Cryptocurrency news by Protos

Genesis Trading is struggling to raise new capital and warned of a possible restructuring in the wake of the FTX bankruptcy. It has frozen retirement funds held by Bitcoin IRA customers.It may become the latest victim of a bad year for digital asset investment companies. It already froze withdrawals of deposited assets. This move could hurt owners of retirement accounts who deposited funds on Bitcoin IRA’s IRA Earn product. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has released its strongest bearish statement on crypto to date. In a blog post on its website, the bank chastises the EU Commission for legitimizing the industry with new regulations and predicts the death of bitcoin.Protos has previously reported that, when it comes to crypto, there are very strong divergences between central bankers and legislators. The ECB itself has also previously warned that the collapse of major stablecoins could trigger financial contagion. Now the bank is going even further, declaring that bitcoin is dead and claiming that its recent price stabilization is only a last gasp before it slips into “irrelevance.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Crypto has long been popular with criminals looking to hide, launder, or move their ill-gotten gains. But now disgruntled spouses facing divorce are adopting the same tactics as ganglords and cartels and using assets like bitcoin to keep their money out of the hands of their erstwhile partners.As a result, many legal firms are now catering specifically to this growing sector and helping parting couples who want to make sure their settlement is all present and correct by tracking down hidden crypto. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the lingering questions for the cryptocurrency industry is how the incredibly small and foreign-owned Farmington State Bank, now Moonstone Bank, was able to acquire regulatory guidance under the Federal Reserve.As previously reported, Moonstone received an $11.5 million investment from Sam Bankman-Fried’s now-bankrupt Alameda Research in March. It’s owned by a company called FBH — its chairman, Jean Chalopin, also chairs Deltec Bank and Trust. Deltec’s major clients include Tether and Alameda. Chalopin sits on Moonstone’s board of directors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HiveEx was an over-the-counter (OTC) desk in Australia started in early 2018 by Fred Schebesta and Frank Restuccia. The duo started Finder, a financial services comparison website, before deciding to enter the OTC business.The Australian OTC trading desk, was purchased by Alameda Research in 2020 and subsequently used to accept deposits for FTX. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tron founder Justin Sun may have a unique relationship with Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) that's driven by Chinese money.According to The Verge, Sun is the subject of an FBI investigation related to allegations that he gave insider information to Chinese traders while pumping-and-dumping crypto assets, then purchased citizenship to avoid criminal extradition. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

South Korean prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for Terraform Labs co-founder Daniel Shin, alleging he illegally profited before the collapse of its cryptocurrency luna and stablecoin terraUSD in May.Warrants were also made for three other Terraform Labs investors and four engineers, Yonhap News reports.South Korea has led the criminal investigations into the firm’s demise, suspecting fraud and tax evasion on a mass scale. The tax records of chief exec Do Kwon and Shin were seized. In July, prosecutors raided the offices of several top local crypto exchanges as well as the homes and offices of related suspects, including Kwon and Shin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane Adams, a GOP candidate who unsuccessfully ran for Nevada’s 1st District House Republican nomination, has made Bitcoin an essential part of her platform. Her concerning online presence has led us to ask: Who is Jane Adams? Protos interviewed the controversial figure to learn more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yet another high-profile crypto tycoon has died in mysterious circumstances, taking the tally of questionable crypto-related deaths to four in less than five months. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cryptocurrency lender BlockFi filed for bankruptcy on Monday and, a few hours later, sued Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) investment firm for withholding Robinhood stock it promised as collateral, Financial Times (FT) reports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grayscale Investments is best known for its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) product, which is currently trading at a steep discount to its assets under management (AUM). But the company has also created a number of other publicly traded products, among them the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) which, much like GBTC, provides ether exposure via a trust trading on US over-the-counter (OTC) markets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Northern Ireland-based tech CEO has been charged with running a large-scale crypto scam that stole 397 bitcoin (today worth nearly $6.5 million) from victims and has been called "the first case of its kind" in the country. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Crypto ATMs have been consistently popping up across the world for years. In 2021, the market experienced its biggest growth rate -- but in a crippling year for crypto, ATM installations have stalled while the number of transactions have plummeted, Bloomberg reports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The implosion of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried’s Bahama’s-based exchange is, by volume, one of the largest financial frauds in history. But despite it impacting more than one million people and with up to $10 billion of client money lost, so far, little has been said about the irony of this historic event. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Revelations and rumors continued to swirl after Thanksgiving, with internet sleuths pointing out that Ronald Oliveira, the once-chief exec of Revolut, had departed from his CEO role at Moonstone after only eight months. Additionally, curious to some was the role of Noah Perlman, chief operating officer at Gemini, as a Moonstone board member. Protos reached out to Janvier Chalopin once more to get answers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has confirmed he will speak virtually at New York Times’ (NYT) DealBook Summit event next week, resulting in major backlash online. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An Australian software billionaire and climate change activist has likely taken a hit after a ‘green’ bitcoin mining firm he invested in saw its share price plummet by 94%. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recent bankruptcy documents have revealed the relationship between Sam Bankman-Fried's bankrupt Alameda Research and a rural bank in Washington called Farmington State Bank, now known as Moonstone. As scrutiny continues, Protos had the opportunity to ask Moonstone’s chief digital officer, Janvier Chalopin, some questions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Online bank SoFi is fighting on two fronts after the White House paused student loans and senators began to probe its crypto operations in the wake of the collapse of Bahamas-based exchange FTX. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bitcoin IRAs (individual retirement accounts) seemed like a simple concept to investors, particularly those accustomed to other types of retirement plans. So simple in fact that, in March 2021, as bitcoin surpassed $50,000, the eponymously named company Bitcoin IRA bragged about cresting 100,000 clients. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In bankruptcy filings, crypto exchange FTX revealed a curious connection to stablecoin Tether through a small bank in rural Washington. Farmington State Bank is in fact the 26th smallest bank in the US, out of over 4,700. Until this year, it employed three people. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is an over-the-counter (OTC) traded fund meant to track the price of bitcoin. Grayscale Investments is owned by Barry Silbert's crypto mammoth Digital Currency Group (DCG), which also owns beleaguered crypto trading and lending firm Genesis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A notorious market manipulator, responsible for last month’s attack on Mango Markets, yesterday attempted to crash the price of DeFi exchange Curve’s CRV token. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Out of all the companies in the crypto industry, the demise of Sam Bankman-Fried's (SBF) crypto exchange FTX was the most likely to pull stablecoin Tether (USDT) down with it. Tether has always maintained close links with SBF’s former empire. Indeed, the vast majority of all transactions that FTX processed involved USDT.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The liquidity crisis in the bitcoin mining industry shows no sign of letting up. Indeed, statistics show that bitcoin miners are selling their coins at record levels last seen in 2016. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Legal filings have revealed that collapsed crypto exchange FTX owes its 50 biggest creditors more than $3 billion — and it could take them years to get even a small portion of it back. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Crypto brokerage Genesis, part of Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group (DCG), has warned that if it doesn’t hit target in a fresh funding round, it may go bankrupt. Genesis initially sought a whopping $1 billion, but has now slashed its goal in half. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AAVE has a bad debt problem. A global community of people use the AAVE protocol to take out and service crypto loans, provide liquidity, stake, earn interest, and/or vote on governance proposals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An interim investigative report filed in the ongoing bankruptcy of Celsius Network provides more context about its business practices and shows a predictable pattern of irresponsibility. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Twitter account impersonating the founder of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), scammed customers into believing they could receive compensation through a fake giveaway, Vice reports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brian Armstrong has sold every last share of Coinbase common stock that he held since IPO. The last sales were recorded on November 11, quietly occurring as crypto markets focused almost exclusively on the ongoing issues surrounding FTX and Alameda. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Indeed, bitcoin has taken a 25% dive and many altcoins fared even worse with FTX-backed Solana spiraling 65%. The question now on everyone's mind: is more pain in store for crypto markets? The FTX fallout has come in the middle of a huge patch of bearish sentiment across all markets but crypto is also facing wide and structural market deleveraging which is making companies go bust and coins go to zero. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been a difficult year for crypto project Helium Network and its founder, Amir Haleem. Initially lauded as a competent startup and internet-of-things darling, it floundered this summer when it was revealed that some advertised big-name ‘partners’ — including Salesforce and Lime — weren’t actually in business with the firm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

By Q1 this year, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz’s (a16z) flagship crypto fund had returned almost five times for early backers, according to documents reviewed by Semafor. The firm sold a portion of its tokens right before crypto’s bear market began in May, meaning that early investors are guaranteed a successful return. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new bill submitted to Russia’s State Duma would give crypto miners in the country two new ways to sell their coins. However, the proposal faces stiff competition from a government and financial system that remains hostile to the adoption of digital assets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

FTX chief exec, John J. Ray III, has filed his first declaration in the bankruptcy of FTX, FTX US, Alameda Research, and related entities. Ray, who had served as Chairman of Enron during its bankruptcy, stated that he’d never seen “such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the years, Jump Crypto, the crypto-specific arm of Chicago-headquartered trading firm Jump Trading, has worked alongside some of the most prominent firms and individuals in the crypto space. However, it’s also been embroiled in its fair share number of high-profile controversies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Promoted tweets on Twitter are using the likeness of famed naturalist Sir David Attenborough to trick users into shady crypto schemes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been an exhausting week for every person even remotely involved with the cryptocurrency industry. The collapse of FTX and Alameda Research has brought with it what would normally be written off as “FUD,” or fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The fallout from the implosion of FTX is being felt across the crypto industry, with firms supposedly rescued by the exchange now being dragged under along with their erstwhile ‘savior,’ Sam Bankman-Fried. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

According to a new independent report, Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) transferred more than 52,000 bitcoin (BTC) from its reserves to Jump Trading as part of its efforts to defend the price of terraUSD (UST). However, observers have already started to point out that there are certain, crucial details missing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Genesis Global Capital, the cryptocurrency lending arm of Genesis Global Trading, has shut down withdrawals amidst the FTX and Alameda Research collapse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is eyeing a comeback. This is despite him being investigated by the Bahamian authorities and his firm, FTX, filing for bankruptcy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Investors in the investing app Robinhood fear that contagion from FTX could affect their trades being processed by Jump Crypto. The link between Robinhood, Jump, and FTX is direct: Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) notably owned 7.6% of Robinhood’s stock and once claimed to be preparing a full acquisition offer for Robinhood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Digital asset information platform The Tie has compiled many of the tweets Sam Bankman-Fried has deleted in the past year. It showcases how tons of people are scrambling to sever ties with Bankman-Fried and FTX -- and more importantly, gives insight into which of his own posts he doesn't want you to see. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

According to reports, FTX co-founder Gary Wang is being held under supervision by Bahamian authorities alongside Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). The pair are also being investigated by the country’s financial crimes unit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The UK Government began an inquiry into the crypto assets industry yesterday. Officials from the likes of Binance and Ripple were asked if crypto could be compared to 17th-century tulip mania and if Binance knew its relationship with FTX would lead to the exchange’s collapse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amidst the collapse of FTX, conspiracies about the relationship between the crypto exchange and lawmakers have spread. Elon Musk, the “richest man in the world,” has even propagated these claims, stating that Sam Bankman-Fried was not investigated because he was “a major Dem donor.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s newfound infamy has given cryptocurrency regulators an opportunity to unravel the former billionaire’s lobbying efforts. Lawmakers will be pressed to reassess their approaches to digital assets, Politico reports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A former FTX employee, Zane Tackett, put out a Twitter thread a few days ago ending with a pointed — if biased — question: Should FTX issue a “Cool Token” or go through a traditional bankruptcy proceeding? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.