The Bahamas government reportedly worked with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to issue a new cryptocurrency controlled by local officials. Following the FTX collapse in November, Bahamas government officials reportedly asked Bankman-Fried to mint new digital assets worth “hundreds of millions of dollars,” lawyers for FTX said in a court filing, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 12. The authorities also reportedly asked the former FTX CEO to transfer the new tokens to the control of island officials. The report also suggests that Bahamas officials tried to help Bankman-Fried regain access to key computer systems of the now-defunct FTX trading platform. According …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. The SEC has charged Bankman-Fried with violating the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC’s complaint seeks injunctions against future securities law violation that prohibits Bankman-Fried from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any securities except for his own personal account. Related: SBF planned to blame everyone but himself, shows leaked Congress testimony SEC charged Bankman-Fried for orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors in …

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, was arrested on Dec 12, a day before he was set to testify before Congress remotely. A copy of his testimony, obtained by Forbes, highlights that the disgraced CEO planned to blame the spectral downfall of his $32 billion empire on everyone but himself. SBF continued the same rhetoric about FTX.US, the sister company of the global cryptocurrency exchange, in his testimony. He claimed that the United States-based entity was still “fully solvent” despite it being a part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed on Nov. 11. Bankman Fried wrote: “I …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is taking further steps to stop Grayscale Investments’ efforts to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Grayscale began its legal challenge of the SEC’s denial order of the proposed investment product in June 2022. A 73-page brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Dec. 9 saw the SEC lay out the reasoning for its initial decision to bar Grayscale’s request to convert its existing Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF. The SEC is looking for the D.C. Circuit to deny Grayscale’s appeal, which …

Thailand joins the growing list of countries that are seeking to revise their crypto regulation in the aftermath of the FTX collapse. And, as most of these countries do, it intends to tighten the guidelines for the industry and focus on investor protection. According to the report from the Bangkok Post, published on Dec. 13, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing more stringent regulations on digital assets “to mirror the global market.” To justify such a decision, the SEC representatives reportedly nodded on the failures of FTX, Three Arrows Capital, the TerraUSD, Celsius Network and the local …

The FTX collapse spurred action from a global financial watchdog to give recommendations to regulate the crypto industry early in 2023. The Financial Stability Board (FSB), an international organization that monitors the global financial system, has reportedly stated that it will be laying out steps to regulate crypto next year. According to Dietrich Domanski, the outgoing secretary-general of the FSB, mentioned that recent events have highlighted that it's "urgent to address risks" within the space. He explained: “Many crypto market participants argue that authorities are hostile to innovation. I would say so far, authorities have been fairly accommodating.” Domanski also …

A United States federal judge has ordered the Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC) to serve its lawsuit to the two original founders of the Ooki decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). On Dec. 12, District Judge William Orrick ordered the U.S. regulator to serve Tom Bean and Kyle Kistner, the founders of the decentralized trading platform bZeroX which was the predecessor to Ooki DAO. Bean and Kistner had already settled charges with the CFTC in September relating to illegal commodities offerings on bZeroX, while separate charges were laid against Ooki DAO token holders, which was served using a help chat box as …

Pro-crypto United States senator Cynthia Lummis has remained steadfast in her support for Bitcoin (BTC) as part of diversified retirement plans, despite calls from her senator peers otherwise. As it stands, Lummis seems to be just one of the few openly crypto-friendly politicians in the United States and has notably pushed for progressive crypto regulation alongside Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Speaking with online news outlet Semafor on Dec. 12, Lummis outlined that crypto winter has not shaken her resolve in BTC and that she’d still like to see the asset included in United States 401(k) retirement plans: “I'm very comfortable with …

The worst isn’t yet over for the disgraced founder of crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried. On Dec. 12, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it is preparing to file charges against Sam Bankman-Fried, which will be separate from the ones leading to his most recent arrest in The Bahamas. In a statement on Twitter, the SEC tweeted a quote from its division of enforcement director Gurbir Grewal on Dec. 12 stating that the agency has “authorized separate charges relating to his violations of securities laws.” Gurbir Grewal: We commend our law enforcement partners for securing the arrest …

Crypto Twitter has blown up over the shocking news of Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest in The Bahamas — many of whom weren’t expecting it to happen so soon. On Dec. 12, the disgraced FTX founder was arrested by the Royal Bahamas Police after receiving notification from the United States government that criminal charges has been filed against him. Within hours, politicians, crypto executives and influencers all booted up their Twitter apps to comment on the arrest of the FTX’s former CEO. New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who’s held a fairly neutral view on the crypto industry to date, told her …

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange has been arrested and taken into custody by authorities in The Bahamas. According to a letter from the Office of the Attorney General on Dec. 12, Bankman-Fried was arrested by The Royal Bahamas Police Force following formal notification from the United States that it has filed criminal charges against SBF. This is a developing story and more information will be added as it becomes available.

John Ray, who took over as CEO of crypto exchange FTX amid bankruptcy proceedings, has written detailed testimony in preparation for his appearance before the United States House Financial Services Committee. In testimony made available for the ‘Investigating the Collapse of FTX, Part I’ hearing on Dec. 13, Ray reiterated many of the claims made in bankruptcy court, saying the collapse of the collapse was due in part to “the absolute concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of grossly inexperienced and unsophisticated individuals.” Ray, who oversaw the liquidation of energy company Enron during the early …