The judge overseeing crypto exchange FTX’s bankruptcy case has granted a motion allowing the firm’s debtors to request subpoenas for information and documents from former colleagues and family members of Sam Bankman-Fried. In a Feb. 8 filing, Judge John Dorsey said FTX debtors were authorized under bankruptcy court rules to issue subpoenas to certain individuals “for the production of documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things”. The original motion filed on Jan. 25 defined the target of the subpoenas as insiders not “currently cooperating with the Debtors to provide important information” — a list which includes Bankman-Fried, former Alameda Research …

Three Arrows Capital founder Kyle Davies has not responded to a subpoena issued over Twitter aiming to gather information related to the firm’s assets. In a Feb. 7 filing with United States Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, lawyers with the Latham & Watkins firm representing 3AC liquidators said Davies had “chosen to ignore his duties to Three Arrows” by failing to comply with the online subpoena. Courts in Singapore and the U.S. previously authorized the use of Twitter to issue subpoenas due to the whereabouts of 3AC founders Davies and Su Zhu being unconfirmed while their …

This year, investors are watching for big spikes in biotech companies working with psychedelics, especially as the once-controversial compounds return to the spotlight touting mental health benefits — and uniting lawmakers at the United States Capitol across party lines. The category’s future could make big legal gains in 2023, but due to the American government’s built-in checks and balances, even a Congress in agreement can’t shape drug policy alone. In May 2022, New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker and Hawaii Democratic Senator Brian Schatz co-published a letter imploring the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) …

Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has petitioned the court to delay civil proceedings against former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried “until the conclusion of the parallel criminal case”. In Feb. 7 filings, Williams requested that the court issue an order staying civil proceedings as well as discovery from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission against Bankman-Fried until after his criminal case, scheduled to go to trial in October. According to Williams, the criminal case against Bankman-Fried was “likely to have a significant impact” on the SEC and …

A federal judge has denied a joint agreement between Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team and prosecutors which would have allowed the former FTX CEO to use certain messaging apps. In a Feb. 7 filing for United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Lewis Kaplan denied a motion proposing Bankman-Fried be allowed to use messaging services including FaceTime, Zoom, and Facebook Messenger. The judge did not provide a reason for denying the motion "without prejudice", but added the matter would be subject to oral arguments in a Feb. 9 hearing. Prosecutors filed a motion in January suggesting …

The Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), the regulator in charge of overseeing cryptocurrency laws within Dubai, has issued new guidelines for virtual asset service providers (VASP) operating within the emirate. According to information sent by Irina Heaver, a crypto and blockchain lawyer based in the United Arab Emirates, VARA has issued the “Full Market Product Regulations” which include four compulsory rulebooks and activity-specific rulebooks that lays down the rules for operating VASPs. The rules apply to market participants within Dubai only, with the exception of those operating under the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a free zone with its own …

A former product manager at cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has moved to dismiss charges of alleged insider trading, with his lawyers arguing the tokens he allegedly traded were not securities. Lawyers representing ex-Coinbase employee, Ishan Wahi, and his brother, Nikhil Wahi, filed a motion on Feb. 6 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington to dismiss charges laid b the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In July last year, the SEC charged the brothers and their associate, Sameer Ramani, with insider trading alleging the trio made $1.1 million using Ishan’s tips on the timing and names …

The creator of the nonfungible token (NFT) collection Bored Ape Yacht Club has settled a lawsuit with one of the developers behind a copycat collection known as RR/BAYC. On Feb. 6, Yuga Labs settled a lawsuit that involved Thomas Lehman, the developer of websites and a smart contract selling “misleading” BAYC NFTs from digital artist Ryder Ripps. The firm behind the blue-chip collection sued Lehman in January for his involvement and technical support for the collection of mimic monkeys. According to the suit, Lehman assisted Ripps and Jeremy Cahen to develop and promote the NFTs on social media. It claimed …

On Jan. 24, the dYdX Foundation, the entity responsible for the dYdX decentralized crypto exchange, announced “changes” to its tokenomics — the way it distributes tokens to early investors, employees and contractors, and, of course, the public. So, what’s uncommon about the situation? The project’s foundation, in agreement with dYdX Trading Inc. and its early investors, decided to amend the project's tokenomics and extend the period for which such investors’ initial batch of tokens would be locked, changing the date from Feb. 1 to Dec. 1, 2023. Whether this was a good or a bad thing depended on which side …

John Ray, who took over as chief executive officer of crypto exchange FTX, has described some of the chaotic experiences at the firm following the company declaring bankruptcy. In testimony for FTX’s case in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Feb. 6, Ray said he and other professionals had “carefully” been conducting an investigation into FTX’s activities, due to the company having no physical office. The FTX CEO seemed to be pushing back against a motion to assign an independent examiner to the bankruptcy case, claiming that “inadvertent errors” could result in “hundreds of millions …

High-profile crypto bankruptcies and a hearty price crash are necessary evils to help the industry grow, while greater regulation is a must, according to Microstrategy co-founder Michael Saylor. In a Feb. 3 interview on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Saylor opined on potentia incoming United States crypto regulation after the bankruptcy of FTX, saying: “The crypto meltdown was painful in the short term, but it's necessary over the long term for the industry to grow up.” He added the industry “has some good ideas” — implying the Bitcoin (BTC) Lightning network — but added some in the space “implemented those …

2022 was tough for the crypto market. A recent report published by security services platform Immunefi found that the crypto industry lost a total of $3.9 billion in 2022. Detrimental losses such as these are often concerning for crypto investors, yet there may be a silver lining behind decreasing assets for investors reporting crypto on their taxes. Lisa Greene-Lewis, a certified public accountant at TurboTax, told Cointelegraph that while crypto investors made huge gains in 2021, this changed drastically in 2022. “We have seen a crypto winter occur, and TurboTax wants to help investors cope with their losses,” she said. …