SBF allegedly bribes Chinese officials with $150 million to unfreeze accounts, Binance justifies blocking Hamas users, meanwhile, Huobi hacker returns all $8M in stolen assets.
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SBF’s alleged Chinese bribe, Binance clarifies account freeze: Asia Express
SBF allegedly bribes Chinese officials with $150 million to unfreeze accounts, Binance justifies blocking Hamas users, meanwhile, Huobi hacker returns all $8M in stolen assets.
SBF’s alleged Chinese bribe, Binance clarifies account freeze: Asia Express
Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments.
According to October 11 testimony from Caroline Ellison, co-founder of FTX-linked hedge fund Alameda Research, her colleague — disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried — allegedly paid $150 million in bribes to Chinese government officials in 2021, higher than the $40 million disclosed initially.
Ellison said during the FTX trial that two years prior, $1 billion worth of Alameda Research’s digital assets on crypto exchanges OKX and Huobi were frozen by Chinese law enforcement as part of a money-laundering investigation. Senior FTX executives, such as chief operations officer Constance Wang and Alameda trader David Wa, were also involved in the incident. The individuals first tried to contact a Chinese lawyer to unfreeze the funds, which didn’t work.
The disgraced FTX founder will be on trial throughout October. (Wikipedia)Then, FTX and Alameda staff allegedly created accounts on OKX and Huobi using the identification of a Thai prostitute to negotiate the return of funds. When that didn’t work out, Ellison accused Bankman-Fried of paying a $150 million bribe to unfreeze the accounts. The bribe was recorded as “the thing” in future Alameda balance sheets. According to Ellison’s testimony, the funds were immediately unfrozen following the bribe.
Presiding Judge Lewis Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York reminded the jurors that Bankman-Fried’s alleged bribery of Chinese officials is not within the scope of the ongoing FTX trial. Instead, a second trial relating to SBF’s bribery charges has been scheduled for March 11, 2024. The FTX trial will remain ongoing for the month of October.
Madeira announces creation of Bitcoin business hub for innovation
President of Madeira made the announcement during a chat with Prince Filip of Serbia at Bitcoin Amsterdam, pledging an emphasis on collaboration and technology development.
THORswap back online 6 days after halt over detecting FTX funds
According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, the anonymous FTX exploiter has used THORSwap to convert ETH to BTC, which is traceable on-chain.
Blockchain gaming sees $2.3B in investments year-to-date: Report
Data from decentralized app tracking platform DappRadar shows that $600 million in investments flowed into the blockchain gaming space in the third quarter of 2023.
Caroline Ellison: secret recording offers trove of explosive revelations
Among many critical revelations about Alameda and FTX’s relationship, Caroline Ellison confirmed that Alameda always had access to customers’ funds at FTX.
Caroline Ellison: Secret recording offers trove of explosive revelations
Among many critical revelations about Alameda and FTX’s relationship, Caroline Ellison confirmed that Alameda always had access to customers’ funds at FTX.
Bitcoin price gets new $25K target as SEC decision day boosts GBTC
Bitcoin analysis flags liquidity waiting in the wings above and below the current BTC price range, while GBTC erases more of its discount.
How CBDCs and stablecoins can coexist: FIS panel discussion
Eetu Kuneinen argued against CBDCs as they are "centralized by nature," saying that certain dangers come with government control.
Ripple CTO slams Charles Hoskinson over SEC's ETH ‘favoritism’
Ripple community and Cardano founder have clashed over the definition of corruption in the context of the ETHgate scandal.
Ripple CTO slams Charles Hoskinson over SEC's ETH ‘favoritism’
Ripple community and Cardano founder have clashed over the definition of corruption in the context of the ETHgate scandal.
China sets stricter rules for training generative AI models
The draft regulations emphasize that data subject to censorship on the Chinese internet should not serve as training material for these models.
Biden considers tightening AI chip controls to China via third parties
The additional restrictions being considered by the Biden administration would try to target ways Chinese developers could access U.S.-made AI semiconductor chips.
G20 adopts IMF-FSB Synthesis Paper on crypto regulation
The Group of Twenty accepted the regulatory roadmap proposed in a joint Synthesis Paper of the International Monetary Fund and the Financial Stability Board.
French regulator sees DeFi as ‘disintermediated,’ not ‘decentralized’
The Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution concluded its consultation on the regulation of DeFi.
What happens if SEC doesn’t appeal Grayscale spot Bitcoin ETF ruling?
The SEC must appeal Grayscale’s win in a D.C. Appeals Court on Oct. 13, or it will have to approve — or try to delay — the firm’s Bitcoin ETF bid.
What happens if SEC doesn’t appeal Grayscale spot Bitcoin ETF ruling?
The SEC must appeal Grayscale’s win in a D.C. Appeals Court on Oct. 13, or it will have to approve — or try to delay — the firm’s Bitcoin ETF bid.
Secret Alameda recording reveals exact moment staff learned about FTX deposits
A 75-minute recording, obtained by Cointelegraph, shows the exact moment former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison told employees about their use of FTX customer deposits.
Voyager Digital was ‘no better than a house of cards’ — CFTC commissioner
CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson’s comments came after separate lawsuits from the CFTC and FTC were filed against Voyager and its former CEO Stephen Ehrlich.