Decentral Block Post

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week still replaying November 2020 after its lowest weekly close in two years.

The largest cryptocurrency, just like the rest of the crypto industry, remains highly susceptible to downside risk as it continues to deal with the fallout from the implosion of exchange FTX.

Contagion is the world on everyone’s lips as November grinds on — just like the Terra LUNA collapse earlier this year, fears are that new victims of FTX’s giant liquidity vortex will continue to surface.

The stakes are decidedly high — the initial shock may be over, but the consequences are only just beginning to surface.

These include issues beyond just financial losses, as lawmakers attempt to grapple with FTX and place renewed emphasis on urgent Bitcoin and crypto regulation.

Billionaire investor and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman says he remains bullish about cryptocurrencies, despite the recent collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange and the market turmoil that’s followed it.

In a Nov. 20 Twitter thread, the CEO and founder of hedge fund management firm Pershing Square Capital Management said he believes “crypto is here to stay” despite recent challenges, though there’s a need to increase oversight and remove “fraudulent actors” in the space.

Bill Ackman is a billionaire American investor most recently calling for the removal of regulatory barriers and easing regulations in New York in order to make the city a crypto hub. He is also direct investor in a number of crypto projects.

“I think crypto is here to stay and with proper oversight and regulation, it has the potential to greatly benefit society and grow the global economy,” he said.

However, Ackman said that like the invention of the telephone and the internet, the technology improves on the next in terms of its ability to facilitate fraud:

The independent examiner in crypto lender Celsius’ bankruptcy case has alleged that the company failed to set up “sufficient” accounting and operational controls in its handling of customer funds. 

In an interim report released on Nov. 19, examiner Shoba Pillay made a number of stark observations in her court-appointed investigation into the bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform.

One of the main revelations in Pillay’s report was that Celsius’ “Custody” program was launched “without sufficient accounting and operational controls or technical infrastructure,” which allowed shortfalls in Custody wallets to be funded from its other holdings.

“[...] no effort was made to segregate or separately identify any assets associated with the Withhold accounts, which were commingled in the Main wallets.”

When it was launched on Apr. 15, Celsius’ Custody program allowed users to transfer, swap and use coins as loan collateral. It was introduced after the firm was ordered by the New Jersey security regulators to create a product that was distinguished from Celsius’ “Earn” product, which receives rewards.