One of the key witnesses on the ongoing FTX investigation could evade all the seven counts of allegations against her with a plea deal. Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison would be prosecuted only for criminal tax violations and can be released immediately by paying the $250,000 bail. A plea deal between Ellison and the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York was published on Dec. 21. According to the document, the former Alameda exec will be spared of all the major charges, which could have cost her up to 110 years in jail. …

Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang have pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges and are cooperating with prosecutors as part of the criminal case against the former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried. United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), Damian Williams made the announcement on Dec. 22, emphasizing that the latest major development is unlikely to be the last. "As I said last week, this investigation is ongoing and moving very quickly. I also said last week's announcement would not be our last and let me be clear once again, neither …

Another year in the crypto space has nearly passed. As usual, Twitter has been a hotbed of crypto-related conversation during the turbulent year. From Terra’s collapse and the whole situation with FTX to Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, 2022 has played out like a television drama, keeping people on the edge of their seats. Tweets can act like time capsules from the past, offering up memories or documenting particular historical points. Here are 10 memorable tweets from 2022. The Terra collapse The crypto space suffered several blows this year, and among them was the collapse of the Terra project. Terra …

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who has been in the custody of Bahamian authorities, faces extradition to the United States following a hearing. According to reports, Bankman-Fried appeared in a hearing of The Bahamas Magistrate Court on Dec. 21 — the third since his arrest — where he waived his right to a formal extradition process that could have taken weeks. Officials from the U.S. Embassy, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Marshals Service were reportedly in attendance to facilitate Bankman-Fried’s handover, to which he had first signed papers on Dec. 20. Reuters reported that SBF's legal team said the …

Blockchain.com's founder and CEO, Peter Smith, believes on-chain analytics will play a significant role in locating the missing FTX funds, though it will have its limitations. On Dec. 20, Fox Business host Liz Claman said that blockchain’s selling point was that it makes crypto transactions transparent and traceable, asking Smith the question of what it could trace in the case of FTX’s missing customer funds. Smith said that blockchain sleuths have already done a fair bit of work in chasing the money trail, adding that it could in fact be the banking system where the trail could turn cold: “The …

Sam Bankman-Fried, the jailed founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange has reportedly signed papers on Dec. 20 waiving his extradition hearing in the Bahamasand see him flown to the United States to face multiple criminal charges. A hearing in the Bahamas Supreme Court was set for Dec. 21 regarding the matter. Bankman-Fried reportedly wanted to see the indictment against him before he agreed to extradition to the U.S. and was expected to drop his extradition fight according to reports on Dec. 19. ABC News first reported the development on Dec. 20 citing the Bahamas acting commissioner of corrections Doan Cleare. …

Before its downfall, crypto exchange FTX and its then-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried had been some of the most prolific spenders in the space, bailing out crypto firms and donating to political campaigns and media outlets. With more than 1 million FTX creditors looking to be made whole, what’s happening with these funds? Bankman-Fried said in May he had been willing to donate between $100 million and $1 billion to lawmakers as part of elections in 2024. Bloomberg reported on Dec. 12 — hours before SBF’s arrest in The Bahamas — that the total donations could be at least $73 million, given …

Cryptocurrency trading firm Auros Global, which reportedly suffered a $20 million dollar exposure in the FTX collapse, has released a statement saying it plans to resume regular operations after implementing a restructuring plan. Statement from Auros regarding recent references in the media – pic.twitter.com/9RFHhYjHqz — Auros (@Auros_global) December 20, 2022 Following the collapse of FTX, the cryptocurrency trading firm shared that it “found itself in a position where immediate liquidity was insufficient to satisfy recalls from lenders.” However, its top management remained confident that they would be able to weather the storm caused by the FTX contagion. In the issued …

Busan, the blockchain city of South Korea, has moved a step closer to forming a local crypto exchange, but it has dropped most of the global centralized exchange partners. The drastic decision comes in the wake of the recent colossal failure of centralized exchanges. The city announced the steering committee comprising 18 local blockchain experts but none of the five exchanges that had agreed earlier this year to assist the city in establishing its first official digital asset exchange. The five exchanges included Binance, Crypto.com, Gate.io, Huobi Global and FTX. The steering committee is a municipal advisory body tasked with …

Bankrupt crypto lending platform BlockFi has filed a motion requesting authority from the United States Bankruptcy Court to allow its users to withdraw digital assets currently locked up in BlockFi Wallets. In a motion filed on Dec .19 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of New Jersey, the lender asked the court for authority to honor client withdrawals from wallet accounts as of the platform’s pause on Nov. 10. As part of our presentation in Court, we also expressed our intention to request approval from the Court to restore withdrawal activities for BlockFi Wallet accounts. — BlockFi (@BlockFi) …

Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX says it is considering using legal avenues to recover all payments and contributions handed out by its associated entities and former executives, which could include the millions in political donations made from its former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. In a Dec. 19 press statement, FTX said it had already “been approached by a number of recipients of contributions or other payments” that were made by, or at the direction of Sam Bankman-Fried or other officers, adding those entities have sought “directions for the return of such funds.” Sharing our press release just issued: FTX Debtors Announce Process …

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has shared three “huge" opportunities yet to be realized in crypto, including mass crypto wallet adoption, inflation-resistant stablecoins, and Ethereum-powered website logins. During an interview with Bankless co-owner David Hoffman, Buterin shared his outlook for the crypto industry in 2023, responding to Hoffman’s raised concern that the “adoption wave” for decentralized applications is now over and that there’s “less opportunity” for developers to come in and build new decentralized applications. Buterin instead shrugged off the “limbo period” that Hoffman eluded to, firstly suggesting that more developments need to be made on cryptocurrency wallet infrastructure in order …