on Capitol Hill, Jerome Powell reiterated his warning that the Fed's more than ready to keep jacking up rates if necessary. Inflation hasn't gone away as easily as policymakers want, and Powell thinks that may just warrant a steeper policy path. That's not the most reassuring assessment of the situation as some of the biggest commentators in markets are saying a recession is right around the corner. The exec also broke down how to use the strategy in today's stock market to make extremely cheap bets that garner "through the roof" returns. Fannie Mae's Home Purchasing Sentiment Index dropped this week while mortgage rates moved higher.

☆ Binance continues to get more popular with Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX out of the picture, despite increased regulatory scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Binance is extending its dominance in crypto trading since FTX collapsed in November. Its market share grew to 61.8% in February from 59.4% in January, CryptoCompare data showed. According to data from CryptoCompare cited by CoinDesk, Binance increased its market share for the fourth consecutive month in February, growing to 61.8% from 59.4% in January. Coinbase was a distant second with trading volume of $39.9 billion, down 29% from the prior month, and Kraken was third with $19.3 billion, down 11%. Meanwhile, former rival exchange FTX continues to wade through bankruptcy procedures and is effectively out of the picture as far as competition.

☆ FTX might not have been the only crypto exchange using customer money for other things
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

As if the universe knew that I hadn't written a crypto newsletter in some time, here we go: Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, has been under some scrutiny this week. The world's largest crypto exchange reportedly transferred nearly $1.8 billion in stablecoin collateral to hedge funds, the report said. Any move by Binance to shuffle customer money around isn't exactly illegal, but the risks are apparent in the wake of the FTX disaster, part of which involved the exchange using customer money for making big bets via its affiliated trading arm. That account, Reuters reported, was used to send $400 million to a trading firm managed by Zhao. In other news:Traders work on the main trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange March 21, 2007.

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Robinhood Markets Inc (HOOD.O) said in a filing on Monday it had received an investigative subpoena in December from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to listings of cryptocurrencies. The collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX was the biggest in a string of major crypto-related failures in 2022, which sparked a cryptocurrency rout and left creditors facing losses of billions of dollars. The SEC has maintained that pre-existing securities laws also apply to digital assets and that many crypto tokens meet the definition of a security, which the crypto industry has previously criticized. Robinhood said the subpoena it received from the SEC was regarding the supported currencies at Robinhood Crypto LLC, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the brokerage, as well as its custody of cryptocurrencies and other platform operations. Reporting by Anirban Chakroborti in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the stock market Wednesday: Fedspeak, stocks bounce, Palo Alto beats
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. ET: Q&A with Jim and Jeff Marks on general investing, market thoughts, education11:30-12:15 p.m. ET: Jim and Jeff discuss the portfolio (Part 2)2:15-2:45 p.m.

[1/3] Representations of cryptocurrencies are seen in front of displayed FTX logo in this illustration taken November 10, 2022. Sequoia, Thoma Bravo and Paradigm did not immediately respond on Wednesday to requests for comment. The 30-year-old son of Stanford Law School professors has pleaded not guilty to fraud and other charges for allegedly looting billions of dollars from FTX customers. A Manhattan federal court hearing on whether to tighten bail is scheduled for Thursday, after Bankman-Fried allegedly tried to communicate improperly with potential government witnesses. The case is Rabbitte v Sequoia Capital Operations LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No.

☆ Sam Bankman Fried used a VPN, raising 'potential concerns' he may have accessed crypto exchanges or the dark web. His lawyers say he was just streaming the Super Bowl.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

On Monday, federal prosecutors raised concerns over Sam Bankman-Fried's use of a VPN on two occasions. They told the judge how VPNs could let him access international crypto exchanges or the dark web. Prosecutors also worried that VPNs would let him access international crypto exchanges or the dark web. Bankman-Fried's FTX was one of four crypto companies to have ads during last year's Super Bowl, but this year there were none. "The defense is prepared to adopt a reasonable bail condition that allays any concerns," Bankman-Fried's lawyers told the judge, adding that he won't use a VPN "in the interim."

☆ Is bitcoin being manipulated? A professor who proved it in 2017 sees more red flags, report says.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In 2017, professor John Griffin noticed the price of bitcoin appeared to be propped up by a single "whale," and he's now seeing similar red flags, per Fortune. "The same mechanism we saw in 2017 could be at play now in the still unreal bitcoin market." "The same mechanism we saw in 2017 could be at play now in the still unreal bitcoin market." "The whale kept establishing price floors, and those floors kept rising. Bitcoin price floor manipulationDuring bitcoin's latest run, it's peculiar how reliably bitcoin bounced above $16,000 seemingly the moment it breached that level, he said.

☆ Cathie Wood's Ark Invest says bitcoin could hit $1.5 million by 2030, doubling down on its bullishness for the world's largest cryptocurrency
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ark Invest said bitcoin could hit nearly $1.5 million by 2030, a 6,326% increase from its current price. The famed money manager predicted bitcoin will scale unto a "multi-trillion dollar market," per a recent report. The bullish estimates come amid a severe and lengthy crypto market rut. Bitcoin is down 65% from its all-time high in November 2021, with the industry's total market value off over 64% from its peak. Since the start of the year, Ark's flagship exchange-traded fund, ARKK, bought 108,548 Coinbase shares, worth $6.3 million at its current price.

Some hedge funds, wealth managers, and asset managers are still hiring. Recruiters told us what roles are in demand and what skills can help you land them. Big-name hedge funds like Citadel, D. E. Shaw, and Millennium Management posted double digits in a year that many other investment managers would rather soon forget. Alternative asset managers, meanwhile, are hiring in the private-wealth-management businesses they've spent recent years building out. … if you're in or interested in wealth managementDespite the market downturn, wealth managers are in high demand.

☆ FTX was under surveillance by Australian regulators over 6 months before its collapse, documents reportedly show
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX was surveilled by Australian financial regulators as early as March 2022, per the Guardian. FTX Australia obtained a regulatory license after acquiring a company that already had one. That article reported that the crypto exchange would lend customers as much as 20 times their investment to buy crypto assets. Almost 30,000 investors in Australia lost money to the crypto exchange, the Australian Financial Review previously reported. The regulator confirmed to the Guardian that it had made inquiries with FTX Australia since March 2022, and investigations were ongoing.

Some hedge funds, wealth managers, and asset managers are still hiring. Layoffs across industries have been dominating headlines in January, and Wall Street has been no exception. Big-name hedge funds like Citadel, D. E. Shaw, and Millennium Management posted double digits in a year that many other investment managers would rather soon forget. Alternative asset managers, meanwhile, are hiring in the private-wealth-management businesses they've spent recent years building out. Emily Landon, the CEO of the Chicago-based headhunting firm The Crypto Recruiter, pointed to the job board Crypto Careers, which has over 2,400 openings.

The balance shown in the unredacted BlockFi filing includes $415.9 million worth of assets linked to FTX and $831.3 million in loans to Alameda. Both of Bankman-Fried's firms were wrapped into FTX's November bankruptcy, which sent the crypto markets reeling. Bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi had over $1.2 billion in assets tied up with Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX and Alameda Research, according to financials that had previously been redacted but were mistakenly uploaded on Tuesday without the redactions. In all, the crypto lender has unadjusted assets worth almost $2.7 billion, with close to half tied to FTX and Alameda, the presentation shows. After all adjustments, BlockFi has just shy of $1.3 billion in assets, only $668.8 million of which is described as "Liquid / To Be Distributed."

☆ Bankrupt crypto lender Genesis optimistic it can resolve creditor disputes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sean O'Neal, the lawyer, spoke at a hearing in Manhattan bankruptcy court to consider "first-day" motions for Genesis Global Capital, the crypto lending business owned by Barry Silbert's venture capital firm Digital Currency Group. The filing followed the bankruptcies since last July of crypto lenders BlockFi, Celsius Network and Voyager Digital. Brian Rosen, a lawyer for creditors holding $1.5 billion of claims, said "we are getting closer" to an accord. On Jan. 12, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Genesis and Gemini with illegally selling unregistered securities through their Gemini Earn lending product. Cameron Winklevoss has also called for Silbert's removal as DCG chief, and threatened litigation against DCG if Genesis' bankruptcy did not result in " a fair offer to creditors."

☆ The Justice Department just shut down little-known crypto exchange Bitzlato and arrested its Russian founder in what authorities claim is a huge blow to crypto crime
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bitzlato is a little-known crypto exchange that was just shut down by the Justice Department. FBI agents arrested Anatoly Legkodymov, the founder of crypto exchange Bitzlato, on Tuesday. US authorities alleged that the site laundered millions tied to illicit Russian finances. The Justice Department and Treasury Department allege that the Hong Kong-registered platform laundered more than $700 million, some of which were tied to illicit Russian finances. Bitzlato is a small crypto exchange, which hasn't received mainstream attention until Legkodymov's arrest.

Search resuls for: "Fried's FTX"

25 mentions found