The trial of former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried began in New York on October 4th. Jury selection took place the previous day. Assistant United States Attorney Thane Rehn told jurors that SBF had used FTX customer funds for personal gain and to gain favor with politicians through donations. Rehn stated that the evidence in the trial will show that SBF committed fraud. SBF’s attorney, Mark Cohen, argued that SBF’s girlfriend, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao share some of the blame for the downfall of FTX. For a more detailed recap of the first week of Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial, check out our article.
Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of crypto lender Celsius, will face trial in September 2024 on charges of fraud and market manipulation. Mashinsky is currently out on bail and subject to travel and financial restrictions. Celsius filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, and Mashinsky was arrested this year for defrauding investors out of billions of dollars. Several regulatory agencies, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, have active suits against Mashinsky. Former Celsius chief revenue officer Roni Cohen-Pavon pleaded guilty to four criminal charges in September.
Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, continues to lose market share for the seventh consecutive month. Analysts attribute this decline to competition from other platforms such as HTX (formerly Huobi), Bybit, and DigiFinex. According to data analysis by CCData reported by Bloomberg, Binance’s share of the spot market fell from 38.5% in August to 34.3% in September. In the derivatives market, Binance’s share dropped from 53.5% to 51.5% during the same period. The struggles with regulators in the United States and the end of Binance’s zero-fee trading promotion were cited as factors in the decline. Additionally, Binance’s withdrawal from the Russian market, which accounted for 7% of its traffic, also contributed to the loss of market share.
A report from blockchain data analyst Nansen reveals that FTX transferred $4.1 billion worth of its native FTT tokens to Alameda Research between September 28th and November 1st, 2022. FTX and Alameda Research controlled approximately 90% of the FTT supply. The report suggests that the companies were using the tokens to support their balance sheets. FTX also sent $388 million in stablecoin to Alameda Research during the same period. The data suggests that Alameda Research’s offer to buy out Binance’s FTT holdings at $22 on November 6th would not have been possible without these transfers. The offer was made as both companies were facing turmoil due to irregularities in their balance sheets. FTX later filed for bankruptcy.
Asset management firm Valkyrie has backtracked on its plan to purchase Ether in advance of receiving approval for its exchange-traded fund (ETF). In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Valkyrie stated that it would not proceed with the purchase and would instead sell the ETH futures it had already bought. Valkyrie had previously intended to offer investors exposure to ETF futures before launching its combined Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF. The SEC has delayed decisions on several ETFs, which some believe is due to concerns regarding a government shutdown.
In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin is currently priced at $27,880, Ether at $1,640, and XRP at $0.52. The total market cap is at $1.07 trillion. The top three altcoin gainers of the week are Trust Wallet Token (TWT), Avalanche (AVAX), and Render (RNDR). The top three altcoin losers are ApeCoin (APE), THORChain (RUNE), and Curve DAO Token (CRV).
This week in quotes:
– Gary Wang, co-founder and former CTO of FTX, stated that Alameda was allowed to withdraw unlimited funds from FTX.
– Adam Yedidia, former FTX employee and roommate of SBF, revealed that SBF instructed the company to use Signal for communication and auto-delete messages to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
– Pascal Gauthier, CEO and chairman of Ledger, explained that the company was reducing roles due to macroeconomic headwinds and business realities.
– Vetle Lundem, senior analyst at K33, expressed optimism for Bitcoin and the crypto market, stating that aggressive accumulation is favorable.
– Lennix Lai, global chief commercial officer at OKX, highlighted the advantages of innovation in the crypto industry over traditional finance.
BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes predicts that the surging bond yields will lead to “mass liquidity injections,” providing the next catalyst for the crypto bull market. He argues that the increase in yields will force money printing to save government bond markets, leading to a return to the crypto bull market.
A report from blockchain security platform Immunefi shows a significant increase in crypto hacks and scams in the third quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. The number of incidents increased by over 153%, with over $680 million lost to scams and hacks during the quarter. The largest hack was of the Mixin protocol, which lost over $200 million.
Technical analysts warn that Bitcoin may experience a price crash to $20,000. They point to a “head and shoulders” pattern on the current chart, which often indicates a price decline.
That’s all for this week! Stay tuned for more updates and analysis on the cryptocurrency market.
Source link