Decentral Block Post

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) said it had ordered the transfer of all digital assets of FTX Digital Markets (FDM) to a digital wallet owned by the commission on Nov. 12. 

In a Nov. 17 statement, the SCB said it exercised its power as a regulator acting under the authority of a Supreme Court order — moving the assets to a “digital wallet controlled by the Commission, for safekeeping.”

SCB justified last week’s move by stating that “urgent interim regulatory action was necessary to protect the interests of clients and creditors of FDM.”

The latest revelation could shed some light on certain movements of funds detected last week. 

On Nov. 11, the crypto community flagged a number of suspicious transactions in wallets tied to FTX and FTX.US, with analysts reporting around $663 million drained. $477 million were suspected to be stolen while the remainder was believed to have been moved to secure storage by FTX themselves.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how one simple rule created the kind of insane return on investment noted in the headline — during one of the worst Crypto Winters in recent history — let’s be clear on one thing.

You can’t copy this now.

But anyone with access to Cointelegraph Markets Pro in 2022 could have. This is not a mere backtested strategy. It’s a real-life strategy — although you’re about to see historical results. 

This is no longer a thought experiment or proof-of-concept; it is an actual way to make money in crypto trading. 

For our purposes, it’s also a perfect way to illustrate how a simple strategy can work for real traders in real life — even during extreme market pullbacks. 

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how one simple rule created the kind of insane return on investment noted in the headline — during one of the worst Crypto Winters in recent history — let’s be clear on one thing.

You can’t copy this now.

But anyone with access to Cointelegraph Markets Pro in 2022 could have. This is not a mere backtested strategy. It’s a real-life strategy — although you’re about to see historical results. 

This is no longer a thought experiment or proof-of-concept; it is an actual way to make money in crypto trading. 

For our purposes, it’s also a perfect way to illustrate how a simple strategy can work for real traders in real life — even during extreme market pullbacks. 

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Bitcoin (BTC) futures have been trading below Bitcoin’s spot price on regular exchanges since Nov. 9, a situation that is technically referred to as backwardation. While it does point to a bearish market structure, there are multiple factors that can cause momentary distortions.

Typically, these CME fixed-month contracts trade at a slight premium, indicating that sellers are requesting more money to withhold settlement for longer. As a result, futures should trade at a 0.5% to 2% premium in healthy markets, a situation known as contango.

However, a prominent futures contract seller will cause a momentary distortion in the futures premium. Unlike perpetual contracts, these fixed-calendar futures do not have a funding rate, so their price may vastly differ from spot exchanges.

Aggressive sellers caused a 5% discount on BTC futures

Whenever there's aggressive activity from shorts (sellers), the two-month futures contract will trade at a 2% or higher discount.

Notice how 1-month CME futures had been trading near the fair value, either presenting a 0.5% discount or 0.5% premium versus spot exchanges. However, during the Nov. 9 Bitcoin price crash, aggressive futures contracts sellers caused the CME futures to trade 5% below the regular market price.

Bitcoin (BTC) ranged around $16,500 on Nov. 17 as markets digested the latest events surrounding exchange FTX.

FTX CEO tells of “complete failure of corporate controls”

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD seeing only mild volatility at the Wall Street open.

The pair showed acclimatization to events around the FTX insolvency, the latest including revelations that Alameda Research had been immune from liquidation while trading on the platform.

After the departure of Sam Bankman-Fried, new CEO John Ray III wasted no time in acknowledging the extent of the problems left in his wake.

In a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Ray describes the corporate control of FTX as a “complete failure.” He wrote:

The "Bitcoin-is-dead" gang is back and at it again. The fall of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange has resurrected these infamous critics that are once again blaming a robbery on the money that was stolen, and not the robber.

"We need regulation! Why did the government allow this to happen?" they scream.  

For instance, Chetan Bhagat, a renowned author from India, wrote a detailed "crypto" obituary, comparing the cryptocurrency sector to communism that promised decentralization but ended up with authoritarianism.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, his column conveniently used a melting Bitcoin (BTC) logo as its featured image.

Bhagat should have picked a more accurate image for his op-ed (melting FTX (FTT) Token?), particularly after looking at Bitcoin's decade-plus history that has seen it surviving even nationwide bans. This includes 465 466 obituaries since its debut in 2009 when it traded for a few cents.