Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of crypto exchange FTX may no longer be able to play League of Legends and other video games if newly proposed changes to his bail conditions from United States prosecutors are approved. In a Feb. 15 letter to United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams asked the courts to further expand restrictions surrounding Bankman-Fried’s electronic device usage. They pointed to Bankman Fried’s recent device usage as cause for concern, and agreed with the court’s intuition that it was “shortsighted” by focusing only on apps, adding: “There is now a record before the …

A federal judge has allowed identities of guarantors who signed on sureties for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bond to be made public following a request from several news outlets. Court documents released on Feb. 15 showed that the two previously unidentified individuals were Andreas Paepcke, a senior research scientist at Stanford University and Larry Kramer, a former dean of Stanford Law School. The two signed on as sureties for Bankman-Fried’s bail on Jan. 25 for $200,000 and $500,000, respectively. Eight major news outlets petitioned Judge Lewis Kaplan in a Jan. 12 letter, requesting the court disclose the …

Users of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX have reportedly taken aim at financiers who promoted the platform suggesting their efforts added an “air of legitimacy” to the now-defunct exchange, a case labeled as "tricky" by a crypto lawyer. A Feb. 15 Bloomberg report revealed a class-action suit filed Feb. 14 by FTX investors against venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and private equity firms Thoma Bravo and Paradigm. The firms were accused by the investors of touting “their own investments” of hundreds of millions of dollars in FTX. It was alleged the firms were involved in a promotional marketing campaign in 2021 …

Prosecutors behind the criminal case against former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried have requested additional time to consider the legal implications of him using a virtual private network, or VPN. In a Feb. 13 filing with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said the Justice Department had uncovered that Bankman-Fried accessed the internet on Jan. 29 and Feb. 12 — the second date being Super Bowl LVII. According to Williams, the government’s view was that using a VPN “raises several potential concerns”, citing examples of U.S.-based users accessing certain …

A New York judge has granted a request from prosecutors to defer civil proceedings from the Commodities Futures Trading Commision (CFTC) and the Securities Exchange Commision (SEC) until after Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial in October. U.S. District Judge of Manhattan Kevin Castel on Feb. 13 granted the motions to stay the civil proceedings “without prejudice,” meaning the cases will now be halted until after the Department of Justice's (DOJ’s) criminal trial concludes. The motion was first submitted on Feb. 7 by Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, requesting to defer both civil cases against the …

Remember when Sam Bankman-Fried admitted to being a significant donor to the Democratic and Republican parties? Well, the recipients of the tainted money have been formally requested to return the funds to FTX’s creditors. So far, we know of three prominent Democratic groups — the DNC, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — that have returned SBF-linked donations in December 2022. Will the rest follow? As FTX seeks clawbacks, the Digital Currency Group and its bankrupt subsidiary, Genesis Global Trading, have agreed to a restructuring plan. The good news is that Genesis account holders will …

Two members of the United States House Financial Services Committee are calling on Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler “regarding the timing of the charges filed against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried” based on his scheduled appearance at a hearing. In a Feb. 10 notice, committee chair Patrick McHenry and Representative Bill Huizenga, who chairs the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, said the timing of Bankman-Fried’s charges and arrest in the Bahamas raised “serious questions about the SEC’s process and cooperation with the Department of Justice”. The two lawmakers called on Gensler to provide records and communications from the SEC’s Division …

Members of the crypto community are seemingly outraged over the recent charges laid against crypto exchange Kraken in relation to its staking-as-a-service program in the United States. On Feb. 9, the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it had settled charges with Kraken over “failing to register the offer and sale of their crypto asset staking-as-a-service program,” which it claims is qualified as securities under its purview. Kraken agreed to settle the charges by paying $30 million in fines and to immediately cease the staking services to U.S. retail investors, though it would continue to be offered offshore. The …

A federal judge has reportedly denied oral arguments proposing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried be allowed to use certain messaging apps. According to a Feb. 9 Reuters report, Judge Lewis Kaplan of United States District Court for the Southern District of New York upheld his ruling that Bankman-Fried be restricted from using encrypted messaging apps as a condition of his release on a $250-million bond. The judge ordered SBF not to communicate using apps like Signal on Feb. 1, but the former CEO’s legal team and prosecutors had negotiated a deal allowing for exceptions including Facebook Messenger, Zoom, and Facetime. …

Robinhood’s board of directors has approved a plan to buy back the $578 million stake in their company which was bought by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX co-founder Gary Wang last year. Robinhood confirmed it got board approval to buy back the stake in its fourth quarter report, which was published on Feb. 8. “Our Board authorized us to pursue purchasing most or all of our shares that Emergent Fidelity Technologies bought in May 2022," said Robinhood’s chief financial officer Jason Warnick, adding “The proposed share purchase underscores the confidence the Board of Directors and management team have …

Wallets linked to now-bankrupt Alameda Research became active again on Feb. 7, transferring out millions worth of FTX exchange’s native token, FTX Token (FTT). The Alameda wallet activity post FTX bankruptcy filing has been a big concern for the crypto community, with many questioning the merits of the law enforcement agencies and how these wallets are being accessed. The Alameda address 'brokenfish.eth' transferred nearly $2 million worth of FTT tokens from BentoBox smart contract on Sushiswap. The smart contract in question serves as the central vault for the whole Sushi ecosystem. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has a history with …

Lawyers representing bankrupt crypto broker Voyager Digital have served former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and other FTX and Alameda Research executives with subpoenas requesting information. The subpoenas have a very wide scope, with Voyager’s lawyers seeking copies of any documents and communication between FTX entities and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Department of Justice (DOJ) according to the Feb. 6 filing. Amongst a plethora of other requested documents, the lawyers also want to see information relating to the loan portfolio between Alameda and Voyager as well as FTX’s financial condition before and after it filed for bankruptcy …