The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Jan. 12 charged cryptocurrency lending firm Genesis and crypto exchange Gemini with offering unregistered securities through Gemini's "Earn" program. The regulator said its investigating other securities law violations from other entities relating to the Gemini Earn program. This story is developing and more information will be added as it becomes available.

United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler has found a new audience for his crypto-skeptical pep talks — the United States Army. On Jan. 11 the U.S. Army hosted its first Twitter Space of 2023 with Gensler and SEC commissioner Caroline Crenshaw joining the discussion to provide financial advice on how and where U.S. soldiers should invest their money. https://t.co/oRjE3pDc8C — U.S. Army (@USArmy) January 11, 2023 Sergeant Lawrence Holmes noted “there are soldiers that look for those alternative investments [such as] crypto assets” asking the pair what risks there were to crypto investing. “It’s the Wild …

The cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex is the focus of a new probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand for a breach of local rules. A Bloomberg report revealed that local authorities are looking into an activity that they believe may be in violation of business rules for digital asset service providers. This includes its offerings of certain digital asset products According to the Thai SEC, Zipmex has until Jan. 12 to clarify whether it has been functioning as a “digital-asset fund manager without permission” in Thailand. If true, the firm would have needed to obtain a permit prior …

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has pled not guilty to all criminal charges he’s facing, including wire fraud, securities fraud and violations of campaign finance laws. In total, the entrepreneur faces eight criminal counts, which could result in 115 years in prison should he be convicted. Meanwhile, Daniel Friedberg, the controversial lawyer who served as top compliance chief at FTX, has reportedly cooperated with prosecutors and provided them with his knowledge of SBF’s use of customer funds to finance his illegal business scheme. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has formed the FTX Task …

A group of FTX customers has filed a limited objection to FTX’s plan to sell four independently-operated subsidiaries, arguing that they should be privy to the sales process to ensure customer interests are represented. It has also shared concerns that "misappropriated customer funds” may have been used to acquire, or keep these firms running. The limited objection was filed on Dec. 4 by an ad hoc committee of non-U.S. customers, which comprises 18 members who collectively have claims against FTX in excess of $1.9 billion. In its filing, the committee argued that previous public statements by FTX, the Securities and …

Fourteen years after Bitcoin's Genesis block launched a profound disruption in financial services and other industries through the rise of blockchain technology, United States authorities are finally becoming more interested in cryptocurrencies' future and economic impact. On Dec. 14, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) discussed new accounting and disclosure requirements for entities holding crypto assets in financial statements, following an agenda consultation with investors — the first one in five years. The proposed rules are expected to be issued in the first half of 2023. A few days earlier, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delivered a sample letter …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a “limited objection” to crypto exchange Binance.US’s proposed $1 billion takeover of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital, citing a lack of “necessary information.” The limited objection was filed on Jan. 4, with the SEC pointing to a lack of detail regarding Binance.US’s ability to fund the acquisition, what Binance.US’s operations would look like following the deal, and how customer assets will be secured during and after the transaction. A limited objection is similar to a normal objection but only applies to a specific part of the proceedings. Additionally, the regulator …

There is little agreement among Bitcoin’s commentators over the last few weeks, with crypto execs, research analysts and billionaire investors offering wildly different takes on what's in store for Bitcoin for the year ahead. One crypto exchange founder expects Bitcoin (BTC) to spike to $40,000 by the “summer” of 2023, while a Bitcoin billionaire has renewed his bullish $250,000 BTC price prediction for the year. Erik Voorhees — $40,000 by the “summer” Erik Voorhees, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift, was optimistic about a potential recovery of Bitcoin’s price during an interview with Bankless on Jan. 2, stating he …

New reports into Sam Bankman-Fried and his collapsed exchanges revealed that Alameda Research, the now-bankrupt crypto trading firm, almost collapsed in 2018, even before FTX was in the picture. A report published in The Wall Street Journal citing former employees revealed that Alameda incurred heavy losses from its trading algorithm. The algorithm was designed to make a large number of automated and fast trades. However, the firm was losing money by guessing the wrong way about price movements. In 2018, Alameda lost nearly two-thirds of its assets due to the price fall of the XRP token and was in a …

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is reportedly cashing out large amounts of cryptocurrency soon after being released on bail, on-chain data suggests. SBF has cashed out $684,000 in crypto to an exchange in Seychelles while being under house arrest, according to the on-chain investigation by DeFi educator BowTiedIguana. Decentralized finance (DeFi) analyst BowTiedIguana took to Twitter on Dec. 29 to report on a series of obfuscated wallet transactions allegedly linked to SBF, suggesting that the former FTX CEO could have violated release conditions to not spend more than $1,000 without permission from the court. According to BowTiedIguana’s analysis, SBF’s public address …

Avraham Eisenberg was arrested in Puerto Rico on Dec. 26 on commodities fraud and manipulation charges relating to the $110 million exploit of the decentralized Mango Markets exchange. Eisenberg had self-identified as the actor behind what he called a “highly profitable trading strategy” and insisted that he had taken “legal open market actions, using the protocol as designed.” Eisenberg’s arrest predictably lit up crypto Twitter, with some observers paying particular attention to the fact that commodities fraud charges were being pressed in a case involving a crypto coin: “AVRAHAM EISENBERG, the defendant, willfully and knowingly, directly and indirectly, used and …

After the height of the FTX collapse, the Philippine government warned investors within the country about using unlicensed crypto exchanges. The Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) in the Philippines issued an advisory to the public against using unregistered cryptocurrency exchanges that are operating within the country. Within the warning, the SEC did not directly mention the FTX exchange but said that the warning considers “the recent collapse of a large international cryptocurrency exchange.” Citing the laws within the country, the government agency reiterated that any entity intending to conduct business within the country is required to register with the SEC. …