Sam Bankman-Fried challenges fraud conviction
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former head and founder of crypto exchange FTX, has filed an appeal against a court ruling that found him guilty of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering and sentenced him to 25 years in prison.
The appeal states that the judge was biased against the businessman and limited his ability to testify that he relied on legal advice for certain business decisions.
In addition, Sam Bankman-Fried insists he was deprived of the opportunity to convey to the court that FTX users did not actually lose money due to potential refunds through the bankruptcy proceedings.
Bankman-Fried has consistently insisted he is innocent since he was first indicted in November 2022. However, federal appeals generally have a slim chance of success.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former head and founder of crypto exchange FTX, has filed an appeal against a court ruling that found him guilty of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering and sentenced him to 25 years in prison.
The appeal states that the judge was biased against the businessman and limited his ability to testify that he relied on legal advice for certain business decisions.
In addition, Sam Bankman-Fried insists he was deprived of the opportunity to convey to the court that FTX users did not actually lose money due to potential refunds through the bankruptcy proceedings.
Bankman-Fried has consistently insisted he is innocent since he was first indicted in November 2022. However, federal appeals generally have a slim chance of success.
Senatorial candidate pledges to hold SEC accountable
“Exceeding the SEC's authority over cryptocurrencies has resulted in $15 billion in losses to small investors.”
This was stated during the primary by Massachusetts Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton, who promised to hold the SEC accountable for its actions.
The SEC's increased regulatory efforts have been marked by a surge in enforcement actions against the crypto industry.
As of early September, the SEC had imposed nearly $4.7 billion in fines and settlements since the beginning of the year, a 3,000% increase over the last similar period.
“Exceeding the SEC's authority over cryptocurrencies has resulted in $15 billion in losses to small investors.”
This was stated during the primary by Massachusetts Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton, who promised to hold the SEC accountable for its actions.
The SEC's increased regulatory efforts have been marked by a surge in enforcement actions against the crypto industry.
As of early September, the SEC had imposed nearly $4.7 billion in fines and settlements since the beginning of the year, a 3,000% increase over the last similar period.
The head of TrustWallet spoke about the key problems of cryptocurrency wallets
Eowyn Chen noted that most wallets are not profitable, with the exception of MetaMask and Coinbase Wallet, which remain potentially profitable.
TrustWallet, originally focused on Ethereum, now supports over 100 blockchains but faces scalability issues, especially in multi-chain wallets.
In the future, Chen believes cryptocurrency wallets will become an important part of B2B ecosystems, like Amazon's Web3 service.
She also suggested that web-based wallet extensions could be replaced by embedded features in decentralized applications.
Eowyn Chen noted that most wallets are not profitable, with the exception of MetaMask and Coinbase Wallet, which remain potentially profitable.
TrustWallet, originally focused on Ethereum, now supports over 100 blockchains but faces scalability issues, especially in multi-chain wallets.
In the future, Chen believes cryptocurrency wallets will become an important part of B2B ecosystems, like Amazon's Web3 service.
She also suggested that web-based wallet extensions could be replaced by embedded features in decentralized applications.
Decentralized exchange dYdX plans to enter the prediction market
dYdX will offer users to bet on the outcome of events using leverage.
Charles d'Haussy, CEO of the dYdX Foundation, said DeFi needs to offer a unique experience to differentiate itself from centralized venues, and the prediction market could bring interest back to DeFi.
dYdX will offer users to bet on the outcome of events using leverage.
Charles d'Haussy, CEO of the dYdX Foundation, said DeFi needs to offer a unique experience to differentiate itself from centralized venues, and the prediction market could bring interest back to DeFi.
Terraform Labs has been approved for liquidation
Reuters reports that a bankruptcy judge has approved Terraform Labs to cease operations and begin liquidation proceedings.
Under the terms of the liquidation, the company must reimburse affected investors and creditors, and those creditors will have the opportunity to vote for or against the proposed liquidation plan.
Earlier, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York approved the total debt of Terraform Labs in the amount of $4.47 billion. However, on Thursday, the company said that it will pay investors and creditors - $627 million.
Reuters reports that a bankruptcy judge has approved Terraform Labs to cease operations and begin liquidation proceedings.
Under the terms of the liquidation, the company must reimburse affected investors and creditors, and those creditors will have the opportunity to vote for or against the proposed liquidation plan.
Earlier, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York approved the total debt of Terraform Labs in the amount of $4.47 billion. However, on Thursday, the company said that it will pay investors and creditors - $627 million.
US police have cracked down on the $243 million Gemini heist
According to blockchain detective ZachXBT, participants in an August robbery of a Gemini lender that netted $243 million in crypto assets have been arrested in Los Angeles and Miami.
Attackers with aliases Greavys, Wiz, and Box, posing as Google and Gemini support, convinced the victim to reset two-factor authentication (2FA) and transfer funds to a compromised wallet. They also tricked the victim into accessing the Bitcoin wallet's private keys.
The hack of the Gemini account earned the attackers 74.22 BTC and the wallet earned another 4,064 BTC. The stolen funds were then divided and transferred to 15 exchanges.
Now most of these funds are frozen and the attackers have been arrested.
According to blockchain detective ZachXBT, participants in an August robbery of a Gemini lender that netted $243 million in crypto assets have been arrested in Los Angeles and Miami.
Attackers with aliases Greavys, Wiz, and Box, posing as Google and Gemini support, convinced the victim to reset two-factor authentication (2FA) and transfer funds to a compromised wallet. They also tricked the victim into accessing the Bitcoin wallet's private keys.
The hack of the Gemini account earned the attackers 74.22 BTC and the wallet earned another 4,064 BTC. The stolen funds were then divided and transferred to 15 exchanges.
Now most of these funds are frozen and the attackers have been arrested.
Two mining pools mine almost half of bitcoins
In the last 24 hours, AntPool, a pool affiliated with Chinese mining equipment maker Bitmain, has mined nearly a third of all new BTC.
AntPool accounts for 42 blocks out of 135, while the Foundry USA pool backed by Digital Currency Group (DCG) has mined 36 blocks.
These pools are leading the bitcoin mining race.
Over the past three years, Foundry USA has mined 26% of BTC (41,647 blocks out of over 160,000). Antpool has 20.5%.
In the last 24 hours, AntPool, a pool affiliated with Chinese mining equipment maker Bitmain, has mined nearly a third of all new BTC.
AntPool accounts for 42 blocks out of 135, while the Foundry USA pool backed by Digital Currency Group (DCG) has mined 36 blocks.
These pools are leading the bitcoin mining race.
Over the past three years, Foundry USA has mined 26% of BTC (41,647 blocks out of over 160,000). Antpool has 20.5%.
Former Goldman Sachs executive director is confident in the growth of bitcoin price
Raul Pal believes that due to the increase in global liquidity, conditions favorable for the growth of the first cryptocurrency may develop.
According to forecasts, the value of BTC could reach the $200,000 mark by early 2025.
Raul Pal believes that due to the increase in global liquidity, conditions favorable for the growth of the first cryptocurrency may develop.
According to forecasts, the value of BTC could reach the $200,000 mark by early 2025.
Kamala Harris has endorsed crypto for the first time
The Democratic US presidential candidate has promised to incentivize investment in AI and digital assets.
She also said she would cut bureaucracy and set clear “rules of the game” for the industry.
One of the main priorities, according to Harris, will be to protect the interests of clients and users of crypto services.
The Democratic US presidential candidate has promised to incentivize investment in AI and digital assets.
She also said she would cut bureaucracy and set clear “rules of the game” for the industry.
One of the main priorities, according to Harris, will be to protect the interests of clients and users of crypto services.
Riot Platforms and Bitfarms have settled a takeover dispute
US miner Riot Platforms has committed not to buy shares in its Canadian rival Bitfarms, over and above the 19.9% it already held.
In return, Bitfarms has removed its co-founder Andres Finkelstein from its board of directors, replacing him with an independent candidate, Amy Friedman, proposed by Riot.
Earlier, Riot made an offer to buy Bitfarms for $950 million, but the latter rejected it, saying the company was worth more.
US miner Riot Platforms has committed not to buy shares in its Canadian rival Bitfarms, over and above the 19.9% it already held.
In return, Bitfarms has removed its co-founder Andres Finkelstein from its board of directors, replacing him with an independent candidate, Amy Friedman, proposed by Riot.
Earlier, Riot made an offer to buy Bitfarms for $950 million, but the latter rejected it, saying the company was worth more.
The attack on Onyx has brought down the VUSD stablecoin
DeFi platform Onyx, owned by JP Morgan, has been hacked for the second time in a year.
A hacker exploited a known vulnerability in the protocol and took possession of several crypto assets valued at $3.8 million.
The exploit was accompanied by malicious activity on social networks, where holders of assets hosted in Onyx were offered to transfer them to fake addresses.
The attack resulted in the loss of the peg of Onyx's own stablecoin, VUSD, which was down to $0.28, and has recovered to $0.55 at the time of writing.
DeFi platform Onyx, owned by JP Morgan, has been hacked for the second time in a year.
A hacker exploited a known vulnerability in the protocol and took possession of several crypto assets valued at $3.8 million.
The exploit was accompanied by malicious activity on social networks, where holders of assets hosted in Onyx were offered to transfer them to fake addresses.
The attack resulted in the loss of the peg of Onyx's own stablecoin, VUSD, which was down to $0.28, and has recovered to $0.55 at the time of writing.
Fed rate cuts will affect stablecoin yields
According to CCData's “Stablecoins and CBDC” report, the capitalization of the stablecoin market is growing for the 12th consecutive month and exceeded $172 billion in September.
Stablecoin trading volumes, as of Sept. 23, totaled $683 billion.
The top five steiblcoins - USDT, USDC, FDUSD, PYUSD and TUSD - hold $125 billion of U.S. Treasuries in reserves.
According to CCData's “Stablecoins and CBDC” report, the capitalization of the stablecoin market is growing for the 12th consecutive month and exceeded $172 billion in September.
Stablecoin trading volumes, as of Sept. 23, totaled $683 billion.
The top five steiblcoins - USDT, USDC, FDUSD, PYUSD and TUSD - hold $125 billion of U.S. Treasuries in reserves.
Bank of New York Mellon received SEC authorization on the provision of services on storage cryptovalut
Earlier this week BNY Mellon presented SEC plan on storage of digital assets, directional on the protection of customer funds in the case of insolvent bank.
Structure BNY assumes the utilization of individual cryptocurrency that will be isolated from the bank's assets.
Earlier this week BNY Mellon presented SEC plan on storage of digital assets, directional on the protection of customer funds in the case of insolvent bank.
Structure BNY assumes the utilization of individual cryptocurrency that will be isolated from the bank's assets.
Grayscale Research's Top 20 Crypto Assets.
The selection approach includes a number of factors, namely network growth/adoption, upcoming catalysts, strength of fundamentals, token valuation, token supply inflation, and potential risks.
Six new assets are included in the Top 20 this quarter:
Sui: a high-performance Tier 1 smart contract blockchain.
Bittensor: a platform that facilitates the development of open and global artificial intelligence systems.
Optimism: an Ethereum scaling project.
Helium: a decentralized wireless network powered by Solana and a leader in the decentralized physical infrastructure category.
Celo: a mobile blockchain project transitioning to an Ethereum Layer 2 network, with a focus on stablecoins and payments.
UMA Protocol: an oracle network providing services to Polymarket, a leading blockchain-based prediction marketplace (as well as other protocols).
You can see the full list in the attached image to the post.
The selection approach includes a number of factors, namely network growth/adoption, upcoming catalysts, strength of fundamentals, token valuation, token supply inflation, and potential risks.
Six new assets are included in the Top 20 this quarter:
Sui: a high-performance Tier 1 smart contract blockchain.
Bittensor: a platform that facilitates the development of open and global artificial intelligence systems.
Optimism: an Ethereum scaling project.
Helium: a decentralized wireless network powered by Solana and a leader in the decentralized physical infrastructure category.
Celo: a mobile blockchain project transitioning to an Ethereum Layer 2 network, with a focus on stablecoins and payments.
UMA Protocol: an oracle network providing services to Polymarket, a leading blockchain-based prediction marketplace (as well as other protocols).
You can see the full list in the attached image to the post.
MicroStrategy - again in the lead
MicroStrategy benefited from the Fed rate cut on October 18 more than any other cryptocurrency company: +32%.
Also among the leaders were the exchange Coinbase (+30%), asset manager Galaxy Digital (+24%) and miner CleanSpark (+15%).
At the same time, shares of Jack Dorsey's company Block and miner Core Scientific showed modest results: within 5%.
MicroStrategy benefited from the Fed rate cut on October 18 more than any other cryptocurrency company: +32%.
Also among the leaders were the exchange Coinbase (+30%), asset manager Galaxy Digital (+24%) and miner CleanSpark (+15%).
At the same time, shares of Jack Dorsey's company Block and miner Core Scientific showed modest results: within 5%.
ERC-20 tokens recognized as unregistered securities
A federal court in Massachusetts has upheld the SEC's lawsuit against Rivetz Corp and its CEO Stephen Sprague.
Rivetz raised $18 million by selling Ethereum-based RvT tokens to 7,200 investors, and the SEC called it an offering of unregistered securities.
Although Steven Sprague argued that the ERC-20 tokens were a software product, the court found that they met the criteria of the Howey test used to determine whether an asset is a security.
A federal court in Massachusetts has upheld the SEC's lawsuit against Rivetz Corp and its CEO Stephen Sprague.
Rivetz raised $18 million by selling Ethereum-based RvT tokens to 7,200 investors, and the SEC called it an offering of unregistered securities.
Although Steven Sprague argued that the ERC-20 tokens were a software product, the court found that they met the criteria of the Howey test used to determine whether an asset is a security.
Franklin Templeton bond fund adds Aptos
Franklin Templeton, which manages $1.6 trillion in assets, has extended its tokenized OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) bond fund to the Aptos Tier 1 blockchain.
With $435 million in assets, FOBXX is the second-largest such fund after BlackRock BUIDL ($518 million).
Aptos is the fifth blockchain for FOBXX, following Polygon, Stellar, Arbitrum and Avalanche.
Franklin Templeton, which manages $1.6 trillion in assets, has extended its tokenized OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) bond fund to the Aptos Tier 1 blockchain.
With $435 million in assets, FOBXX is the second-largest such fund after BlackRock BUIDL ($518 million).
Aptos is the fifth blockchain for FOBXX, following Polygon, Stellar, Arbitrum and Avalanche.
US voters are best informed about bitcoin
According to a Grayscale report, 21% of US voters have had experience buying cryptocurrency.
More than 20% are thinking about buying it in the future or see cryptocurrency as a solid long-term investment.
64% of crypto owners have bought it through an exchange.
That said, perceptions of digital assets vary: 97% of voters are aware of Bitcoin, while only 60% are aware of Ethereum.
Approval of a Bitcoin ETF piqued the interest of 27% of voters with knowledge of cryptocurrency.
According to a Grayscale report, 21% of US voters have had experience buying cryptocurrency.
More than 20% are thinking about buying it in the future or see cryptocurrency as a solid long-term investment.
64% of crypto owners have bought it through an exchange.
That said, perceptions of digital assets vary: 97% of voters are aware of Bitcoin, while only 60% are aware of Ethereum.
Approval of a Bitcoin ETF piqued the interest of 27% of voters with knowledge of cryptocurrency.