Media Draws Attention to Sam Bankman-Fried’s 2 Visits While on House Arrest

After FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was released on bail and traveled to his parent’s home in California, it has been reported that SBF was visited by the crypto advocate Tiffany Fong, and also the “Big Short” author Michael Lewis while he’s been on house arrest. Fong detailed she managed to interview SBF, while Lewis visited to presumably get information on the downfall of the FTX empire for the writer’s upcoming book.

SBF Gets 2 Visitors While on House Arrest and Before His Jan. 3 Arraignment in New York

Since SBF was released on bail, reports note that two people have been granted access to visit the disgraced former FTX CEO while he’s on house arrest. Tiffany Fong disclosed that she met with SBF and noted that she had not written anything yet when she tweeted about her discussion with SBF on Dec. 28.

The following day, The New York Post published an article about Fong’s visit, and the article’s authors Selim Algar, Andy Tillett, and Patrick Reilly decided to call Fong a “sexy crypto influencer.” The Post also used a picture of Fong wearing a bikini and when the article was published, Fong was not pleased with the depiction. “Jesus fkn christ,” Fong said, sharing the article.

Fong also detailed that she “obviously was not wearing a bikini” when she interviewed SBF, and she said The Post “decided to creep [through her] old pics.” In addition to The Post, the Daily Mail also published an article about her visit, and Fong said the Daily Mail reporters noted that she was not pleased with the use of an irrelevant old bikini photo in The Post’s article.

“As soon as I offered a sliver of commentary in response to their questions, [Daily Mail] immediately switched their photo of me to a bikini photo,” Fong said, sharing a screenshot of the original article and then the changed version. In addition to Fong’s statements, Taylor Lorenz from the Washington Post tweeted about the treatment Fong received from The Post and Daily Mail.

“[Tiffany Fong] has gotten big scoops while tirelessly covering FTX,” Lorenz tweeted. “She’s respected by mainstream tech/finance journalists at Wapo, NYT, etc. What she does is journalism, but because she’s a young woman (& using the internet to reach her audience) this is how the media treats her.”

Fong also tweeted about how The Post wrote an article about the “Big Short” author Michael Lewis’s visit with SBF when she said:

Michael Lewis actually ‘spent several hours’ with Sam Bankman-Fried before I did. Is Michael Lewis being sexualized [and] bombarded with questions about whether or not they ‘banged?’

The article featuring Lewis and published by The New York Post is a whole lot different than Fong’s article, and it does not show Lewis in his swim trunks or speedos. The Post editorial about Lewis is quite similar to a great deal of the write-ups concerning the “Big Short,” “Moneyball,” and “Flash Boys” author getting to spend six months with SBF before FTX collapsed.

The Post’s article highlights how Lewis’s “publishing agency [is] pitching the book to potential movie rights buyers” and reports of the pitch sale were disclosed well before SBF was arrested. The news of SBF having two visitors, after being released on house arrest, also follows accusations that allege the former FTX CEO moved $684K in crypto assets associated with Alameda addresses. In The Post’s article, the authors detailed that Fong had further noted that SBF was on his computer during the duo’s discussion.

What do you think about the reports concerning SBF’s visitors after he was released on house arrest? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

Disgraced FTX Co-Founder Accused of Moving $684K in Crypto Assets While Under House Arrest

According to an analyst on Dec. 29, 2022, the disgraced co-founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), may have cashed out $684,000 in crypto assets while under house arrest. If the funds were spent by SBF, it goes against the court’s release conditions that note the former FTX executive is not allowed to spend more than $1,000 without permission from the court.

Analyst Discovers Funds Tied to SBF’s and Alameda’s Wallets Moved While the FTX Co-Founder Is on House Arrest

On Thursday, an analyst called “Bowtiediguana” published a Twitter thread that shows Sam Bankman-Fried may have spent $684K while he is on house arrest. According to Bowtiediguana, in August 2020, SBF agreed to temporarily take over the decentralized exchange (dex) Sushiswap, after the anonymous founder Chef Nomi decided to leave. When the deal was made, SBF shared a public Ethereum address and Chef Nomi transferred ownership of Sushiswap to SBF’s address.

“After SBF was released, his wallet sent all its remaining crypto tokens to a new Ethereum address created an hour earlier,” Bowtiediguana tweeted. “In 3 hours, over 100 new deposits were made to this wallet from various addresses, most having links to SBFs defunct hedge fund Alameda Research.” The analyst continued:

In less than [four] hours, 570 [ethereum] worth approximately $684,000 was transferred out of this new wallet, to various destinations. Funds were sent to a no-KYC exchange based in Seychelles and to the Bitcoin network via the [Ren Protocol], a bridge funded by Alameda. Perhaps the SEC attorneys would like notice of this?

The address in question is this ethereum address “which received a further $1M from 11 wallets labeled as Alameda Research,” Bowtiediguana said. “[Five] separate transactions of 51 ETH were used to move funds to newly created wallets [and] then onwards to a Seychelles-based exchange. [Three] tranches of 200K USDT were also sent from the SBF linked wallet to the Fixedfloat exchange,” the analyst added.

Bowtiediguana’s thread shows that an individual decided to email the information to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about the latest onchain movements. Others tagged the U.S. regulator in the Twitter thread and said: “@secgov u gave [SBF] 2 long of a leash sires. plz address this criminal.” It is unconfirmed at the moment as to who actually moved the funds, but many are speculating that it was SBF.

Since SBF’s arrest and his later release, FTX and Alameda-related funds have been moving, and transfers have been caught by onchain sleuths. Funds linked to Alameda were transferred two days ago and reportedly they were sent to Fixedfloat and Changenow and further converted into BTC. In another instance, an Alameda-labeled wallet sent 11.37 wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) to a wallet after removing it from Aave on Dec. 29.

The same day, another Alameda-labeled wallet sent 22,500 USDC on Dec. 29. Both of these transactions took place the day after a large swathe of ERC20 tokens linked to Alameda were moved on Wednesday, Dec. 28.

What do you think about the onchain movements caught by the analyst Bowtiediguana? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

Nobel Prize Laureate Paul Krugman Compares Tesla to Bitcoin — They ‘Have More in Common Than You Think’

Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says Tesla may have more in common with bitcoin than you think. He explained that Tesla sales have depended in part on the perception that CEO Elon Musk “is a cool guy” while the price of bitcoin is “being sustained by a hard-core group of true believers.”

Paul Krugman Compares Tesla to Bitcoin

Paul Krugman, who won the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 2008 for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity, published an opinion piece in the New York Times Tuesday about Tesla, bitcoin, and their huge valuations. He wrote:

Tesla and bitcoin may have more in common than you think.

The economist explained that mega-corporations like Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon have maintained their dominance because these companies “benefit from strong network externalities — loosely speaking, everyone uses their products because everyone else uses their products.”

However, “It’s hard to see what would give Tesla a long-term lock on the electric vehicle business,” Krugman described. “Where are the powerful network externalities in the electric vehicle business?” he questioned, emphasizing: “Electric vehicle production just doesn’t look like a network externality business.”

Krugman continued:

It’s hard to explain the huge valuation the market put on Tesla before the [price] drop, or even its current value.

The Nobel Prize laureate proceeded to explain “why Tesla was ever worth so much.” He believes that it’s because “investors fell in love with a storyline about a brilliant, cool innovator, despite the absence of a good argument about how this guy, even if he really was who he appeared to be, could found a long-lived money machine.” Krugman added: “Tesla sales have surely depended at least in part on the perception that Musk himself is a cool guy.”

Describing a parallel between Tesla and bitcoin, the Nobel Prize-winning economist detailed:

Despite years of effort, nobody has yet managed to find any serious use for cryptocurrency other than money laundering. But prices nonetheless soared on the hype, and are still being sustained by a hard-core group of true believers.

“Something similar surely happened with Tesla, even though the company does actually make useful things,” Krugman concluded.

At the time of writing, Tesla’s stock has fallen 70% year-to-date while bitcoin’s price has dropped 65% during the same time period.

Do you agree with Paul Krugman about Tesla and bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

While His Digital Trading Cards Tumble in Value, Trump Says His ‘Cute’ NFTs Were About the Art

After climbing to a high of 0.79 ether on Dec. 17, 2022, Donald Trump’s non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have dropped considerably in value over the last 12 days. On Dec. 29, 2022, Trump’s NFT collection has a floor value of 0.15 ether, which is around 81% lower than the floor value highs recorded last week.

Trump Digital Collectibles Slide Significantly in Value Since the Launch, After Looking at the Art Trump Was Pleased With His 30-Inch Waistline

The 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, recently released 45,000 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and during the first day of the sale, each NFT was sold for $99 per unit. Trump’s NFTs started trading on secondary NFT markets on Dec. 15, 2022 and had a floor value of around 0.1 ether or around $125 for the most inexpensive Trump NFTs. Two days later, Bitcoin.com News reported on how Trump’s NFTs skyrocketed in value after being mocked by a large number of left-leaning political commentators.

The same day, on Dec. 17, 2022, Trump’s NFT floor price jumped to an all-time high of around 0.79 ether or around $940 per unit, according to stats from the leading NFT marketplace Opensea. Since then, however, Trump’s NFT collection has seen its floor price slip all the way down to 0.15 ether ($180), which is 8.54% lower than the floor values recorded 24 hours ago. Metrics indicate that on Dec. 29, 2022, 9% or 3,864 Trump NFTs are listed on Opensea, and in total, there are roughly 15,083 unique Trump NFT card owners.

9,801 of those unique owners hold only one Trump NFT in their wallet while 2,556 own at least two Trump NFTs. 79 owners hold around 45 Trump NFTs, which means they will get an invite to the Trump gala dinner in South Florida, at least according to the terms of service agreement on the collecttrumpcards.com website. Four owners hold 60 NFTs from the Trump collection and seven wallets hold 100 Trump NFTs. There’s also one owner with approximately 1,000 Trump NFTs in their wallet.

Trump told the press last week that his NFT collection was not about making money and it was more about the art and a trim waistline. “Well, I knew nothing about [the NFTs] and then a group came, and I loved the art,” Trump told OAN. “You know, it’s sort of comic book art when you think of it, but they showed me the art and I said, gee, I always wanted to have a 30-inch waist.” The former U.S. president added:

I heard somebody [once say] it was the investment of the year. I didn’t view it as an investment. I thought they were cute. These visions are very beautiful [and] interesting.

Since the Trump digital trading cards entered secondary sales markets, Opensea details that 7,720 ether or $9.2 million in sales volume has been recorded to date. Additionally, onchain tracking data via the Telegram group “Onchain Intrigue” shows the “Trump NFT admin” wallet moved 128 wrapped ether (WETH) worth more than $153K to six different Polygon wallets on Dec. 28, 2022. Trump said that the digital cards were expected to sell out in roughly six months, but the sale proved to be much faster.

“Wow, that’s sorta cute,” Trump said of his own NFT collection before the sale. “That might sell, that might sell. They thought it would sell in six months, it sold in six hours,” the former U.S. president added.

What do you think about Trump’s ‘sorta cute’ NFT cards and their market performance since the collection of 45,000 NFTs launched? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

BTC, ETH, ADA, BNB Ranked the Most Watched Crypto Assets in 2022

Today’s top ten crypto assets make up a large portion of the crypto economy’s current $797.95 billion value on Dec. 29, 2022, and many of them are some of the most popular digital currencies today. While coin market capitalization aggregation sites allow patrons to add their favorite coins to a watchlist, between coingecko.com and coinmarketcap.com, bitcoin is the most watched top ten crypto coin in 2022 as it’s on approximately 4,848,865 watchlists today.

The Top Ten Crypto Market Cap Coins in Terms of Watchlist Numbers

As 2022 comes to an end, crypto market and price aggregation websites like coinmarketcap.com (CMC) and coingecko.com (CG) offer watchlists so visitors can hone in on their favorite coins or maybe the coins held in their portfolio. In basic terms, a watchlist is a specific set of crypto assets that a person selects in order to monitor and it can be viewed without monitoring all the other crypto assets the individual doesn’t care about.

In traditional finance, investors have watchlists for stocks and commodities as well so they can keep an eye on an asset’s market value. While looking at the top ten crypto assets on Dec. 29, 2022, each crypto coin has a number of how many users selected a specific coin to add to their watchlist. Between the CG and CMC coin market cap aggregation sites, bitcoin (BTC) is the top coin in terms of watchlists.

At the time of writing on CG, bitcoin (BTC) is on 1,192,111 watchlists, and on CMC, bitcoin is on 3,656,754 watchlists, which equates to more than 4.84 million watchlists in total on Dec. 29, 2022. Ethereum is the second runner-up with a total of 4,109,238 watchlists with 1,104,484 stemming from CG, and 3,004,754 from CMC. Below BTC and ETH, watchlist heavyweights include ADA with 2.94 million, BNB with 2.45 million, and XRP with roughly 2.21 million watchlists.

ADA, BNB, and XRP are followed by crypto coins like DOGE with 2.14 million, polygon’s (MATIC) 1.84 million, and the stablecoin tether’s (USDT) total of 1.52 million on Dec. 29. While there’s three stablecoins in the top ten coin market caps, the dollar-pegged assets are the least watched bunch out of the top cryptos today. While USDT leads with 1.52 million, BUSD’s watchlist count is much lower with 351,265 watchlists.

Just above BUSD is USDC’s watchlist count as it currently commands 358,911 total across CG and CMC. At the time of writing at 2:30 p.m. (ET) on Dec. 29, 2022, the top ten crypto assets represent $676.08 billion or 84.72% of the crypto economy’s current $797.95 billion value. Outside the top ten crypto assets, shiba inu (SHIB) is an outlier with 2,382,306 watchlists but the coin is in the 15th largest market cap position.

What do you think about the top ten crypto assets in terms of overall CG and CMC watchlists? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

2 Bitcoin Mining Pools Command More Than 53% of BTC’s Total Hashrate

Bitcoin’s hashrate has jumped from the low 170 exahash per second (EH/s) recorded this week, to above the 300 exahash range after a number of bitcoin mining operations from Texas temporarily went offline on Dec. 25, 2022. Furthermore, three-day hashrate distribution statistics recorded on Dec. 29, 2022 indicate that two mining pools command more than 50% of the global hashrate.

2 Mining Entities Currently Produce More Than 50% of the Global Hashrate, Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Expected to Decline Significantly in 5 Days

The computational processing power behind the Bitcoin (BTC) network ramped up to the 300 EH/s range on the evening of Dec. 28, 2022. Three days before the rise, BTC’s hashrate slid to a low of 170 EH/s on Dec. 28, 2022, when bitcoin miners from Texas curtailed their hashpower to relieve the grid from any excess load.

Most of the SHA256 hashpower returned the same day, as Bitcoin.com News reported on it climbing back to 240 EH/s by 12:00 p.m. (ET). Following Wednesday’s jump above 300 EH/s, statistics on Thursday show the total network hashrate is coasting along at 250.57 EH/s. Moreover, during the past three days, two mining pools have captured more than 50% of the network’s total hashrate.

Of course, this has caused criticism toward the network, and accusations of centralization this week. On Dec. 29, the mining pool Foundry USA controls 31.45% of the total hashrate, and Antpool commands 21.87% of the current 250.57 EH/s on Thursday morning (ET). Between both mining pools, Antpool and Foundry command 53.32% of BTC’s total hashrate.

F2pool has around 14.25% of the hashrate, and Viabtc has around 9.34% of the total on Dec. 29. Between all three top pools, Foundry, Antpool, and F2pool have around 67.57% of the total, and all four mining pools with Viabtc command around 76.91% of the total hashrate during the past three days. Only 12 known mining pools are dedicating SHA256 hashrate toward the BTC chain, and 5.64 EH/s or 2.46% of the global network is associated with unknown miners.

After the Bitcoin network’s mining difficulty retarget on Dec. 19, 2022, at block height 768,096, increased by 3.27%, the network’s difficulty change is expected to see a notable decline on Jan. 3, 2023. Current estimates show that the difficulty reduction could be between 7.39% to 8.1% lower than today’s difficulty metric.

Block generation times have been faster than the 10-minute average on a few occasions at 9:33 minutes, but a great majority of recent block intervals have been above the 10-minute average at around 10:54 minutes. At the time of writing, the most profitable SHA256 bitcoin mining machine is the Bitmain Antminer S19 XP Hyd. with 255 terahash per second (TH/s) of hashpower.

What do you think about the two bitcoin mining pools with more than 53% of Bitcoin’s total hashrate this week? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

Bitcoin Miner Argo Blockchain Sells Helios Facility to Galaxy Digital for $65 Million, Galaxy to Host Argo’s ASIC Fleet in Texas

After the publicly-listed bitcoin mining firm Argo Blockchain suspended trading on Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange, the company said it would follow up the next day with an announcement. The following day, on Dec. 28, 2022, Argo detailed it is selling its Helios facility to Galaxy Digital for $65 million, and the financially troubled business plans to refinance asset-backed loans with a new $35 million loan that stems from Galaxy.

Galaxy Digital Purchases Texas Data Center From Argo Blockchain, Company Hopes Transactions Will ‘Enable the Company to Continue Operations’

Galaxy Digital is giving Argo Blockchain (Nasdaq: ARBK) some fresh liquidity, according to a press announcement published by Argo on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022. Argo detailed that it is selling its Helios facility to Galaxy for $65 million.

Galaxy has also agreed to host Argo’s fleet of Bitmain-manufactured S19J Pro bitcoin miners at the Helios facility. The Helios facility is located in Dickens County, Texas and the transaction between Argo and Galaxy is expected to settle on Dec. 28.

Argo further disclosed that Galaxy is providing the firm with a loan of $35 million with a term of 36 months. The financing is backed by a collateral package of Argo’s machines located at the Helios facility in Texas and some in Quebec.

The collateral package equates to 23,619 Bitmain S19J Pro bitcoin mining machines. A number of Argo’s debts are shown to be tied to the firm NYDIG, according to the announcement published on Wednesday morning (ET).

Argo insists the transactions with Galaxy will “strengthen Argo’s balance sheet, improve Argo’s liquidity position, and enable the company to continue operations.” Argo’s stock jumped on the news, and it increased 13.55% from $0.59 to the current $0.67 per share at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on Dec. 28.

The publicly-listed bitcoin miner also acknowledged the suspension of ARBK share trading on Dec. 27 and detailed that ARBK trades on Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange were now open. The company noted that its Canadian assets, except for “certain mining machines and other assets located in Quebec” that are backing its new loan, are “not affected by the agreements with Galaxy.”

Further, Argo also disclosed that its earning results from the third quarter will not be reported “in light of the transaction with Galaxy,” the bitcoin mining operation concluded. Argo Blockchain is one of a handful of publicly-listed bitcoin mining operations that have dealt with financial shortcomings during 2022’s crypto winter.

What do you think about Argo Blockchain’s deal with Galaxy Digital? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

FTX Co-Founder Faces ‘No-Nonsense’ Judge Next Week, Report Says SBF ‘Expected to Enter a Plea’ in Fraud Case

According to court documents, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is set to be arraigned by the federal court in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) on Jan. 3, 2023. The disgraced FTX co-founder plans to enter a plea in his fraud case in front of U.S. judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, according to a report published by Reuters.

Report Claims FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried ‘Expected to Enter a Plea Next Week,’ Criminal Defense Attorney Says Feds Have a Case With ‘Very Few Holes’

Just recently, the judge that was presiding over Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) fraud case, judge Ronnie Abrams, withdrew from the case citing a conflict of interest. It seems Abrams husband, Greg Andres, was reportedly an FTX adviser last year. Andres is a partner at the white-shoe, international law firm headquartered in New York City, Davis Polk & Wardwell. Following Abrams’s withdrawal from SBF’s case, the judge has been replaced by judge Lewis Kaplan.

The 78-year-old Kaplan has been called a “no-nonsense” judge who has presided over a number of high-profile cases involving individuals like the ​​45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, and Prince Andrew, Duke of York. On Dec. 28, 2022, Reuters reported that when SBF faces judge Kaplan, the FTX co-founder is expected to submit a plea during his arraignment.

“Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to enter a plea next week to criminal charges,” Reuters contributor Jonathan Stempel wrote on Wednesday. Court documents show that SBF is scheduled to see judge Kaplan on Jan. 3, 2023, in Manhattan’s federal court.

The news follows the recent unsealed testimony from Caroline Ellison, the ex-CEO of Alameda Research. Ellison is currently working with federal law enforcement officials, and in her testimony she described a number of fraudulent acts she says she participated in since 2019.

SBF is flying first class to California. But at least he's not flying private pic.twitter.com/QHzlftE0LN

— Genevieve Roch-Decter, CFA (@GRDecter) December 24, 2022

Moreover, a number of people do not believe the court will go easy on SBF. On Dec. 22, criminal defense attorney, Brian Wice, discussed the situation with Yahoo Finance Live and he told the host, Rachelle Akuffo, that the U.S. attorney in SDNY, Damian Williams, has a case with “very few holes.”

Wice remarked that the feds wouldn’t go forward unless “they are convinced that they can make their case beyond a reasonable doubt.” As far as Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang are concerned, Wice said they didn’t have “ironclad plea deals,” but stressed the duo will “get substantial reductions in their sentences if they come in and they testify truthfully.”

As far as SBF is concerned, Wice remarked that he’s got a “tough road to hoe” ahead of him. “The more cooperators against him, the tougher it will be,” Wice told Akuffo. “And right now Damian Williams sent up the bat signal saying if you’ve got any guilty knowledge or involvement in this case, you better come in now or it’s only going to get worse,” the criminal defense attorney added.

In addition to the SDNY case against SBF, a class action lawsuit filed by FTX customers wants the remaining digital assets tied to Alameda and FTX “earmarked solely for customers.”

The plaintiffs from the class action lawsuit detail that FTX’s loans to Alameda Research, as described by ex-CEO Caroline Ellison, were “in direct violation of FTX’s own customer agreements and terms of service, as well as common law and basic principles of honesty and fair dealing.” SBF was released on a $250 million bond on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, and the former FTX CEO was not asked to enter a plea.

What do you think about SBF heading to court to face judge Kaplan on Jan. 3, 2023? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

Publicly-Listed Bitcoin Miner Argo Blockchain Suspends Nasdaq Trading

Bitcoin miner Argo Blockchain announced that it requested the suspension of trading its company shares on Dec. 27, as the company expects to make an announcement on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022. The company’s stock has lost 96.34% year-to-date and on Dec. 12, the bitcoin miner “advanced negotiations with a third party to sell certain assets” in order to “strengthen its balance sheet and improve its liquidity.”

Argo Blockchain Requested a Suspension of Stock Trading Pending an Official Announcement

On Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, the publicly-listed bitcoin miner Argo Blockchain (Nasdaq: ARBK) announced that it has requested the suspension of trading its shares via Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange as well.

Argo detailed that it believes trading will resume after the company makes an important announcement on Dec. 28. Argo disclosed that the announcement is “expected to be released before [the] opening of trading on Wednesday.”

Argo is one of many bitcoin mining operations that has suffered a great deal financially from the crypto winter. During the first week of Nov. 2022, Argo’s stock was downgraded by the financial institution Canaccord Genuity and Jefferies analysts.

Another publicly-listed bitcoin mining competitor Core Scientific filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, and in late Sept. 2022, Compute North filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Stats show that publicly traded mining firms collectively have debts of more than $4 billion.

Furthermore, Argo accidentally published documentation that said it was voluntarily filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. However, documents from Dec. 12, 2022, indicate the miner is in “advanced negotiations with a third party to sell certain assets.”

The company further said Argo “is hopeful that it will be able to consummate the transaction outside of a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the United States, although there is no assurance that the company can avoid such a filing.”

What do you think about Argo Blockchain suspending trading in order to make an announcement on Wednesday? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

Report: Nigerian Security Agency Seeks to Arrest Central Bank Governor on Charges of Funding Terrorists

The Nigerian security agency, the Department of State Services (DSS), has reportedly instructed its operatives to arrest the Central Bank of Nigeria governor Godwin Emefiele as soon as he is seen in public. The DSS is still seeking to apprehend Emefiele despite losing its bid to have a Nigerian court sanction the arrest.

Nigerian Court Refuses to Back Arrest Plot

As the controversy surrounding the failed arrest of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele continues to hog the limelight, a new report by Sahara Reporters said operatives from Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) have an order to “arrest him on sight.” In addition, the report, which relies on the testimony of unnamed sources, said operatives are also monitoring movements at the CBN headquarters as well as at the Emefiele family residence in Lagos.

As explained in the report, the DSS’ unconfirmed plan to arrest Emefiele, who was part of Muhammadu Buhari’s entourage to the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit, came a few weeks after a Nigerian High Court judge, John Tsoho, turned down the security agency’s bid to have the CBN governor arrested. In his judgment, Tsoho reportedly slammed the DSS for attempting to use a deceptive lawsuit “to deprive a person [Emefiele] of his liberty.”

Opponents of CBN’s Cashless Policy Want Emefiele Removed

However, the court’s ruling has seemingly not stopped the DSS from seeking to arrest Emefiele, whom it accuses of funding terrorists. Rumors suggesting that the DSS still wants to arrest the official have reportedly forced the CBN governor to avoid public gatherings including a scheduled appearance before Nigerian legislators.

“Emefiele has refused to return to Nigeria claiming heart ailment. He was supposed to return to Nigeria yesterday after travelling with [President Muhammadu] Buhari to the US-Africa Leadership Summit in Washington DC,” an unnamed source reportedly said.

The source also speculated that Emefiele will continue playing hide and seek with the DSS before eventually leaving his position as CBN governor.

Meanwhile, a report by Legit suggested that Emefiele’s troubles with the DSS are instigated by politicians dissatisfied with the CBN’s decisions, including the recent introduction of new naira banknotes. Another report speculated that the DSS plot to arrest the CBN governor is being backed by groups opposed to the central bank’s cashless policy.

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What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

Crypto Supporters Sift Through the Graveyard of Technical Indicators That Failed to Predict Bitcoin’s Bottom

As the end of 2022 approaches, a great number of bitcoin proponents are questioning whether or not the bottom is in as far as the official end of the crypto winter is concerned. The current bitcoin bear run just entered the longest bottom formation since the 2013-2015 bitcoin bear market. Moreover, analysts note that most of the technical bottom indicators used to predict bitcoin prices have failed to forecast whether or not the bottom is in.

Rainbows and S2F: The List of Technical Indicators That Failed to Predict Bitcoin’s Bottom

A month ago, crypto supporters celebrated enduring one of the longest and harshest bitcoin bear markets since the 2013-2015 bitcoin bear market. At the time, the 2013-2015 bitcoin bear run was the longest downturn but today, the current crypto economy’s contraction period is set to surpass the 2013-2015 crypto retrenchment.

In addition to the longest bottom phase, Bitcoin.com News reported 144 days ago how a number of technical indicators failed this year to predict bitcoin’s future U.S. dollar value. One of the biggest price model failures mentioned this year was the stock-to-flow (S2F) model, which was denounced by Ethereum advocate Anthony Sassano and ETH-co-founder Vitalik Buterin last June.

"We need more pain before we make a bottom"

My man, we've seen:

– a top 3 exchange collapse
– 2 top VCs in the space get liq'd
– 2 top 10 coins w/ a $60B+ mcap go to zero
– lending market wiped out
– Bitcoin down ~80% from ATH
– alts down 90-99% from ATH

What more do you want?

— K A L E O (@CryptoKaleo) December 22, 2022

With all the so-called ‘greatest’ technical indicators failing miserably, many crypto proponents are still writing forum posts and social media threads about bitcoin’s confounded bottom. For instance, on Dec. 27, the Twitter account Crypto Noob tweeted: “Bitcoin is currently trading in the oversold zone. Which is historically where the bottom forms. Do you think BTC has bottomed out?”

Questions and posts like these are littered across crypto-focused forums and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. On Reddit, the subreddit forum r/cryptocurrency features a post that highlights how technical bottom indicators have failed, and the author of the post details that the analysts have “no clue” and this time “IS different.”

The post’s author “u/Beyonderr” explains how eight technical indicators were not reliable to bitcoin traders this year. For example, the weekly RSI (relative strength index) was supposed to signal oversold levels and bitcoin’s bottom, but Beyonderr says “this was not true this year.”

Other unreliable technical indicators Beyonderr mentioned include the monthly MACD (moving average convergence/divergence), the Rainbow price chart, the 200-week moving average, the 100-week moving average X 20-week moving average, the Pi cycle indicator, the Hash ribbons indicator, and the average percentage drawdown from a cycle’s high.

Moreover, Beyonderr mocked the S2F price model by calling it the “Meme bonus” indicator. “The worst indicator of them all, Plan B’s horrible Stock-to-flow model. Add it to the failed pile,” Beyonderr wrote. The post on r/cryptocurrency also mentioned that there may be four indicators that suggest the bottom “might be in,” at least according to Beyonderr.

The indicators Beyonderr cited include signals like “time in the market,” the “Puell Multiple,” the “Mayer Multiple,” and the “MVRV Z-score.” Meanwhile, a great number of people on social media platforms like Twitter wholeheartedly believe the bottom is awfully close to being in, but so far most technical signals have just been unreliable deviations.

What do you think about the failed technical indicators that could not predict bitcoin’s bottom? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

2 NFT Projects Plan to Transition From Solana to Alternative Blockchains

Two prominent Solana projects have announced they are transitioning over to new blockchains. The non-fungible token (NFT) venture Degods detailed it will be moving to the Ethereum chain and the Y00ts NFT team detailed it is moving to Polygon. Both teams said the transitions will take place in 2023.

Degods Says NFT Project Will Move to Ethereum, Y00ts Details NFT Venture Is Transitioning to Polygon

The crypto community has been discussing two crypto projects that have said the teams plan to transition their ventures from the Solana blockchain network to an alternative blockchain. Degods is one NFT project that revealed on Twitter it was moving from Solana to the Ethereum network. Launched in October 2021, Degods is an NFT venture that created 10,000 deflationary PFP (profile picture) NFTs. On Twitter the Degods team said:

Degods will officially bridge to Ethereum in Q1 of 2023. The bridge is not the destination. It is on the path to get there.

Interestingly, the team behind the Y00ts NFT collection said it plans to transition over to the Polygon network. “Y00ts will officially bridge to [Polygon] in Q1 2023,” the official Twitter account tweeted on Dec. 25, 2022. The decisions to transition the two NFT projects from one chain to another come at a time where the Solana project itself has been hurt by its former relationships with FTX.

Solana’s native crypto asset solana (SOL) is down 94.2% year-to-date and over the last 30 days SOL has lost 19.7% against the U.S. dollar. Last year, SOL was a top ten crypto asset but the digital currency has been struggling to hold the 18th largest market cap position in more recent times. Seven-day stats show that Solana’s NFT sales are still the second largest out of 19 different blockchain networks, according to cryptoslam.io data.

While Ethereum dominated the last seven days of sales with $129.12 million out of the $154 million in sales, Solana took the second position with its $14.65 million in NFT sales recorded this past week. Meanwhile, Polygon holds the fourth-largest position in terms of NFT sales with $2.38 million.

Defillama metrics shows that there’s $39.42 billion total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) today and Solana commands the 12th largest TVL in defi. Solana’s TVL on Dec. 26, 2022 is $216.39 million which equates to 0.55% of the entire TVL locked in defi. Interestingly, the tweets from Degods and Y00ts say the same thing as both teams mention transitioning “has never been done before at this scale.”

What do you think about the two NFT projects transitioning from Solana to different blockchain networks? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

Mark Cuban: Bitcoin Is a Good Investment, Gold Investors Are Dumb

Shark Tank star and the owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, says bitcoin is a good investment. The billionaire wants the price of the cryptocurrency to fall further so he can buy some more. Meanwhile, he insulted gold investors, calling them “dumb as f***.”

Mark Cuban Prefers Bitcoin Over Gold

Shark Tank star and the billionaire owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, shared his thoughts about bitcoin and gold in an episode of the “Club Random” podcast, hosted by comedian Bill Maher and scheduled to be aired Monday.

Maher said he is “very anti-bitcoin” and believes in the value of gold. Commenting on gold investing, the Dallas Mavericks owner opined:

If you have gold, you’re dumb as f***.

The podcast host proceeded to argue that gold “never goes away” and is “like a hedge against everything else.” Cuban replied:

No, but it’s not a hedge against anything, right? What it is is the stored value and you don’t own the physical gold, do you? … Gold is a stored value and so is bitcoin.

“When you own gold, all you own is a digital transaction. You don’t own the gold bar,” Cuban detailed, emphasizing that investors do not actually possess the actual gold. “If everything went to hell in a handbasket and you had a gold bar, you know what would happen? Someone would beat the f*** out of you or kill you and take your gold bar,” the Shark Tank star warned.

Acknowledging Cuban’s criticism of gold, Maher clarified, “We’re not mostly in gold.” Cuban responded: “And that’s fine. I’m not mostly in bitcoin, right? It’s just something I own.” The Dallas Mavericks owner stressed: “But it’s a digital transaction and it’s a store of value … So, people perceive that there is a value associated with gold, and there’s value associated with bitcoin.”

While stating that bitcoin “is a good investment,” Cuban noted that he is “not telling people to buy” the cryptocurrency. The Shark Tank star added:

I want bitcoin to go down a lot further so I can buy some more.

Cuban believes in cryptocurrency’s potential despite the crypto winter and the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. He previously explained that the FTX fallout is not a failure in crypto. While admitting that he does not know all the details, he said former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) should be worried about going to jail for a very long time.

Meanwhile, Cuban’s Shark Tank co-star, Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, has insisted that SBF is one of the best traders in the crypto space and he will back him again if he has another venture. O’Leary was a spokesperson for FTX when the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy.

What do you think about Mark Cuban’s statements regarding bitcoin and gold? Let us know in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

Elon Musk: Twitter No Longer in Fast Lane to Bankruptcy

Tesla CEO and Twitter chief Elon Musk has confirmed that the social media company is no longer “in the fast lane to bankruptcy.” Nonetheless, the billionaire emphasized that there is still much work to do on the platform. “But overall it seems to be going in a good direction.”

Twitter Won’t Go Bankrupt Anytime Soon, Says Elon Musk

Tesla CEO and Twitter chief Elon Musk revealed over the weekend that Twitter will not be filing for bankruptcy anytime soon. He said on the All-In podcast Saturday:

We’ve got the expenses reasonably under control, so the company’s not in the fast lane to bankruptcy anymore.

“It has been quite a roller coaster,” he added. “It has its highs and lows, to say the least, but overall it seems to be going in a good direction.”

Following the podcast, Musk tweeted clarifying that Twitter is not secure yet and there is still “much work to do.”

The Twitter boss further shared on the podcast: “My error rate and sort of being the chief twit will be less over time but, in the beginning, we’ll make a lot more mistakes because I’m new … Hey, I just got here, man.”

He continued: “If you look at the actual amount of improvement that has happened at Twitter in terms of having costs that aren’t insane and shipping product that, on balance, is good, I think that’s great — We’re executing well, and getting things done.”

The billionaire first warned about the prospect of bankruptcy for Twitter just a few weeks after he took over the social media platform. Sharing Twitter’s financial troubles in his first email to Twitter employees in November, he wrote:

The economic picture ahead is dire … Bankruptcy isn’t out of the question.

After purchasing Twitter for about $44 billion at the end of October, Musk immediately made some drastic changes to the platform as he focused on free speech. Soon the company lost half of its top 100 advertisers which made up a large chunk of Twitter’s revenue. Musk has been trying to generate income for the social media company ever since, including charging $8 a month for the Twitter blue checkmark ($11 for iPhone users).

Musk recently promised to step down as head of Twitter. “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams,” he tweeted last week.

Do you think Elon Musk is doing a good job running Twitter? Let us know in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

Bitcoin Hashrate Slides as Texas Miners Curtail Hashpower to Bolster the Grid

Bitcoin’s total hashrate tapped a low of 170 exahash per second (EH/s) on Dec. 25, as reports noted that bitcoin miners in Texas curtailed their hashpower during a massive winter freeze. Statistics show that close to 100 exahash dropped off the network but rebounded from the 170 EH/s low to 240 EH/s by 12:00 p.m. (ET).

Texas Bitcoin Miners Curtail Computational Power

After reaching 272 exahash per second (EH/s) on Dec. 24, 2022, the network’s hashrate plunged during the early hours the very next day as it dropped to 170 EH/s. A myriad of reports detail that because of the cold weather in Texas, bitcoin miners located in the area have voluntarily shut down operations. Bitcoin supporter Dennis Porter shared a screenshot of a message from the bitcoin mining operation Lancium as the business shut down its Ft. Stockton facility to give more power to the grid.

“Bitcoin miners have once again voluntarily shut off power during an extreme weather event in Texas,” Porter tweeted. “Bitcoin miners are good for the grid.” The bitcoin mining operation Core Scientific explained that it too was participating in operational curtailments. “Due to extreme cold weather sweeping across the eastern and southern half of the U.S., we will be participating in multiple power curtailments to help stabilize the electrical grid,” the mining operation detailed.

Statistics from coinwarz.com indicates that while close to a 100 exahash went offline, the hashrate came back roughly around noon (ET) to around 240 EH/s. In fact, for the first time in a long period of time, Antpool has surpassed Foundry USA’s hashrate. Antpool commands 29.92 % of the global network at press time, as it has roughly 69 EH/s of computational power. Foundry USA has 19.68% of the global hashrate with 45.51 EH/s. Just two days ago, Foundry USA had around 70 EH/s and roughly 31% of the global hashrate on Dec. 23.

Reports show that Texas is dealing with a major cold freeze and Texans do not want to experience icy blackouts like they did in 2021. The entire state will be dealing with subzero realfeel during the course of the holiday weekend. Reports on Friday noted that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid in the state was holding its own but more cold winter tests are on the horizon.

“Please be prepared for some ups and downs this weekend as we deal with the winter storm,” Compass Mining’s director of mining operations Neil Galloway tweeted. “Our hosting partners and technicians are working in rough conditions that may slow down progress but we are monitoring things throughout the weekend. This is what bitcoin mining does.” Galloway added:

Because your miner is offline, people can heat their homes and cook, hospitals can continue to take care of patients, military bases can continue to monitor our borders and you can be proud to have been a integral part of balancing your grid.

What do you think about the miners in Texas curtailing their hashrate to help the grid deal with the cold freeze? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

Jim Cramer Urges SEC to Do a Big Crypto Sweep — Says ‘I Wouldn’t Touch Crypto in a Million Years’

The host of Mad Money, Jim Cramer, says he would not touch crypto in a million years. He called investors who own various altcoins idiots and urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to do “a big sweep” on the crypto industry.

Jim Cramer’s Crypto Warnings

The host of CNBC’s Mad Money show, Jim Cramer, has issued more warnings about cryptocurrency. Cramer is a former hedge fund manager who co-founded Thestreet.com, a financial news and literacy website. He said on CNBC Friday:

I would not touch crypto in a million years because I wouldn’t trust the deposit bank.

He was then asked whether he is making a distinction between centralized and decentralized platforms. “They fought regulation. They didn’t want regulation and you don’t have regulation,” Cramer replied, indicating that he does not trust any platforms that do not want regulation.

The Mad Money host continued:

I’m just saying you are using a lot of blind faith, and I like to have my money at JPMorgan, and I check on Monday to see whether my balance is there. It feels good.

“Try getting your money out,” he advised crypto investors, adding that when he had money at a crypto firm: “It was a fight to get the money out — a fight!”

Cramer opined:

I think that everybody who owns these various coins — you know, solana, litecoin — I do think you are an idiot, okay. I did not go to college to get stupid. These people who own these things should not own them. They shouldn’t own them.

Jim Cramer Calls on SEC to Do a Big Crypto Sweep

Cramer also commented on the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, stating that existing securities laws are adequate for the regulation of the crypto industry. He wants the SEC to “come on and enforce” crypto firms.

The Mad Money host added:

I think they need to do a big sweep. They have to stop people creating money.

“It’s the creation of money by cretins. I don’t think cretins should create money and then suck people in. These are worse than even the worst Nasdaq stocks,” Cramer concluded.

The Mad Money host used to invest in bitcoin, ether, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) but he sold all his crypto holdings last year. Cramer has been advising investors to avoid investing in speculative assets, including crypto, while the Federal Reserve continues to tighten the economy. Earlier this month, he advised investors to get out of crypto, emphasizing that it is never too late to exit “an awful position.”

What do you think about the warnings by Jim Cramer about the danger of crypto investing? Let us know in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

Lastpass Data Breach Frightens Users, Some Say Hack ‘May Be Worse Than They Are Letting on’

People involved in financial tech, software programming, cyber security, and cryptocurrencies have been talking about the Lastpass data breach that was disclosed two days ago. The password management company detailed that a breach, committed earlier this year, allowed hackers to obtain a “backup of customer vault data.”

Lastpass Reveals ‘Threat Actor Was Also Able to Copy a Backup of Customer Vault Data’

On Dec. 22, 2022, the password management firm Lastpass disclosed that an “unknown threat actor” managed to breach the firm’s cloud-based storage environment in or around Aug. 2022. As soon as the news was published, the Lastpass data leak has been a topical discussion on social media and forums. A great number of people believe that Lastpass’ situation “may be worse than they are letting on.”

LastPass attackers now know all websites you have passwords stored for and the blobs, encrypted only by your master password https://t.co/Wdbt6mWe8C https://t.co/HldcJ8DYkK

— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) December 22, 2022

“Based on our investigation to date, we have learned that an unknown threat actor accessed a cloud-based storage environment leveraging information obtained from the incident we previously disclosed in August of 2022,” Lastpass disclosed. The password management company added:

The threat actor was also able to copy a backup of customer vault data from the encrypted storage container which is stored in a proprietary binary format that contains both unencrypted data, such as website URLs, as well as fully-encrypted sensitive fields such as website usernames and passwords, secure notes, and form-filled data.

Lastpass insists the encrypted fields are secure with 256-bit AES encryption and the info can only be decrypted by leveraging each user’s master password using the firm’s zero-knowledge architecture. “As a reminder, the master password is never known to Lastpass and is not stored or maintained by Lastpass,” the company detailed.

lastpass gets hacked and immediately after a ton of crypto wallets are broken into and drained

“be your own bank”

nah go break into a brick & mortar establishment if you want my funds nerds, good luck

— gainzy (@gainzy222) December 24, 2022

Lastpass’ Security Reassurance Doesn’t Seem to Convince a Number of Critics

However, a number of reports believe that the situation is worse than Lastpass is letting on. Reviewgeek.com’s Andrew Heinzman stresses in his report to “please, stop using Lastpass.” “Even if you use a strong master password, there’s a chance that hackers will try to phish some information out of you,” Heinzman wrote. The author added:

To be clear, Lastpass is still investigating this data breach. And after four months of ‘sorry, it’s worse than we thought,’ customers are rightfully worried that Lastpass doesn’t have all the details. For all we know, things could get even worse. We asked our readers to stop using Lastpass in July 2020.

Crypto supporter Udi Wertheimer also warned people that if they use Lastpass “attackers probably have a copy of your vault.” Wertheimer’s recommendation is the same as Heinzman’s as the digital currency proponent insisted that users should “stop using Lastpass.”

“We don’t know how bad things are,” Wertheimer added. “It’s possible that attackers have ongoing access, so don’t just change your passwords and put them back into Lastpass.” Moreover, a Twitter user who claims to have worked as an engineer for the company seven years ago also noted that Lastpass’ breach situation is a big deal.

“I worked at Lastpass as an engineer a long time ago. 7+ years ago. My 2 cents on the situation,” the individual said. “This is the worst breach Lastpass has had. By a lot. The key difference is that customer vaults were accessed this time, which are kept in a completely separate database.”

What do you think about the Lastpass data breach and the speculation that it is worse than Lastpass is letting on? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

Samsung Is Investing More Than $35 Million in Latam-Focused Metaverse Initiatives

Samsung, the Korean electronics behemoth, has revealed it is currently investing more than $35 million dollars in metaverse initiatives for the Latam audience. The objective behind this move is to help the brand attract and connect with younger audiences, as part of its digital push and growth marketing strategy.

Samsung’s Metaverse Push in Latam

Many companies have started to put their products and their brands in the metaverse, considering it an important part of their marketing strategy. Samsung, one of the biggest electronics companies in the world, has recently revealed it is investing more than $35 million in metaverse initiatives directed at Latam customers.

In an article published on Dec. 20, Anita Caerols, director of marketing and corporate citizenship of Samsung Electronics Chile, explains the motivations behind this virtual reality push for the company. She stated:

At Samsung we believe that the metaverse is a concrete commitment to connect with young consumers. That is why we are investing more than US$35 million in initiatives that cover all of Latam.

Furthermore, Caerols believes that fully immersive platforms are part of the future of marketing and that for digital natives, the current metaverse is a natural extension of social media platforms, making it a sensible field for Samsung to explore.

Younger Audiences in the Scope

The focus Samsung is putting on the metaverse, and the amount of funds invested in this area, are justified by the marketing vision presented by the company. On this, Caerols explained:

If a business needs to speak and connect with young audiences, prospect current and future potential consumers, and engage with new influencers, it is imperative that it be in the metaverse starting now.

It is Gen Z and Gen Alpha, audiences that are more accustomed to these platforms, which are the ones Samsung wants to attract to its proposal and its products. According to a Linkedin study, 400 million users are currently dwelling on metaverse platforms every month, with 51% of them being 13 years old or less.

Samsung’s interest in the virtual world is not new, and the company has already made different moves in order to be a part of some metaverse platforms.

In October, the company launched its “House of Sam” experience in Decentraland, allowing users to interact virtually with products of the company.

In July, Samsung also launched another metaverse experience on Roblox, called “Space Tycoon,” allowing users to be part of a space station where they can build Samsung products with raw materials.

What do you think about Samsung’s investments in Latam metaverse initiatives? Tell us in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

SEC Will Use All Available Tools to Crack Down on Crypto Firms That Aren’t in Compliance With Its Rules, Says Chair Gensler

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, has revealed that the regulator will use all available tools to bring crypto platforms into compliance with its rules. In addition, the SEC chief said: “Proof of reserves is neither a full accounting of the assets and liability of a company, nor does it satisfy segregation of customer funds under the securities laws.”

SEC Chair Gensler on Crypto Regulation

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler stressed the importance of bringing crypto platforms into compliance after the securities regulator filed charges against former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX executive Gary Wang for their role to defraud equity investors. The SEC boss tweeted Wednesday:

Until crypto platforms comply with time-tested securities laws, risks to investors will persist. It remains a priority of the SEC to use all of our available tools to bring the industry into compliance.

In an interview with Bloomberg Thursday, Gensler indicated that the SEC is just getting started with its crackdown on crypto firms that are not in compliance with its rules.

“The runway is getting shorter” for crypto firms to come in and register with the SEC, Gensler explained, emphasizing: “The casinos in this Wild West are non-compliant intermediaries.”

The SEC chief also commented on proof-of-reserves (POR) reports used by a number of crypto exchanges, including Binance, to prove that they have enough funds to fulfill customer withdrawals. Noting that this practice falls short of the disclosures needed to protect investors, Gensler explained:

Proof of reserves is neither a full accounting of the assets and liability of a company, nor does it satisfy segregation of customer funds under the securities laws.

Gensler suggested that crypto companies should “give customers confidence that their crypto is really there” by “coming into compliance with time-tested custody, segregation of customer funds rules and accounting rules.” The SEC is focused on crypto firms’ financial record keeping.

The securities watchdog and its chairman have been heavily criticized by some for their enforcement-centric approach to regulating the crypto industry. They have also been scrutinized in the collapse of crypto exchange FTX since Gensler and SEC staff met with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) several times.

Congressman Tom Emmer (R-MN) tweeted Thursday: “Gary Gensler and the SEC had more meetings with SBF and FTX/IEX than anyone else in crypto, allegedly to craft a special regulatory framework designed to benefit FTX alone.” The lawmaker further wrote:

Making backroom regulatory deals with bad actors is not a tool in the SEC’s toolbox.

Congressman Emmer said last month that the FTX fallout is not a crypto failure but the failure of the SEC and Chair Gensler. The lawmaker from Minnesota has called on Gensler to testify before Congress about the cost of his regulatory failures.

Last week, the SEC chief stressed the importance of regulating crypto issuers and intermediaries. He previously said that most crypto tokens are securities but the crypto field is significantly non-compliant. The securities regulator recently published its strategic plan for the next four years and crypto is among its top priorities. Gensler said in November that the SEC’s Enforcement Division remains focused on crypto.

What do you think about the statements by SEC Chair Gary Gensler on crypto regulation? Let us know in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News