On November 24 2022 10:30 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: Wonder if he can be arrested once he enters the US, but don't think he has been charged. So maybe held for questioning?
Also $740 Million has been recovered so far from the FTX Bankruptcy. All in South Dakota lol
NEW YORK (AP) — The company tasked with locking down the assets of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX says it has managed to recover and secure $740 million in assets so far, a fraction of the potentially billions of dollars likely missing from the company’s coffers.
The numbers were disclosed on Wednesday in court filings by FTX, which hired the cryptocurrency custodial company BitGo hours after FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11.
The biggest worry for many of FTX’s customers is they’ll never see their money again. FTX failed because its founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and his lieutenants used customer assets to make bets in FTX’s closely related trading firm, Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried was reportedly looking for upwards of $8 billion from new investors to repair the company’s balance sheet.
Bankman-Fried “proved that there is no such thing as a ‘safe’ conflict of interest,” BitGo CEO Mike Belshe said in an email.
The $740 million figure is from Nov. 16. BitGo estimates that the amount of recovered and secured assets has likely risen above $1 billion since that date.
The assets recovered by BitGo are now locked in South Dakota in what is known as “cold storage,” which means they’re cryptocurrencies stored on hard drives not connected to the internet. BitGo provides what is known as “qualified custodian” services under South Dakota law. It’s basically the crypto equivalent of financial fiduciary, offering segregated accounts and other security services to lock down digital assets.
Several crypto companies have failed this year a s bitcoin and other digital currencies have collapsed in value. FTX failed when it experienced the crypto equivalent of a bank run, and early investigations have found that FTX employees intermingled assets held for customers with assets they were investing.
“Trading, financing, and custody need to be different,” Belshe said.
The assets recovered include not only bitcoin and ethereum, but also a collection of minor cryptocurrencies that vary in popularity and value, such as the shiba inu coin.
California-based BitGo has a history of recovering and securing assets. The company was tasked with securing assets after the cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox failed in 2014. It is also the custodian for the assets held by the government of El Salvador as part of that country’s experiment in using bitcoin as legal tender.
FTX is paying Bitgo a $5 million retainer and $100,000 a month for its services.
I saw some speculation from serious YouTubers that SBFs dealings might NOT be illegal. His shady dealings were mostly involving crypto, which is poorly regulated.
If it is considered similar to in-game currency like WOW gold, is even "borrowing" investor assets to gamble illegal?
On November 24 2022 10:30 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: Wonder if he can be arrested once he enters the US, but don't think he has been charged. So maybe held for questioning?
Also $740 Million has been recovered so far from the FTX Bankruptcy. All in South Dakota lol
NEW YORK (AP) — The company tasked with locking down the assets of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX says it has managed to recover and secure $740 million in assets so far, a fraction of the potentially billions of dollars likely missing from the company’s coffers.
The numbers were disclosed on Wednesday in court filings by FTX, which hired the cryptocurrency custodial company BitGo hours after FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11.
The biggest worry for many of FTX’s customers is they’ll never see their money again. FTX failed because its founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and his lieutenants used customer assets to make bets in FTX’s closely related trading firm, Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried was reportedly looking for upwards of $8 billion from new investors to repair the company’s balance sheet.
Bankman-Fried “proved that there is no such thing as a ‘safe’ conflict of interest,” BitGo CEO Mike Belshe said in an email.
The $740 million figure is from Nov. 16. BitGo estimates that the amount of recovered and secured assets has likely risen above $1 billion since that date.
The assets recovered by BitGo are now locked in South Dakota in what is known as “cold storage,” which means they’re cryptocurrencies stored on hard drives not connected to the internet. BitGo provides what is known as “qualified custodian” services under South Dakota law. It’s basically the crypto equivalent of financial fiduciary, offering segregated accounts and other security services to lock down digital assets.
Several crypto companies have failed this year a s bitcoin and other digital currencies have collapsed in value. FTX failed when it experienced the crypto equivalent of a bank run, and early investigations have found that FTX employees intermingled assets held for customers with assets they were investing.
“Trading, financing, and custody need to be different,” Belshe said.
The assets recovered include not only bitcoin and ethereum, but also a collection of minor cryptocurrencies that vary in popularity and value, such as the shiba inu coin.
California-based BitGo has a history of recovering and securing assets. The company was tasked with securing assets after the cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox failed in 2014. It is also the custodian for the assets held by the government of El Salvador as part of that country’s experiment in using bitcoin as legal tender.
FTX is paying Bitgo a $5 million retainer and $100,000 a month for its services.
I saw some speculation from serious YouTubers that SBFs dealings might NOT be illegal. His shady dealings were mostly involving crypto, which is poorly regulated.
If it is considered similar to in-game currency like WOW gold, is even "borrowing" investor assets to gamble illegal?
The investment disclosures that he was providing to interested parties were completely fabricated. It's just straight up fraud, crypto or not doesn't matter.
On November 24 2022 10:30 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: Wonder if he can be arrested once he enters the US, but don't think he has been charged. So maybe held for questioning?
Also $740 Million has been recovered so far from the FTX Bankruptcy. All in South Dakota lol
NEW YORK (AP) — The company tasked with locking down the assets of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX says it has managed to recover and secure $740 million in assets so far, a fraction of the potentially billions of dollars likely missing from the company’s coffers.
The numbers were disclosed on Wednesday in court filings by FTX, which hired the cryptocurrency custodial company BitGo hours after FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11.
The biggest worry for many of FTX’s customers is they’ll never see their money again. FTX failed because its founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and his lieutenants used customer assets to make bets in FTX’s closely related trading firm, Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried was reportedly looking for upwards of $8 billion from new investors to repair the company’s balance sheet.
Bankman-Fried “proved that there is no such thing as a ‘safe’ conflict of interest,” BitGo CEO Mike Belshe said in an email.
The $740 million figure is from Nov. 16. BitGo estimates that the amount of recovered and secured assets has likely risen above $1 billion since that date.
The assets recovered by BitGo are now locked in South Dakota in what is known as “cold storage,” which means they’re cryptocurrencies stored on hard drives not connected to the internet. BitGo provides what is known as “qualified custodian” services under South Dakota law. It’s basically the crypto equivalent of financial fiduciary, offering segregated accounts and other security services to lock down digital assets.
Several crypto companies have failed this year a s bitcoin and other digital currencies have collapsed in value. FTX failed when it experienced the crypto equivalent of a bank run, and early investigations have found that FTX employees intermingled assets held for customers with assets they were investing.
“Trading, financing, and custody need to be different,” Belshe said.
The assets recovered include not only bitcoin and ethereum, but also a collection of minor cryptocurrencies that vary in popularity and value, such as the shiba inu coin.
California-based BitGo has a history of recovering and securing assets. The company was tasked with securing assets after the cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox failed in 2014. It is also the custodian for the assets held by the government of El Salvador as part of that country’s experiment in using bitcoin as legal tender.
FTX is paying Bitgo a $5 million retainer and $100,000 a month for its services.
I saw some speculation from serious YouTubers that SBFs dealings might NOT be illegal. His shady dealings were mostly involving crypto, which is poorly regulated.
If it is considered similar to in-game currency like WOW gold, is even "borrowing" investor assets to gamble illegal?
The investment disclosures that he was providing to interested parties were completely fabricated. It's just straight up fraud, crypto or not doesn't matter.
It seems it was all fabricated from the start. I guess that's what you get when you let people handle billions of dollars in an unregulated space, you can't assume they'll choose integrity and professionalism over grabbing easy money. Having an auditor with an address in the Metaverse doesn't really inspire confidence...
Binance confirms they are going to attempt to take control of Voyager now that FTX is bankrupt.
Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao has confirmed that the exchange's U.S. wing will be making a fresh bid for crypto lender Voyager now that the defunct FTX is unable to follow through with acquiring it.
CoinDesk reported last week that Binance.US would be preparing a bid for the bankrupt lending platform, which Zhao confirmed in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday.
"Binance.US will make another bid for Voyager now, given FTX is no longer able to follow through on that commitment," he said.
Following Voyager's bankruptcy, FTX emerged as the front runner to acquire the lender, with Binance's bid said to be held back over concerns that it would represent a national security concern for the U.S. government.
"I think the U.S. national security concerns were rumors spread by FTX to try and push us out of the bid," Zhao said. "There was never any concerns about us participating in the bid."
Binance has been dogged by claims that it is a Chinese company, given it is the country of Zhao's birth, though he grew up in Canada. "I am a Canadian citizen, period," he wrote in a blog post in September.
So it appears FTX also owned a portion of a small US Bank.
FTX has come under more scrutiny after it emerged that the collapsed crypto giant owned an $11.5 million stake in one of America's smallest banks – more than double the bank's previous net worth – the New York Times reported.
Farmington State Bank, which is based in the small town of Farmington in the rural farming region of Whitman County, Washington, was described as "no-frills" by local newspaper The Spokesman-Review in 2010. Its then-president, John Widman, told the newspaper that it had stopped making mortgage loans because the paperwork was too much effort.
Its single branch had three employees until this year, and didn't offer online banking or even credit cards. It instead specialised in agricultural loans to farmers.
FTX's investment came to light during the crypto firm's bankruptcy case, and is raising red flags about its financial strategy.
Ties between the farmers' bank and the crypto exchange began in March this year, when FTX's sister company, Alameda Research, invested in Farmington's parent company, FBH. The purchase was led by Ramnik Arora, one of Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle, who was often responsible for much larger deals.
At the time, it was the 26th-smallest bank in America out of 4,800. With a net worth of $5.7 million, FTX's stake was worth more than double the bank's value.
The town of Farmington has just 146 residents, and is so small that Google Street View doesn't cover the whole town.
For a decade, Farmington's bank held around $10 million in deposits. In the third quarter this year, deposits jumped to $84 million – 85% of which came from just four accounts, according to FDIC data cited by the Times.
Online, the bank now appears as "Moonstone Bank," a name which was trademarked a few days before FTX's investment. Moonstone doesn't mention cryptocurrency, but does say it wants to "support the evolution of next generation finance."
Questions are being asked over how FTX got federal approval to buy its stake in Farmington. Banking veterans told the New York Times that it was hard to believe regulators would have knowingly allowed the crypto firm to do so.
Moonstone and FTX did not immediately reply to a request for comment, sent outside normal US working hours.
What I find particularly fascinating about the whole FTX thing is that he'd probably still be getting away with it all if it weren't for a leak.
I'm not sure if it's worse to believe none of the bigger players (World Economic Forum for one) that hyped SBF/FTX knew better or that they did and went through with it anyway?
On November 26 2022 07:25 GreenHorizons wrote: What I find particularly fascinating about the whole FTX thing is that he'd probably still be getting away with it all if it weren't for a leak.
I'm not sure if it's worse to believe none of the bigger players (World Economic Forum for one) that hyped SBF/FTX knew better or that they did and went through with it anyway?
This is not correct. Several called out FTX months ago, and general suspicion was rising. The question is why this wasn't discovered sooner, not if he would have gotten away with it were not for the recent events.
Even serious investors get blinded by the chance of a quick buck🙄
What i don't get is why that guy still opens his mouth. Doesn't he have lawyers telling him to not say anything, ever, again? Because he really should have.
On December 01 2022 13:37 Simberto wrote: What i don't get is why that guy still opens his mouth. Doesn't he have lawyers telling him to not say anything, ever, again? Because he really should have.
Speaking of lawyers, here are some lawyer thoughts on the matter presented in a manner accessible even to a layman. He also explains potential problems the law enforcement is facing in this case and does mention that SBF should definitely stop all public communication because he's just making his own grave that much deeper.
On December 01 2022 13:37 Simberto wrote: What i don't get is why that guy still opens his mouth. Doesn't he have lawyers telling him to not say anything, ever, again? Because he really should have.
If he had competent people around him he wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.
He's back at it. Which basically means if what he says is true, then the US Government can't and won't go after him because no citizens were stolen from.
On December 02 2022 05:10 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: He's back at it. Which basically means if what he says is true, then the US Government can't and won't go after him because no citizens were stolen from.
Case in point. Would be interesting to know the figures of the clients who lost money in say Europe etc. Because if only the US wallet is intact then Uncle Sam can't do anything. It would be up to the Dutch(?) authorities.
I don't see the why on the US government itself being involved or any politician within it when a lawyer could just as easily propose the strategy to him to make it impossible for the US to extradite someone without having a crime to extradite him for.
weaponizing subpoenas to get someone to come to the US in order to be then extradited to Europe or some other country seems like a radical use of it. I think that it would make sense theoretically but then you would need to make sure the European nation that he's getting extradited to is in place to make that request when he enters us soil.
Interpol instead of the FBI would have to take the lead on aressting him it seems with this strategy. Some nation like France or the UK has just got to step up on it.
On December 02 2022 05:10 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: He's back at it. Which basically means if what he says is true, then the US Government can't and won't go after him because no citizens were stolen from.
Why would anyone believe this tweet full of his usual weasel words anyway? It hardly fills me with confidence the US users will be paid back, but maybe they have, not like I am actively following all the updates on this.
Never forget how full of shit the dude is, though.
EDIT: It's a real shame he's getting away with it
EDIT EDIT: Some talk that a subpoena is not being issued currently because it's not seen as needed, he is "cooperating". Makes it maybe slightly less questionable I guess, but what would I know.
On December 02 2022 05:10 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: He's back at it. Which basically means if what he says is true, then the US Government can't and won't go after him because no citizens were stolen from.
Why would anyone believe this tweet full of his usual weasel words anyway? It hardly fills me with confidence the US users will be paid back, but maybe they have, not like I am actively following all the updates on this.
Never forget how full of shit the dude is, though.
EDIT EDIT: Some talk that a subpoena is not being issued currently because it's not seen as needed, he is "cooperating". Makes it maybe slightly less questionable I guess, but what would I know.
Plot twist.
But regardless if every US investor/FTX Account is made whole it is going to be pretty difficult to get the FBI to move.
On December 02 2022 05:10 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: He's back at it. Which basically means if what he says is true, then the US Government can't and won't go after him because no citizens were stolen from.
Why would anyone believe this tweet full of his usual weasel words anyway? It hardly fills me with confidence the US users will be paid back, but maybe they have, not like I am actively following all the updates on this.
Never forget how full of shit the dude is, though.
EDIT EDIT: Some talk that a subpoena is not being issued currently because it's not seen as needed, he is "cooperating". Makes it maybe slightly less questionable I guess, but what would I know.
I was just going to post that video. Its absolutely the killshot to reveal the fraud behind the whole house of cards. All money went into the same bucket, all money came out of the same bucket. There was no mistake about funds going into the wrong sheets. There was never an intention to separate funds and so the funds were never separated.
EPT
