SBF pleads not guilty, layoffs, and bank run on Silvergate: Hodler’s Digest, Jan. 1-7

Top news this week

Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to all charges in federal court

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (He has pleaded not guilty to all charges related to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange, including wire fraud and securities fraud. He faces eight criminal counts, which could result in 115 years in prison if convicted. Additionally, Bankman has filed a petition -Fried's legal team ask a court to delete and not disclose certain information about people acting as collateral for his $250 million bail, alleging threats against his family.

The US Feds Created an 'FTX Task Force' to Track Stolen User Funds

A working group organized by the Southern District of New York was formed to track down and recover lost customer funds, as well as to investigate and prosecute the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. A similar effort had has already been underway by FTX's new management, which hired financial advisory firm AlixPartners in December to perform "asset tracing" on missing digital assets.

SEC Files Objection To Binance.US Plans To Acquire Voyager Digital

United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a "limited objection" against Binance.US's proposal to acquire the assets of bankrupt company Voyager Digital. In its offer, Binance.US pledged $1 billion to buy the assets, but the SEC raised concerns about the company's ability to finance the deal, suggesting that Binance's global unit would be required to back the acquisition.

Coinbase Reaches $100 Million Settlement With New York Regulators

Responding to New York Financial Services Violations and banking laws, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will pay a $50 million fine and spend $50 million to fix its compliance program. According to the financial regulator, the crypto exchange had many compliance "deficiencies" related to anti-money laundering requirements, particularly with regard to onboarding and transaction monitoring.

Community celebrates Bitcoin Genesis Day by sending BTC to the genesis block

The crypto community celebrated Bitcoin's 14th birthday this week, with some sending BTC to the address containing the rewards for mining the genesis block, the first BTC block to be mined. On January 3, 2009, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, mined the genesis block, which led to the minting of the first 50 BTC, paving the way for the development of an entire industry.

Winners and losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) I sat down $16,819Ether (ETH) a $1,263 Y XRP a $0.33. Total market capitalization is $819.9 billion, according to to CoinMarketCap.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Lido DAO (I DO) at 52.19%, Solana (SUN) at 37.44% and BitDAO (A LITTLE) at 23.50%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Huobi Token (HT) at -9.32%, Chain (XCN) at -7.09% and Computer Internet (PIC) at -5.19%.

For more information on cryptocurrency prices, be sure to read Cointelegraph Market Analysis.

most memorable quotes

“Bitcoin, specifically, has the potential to promote financial inclusion due to its decentralized nature, making it resistant to censorship and manipulation.”

Philip Karadorevicprince of Serbia

"The problem for many in DC is that they equate FTX with the entire crypto industry."

Ron Hammonddirector of government relations for the Blockchain Association

“We see a lot of security issues because people don't realize that this is their personal liability against their own assets. People are not ready for this."

Dmitry MishuninHashEx CEO

“We are proud of our commitment to compliance, but we are also willing to acknowledge where we have fallen short, including by paying fines and working hard to fix the issues.”

Paul GrewalCoinbase Legal Director

"In fact, crypto assets have become financial and investment instruments, so they must be regulated on an equal footing with other financial and investment instruments."

Suminto Sastrosuwitodirector of the Indonesian Ministry of Finance

"As the former CEO of Celsius, Alex Mashinsky promised to lead investors to financial freedom, but he led them down the path of financial ruin."

leticia jamesNew York Attorney General

prediction of the week

BTC Price Forms New Support At $16.8K As Bitcoin Attracts 'Mega Whales'

As 2023 Begins, Bitcoin Continues to Experiment a lack of volatility, leading to debates among traders about the timing of a breakout. The narrow trading range has been in place since the FTX saga in November.

Trading platform Trend Rider examined the one-week chart to mark $16,800 as the current 100-week point of control (PoC), the price level that generates the most volume in the specific period.

“~16.8K is the new 100 weekly POC for Bitcoin. In simple terms, in the last 100 weeks, this is the level at which most of the volume has been traded, which is creating a potential bottom formation,” the crypto firm noted.

FUD of the week

Mango Markets exploiter Avraham Eisenberg ordered in detention pending trial

The United States District Court in Puerto Rico has issued an arrest warrant against Mango Markets operator Avraham Eisenberg. According to court records, Eisenberg's release is not subject to any condition or combination of conditions that would warrant his appearance. With the decision, Eisenberg will remain in custody until the case is over or he is released under a new bond hearing.

Silvergate sold assets at a loss and cut staff to cover $8.1 billion in withdrawals

FTX collapse sparked a run on Silvergate, forcing the bank to sell assets at a huge loss to cover some $8.1 billion in withdrawals. In addition, nearly 200 bank employees were laid off, representing 40% of its workforce. The bank has come under scrutiny from US lawmakers due to its ties to FTX and Alameda Research.

Crypto Lender Genesis Lays Off 30% More Staff

In his second round of layoffs in six monthsGenesis Global Trading has reportedly cut 30% of its workforce. The crypto-lending platform halted withdrawals and suspended new loan origination in November, citing “unprecedented market turbulence.” In another headline about downsizing, cryptocurrency exchange Huobi announced plans to lay off 20% of its workforce as part of its ongoing restructuring following Justin Sun's acquisition of the company.

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