Daily Digest - 28 December 2022

Headlines

▌U.S. Department of Justice launches criminal investigation into FTX hack

According to sources, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a criminal investigation into the FTX hacking incident. The investigation is understood to be separate from the fraud case involving former FTX CEO SBF, and authorities have frozen some of the stolen funds. Blockchain experts believe that multiple clues point to an insider operation, including hackers hacking both FTX and FTX US websites, accessing multiple cold wallets, and using personal Kraken accounts to withdraw gas fees for at least one transaction. It was previously reported that on the night of FTX filing for bankruptcy, the FTX exchange was hacked and hackers stole more than $450 million in assets from FTX’s hot wallet.

Cryptocurrency

▌The judge in the SBF case may have been associated with FTX, and a new judge has been replaced

According to a court document cited by Reuters, Judge Ronnie Abrams of the SBF case has recused himself from the trial and the case has now been reassigned to another judge, Lewis Kaplan. Judge Ronnie Abrams' husband is a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell, which advised FTX in 2021. The judge publicly stated, "My husband was not involved in these statements. However, in order to avoid any possible conflict, I have recused myself from this proceeding."

▌SBF used Alameda assets to purchase $546 million in Robinhood shares, and multiple parties claimed ownership of the shares

Court documents showed that SBF borrowed $546 million from Alameda Research and injected the money into Emergent Fidelity Technologies Ltd, which bought 7.6% of Robinhood shares through Emergent Fidelity. The shares held by Alameda Research were used as collateral for the loan. BlockFi, which filed for bankruptcy, claims that through a deal it struck with SBF in early November, BlockFi should acquire ownership of Alameda's stake in Robinhood. Currently, BlockFi, FTX Group, and SBF itself are all trying to claim ownership of the stake, which is currently worth around $440 million.

▌Mango attacker Avraham Eisenberg was arrested in Puerto Rico on Monday

US PROSECUTORS have filed criminal charges of commodities fraud and manipulation against a man accused of trying to steal about US$110 million in October by rigging the Mango Markets cryptocurrency exchange. According to a complaint made public on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, Avraham Eisenberg’s trades in futures related to Mango’s crypto token MNGO enabled him to withdraw US$110 million in cryptocurrencies from other investors’ deposits, with no apparent intention to repay the funds. Eisenberg could not be immediately reached for comment, and it is unclear whether he has a lawyer.

▌El Salvador Teaches Students About Bitcoin; Pushes Mass Adoption

Despite El Salvador’s portfolio being down to 60%, the country is pushing its youth toward cryptocurrency adoption. In a recent video, it can be seen that students in an El Salvadoran classroom are being educated about Bitcoin. El Salvador’s efforts to normalize crypto among growing young adults can push mass adoption when the students turn into tax-paying citizens of the country.