FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to be released on $250M bail, Judge rules

A New York federal judge approved a plea agreement prepared by federal prosecutors and Sam Bankman-Fried's attorneys Thursday that will see the FTX founder released on a $250-million bond. Bankman-Fried will need "strict" supervision after being released to his parents' California home, according to Judge Gabriel Gorenstein. The equity in their house would be used to partially meet the requirements of his bail. Bankman-Fried would be handed over to his parents' care as part of the discharge. Bankman-Fried had previously asserted that he merely had $100,000 in funds left after the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange. After his extradition from the Bahamas was approved on Wednesday, Bankman-Fried was taken to the United States by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and appeared in court in New York to face his U.S. criminal charges for the first time. Read details here

Twitter Updates Search Results with Crypto and Stock Prices

Using a plug-in from the charting platform TradingView, the social networking site Twitter has included Bitcoin prices in search results. With this connection, users may enter the ticker symbols for stocks or cryptocurrencies to see the current price and a price chart. A link to the trading app Robinhood is also included in the outcome. The social media behemoth has a history of connections to the cryptocurrency market, and in September 2021, while the business was still run by Jack Dorsey, it added a tipping tool. Elon Musk assumed control of it after that and oversaw plans to invest $1.5 billion in Tesla, an electric vehicle manufacturer, in Bitcoin, the majority of which have since been sold. Take a look

94% Of The Blockfolio Buyout Was Paid By FTX Using Its FTT Crypto

Defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX used its own exchange token, to pay for the acquisition of the portfolio tracking website Blockfolio in 2020. Around 94% of the $84 million deal was paid for with the FTT tokens that FTX created, according to financial documents. Although it was widely reported at the time that the exchange made the payment with a combination of cash, cryptocurrency, and equity, the financial details of FTX's acquisition of Blockfolio were previously unknown. The information comes in response to a complaint filed yesterday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which claimed that FTT is a security. Read more here

British Columbia Puts New Crypto Mining Operations on Hold for 18 Months

With its announcement that it will not permit new connections to its power system for 18 months, British Columbia has become the third jurisdiction in Canada to place limitations on cryptocurrency mining. Utility companies in Quebec and Manitoba recently imposed similar limitations on the sector, citing the strong demand for electricity. According to Josie Osborne, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation for British Columbia, the province wants to protect electricity for electric vehicles and heat pumps, and for businesses and industries that are undertaking electrification projects that reduce carbon emissions and generate jobs and economic opportunities. Read details here

Ellison and Wang plead guilty and cooperating, while Bankman-Fried is in FBI custody

According to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York, Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, the co-founder of FTX, have both admitted guilt to criminal charges. Williams stated that Wang and Ellison are both collaborating with investigators and that he expects to file additional charges against other people. But he also cautioned that "our patience is not eternal" and urged others connected to the defunct cryptocurrency startup to come forward before charges might be filed. Williams continued, “We continue to work around the clock, and we are far from done.” The FBI is currently holding Sam Bankman-Fried as well, according to the US attorney. Take a look

Following the failure of FTX, the crypto winter will go on for a long time and more stringent regulations are expected in the future, according to Zhou Wei, the former chief financial officer of Binance. “Basically, we have to all brace ourselves for a pretty long winter in the crypto world,” he said. Zhou, who left Binance last year and is currently the CEO of Coins.ph, a fiat and cryptocurrency mobile wallet in the Philippines that he purchased from Indonesian on-demand services juggernaut Gojek earlier this year, claimed: “it’s going to push everyone into a deeper bear market.” Early in November, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ” in the crypto industry, stated that his company would sell its approximately US$530 million in FTX's native token. Read more here

Plea agreement for Caroline Ellison: forfeiture of assets, $250,000 bail, and surrender of travel documents

According to a recently revealed plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison will not be permitted to leave the continental United States and must forfeit any earnings from the commission of the offenses she is accused of. She will also be required to make a court-determined amount of restitution. The New York journal Inner City Press, which covers court cases in the city's U.S. court, was the first to receive the plea deal. Read details here

Brazil Approves Crypto Regulation Bill, Legitimizing Bitcoin As Payment And Investment Asset

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro approved a crypto regulation bill on Thursday morning establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for the usage and trading of digital assets in the country, according to the federal government’s official journal (DOU). The crypto regulation bill, which was recently passed by Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, was passed by Congress and implemented by President Bolsonaro without any changes. According to the new regulations, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is a digital representation of value that can be used in the South American country as a form of payment as well as an investment asset. Take a look

In a slow market, Dogecoin gains while Bitcoin stagnant

While crypto exchange Coinbase’s shares declined during market hours, cryptocurrency prices have largely remained stable. According to TradingView statistics, the price of Bitcoin was around $16,776, down roughly 0.2% from the previous day. According to CoinMarketCap, the 24-hour trade volume decreased by 19%, falling to about $14.2 million. Ether kept up with Bitcoin, which had been unchanged over the previous day. Meanwhile, Ripple's XRP increased 0.4% while Binance's BNB fell 1.9%. Dogecoin defied the stagnation in the cryptocurrency markets by adding 4% during the past day. The dog-themed memecoin had been losing value over the previous few days, so the turn of events could be the result of selling fatigue.