Archive for the ‘Cryptocurrency’ Category

FTX Customers Poised to Recover All Funds Lost in Collapse – The New York Times

Customers of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX are poised to recover all of the money they lost when the firm collapsed in 2022 and receive interest on top of it, the companys bankruptcy lawyers said on Tuesday.

The announcement was a landmark in the attempt to track down the $8 billion in customer assets that disappeared when FTX imploded virtually overnight, setting off a crisis in the crypto industry. Under a plan filed in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware, virtually all FTXs creditors, including hundreds of thousands of ordinary investors who used the exchange to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, would receive cash payments equivalent to 118 percent of the assets they had stored on FTX, the lawyers said.

Those payments would flow from a pool of assets that FTXs lawyers have pulled together in the 17 months since the exchange collapsed, the lawyers said. They tapped a wide range of sources, including digital currencies that FTX still owned when it filed for bankruptcy and company assets like shares in start-ups, which could be sold to bidders.

The amount that FTX recovered is in general pretty unheard of, said Yesha Yadav, a law professor at Vanderbilt University. Thats something that is really quite astonishing for a major bankruptcy.

The plan comes with a caveat. The amount owed to customers was based on the value of their holdings at the time of FTXs bankruptcy in November 2022. That means customers wont reap the benefits of a recent surge in the crypto market that sent the price of Bitcoin to a record high. A customer who lost one Bitcoin when FTX imploded, for example, would be entitled to less than $20,000, even though a Bitcoin is now worth more than $60,000.

It will take months for the payouts to begin. The plan requires approval by the federal judge overseeing FTXs bankruptcy, John T. Dorsey. If creditors raise any objections to the plan, that could extend the timeline.

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FTX Customers Poised to Recover All Funds Lost in Collapse - The New York Times

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Why is the crypto market down today? – Cointelegraph

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization remains flat at $2.35 trillion on May 7, even though Bitcoin (BTC) is slightly up at $63,550. The lack of positive momentum has led to modest 0.5% to 2.5% declines in Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), Toncoin (TON), and Avalanche (AVAX), mostly driven by increased uncertainty in traditional markets.

The current investor discomfort stems from data indicating an 18% drop in Tesla electric vehicle sales in China in April compared to the previous year, as the company faces strong competition from domestic producers, including BYD. Chinas new electric vehicle sales rose 33% year over year in April, with BYD leading on a 49% growth. Shares of Tesla dropped 3% on May 7 as the market absorbed the news.

Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller told CNBC that his firm cut positions in Nvidia in March, believing the artificial intelligence (AI) market boom could be overdone in the short term. Druckenmiller, now running Duquesne Family Office, thinks further gains in the sector could take four to five years from now.

Such comments fueled speculations that the AI sector might be entering a bubble, negatively impacting risk-on assets, including cryptocurrencies. More uncertainty arose after The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is developing chips to run AI software in data centers, though no clear timeline has been set for its launch.

Apple has reportedly partnered with TSMC on the chips design and production, differing from Googles AI efforts, which invested in developing their own inference server chips to reduce dependence on other chip designers. Regardless of its impact on the AI market, this move shows that Apple is seeking new growth areas after iPhone quarterly sales dropped 4%.

Investor discomfort also arises from increased global socio-political turmoil in the Middle East and Ukraine. The ongoing tension in the region creates fear and uncertainty that negatively impact global risk on assets.

Related: Why is Ethereum (ETH) price down today?

The cryptocurrency market also faced setbacks, especially after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Genslers appearance on CNBC. During his most recent interview, Gensler stated that most tokens "are securities under the law of the land, as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court." In Genslers view, investors are not getting the "required or needed disclosures" prior to being offered those assets.

According to a court filing released on May 6, the SEC has issued a Wells notice to the popular trading platform Robinhood regarding its U.S.-based crypto business. Other crypto firms have also recently been targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice and regulators, including Samourai Wallet, Uniswap, and Consensys.

Efforts to curb the industry in the U.S. and companies aiming to service the region have caused multiple ventures to block U.S. citizens from taking part in airdrops, accessing decentralized finance front-ends, or participating in certain markets. However, regulators cannot stop inflows to regulated assets, including spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), so the overall impact on crypto markets from such FUD might be less than anticipated.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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Why is the crypto market down today? - Cointelegraph

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Behind Nigeria’s Arrest of Binance Employee, Claims of a Bribe Request – The New York Times

On a trip to Nigeria in January, Tigran Gambaryan, a compliance officer for the giant cryptocurrency exchange Binance, received an unsettling message: The company had 48 hours to make a payment of roughly $150 million in crypto.

Mr. Gambaryan, a former U.S. law enforcement agent, understood the message as a request for a bribe from someone in the Nigerian government, according to five people familiar with the matter and messages reviewed by The New York Times. He and a group of his Binance colleagues had just met with Nigerian legislators, who accused the company of tax violations and threatened to arrest its employees.

The Binance officials fled Nigeria in a panic. Later that month, Mr. Gambaryan wrote a three-page report describing the payment request and gave it to Binances lawyers, two people familiar with the report said. He also alerted contacts in the Nigerian government, the people said, and recounted the incident to them.

The episode was the backdrop for a second trip to Nigeria that Mr. Gambaryan took in February. On his return, he and a colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were arrested by the Nigerian authorities, setting off a crisis at Binance.

Mr. Gambaryan has been held in Kuje prison in Nigerias capital, Abuja, for the last four weeks, after he was transferred there from a government compound on April 8. His case is the latest legal headache for Binance, which agreed to a $4.3 billion fine last year to settle charges by the U.S. government that it allowed criminal activity to flourish on its platform. In April, the companys founder, Changpeng Zhao, was sentenced to four months in prison for his role in those violations.

The Nigerian authorities have charged both Binance and Mr. Gambaryan with tax evasion and money laundering. Binance has denied that Mr. Gambaryan had any decision-making power in the company.

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Binance Returns To India, Adhering To New Regulatory Standards – Finimize

Whats going on here?

After a regulatory pause, Binance is making a comeback in India. The leading cryptocurrency exchange has now registered with India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), allowing it to resume operations which were previously halted in December due to non-compliance issues.

What does this mean?

The suspension of Binance in India highlights a broader move by the FIU to enforce stricter oversight on foreign cryptocurrency platforms. To restart its services, Binance fulfilled the necessary registration and addressed a penalty for its previous non-compliance. This emphasizes India's commitment to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws, echoing similar regulatory actions taken with other platforms like KuCoin, which also recently paid a fine to resume operations.

Why should I care?

For markets: Regulation reshaping crypto markets.

Binance's recent compliance in India reflects an increasing trend where regulatory actions are shaping market dynamics for cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide. This is crucial for investors and market participants as such developments can impact market stability and investment strategies.

The bigger picture: India's regulatory framework sets a global example.

The strict regulatory measures India is adopting could serve as a model for other nations in managing cryptocurrency operations. This proactive approach may lead to more organized, stable, and transparent digital currency markets, potentially influencing worldwide economic policies on cryptocurrencies.

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Binance Returns To India, Adhering To New Regulatory Standards - Finimize

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FTX customers are set to recover all funds lost, plus interest – The Washington Post

Customers of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX are set to receive all of the funds lost during the firms 2022 collapse, along with interest payments of up to 9 percent, according to an announcement from the firms lawyers.

Under a plan proposed Tuesday, creditors who held claims in the amount of $50,000 or less would get about 118 percent of their investment back within 60 days of the plans effective date. The company said it recovered property valued between $14.5 billion and $16.3 billion, drawn from assets held by the U.S. Justice Department, authorities in Australia and the Bahamas, and dozens of private parties.

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FTX customers are set to recover all funds lost, plus interest - The Washington Post

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