The former CEO needs to serve

2022-11-13

The former CEO needs to serve jail time for fraudulent transactions he was withdrawing from clients tokens to fund his speculations. If not, then crypto is just no diff but another laundering scam

A $32 Billion Crypto Empire Has Crashed. The Fallout Is Spreading Far Beyond Crypto

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{"i18n":{"language":"en_US"},"detailType":1,"isChannel":false,"data":{"magic":2,"id":9969071885,"tweetId":"9969071885","gmtCreate":1668306970548,"gmtModify":1676538039404,"author":{"id":3569215424377171,"idStr":"3569215424377171","authorId":3569215424377171,"authorIdStr":"3569215424377171","name":"trendjourney","avatar":"https://community-static.tradeup.com/news/307dcb32979cd42e40f07b1cd59a6f97","vip":1,"userType":1,"introduction":"","boolIsFan":false,"boolIsHead":false,"crmLevel":2,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"individualDisplayBadges":[],"fanSize":0,"starInvestorFlag":false},"themes":[],"images":[],"coverImages":[],"html":"<html><head></head><body>The former CEO needs to serve jail time for fraudulent transactions he was withdrawing from clients tokens to fund his speculations. If not, then crypto is just no diff but another laundering scam</body></html>","htmlText":"<html><head></head><body>The former CEO needs to serve jail time for fraudulent transactions he was withdrawing from clients tokens to fund his speculations. If not, then crypto is just no diff but another laundering scam</body></html>","text":"The former CEO needs to serve jail time for fraudulent transactions he was withdrawing from clients tokens to fund his speculations. If not, then crypto is just no diff but another laundering scam","highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":0,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"favoriteSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/9969071885","repostId":1137748454,"repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1137748454","kind":"news","pubTimestamp":1668216439,"share":"https://www.laohu8.com/m/news/1137748454?lang=&edition=full","pubTime":"2022-11-12 09:27","market":"us","language":"en","title":"A $32 Billion Crypto Empire Has Crashed. The Fallout Is Spreading Far Beyond Crypto","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1137748454","media":"Barron's","summary":"How long does it take to wipe out a $32 billion company, shatter confidence in an entire industry, a","content":"<html><head></head><body>How long does it take to wipe out a $32 billion company, shatter confidence in an entire industry, and leave a trail of destruction from Wall Street to Silicon Valley?In crypto, about a week.The debacle unfolded in real time on Twitter as the crypto empire run by Sam Bankman-Fried collapsed. FTX Group, his conglomerate of 130 entities—including the FTX exchange and Alameda Research, a market maker and trading firm—filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection on Friday.Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO from the group, issuing a mea culpa on Twitter. “I’m really sorry, again, that we ended up here,” he said in a stream of tweets. “I’m piecing together all of the details, but I was shocked to see things unravel the way they did earlier this week,” he added.Bankman-Fried wasn’t the only one expressing shock. FTX, the world’s second largest crypto exchange, collapsed over a few chaotic days, brought down by a liquidity crisis as customers lost confidence in the exchange. Essentially, it was an old-fashioned run on the bank, with no federal regulator or private entity willing to prop up FTX, unwind the operations, or contain the fallout.The collateral damage is likely to be vast. FTX and Alameda played central roles in crypto trading, market making, lending, and bailouts of other firms. FTX had attracted investment from prominent venture-capital firms, pension funds, and hedge funds. Some of them invested in FTX at a valuation of $32 billion just a few months ago. They are now marking down their investments to zero.The unraveling has already knocked more than $125 billion in market cap off Bitcoin and other tokens. FTX has frozen customer accounts. Its U.S. entity, FTX US, had said it would probably halt trading within days, though its website was still operational on Friday, including a pitch to “join some of the world’s biggest names who trust FTX,” showing photos of Tom Brady and Stephen Curry.Other entities that have paused withdrawals include BlockFi, a crypto lender that FTX bailed out last summer. More entities and counterparties with exposure to FTX are likely to be revealed as the bankruptcy proceedings get rolling.Regulators are now under far more pressure to ramp up supervision of an industry that has so far thrived on opacity and a lack of clear rules. “I hope some of these firms take note and actually work with us and get registered, or we’ll certainly be doing what we need to do, being a cop on the beat,” said Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler at a conference on Wednesday.It’s unclear how crypto will clean up its latest mess. Indeed, what little credibility crypto had is being tested anew, raising questions about whether the whole edifice will simply crumble under its own weight.“Those who were skeptical about crypto will become even more skeptical. They’re not wrong to feel that way,” says Ric Edelman, head of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals.Before his empire fell apart, Bankman-Fried had been viewed as a kind of crypto philosopher king. A 30-year-old Californian, educated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he built FTX and Alameda into the very fabric of crypto infrastructure, playing a leading role in derivatives, trading, and market-making activity.<img src=\"https://static.tigerbbs.com/c380e6b530fb0a8f21ae5df380dcfabf\" tg-width=\"939\" tg-height=\"639\" width=\"100%\" height=\"auto\"/>As FTX and its related entities grew into a multibillion-dollar empire, Bankman-Fried parlayed his wealth and prominence widely. He spent millions on sports, including naming rights to the Miami Heat’s National Basketball Association arena and sponsorship of Formula 1 racing cars. He also promised to donate most of his fortune to charities. And he became a fixture on Capitol Hill, arguing for regulation and donating to political campaigns in a bid to bring crypto into the mainstream.Bankman-Fried also built a reputation as a crypto white knight—a banker of last resort. BlockFi and Voyager Digitalboth got bailouts or lines of credit, though Voyager didn’t survive. Bankman-Fried also invested in other crypto platforms, including Robinhood Markets (ticker: HOOD), owning a 7.5% stake in the company worth $570 million at recent prices.The collapse of FTX could prove costly, well beyond crypto. FTX’s venture-capital investors included big names like Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Sequoia now says that its investment is worth zero.Analysts expect more companies to reveal exposures and losses. “There could be other cascading failures that could emerge,” says Lucas Nuzzi, head of research and development at Coin Metrics, a research firm working on a report that may identify additional counterparties to FTX and Alameda.One immediate impact, of course, is sheer fear of crypto. Potential investors in start-ups are now more likely to shy away, says Antonio Juliano, CEO of dYdX, one of the largest decentralized-finance, or DeFi, exchanges. “This will decrease interest in crypto for the short to medium term,” he says.There may also be a chill on crypto demand as investors question whether their tokens, custodied through brokerages and exchanges, will be accessible in the event of a bankruptcy. FTX used customer assets for trading at Alameda without their knowledge, according to media reports. When Alameda couldn’t meet its obligations, it spilled over to FTX’s customer base.Equity brokerages and exchanges regulated by the SEC would never be allowed to use customer assets in that way. Those lines are largely absent in crypto, however. U.S. exchange are licensed by states as money-transfer businesses. And there is no regulatory body supervising operations of global exchanges like Bahamas-based FTX.Coinbase Global (COIN), the largest U.S.-based exchange, said this past week that “there can’t be a run on the bank” at the firm and that it lends customer assets only with approval.Nonetheless, the collapse of FTX underscores the market’s concentration in a handful of companies. And it reveals how even two of the big players can shake the foundations.FTX’s demise started when CoinDesk reported that Alameda’s balance sheet consisted partly of a token called FTT, which is used for trading and commissions on the FTX exchange. Days later, Changpeng Zhao, the leader of Binance—the world’s largest crypto exchange—said he planned to unload more than $500 million worth of FTT that his firm had acquired.With that, the run on FTX began. On Sunday, FTX saw $5 billion in customer withdrawals. Bankman-Fried then sought emerging funding to cover shortfalls, estimated at $8 billion. On Tuesday, Binance appeared to be a savior, signing a letter of intent to buy FTX. The next day, Binance pulled out, saying that “the issues are beyond our control or ability to help.”Bankman-Fried has said that he thought it likely that Zhao never intended to buy FTX. “Well played; you won,” he said on Twitter, in an apparent allusion to Zhao taking out a rival.FTX did not respond to a request for comment. Binance declined to comment.The regulatory fallout is just starting. Democrats in Congress are calling for hearings, and the White House has weighed in. “The most recent news...highlights why prudent regulation of cryptocurrencies is indeed needed,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.U.S. enforcement agencies are now expanding inquiries. If the SEC alleges that FTX broke securities laws, it could create liability for the entire industry. “That’s what can really shake the industry,” says Tyler Gellasch, a former SEC senior counsel.Representatives for the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission declined to comment.Even if FTX’s troubles seem remote, the damage is likely to keep affecting tokens, brokerages like Coinbase and Robinhood, and the many banks, lenders, and tech companies trying to build crypto businesses.“FTX and SBF were these megawatt stars in crypto and had garnered a lot of trust, not just among institutional investors but also among regulators,” says Morningstar’s Madeline Hume, referring to Bankman-Fried. “The risk of contagion has never been higher.”</body></html>","source":"lsy1610680873436","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>A $32 Billion Crypto Empire Has Crashed. 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The Fallout Is Spreading Far Beyond Crypto\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2022-11-12 09:27 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.barrons.com/articles/ftx-binance-sam-bankman-fried-crypto-bitcoin-solana-price-crash-51668135110>Barron's</a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\nHow long does it take to wipe out a $32 billion company, shatter confidence in an entire industry, and leave a trail of destruction from Wall Street to Silicon Valley?In crypto, about a week.The ...\n\n<a href=\"https://www.barrons.com/articles/ftx-binance-sam-bankman-fried-crypto-bitcoin-solana-price-crash-51668135110\">Web Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"","relate_stocks":{"GBTC":"Grayscale Bitcoin Trust","COIN":"Coinbase Global, Inc."},"source_url":"https://www.barrons.com/articles/ftx-binance-sam-bankman-fried-crypto-bitcoin-solana-price-crash-51668135110","is_english":true,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1137748454","content_text":"How long does it take to wipe out a $32 billion company, shatter confidence in an entire industry, and leave a trail of destruction from Wall Street to Silicon Valley?In crypto, about a week.The debacle unfolded in real time on Twitter as the crypto empire run by Sam Bankman-Fried collapsed. FTX Group, his conglomerate of 130 entities—including the FTX exchange and Alameda Research, a market maker and trading firm—filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection on Friday.Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO from the group, issuing a mea culpa on Twitter. “I’m really sorry, again, that we ended up here,” he said in a stream of tweets. “I’m piecing together all of the details, but I was shocked to see things unravel the way they did earlier this week,” he added.Bankman-Fried wasn’t the only one expressing shock. FTX, the world’s second largest crypto exchange, collapsed over a few chaotic days, brought down by a liquidity crisis as customers lost confidence in the exchange. Essentially, it was an old-fashioned run on the bank, with no federal regulator or private entity willing to prop up FTX, unwind the operations, or contain the fallout.The collateral damage is likely to be vast. FTX and Alameda played central roles in crypto trading, market making, lending, and bailouts of other firms. FTX had attracted investment from prominent venture-capital firms, pension funds, and hedge funds. Some of them invested in FTX at a valuation of $32 billion just a few months ago. They are now marking down their investments to zero.The unraveling has already knocked more than $125 billion in market cap off Bitcoin and other tokens. FTX has frozen customer accounts. Its U.S. entity, FTX US, had said it would probably halt trading within days, though its website was still operational on Friday, including a pitch to “join some of the world’s biggest names who trust FTX,” showing photos of Tom Brady and Stephen Curry.Other entities that have paused withdrawals include BlockFi, a crypto lender that FTX bailed out last summer. More entities and counterparties with exposure to FTX are likely to be revealed as the bankruptcy proceedings get rolling.Regulators are now under far more pressure to ramp up supervision of an industry that has so far thrived on opacity and a lack of clear rules. “I hope some of these firms take note and actually work with us and get registered, or we’ll certainly be doing what we need to do, being a cop on the beat,” said Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler at a conference on Wednesday.It’s unclear how crypto will clean up its latest mess. Indeed, what little credibility crypto had is being tested anew, raising questions about whether the whole edifice will simply crumble under its own weight.“Those who were skeptical about crypto will become even more skeptical. They’re not wrong to feel that way,” says Ric Edelman, head of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals.Before his empire fell apart, Bankman-Fried had been viewed as a kind of crypto philosopher king. A 30-year-old Californian, educated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he built FTX and Alameda into the very fabric of crypto infrastructure, playing a leading role in derivatives, trading, and market-making activity.As FTX and its related entities grew into a multibillion-dollar empire, Bankman-Fried parlayed his wealth and prominence widely. He spent millions on sports, including naming rights to the Miami Heat’s National Basketball Association arena and sponsorship of Formula 1 racing cars. He also promised to donate most of his fortune to charities. And he became a fixture on Capitol Hill, arguing for regulation and donating to political campaigns in a bid to bring crypto into the mainstream.Bankman-Fried also built a reputation as a crypto white knight—a banker of last resort. BlockFi and Voyager Digitalboth got bailouts or lines of credit, though Voyager didn’t survive. Bankman-Fried also invested in other crypto platforms, including Robinhood Markets (ticker: HOOD), owning a 7.5% stake in the company worth $570 million at recent prices.The collapse of FTX could prove costly, well beyond crypto. FTX’s venture-capital investors included big names like Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Sequoia now says that its investment is worth zero.Analysts expect more companies to reveal exposures and losses. “There could be other cascading failures that could emerge,” says Lucas Nuzzi, head of research and development at Coin Metrics, a research firm working on a report that may identify additional counterparties to FTX and Alameda.One immediate impact, of course, is sheer fear of crypto. Potential investors in start-ups are now more likely to shy away, says Antonio Juliano, CEO of dYdX, one of the largest decentralized-finance, or DeFi, exchanges. “This will decrease interest in crypto for the short to medium term,” he says.There may also be a chill on crypto demand as investors question whether their tokens, custodied through brokerages and exchanges, will be accessible in the event of a bankruptcy. FTX used customer assets for trading at Alameda without their knowledge, according to media reports. When Alameda couldn’t meet its obligations, it spilled over to FTX’s customer base.Equity brokerages and exchanges regulated by the SEC would never be allowed to use customer assets in that way. Those lines are largely absent in crypto, however. U.S. exchange are licensed by states as money-transfer businesses. And there is no regulatory body supervising operations of global exchanges like Bahamas-based FTX.Coinbase Global (COIN), the largest U.S.-based exchange, said this past week that “there can’t be a run on the bank” at the firm and that it lends customer assets only with approval.Nonetheless, the collapse of FTX underscores the market’s concentration in a handful of companies. And it reveals how even two of the big players can shake the foundations.FTX’s demise started when CoinDesk reported that Alameda’s balance sheet consisted partly of a token called FTT, which is used for trading and commissions on the FTX exchange. Days later, Changpeng Zhao, the leader of Binance—the world’s largest crypto exchange—said he planned to unload more than $500 million worth of FTT that his firm had acquired.With that, the run on FTX began. On Sunday, FTX saw $5 billion in customer withdrawals. Bankman-Fried then sought emerging funding to cover shortfalls, estimated at $8 billion. On Tuesday, Binance appeared to be a savior, signing a letter of intent to buy FTX. The next day, Binance pulled out, saying that “the issues are beyond our control or ability to help.”Bankman-Fried has said that he thought it likely that Zhao never intended to buy FTX. “Well played; you won,” he said on Twitter, in an apparent allusion to Zhao taking out a rival.FTX did not respond to a request for comment. Binance declined to comment.The regulatory fallout is just starting. Democrats in Congress are calling for hearings, and the White House has weighed in. “The most recent news...highlights why prudent regulation of cryptocurrencies is indeed needed,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.U.S. enforcement agencies are now expanding inquiries. If the SEC alleges that FTX broke securities laws, it could create liability for the entire industry. “That’s what can really shake the industry,” says Tyler Gellasch, a former SEC senior counsel.Representatives for the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission declined to comment.Even if FTX’s troubles seem remote, the damage is likely to keep affecting tokens, brokerages like Coinbase and Robinhood, and the many banks, lenders, and tech companies trying to build crypto businesses.“FTX and SBF were these megawatt stars in crypto and had garnered a lot of trust, not just among institutional investors but also among regulators,” says Morningstar’s Madeline Hume, referring to Bankman-Fried. “The risk of contagion has never been higher.”","news_type":1},"isVote":1,"tweetType":1,"viewCount":323,"commentLimit":10,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false,"reportStatus":false,"symbols":[],"verified":2,"subType":0,"readableState":1,"langContent":"EN","currentLanguage":"EN","warmUpFlag":false,"orderFlag":false,"shareable":true,"causeOfNotShareable":"","featuresForAnalytics":[],"commentAndTweetFlag":false,"andRepostAutoSelectedFlag":false,"upFlag":false,"length":164,"xxTargetLangEnum":"ORIG"},"commentList":[],"isCommentEnd":true,"isTiger":false,"isWeiXinMini":false,"url":"/m/post/9969071885"}