Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has been lambasted this week following a series of controversial public appearances, with Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz one of the latest to dish out a lashing to the former kingpin of crypto. On Dec. 1, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz unleashed a tirade of criticism towards SBF concerning his interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times annual DealBook Summit on Nov. 30. Speaking to Bloomberg, Novogratz characterized SBF as “delusional” following his declaration in the live interview that he never tried to commit fraud. “It’s kind of surprising that his lawyers …

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has submitted a proposed change in state laws that would allow it to charge licensed crypto companies for regulating them. While that may seem like an odd proposition, under Financial Services Law (FSL) it is common practice for the DFS to charge licensed non-crypto financial entities for the cost and expenses of maintaining oversight over them. The proposal is led by DFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris, who announced the move via the DFS website on Dec. 1 and has submitted it for public feedback over the following 10 days. Essentially, Harris is …

As a crypto CEO, I know how often our sector is misunderstood and criticized. Sometimes, the criticism is deserved because we have not always done our part to shine a light on the utility and use cases powering positive change. But other times, it’s based on the assumption that all players in this industry are the same, which is just not true. Recently, skepticism reached new heights with the epic crash of FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world — and perhaps the largest-ever example of the need for regulatory oversight. Given the positioning of FTX, it …

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried apologized or admitted failure at least 12 times during his appearance at the New York Times' DealBook Summit on Nov. 30. In a wide-ranging video interview, Bankman-Fried was asked to answer a number of questions surrounding the downfall of the now-defunct exchange, with some even suggesting that some of his statements could be used to incriminate him in legal proceedings. In a Nov. 30 Twitter post, crypto attorney Jeremy Hogan, Partner at Hogan & Hogan said that the “light cross-examination” of Bankman-Fried at the DealBook Summit has already returned “at least 3 incriminating statements so …

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has claimed to have “unknowingly commingled funds” between Alameda and customer funds at FTX. Bankman-Fried was speaking at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit via video conference on Nov. 30, in which journalist Andrew Sorkin noted “there appears to be a genuine commingling of the funds that are FTX customers that were not supposed to be commingled with your separate firm.” Bankman-Fried denied knowing about the commingled funds and blamed it on poor oversight. “I unknowingly commingled funds [...] I was frankly surprised by how big Alameda’s position was which points to another failure of …

A lawyer for BlockFi told the first day hearing of its bankruptcy proceedings that the crypto lender has $355 million stuck on FTX and that the collapsed exchange’s sister company Alameda Research has defaulted on a $680 million loan. BlockFi filed 15 motions on Nov. 28 which were approved by the court in the first day hearing on Nov. 29, including the redaction of personal details of its 50 largest creditors, and the appointment of Kroll Restructuring Administration as its claims and noticing agent — the same firm chosen by FTX for its chapter 11 bankruptcy case. In a message …

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been called to a Feb. 2 hearing by the Texan securities regulator as part of an investigation into whether he and FTX US have violated Texas securities laws. In a Notice of Hearing signed off by Texas State Securities Board’s (SSB’s) director of enforcement Joe Rotunda and served to Bankman Fried on Nov. 29, the regulator alleges that FTX US offered unregistered securities to Texans through its “EARN” accounts. The investigation was first announced on Oct. 14, before the dramatic collapse and bankruptcy of FTX’s global operations. The regulator announced at the time it …

FTX’s former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has divulged what really went on in the days before it filed for bankruptcy when the exchange selectively reopened withdrawals — only for Bahamian users. In a telephone interview with crypto blogger Tiffany Fong, dated Nov. 16, Bankman-Fried claims to have made the decision to reopen withdrawals to Bahamian citizens as he did not want himself, nor the exchange, to be in a country “with a lot of angry people in it.” “The reason I did it was it was critical to the exchange being able to have a future because that’s where I am …

The FTX collapse marks more than just the failure of another crypto exchange. It signals the time has come for the industry to grow up and embrace value. The value schism is here. FTX was the world’s second-largest crypto exchange. Now, it is a meme for the death rattle of absurd amounts of money being poured into refurbished centralized business models whitewashed in faux decentralization. As legendary investor Warren Buffet famously said, “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” It seems there were more than a few nude bathers in this last cycle. But …

Former FTX head Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) selected cryptocurrency vlogger Tiffany Fong for a series of lengthy and candid telephone interviews. In the two interviews that had been released on YouTube at press time, SBF speaks about many of the major questions connected with the collapse of FTX. The first interview was conducted Nov. 6 and released Nov. 29 on YouTube. “I’ve started to trust my gut on things like this,” SBF said, explaining why he selected the relatively unknown figure to speak to. Fong has less than 10,000 subscribers to her channel. “Here’s someone who will, like, approach this from …

The FTX contagion saga sees new revelations around its misconduct every other day, and the latest one solidifies the collusion between the failed crypto exchange and its sister company Alameda Research from the very beginning. FTX like many other crypto exchanges found it difficult to get a banking partner to process fiat transactions- as banks have been hesitant to tie up with crypto exchanges due to a lack of regulatory oversight. FTX overcame this problem by using its sister company’s banking accounts to process transactions for the crypto exchange. Former CEO of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried confirmed in a conversation with …

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has announced it will be “resuming ordinary” cash payments, salaries and benefits to its remaining employees around the world. The announcement came from new FTX CEO John Ray III on Nov. 28, as the insolvency professional looks to help FTX and its approximated 101 affiliated companies (FTX Debtors) navigate their way through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. "With the Court's approval of our First Day motions and the work being done on global cash management, I am pleased that the FTX group is resuming ordinary course cash payments of salaries and benefits to our remaining …