Daily Digest - 13 December 2022

Headlines

▌Former CEO SBF of FTX Has Been Arrested by the Bahamas Police

According to a tweet from CONEWS, the former CEO SBF of FTX has been arrested by the Bahamas police. The Bahamas Attorney General said the United States had brought unspecified criminal charges against SBF and "may seek his extradition". Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said in a statement: "The Bahamas and the United States share a common interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with FTX who may betray public trust and violate the law. The United States is pursuing criminal proceedings against FTX.”

Cryptocurrency

▌FTX's New CEO: SBF Has 3 Major "Unacceptable Practices"

In prepared speeches for the hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, John J. Ray III, the new CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, said that the company's collapse was caused by "a small group of very inexperienced and immature people.” There are mainly three "unacceptable practices" including: allowing senior personnel of the company to access client assets, asset mixing, and trading and investing AlamedaResearch client funds. John J. Ray III also stated that FTXUS, an American entity also operated by SBF, does not operate independently of the Bahamian business, which is contrary to SBF's assertion. SBF will attend the hearing of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee remotely for the first time at 10 am Eastern Time on the 14th.

▌The Current CEO of FTX Confirmed That FTX Spent About $5 Billion on Various Investments in the Past

FTX’s current CEO, John Ray, confirmed that FTX spent about $5 billion on various investments and acquisitions in the past, and another $1 billion was provided to insiders as loans and other payments. In particular, acquisitions and investments may no longer have the same value that they originally held. Ray stated that FTX’s lack of security controls, allowing Alameda to borrow funds from FTX without any effective restrictions, lack of reliable financial statements and independent governance are just some of the problems he found.

▌U.S. Justice Dept Is Split Over Charging Binance as Crypto World Falters

The investigation began in 2018 and is focused on Binance's compliance with U.S. anti-money laundering laws and sanctions, these people said. Some of the at least half dozen federal prosecutors involved in the case believe the evidence already gathered justifies moving aggressively against the exchange and filing criminal charges against individual executives including founder Changpeng Zhao, said two of the sources. Others have argued taking time to review more evidence, the sources said.

▌Twitter Officially Launches Gold Verification Checkmarks for Businesses

Monday is set to see the return of the Twitter Blue subscription service. The newly tuned model has already introduced a new golden verification checkmark for businesses. Moreover, a new verification process has been implemented to combat issues the platform faced during its initial launch. Twitter Blue has undeniably been a focal point for new CEO Elon Musk. Despite what was a troublesome initial launch, the relaunch is set to feature a plethora of new safeguards. Additionally, varied checks are being established to deviate from various entities.

▌Stablecoin $USDD Loses Peg and Is Now Trading at $0.97

The Tron network's algorithmic decentralized stablecoin's search for a stable U.S. dollar peg continues even as the broader crypto market holds steady in the face of widening FTX contagion. The USDD stablecoin, championed by Tron's founder Justin Sun and managed by Tron's decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), fell to slightly below 97 U.S. cents early Monday, hitting the lowest since June 22, according to data source CoinGecko. The decline violated the DAO's 3% price fluctuation threshold for price fluctuations to be considered de-pegs.