SBF Submits Fresh Bahamas Supreme Court Bail Application

The local media in the Bahamas reported that Sam Bankman-Fried has submitted a new request for release on bail. This comes just two days after a court dismissed Sam Bankman-request Fried’s for bail on the grounds that the FTX founder constituted a flight risk. The court’s explanation for its decision was that Bankman-Fried posed a potential flight risk.

 

According to what has been reported, Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently doing time in prison for his role in the failure of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has made a second appeal to the Supreme Court of the Bahamas in an effort to be released from custody. This follows an earlier attempt to get out of jail on bond, which was denied.

 

On December 15, a little more than one month after the initial report was made, local media stated that the application had been submitted by the author and that it will be assessed by the court on January 17, which is a little more than one month after the report had been made initially.

 

Prior to this, on the 13th of December, Bankman attorneys Fried’s asked for him to be released on bond in the amount of $250,000 due to the fact that he did not have any prior convictions and was suffering from melancholy as well as sleeplessness. They argued that he should be released because he did not have any prior convictions and because he was unable to sleep. On top of that, he did not have any prior convictions to his name.

 

The request for bail was turned down by the judge who was presiding over the case because the judge considered there was a risk that the crypto executive would depart the jurisdiction.

 

The fact that the government of the Bahamas has declared that it will promptly carry out any request lends credence to the notion that extradition to the United States is a plausible option under the circumstances presented here.

 

In the United States, the individual who designed FTX is being investigated for eight distinct felonies at the moment. Some of these charges involve money laundering, while others involve wire fraud and securities fraud.

 

The number of allegations could land Bankman-Fried in prison for 115 years, but legal analysts have told Cointelegraph that there is a lot to play out and that the case could take years to come to a conclusion due to the complexity of the allegations. In other words, the number of claims could land Bankman-Fried in jail for 115 years.

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Due to conflicts of interest, SBF’s attorneys drop FTX

The law firm Paul Weiss, which had been providing support to FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) throughout the proceedings of the company’s bankruptcy, has renounced its representation of the business owner, citing a conflict of interest as the reason for its decision. SBF had been providing support to FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) throughout the proceedings of the company’s bankruptcy. Throughout the processes of the company’s bankruptcy, SBF has been giving assistance to FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). SBF has been of assistance to the company throughout the whole of the process of the company filing for bankruptcy.

The legal firm’s efforts to reorganise were derailed as a direct result of the decision made by the client to terminate representation once it was discovered that SBF had tweeted. As a direct result of this, the law firm’s efforts to reorganise were unsuccessful.

On the other hand, as a result of this move, rumours began spreading that the cryptic tweets had been sent with the intention of distracting bots’ attention away from tweets that were concurrently being deleted from the site. As a consequence of the fact that the action was carried out, this rumour began to circulate.

Martin Flumenbaum, an attorney working for Paul, Weiss, was of the opinion that the “constant and disruptive tweeting” of SBF was having a negative influence on the efforts that were being made to reorganise, and he was of the opinion that this was having a negative influence on the efforts that were being made to reorganise. Additionally, he was of the opinion that this was having a negative influence on the efforts that were being made to reorganise. Martin Flumenbaum was of the view that this was having a detrimental affect on the efforts that were being made, despite the fact that there was no evidence uncovered to suggest that malevolent intent was there.

Recently, another con artist by the name of Elizabeth Homes was found guilty of criminal fraud and sentenced to time served as a direct consequence of her activities. It is only a coincidence, but Homes was handed her sentence about the same time as the law company chose to stop supporting SBF. This suggests that the two events are likely unrelated. There is a possibility that the two occurrences are associated with one another, but there is also a chance that they are not.

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FTX’s Fall Might Hurt CEO’s Crypto Regulation Lobby

The mid-term election in the US is playing a role in influencing and reshaping the regulatory landscape of the crypto industry amid the turmoil brought about by the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX.

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With a clearer outcome for the result of the midterm election in the U.S., some analysts predict Republicans could reseize the control of Congress. The shift of balance of power and dynamic discourse in power might affect the ongoing regulation of cryptocurrency and virtual assets. 

Throughout the election campaign, many leaders and enterprises in the crypto industry try to expand their influence and abilities to lobby legislators by offering political donations to their candidates in favour.

Per Reuters, citing data from OpenSecrects, the report disclosed that FTX’s CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, is heavily involved in this mid-term election and has donated far more than others in the crypto industry.

Data shows that Bankman-Fried’s total contribution of approximately $40 million makes him the sixth-largest individual donor in the United States. The vast majority of his donations go to Democrats, while less than 0.6% of the funding is in support of Republicans, according to OpenSecrets.

Meanwhile, SBF’s deputy- Ryan Salame, Co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, provided over $23.6 million to Republicans, including over $11,000 supporting Rep. Alex Monnet of West Virginia. Salame’s total contribution pushed him to the 14th biggest individual donor on the list.

However, SBF’s commitments have been questioned alongside the latest gridlock of the FTX. 

The mid-term result comes amid the oscillation of the markets after the collapse of the SBF’s crypto exchange FTX, as Changpeng Zhao announced Binance would acquire FTX under a non-binding letter of intent. Despite the terms of the deal were not disclosed or neither was a timeline for when the deal might close, the market has experienced a new wave of turmoil and volatility amid the crypto winter.

Crypto Bill Regulation Remains Unclear

Part of analysts suggests a Republican-dominated Congress would likely put pressure on agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which the industry has charged with regulating through enforcement, to ease their aggressive posture against crypto firms.

In June, a bipartisan pair of U.S. senators unveiled a bill that would establish new legal frameworks for cryptocurrency and hand the bulk of their oversight to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The so-called “Crypto Bill” debate is still ongoing in Congress. The bill, if approved, might empower the CFTC, which considers a more crypto-friendly regulator than the SEC, to oversee the crypto market.

Among controversial issues in regulating crypto, one of the struggles would be the definition of “security”, which financial products count as security or commodities. Who has the authority, and how to regulate it? All these questions remain unclear. 

Previously, CFTC Chair suggested that it should let Congress regulate crypto, which is much better than the gridlock remaining between CFTC and SEC.

Meanwhile, serval legal battles between SEC and virtual assets companies, such as Ripple, are still struggling to seek an end game. In December 2020, the SEC sued Ripple Labs, alleging that the crypto firm had raised over $1.3 billion by selling XRP in unregistered securities transactions. But Ripple maintained that XRP sales and trading did not meet the Howey Test, a test created by the Supreme Court to determine whether a transaction qualifies as a security.

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FTX ‘s Collapse Might Fail SBF to Lobby Crypto Regulation

Meanwhile, the mid-term election in the US is also influencing and reshaping the regulatory landscape in terms of cryptocurrency amid the turmoil of the collapse of FTX in the crypto market. 

congress_1200.jpg

With a clearer outcome for the result of the midterm election in the U.S., some analyses predict Republicans could reseize the control of Congress. The shift of balance of power and dynamic discourse power might affect the ongoing regulation of cryptocurrency and virtual assets. 

Throughout the election campaign, many leaders and enterprises in the crypto industry try to expand their influence and abilities to lobby legislators by offering political donations to their candidates in favour.

Per Reuters, citing data from OpenSecrects, the report disclosed that FTX’s CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, known as SBF, has donated far more than others in the crypto industry, who is heavily involved in this mid-term election.  

Data shows that Bankman-Fried’s total contribution of approximately $40 million makes him the sixth-largest individual donor in the States. The vast majority of his donations go to Democrats, while merely less than 0.6% of the funding is in support of Republicans, according to OpenSecrets.

Meanwhile, SBF’s deputy- Ryan Salame, Co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, provided over $23.6 million to Republicans, including over $11,000 supporting Rep. Alex Monnet of West Virginia. Salame’s total contribution pushed him to the 14th biggest individual donor on the list.

However, SBF’s commitments have been questioned alongside the latest gridlock of the FTX. 

The mid-term result comes amid the oscillation of the markets after the collapse of the SBF’s crypto exchange FTX, as Changpeng Zhao announced Binance would acquire FTX under a non-binding letter of intent. Despite the terms of the deal were not disclosed or neither was a timeline for when the deal might close, the market has experienced a new wave of turmoil and volatility amid the crypto winter.

Crypto Bill Regulation Remains Unclear

Part of analysts suggests a Republican-dominated Congress would likely put pressure on agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which the industry has charged with regulating through enforcement, to ease their aggressive posture against crypto firms.

In June, a bipartisan pair of U.S. senators unveiled a bill that would establish new legal frameworks for cryptocurrency and hand the bulk of their oversight to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The so-called “Crypto Bill” debate is still ongoing in Congress. The bill, if approved, might empower the CFTC, which considers a more crypto-friendly regulator than the SEC, to oversee the crypto market.

Among controversial issues in regulating crypto, one of the struggles would be the definition of “security”, which financial products count as security or commodities. Who has the authority, and how to regulate it? All these questions remain unclear. 

Previously, CFTC Chair suggested that should let Congress regulate crypto, which is much better than the gridlock remaining between CFTC and SEC.

Meanwhile, serval legal battles between SEC and virtual assets companies, such as Ripple, are still struggling to seek an end game. In December 2020, the SEC sued Ripple Labs, alleging that the crypto firm had raised over $1.3 billion by selling XRP in unregistered securities transactions. But Ripple maintained that XRP sales and trading did not meet the Howey Test, a test created by the Supreme Court to determine whether a transaction qualifies as a security.

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FTX Founder says Hong Kong Could be Top Blockchain Hub in Asia

Crypto exchange FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried said that, unlike the West, although Asia does not have a key web3, blockchain and cryptocurrency hotspot, Hong Kong could emerge as a leader in that sector.

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Speaking virtually during the annual Hong Kong FinTech Week 2022, Bankman-Fried said that other potential locations in Asia are Singapore and Busan.

“If you look at what the crypto hubs will be in the world, I think the Bahamas looks like one of them, Dubai looks like one of them, but if you look at the East, it’s not as obvious. It could be Singapore, could be somewhere like Busan in Korea, but I think there is a real chance it ends up being Hong Kong,” Bankman-Fried said.

Furthermore, the world’s youngest billionaire Bankman-Fried added that the Hong Kong government’s crypto initiative to start a consultation on legalising crypto trading by retail investors is a positive sign for a brighter future for crypto in the region.

Hong Kong is planning to issue tokenised green bonds and prepare for the development of the digital Hong Kong Dollar.

Financial Secretary of HKSAR Paul Chan spoke virtually during the Fintech Week on Monday to introduce the latest policy statement on virtual assets to the public, saying that “we want to make our policy stance clear to global markets, to demonstrate our determination to explore financial innovation together with the global, virtual-assets community,” hoping to maximise with the advantages and innovation of Fintech in terms of virtual assets.

Regarding the upcoming tokenisation of green bonds, Eddie Yu, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), spoke at the same event and disclosed that the authority is planning to issue the first batch of green bonds this year globally, aiming to promote the product to retail investors on a small scale first. Details will be announced further later.

FTX was relocated from Hong Kong to the Bahamas in 2021 due to regulatory uncertainty.

Bankman-Fired also confirmed last week that FTX is planning to launch its own stablecoin.

Speaking in an interview with Web3 news media, The Big Whale, Bankman-Fried discussed several of the industry’s perceptions concerning the exchange’s position atop the ongoing crypto winter.

As against the popular belief that FTX is the biggest winner in the industry based on its success in snapping up Voyager Digital and BlockFi, both crypto lenders that got riled up as prices of assets tumbled, Bankman-Fried reiterated that its role, irrespective of the perception is to help maintain industry balance which will, in turn, benefit everyone.

Acknowledging that this current crypto winter is the “first real Bear Market we’ve been through,” the FTX boss acknowledged that the market downtime is not affecting its business as such as it is always innovating.

“One of the main characteristics of crypto platforms is that our operation is not impacted by the market downturn any more than that,” he said, “Every day we continue to grow the business, and create services and new tools for customers. So, yes, the markets are less dynamic, things are a little tenser, but in the end, it doesn’t take us off course.”

Meanwhile, neighbouring Singapore is building measures to tighten its crypto regulations on retail investors.

Last week, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) unveiled a proposal to restrict retail participation in digital assets. Following this, small investors will be banned from funding coin purchases through borrowing.

Singapore’s central bank echoed sentiments similar to that of the MAS by asking companies to stop using tokens deposited by retail investors for lending or staking to generate yield. However, the restrictions proposed by the two regulatory bodies will not be applicable to high-net-worth investors.

However, Singapore is taking these moves to ensure positive growth of the crypto industry with security measures that will provide safety to investors.

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Crypto Winter Beats Top Crypto Billionaires from US Ranking – Forbes

The downturn in the broader digital currency ecosystem has hit some notable billionaires in the US, pulling four names out of the wealthiest American’s list, according to Forbes data.

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The media outfit said of the 7 names that made the list of the 400 richest last year with a cumulative net worth of $55.1 billion, only 4 are left, and they all command just $27.3 billion.

With both the prices of digital currencies and the valuation of companies plummeting by a very wide range, the networth of all the billionaires profiled have dropped, even though all still rank as some of America’s richest.

The Crypto Billionaires Who Made the List

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is the richest crypto billionaire in the United States and currently ranks in the 41st position. SBF now boasts of a cumulative networth of $17.2 billion, down from $22.5 billion as of this period last year. Sam is the CEO of FTX Derivatives Exchange and a host of other successful subsidiaries of the trading platform.

The next best-ranked billionaire is Sam’s Co-Founder, Gary Wang, whose networth and ranking are pegged at $4.6 billion and 227, respectively. Wang owned approximately 16% each of both FTX and FTX US.

Ripple Co-Founder, Chris Larsen is the 380th richest American with a total valuation of $2.8 billion (down from $6 billion). Chris’s valuation has been impacted by the price of the XRP coin and the long-protracted lawsuit with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the status of XRP as a security.

Brain Armstrong, the CEO of Nasdaq-listed trading platform Coinbase Global Inc ranks in the  388th position atop a $2.7 billion (down from $11.5 billion). With the shares of Coinbase plunging remarkably, Brian comes off as the billionaire that has taken the most hit over the past year.

Crypto Billionaires Who Fell by the Wayside

According to the Forbes report, The Winklevoss twin does not make a list this year despite their $2.2 billion networth. As of last year, the Gemini twin was worth $4.3 billion. Jed McCaleb (worth $2.5 billion) and Fred Erhsam (worth $1.1 billion) did not also make the elite list this year.

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FTX Denies Rumours of Merging between Alameda Research and FTX VC

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has denied reports that his two companies, FTX ventures and Alameda Research, are merging venture capital operations.

The news comes after Sam Trabucco, co-CEO of crypto asset fund Alameda Research, announced on Twitter on Aug. 25 that he would be stepping down from his leadership role.

Caroline Ellison will be the company’s sole CEO following the departure of Sam Trabucco.

Sources said the merger is part of an effort to strengthen billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried’s empire in response to a prolonged decline in cryptocurrency prices.

Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted back, “This seems like a big misinformation to me!”

He added, “FTX’s venture capital is concentrated under FTX Ventures — unlike Alameda’s venture capital, which is not.”

The venture capital arm of FTX and the venture capital business of sister company Alameda Research are not combined but operate independently as two companies.

Amy Wu, CEO of FTX Ventures, said that the FTX Cryptocurrency Exchange, FTX Ventures, and Alameda all operate entirely as separate entities from each other.

Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison explains that Alameda will focus primarily on exchanges, OTC, and decentralized finance.

She added, “We’re arm’s length and don’t get any different treatment from other market makers. The Alameda team isn’t working too much on the venture side day-to-day.”

FTX Ventures launched earlier this year and raised $2 billion in January, during which no money changed hands between FTX and Alameda.

FTX manages assets through Alameda Research, a quantitative cryptocurrency trading firm, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried in October 2017.

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SBF ‘optimistic’ about institutional crypto adoption in 2022

FTX crypto exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried is optimistic that clarity provided by regulators around the world will stimulate institutional adoption rates for crypto this and subsequent years.

In a Jan. 3 interview with Bloomberg, SBF talked about crypto regulations, institutional adoption, and the Metaverse. Despite the rocky end to 2021 for markets, SBF is “optimistic” about 2022.

“The things that make me optimistic basically are more regulatory clarity in the US and globally which I think could help a ton on institutional adoption.”

When asked how he thought institutional adoption of crypto could accelerate in the future, he responded, “A lot of it depends on exactly what happens on the regulatory front as well.”

His view on regulatory clarity encouraging more institutional growth in crypto echoes the views of Beili Baraki of Nansen and Nikos Andrikogiannopoulos of Metrika as reported by Cointelegraph on Jan. 3.

He offered the possibility that if jurisdictions “feel like they’re getting regulatory clarity,” that adoption could come in a “tidal wave.” However, rather than the tidal wave scenario, “it’s going to be a long process, probably stretched out over a few years,” he added.

Additionally, he noted “a lot of different governments announced that there will be regulatory frameworks coming out over the next year.” Several governments have been hard at work sorting out their appropriate regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrency.

Related: The number of countries banning crypto has doubled in three years

Another source of SBF’s optimism seemed to come from the vigor with which institutions are starting to flood into the crypto ecosystem. He said,

“Basically every large financial institution I’ve talked to, every large bank, every large investment bank, pension funds, they’re all eyeing this sector.”

When asked what a combination of cryptocurrency and the metaverse would look like, the crypto billionaire pointed out that with the billions of gamers worldwide, nonfungible tokens (NFT) in video games will likely be one of the largest roles that crypto plays in the metaverse.

There were about 3.2 billion gamers in the world in 2021 according to Statista. However, the crypto gaming industry comprises just 1.2 million gamers according to DappRadar. This suggests that the integration of cryptocurrency with mainstream gaming would provide a tremendous boost to global crypto adoption, reconfirming SBF’s prediction.