Cryptocurrency Market Sees Mixed Results on Tuesday with Bitcoin and Ethereum Down and Coinbase Shares Declining

On Tuesday, many cryptocurrencies saw a decline in value alongside traditional markets. Bitcoin and Ethereum both fell by around 0.4% and 0.8%, respectively, and were trading at approximately $6,640 and $1,200. Shares of Coinbase, which Ark Investment Management purchased last week, decreased by 2.6%. However, MicroStrategy's shares rose by 0.9%, and Galaxy Digital's by 1.3%. In addition, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust reached a record discount of about 60%.

Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads Not Guilty To Fraud, Money Laundering In Connection With FTX And Alameda Research Collapse

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to eight charges in a New York federal court, related to the collapse of his exchange and hedge fund Alameda Research.

Seoul Court Clears Lee Jung-hoon Of Economic Crimes In Bithumb Acquisition Case

Former chairman of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb Lee Jung-hoon has been declared not guilty by the 34th Division of the Criminal Agreement of the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday. Jung-hoon had been on trial for allegations of fraud and violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. The case dates back to October 2018, when Jung-hoon was accused of defrauding KRW 100 billion (around $70 million) during negotiations for the acquisition of Bithumb from Kim Byung-gun, chairman of cosmetic surgery company BK Group. If found guilty, Jung-hoon could have faced a prison sentence of up to eight years. More here.

Grayscale Ethereum And Bitcoin Trusts Trade At Record Discounts, Despite Investor Demand

The Grayscale Ethereum Trust has reached a record discount of 59.39% compared to the price of Ethereum, according to data from YCharts. While the fund previously traded at a premium to ETH, it has consistently been at a discount since November 2021. ETHE, which is managed by Grayscale Capital, allows traditional investors to gain exposure to Ethereum without directly investing in the cryptocurrency. The fund has approximately $3.6bn in assets under management and has lost approximately 68.37% of its value in 2021 so far, due to the decline in ETH and other crypto assets. Full report here.

SCB Denies Claims Made by FTX Debtors, Accuses Them of Making 'Material Misstatements

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) has denied claims made by the Chapter 11 debtors of US-based cryptocurrency exchange FTX, saying that the debtors had made "material misstatements" in the press and court filings. The SCB also expressed concern that its investigation into the matter had been "impeded" by the debtors' refusal to allow the court-supervised joint provisional liquidators access to FTX's AWS system. The SCB took possession of digital assets belonging to FTX and its principals on Nov. 12 and placed them in digital wallets under its control in order to safeguard them. Details here.

Cryptocurrency Market Turmoil in 2022 Could Lead to Handover to More Stable Companies in 2023, Says Circle’s Dante Disparte

Dante Disparte, the chief strategy officer and head of global policy at Circle, has suggested that the turmoil in the cryptocurrency market in 2022 could mark a handover of the technology to more stable companies in 2023. Disparte stated that the losses suffered by the industry, estimated at over $2 trillion, have led to a loss of trust in the promise of cryptocurrency, which was initially seen as a solution to the issues that caused the 2008 financial crisis. The failures of the year have also validated the concerns of policymakers who warned about the risks of cryptocurrency without implementing proper regulations. Continue reading. Continue reading.

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Has Requested That The Identities Of Two Individuals Who Will Assist In Securing His Bail Remain Confidential

In a letter filed by his lawyers on Tuesday, it was argued that "if the two remaining sureties are publicly identified, they will likely be subjected to probing media scrutiny, and potentially targeted for harassment, despite having no substantive connection to the case."Bankman-Fried was granted a $250 million bail package in December, one of the largest in US history. The personal recognizance bond, which was secured by the equity in Bankman-Fried's parents' home in Palo Alto, California, must also be signed by two other people of "considerable means," one of whom cannot be a relative. These two individuals have not yet signed the bond but intend to do so by the Jan. 5 deadline, according to the letter from Bankman-Fried's lawyers. Continue reading.