Wind-down and liquidation plan follows mass withdrawal of deposits after collapse of FTX exchange
The cryptocurrency-focused US lender Silvergate is to wind down its operations after it was hit by customer withdrawals following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.
The California-based bank had warned last week it was “less than well capitalised” after depositors demanding their money back, adding that it was evaluating its ability to operate as a going concern.
Continue reading...Crypto exchange founder accused of using deposits to support hedge fund, buy real estate and make political contributions
Fallen crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to enter a plea of not guilty on Tuesday to criminal charges that he cheated investors and looted billions of dollars at his now bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Bankman-Fried is accused of illegally using FTX customer deposits to support his Alameda Research hedge fund, buy real estate and make millions of dollars in political contributions, in what prosecutors have called a fraud of epic proportions.
Continue reading...Authority says it is holding digital assets until they can be returned to creditors and former customers
The Bahamas securities regulator has said it has seized assets worth $3.5bn (£2.9bn) from the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX and plans to return them to creditors and former customers.
The Securities Commission of the Bahamas said it had transferred all digital assets under the custody or control of FTX Digital Markets, a Bahamas subsidiary of the FTX operation, to its own digital wallets for “safekeeping”.
Continue reading...More than half of Brisbane company’s digital assets were deposited with Sam Bankman-Fried’s exchange
Collapsed Australian crypto exchange Digital Surge is owed $33m by FTX, one of the biggest cryptocurrency platforms in the world before it collapsed in November.
Brisbane-based Digital Surge passed into administration earlier this month with more than half its digital assets deposited with FTX.
Continue reading...FTX founder set to be charged with eight criminal counts, including fraud, conspiracy and money-laundering offenses
Sam Bankman-Fried, the jailed founder of the collapsed crypto-currency exchange FTX, is expected to fly back to the US on Wednesday to face criminal charges after waiving his right to contest extradition from the Bahamas.
After several days of conflicting signals from Bankman-Fried’s US and Bahamian legal teams, the disgraced crypto-king appeared in court in Nassau to inform a magistrate judge of his decision.
Continue reading...Crypto mogul’s lawyer in Bahamas says he wanted to see indictment before consenting to travel to face fraud charges
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried has now decided to agree to be extradited to the United States to face fraud charges, two of his lawyers said on Monday, just hours after one of them told a Bahamas judge the FTX founder wanted to see the US indictment against him before consenting.
On Monday afternoon, Jerone Roberts, Bankman-Fried’s criminal defense lawyer in the Bahamas, told media outlets including the New York Times that his client had agreed to be voluntarily extradited and that he hoped Bankman-Fried would be back in court later this week.
Continue reading...Chat group on the platform Signal was reportedly used to send end-to-end encrypted information about FTX and its hedge fund
Sam Bankman-Fried and other members of the inner circle of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX allegedly formed a chat group on the encrypted platform Signal under the name “Wirefraud”.
The Australian Financial Review reported that the Wirefraud chat group was used to send end-to-end encrypted information about FTX and its crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, in the run-up to the implosion of the exchange. According to the newspaper, members of the secret group included Bankman-Fried, his FTX partners Zixiao “Gary” Wang and Nishad Singh, and the CEO of Alameda Research Caroline Ellison.
Continue reading...