On Nov. 11, while the rest of the country was celebrating Veteran’s Day, Sam Bankman-Fried announced that FTX — one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by volume — had filed for bankruptcy. Lawmakers and pundits quickly latched onto the rapid disintegration of FTX to call for more regulation of the crypto industry. “The most recent news further underscores these concerns [about consumer harm] and highlights why prudent regulation of cryptocurrencies is indeed needed,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. It remains unclear what exactly transpired at FTX. Reports indicating that between $1 billion and $2 billion of customer …

American CryptoFed DAO, the first decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to get legal recognition in the United States, is at risk of losing its registration after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dug up anomalies in the Form S-1 registration statement dated Sept. 17, 2021. The Wyoming Secretary of State’s office recognized American CryptoFed as a legal entity in July 2021, at a time when the organization’s CEO, Marian Orr, believed that “Wyoming is arguably the top blockchain jurisdiction in the world.” However, on Nov. 18, 2022, the SEC instituted administrative proceedings against the DAO to determine the issuance of …

“FTX’s customers, former employees, and the public deserve answers,” Raja Krishnamoorthi, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy wrote in a Nov. 18 letter addressed to both former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and the exchange's current CEO John J. Ray III, who took over in the wake of FTX’s bankruptcy filings. Krishnamoorthi added the subcommittee was “seeking detailed information on the significant liquidity issues faced by FTX, the company’s abrupt decision to declare bankruptcy, and the potential impact of these actions on customers who used your exchange.” He insisted the exchange hand over a slew of information relating …

“Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information,” new FTX CEO John Ray III said in a legal filing on Thursday. “From compromised systems integrity and faulty regulatory oversight abroad, to the concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of inexperienced, unsophisticated and potentially compromised individuals, this situation is unprecedented.” Ray, who oversaw Enron’s bankruptcy in 2001, stepped in as CEO shortly after founder Sam Bankman-Fried resigned (and reportedly tried to flee to Argentina, although he denies it). He is absolutely …

The cryptocurrency sector is the Wild Wild West in comparison to traditional finance, yet a number of banks are showing interest in digital assets and decentralized finance (DeFi). This year in particular has been notable for banks exploring digital assets. Most recently, JPMorgan demonstrated how DeFi can be used to improve cross-border transactions. This came shortly after BNY Mellon — America’s oldest bank — announced the launch of its Digital Asset Custody Platform, which allows select institutional clients to hold and transfer Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The Clearing House, a United States banking association and payments company, stated on …

Collapsed crypto exchange FTX and 130 affiliates filed for bankruptcy in Delaware on Nov 11. Chaos followed as a number of FTX creditors, investors and industry experts began to question what would happen next. Laura Shin, crypto journalist, author and host of the Unchained Podcast, sent a tweet on Nov. 15 questioning whether the alleged inter-loan agreement between FTX and Alameda — the company’s venture capital arm — will affect creditors’ and customers’ ability to get back funds. Could one big venture success out of FTX Ventures be a viable path to recovery for FTX creditors & customers? @wassielawyer and …

California Representative Brad Sherman, who repeatedly called for a ban on U.S. residents buying crypto, accused leaders at several financial agencies of parroting former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s ideas on regulating digital assets. In a Nov. 16 hearing before the House Financial Services Committee, Sherman directed his remarks to Federal Reserve vice chair of supervision Michael Barr, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation acting chair Martin Gruenberg, National Credit Union Administration chair Todd Harper, and acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu. The U.S. lawmaker suggested the four regulatory heads had done little to address “crypto billionaire bros” using digital assets for …

Members of the United States’ House Financial Services Committee have scheduled a December hearing aimed at exploring the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and “broader consequences for the digital asset ecosystem.” In a Nov. 16 announcement, the House committee said it expected to hear from individuals and companies involved in the events which led to the FTX Group filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, including former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried — also known as SBF — Alameda Research, and Binance. It’s unclear whether Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who has also been vocal on social media about his discussions with SBF and …

In the aftermath of the FTX exchange liquidity crisis and bankruptcy, United States and Bahamian authorities are reportedly discussing the possibility of extraditing Sam Bankamn-Fried, former CEO of the company, back to the U.S. for questioning. According to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter, conversations between local law-enforcement officials, including the FBI, escalated in recent days as they investigated Bankman-Fried's role in the downfall of the exchange Since the incident, the former FTX CEO, co-founder Gary Wang and the director of engineering Nishad Singh are known to be in the Bahamas, where they are “under supervision” by …

Economic uncertainty amid geopolitical tensions, rising interest rates and slowing economic growth have put a strain on the United States financial system. Reacting to the massive losses reported by the traditional banks in Q2 2022, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) decided to prioritize five key policies this year, which include evaluating the risks of crypto assets to the banking system. Addressing the Senate Banking Committee at a recent hearing , FDIC acting chairman Martin J. Gruenberg highlighted the moderate decline in net income of banks in Q1 and Q2 2022 owing to an increase in loan balances and provision …

Will former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried be held accountable for his mismanagement of investor funds? After most of the entities tied to his cryptocurrency exchange became insolvent last week, blockchain analysts concluded the insolvencies came as a partial result of the exchange’s trading house, Alameda Research, burning through nearly $10 billion in cash that technically belonged to FTX customers. To date, the company has declined to elaborate on the contractual details that made the arrangement possible — or legal. In the aftermath of FTX’s collapse, skeptics have questioned whether the elite — in Washington or elsewhere — will be motivated …

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation acting chair Martin Gruenberg said the agency does not back any crypto firms in the United States, nor does its insurance cover losses from tokens. In a Nov. 15 hearing of the Senate Banking Committee on the oversight of financial regulators, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez said lawmakers needed to “take a serious look at crypto exchanges and lending platforms” over risky behavior. Gruenberg responded to Menendez’s questions confirming there were “no cryptocurrency firms backed by the FDIC” and “FDIC insurance does not cover cryptocurrency of any kind.” FDIC insurance normally protects deposits at financial institutions …