Bitcoin, Ether surge to 4-week high as Inflation cools

Following lower-than-expected inflation numbers for November in the United States, the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies skyrocketed. Cryptocurrency stocks jumped in sync with US stock futures.
Immediately after yesterday’s announcement of the CPI figures, Bitcoin, the largest crypto by market capitalisation, broke the $18,000 psychological barrier, and saw a nearly $700 price increase. Following the news, the price of Ether increased by 6 percent to roughly $1,327. There was little change in Binance's BNB cryptocurrency, which temporarily paused USDC withdrawals. Ripple's XRP and Dogecoin's Doge both increased by nearly 4 percent, while Cardano's ADA added 1.7 percent.
The top three performers of the day were layer 1 blockchain Avalanche, layer 2 rollup Optimism, and liquid staking giant Lido, each of which is up around 10 percent. Gains Network (GNS) and GMX, two decentralised derivatives protocols, have seen increases of 50 percent and 30 percent, respectively, during the past 30 days. For the first time, the total value locked (TVL) on GMX has surpassed $900M.
The collapse of FTX and the general disapproval of centralised exchanges may be motivating traders to look at other platforms. Read full here

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried charged by SEC for defrauding investors

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Sam Bankman-Fried of “fraud” following the collapse of FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange he founded.
The ex-CEO was accused of "orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX Trading," according to an SEC statement. It stated that inquiries are still ongoing into additional infractions of securities laws and other people.
A day before Bankman-Fried was supposed to virtually testify before the US House Financial Services Committee for its initial hearing on the collapse of the corporation, he was detained in the Bahamas. Read details here

FTX's Bahamas liquidators seeking to keep luxury properties worth over $200 million out of liquidation

Even as the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX attempts to wind up and pay creditors in the US, the Bahamas liquidators are attempting to exclude more than $200 million in luxury properties from the estate of the country, according to court records filed on December 12.
Lawyers for John Ray, the new CEO of FTX, are attempting to thwart what they claim are "reckless" attempts by Bahamas-based administrators to gain access to the IT systems of the now-defunct exchange in legal proceedings that are quickly becoming as disorganised as the crypto exchange's own governance. Take a look

Canadian regulator increases restrictions on crypto trading platforms following FTX collapse

Following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX exchange last month, Canada's financial authority is strengthening the requirements that crypto trading platforms must adhere to. Additionally, there will be stricter enforcement of licensing, including for companies that are accessible to Americans but are located abroad.
In a statement released on December 12, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) outlined stricter guidelines for crypto companies. Measures include keeping client assets separate from proprietary business assets, making sure client assets are handled with an "appropriate custodian," and not allowing Canadian users to employ margin or leverage. Read more here

JP Morgan says crypto market exhibiting ‘herd-like’ behaviour after investors bought the top

The US crypto market displays signs of "herd-like behaviour" because many investors bought digital currencies at their peak, according to recent research from JPMorgan Chase & Co.
The report, titled "The Dynamics and Demographics of US Household Crypto-Asset Use," reveals that significant price increases were largely taken into account when timing crypto transfers. It states: "A wide range of US households transferred money into crypto accounts when those assets were trading near their highest levels." According to cryptocurrency pricing in late 2022, "the majority of US households were likely facing significant losses in percentage terms.” Read more here

Binance temporarily stops USDC withdrawals as investor concerns mount after FTX collapse

Crypto exchange Binance on December 13 announced that it is temporarily halting withdrawals of the stablecoin USDC while it conducts a "token swap." The decision was made as investors worry about Binance's stability in the wake of the collapse of competitor exchange FTX and news of a probable criminal probe by the US authorities.
Withdrawals of USDC have been "temporarily paused," according to Binance, while it conducts a "token swap." This entails exchanging cryptos for another without using fiat money. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted on December 12 that withdrawals of stablecoin USDC are increasing on the exchange. Read more here

CFTC files lawsuits against Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX, and Alameda: Report

Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX, and Alameda Research have been sued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for breaking federal commodities regulations. The top US derivatives regulator alleges that Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars from Alameda, which they then used to fund political campaigns and buy real estate.
The CFTC alleged in a complaint submitted on December 13 in Manhattan federal court that “At Bankman-Fried’s direction, FTX executives created features in the underlying code for FTX that allowed Alameda to maintain an essentially unlimited line of credit on FTX.” Read more here

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried formally charged in a US court with conspiracy and fraud

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of the crypto exchange FTX, is facing a long list of accusations, including wire fraud, conspiracy to launder money, and violations of campaign finance laws, according to US authorities.
Bankman-Fried is accused of eight offenses in total, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers, conspiracy to commit wire fraud on lenders, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the US and break campaign finance laws. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is requesting that Bankman-Fried surrender any assets acquired as a result of these alleged offenses. Read more here

Tether enables Binance to convert 3 billion USDT from Tron to Ethereum

Tether on December 12 revealed it helped crypto exchange Binance with a "chain swap" in which 3 billion USDT will be transferred from the Tron network to the Ethereum network.
"In a few minutes, Tether will coordinate with Binance to perform a chain swap, converting from Tron to Ethereum ERC20, for 3B USDT. The tether total supply will not change during this process," Tether stated. In this case, a chain swap from the Tron network to the Ethereum network will be carried out by Tether. The Tether-issued USDT token is used to simplify trading operations on cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance. Read more here

Sam Bankman-Fried, his coterie had "free reign" over FTX, Alameda Research, says John Ray

The newly appointed CEO of FTX said that Sam Bankman-Fried and his senior coterie had "free rein" over the troubled crypto exchange and its sister trading entity Alameda Research. There were no distinctions between FTX, Alameda Research, and other firms which filed for bankruptcy protection last month, John Ray III said during a congressional hearing before the House Financial Services Committee on the fall of FTX and its effects on the cryptocurrency market. Ray said the company's owners "could really run free reign across all four silos." Read more here

Do not ‘obstruct’ probe: Warns Bahamian securities regulator as John Ray gives testimony

The Bahamas securities regulator has reacted sharply to what it says are "mis-statements" made by the CEO of FTX, accusing John J. Ray III of hindering an inquiry into the defunct crypto exchange.
The Bahamas Securities Commission said in a statement that Ray was more interested in garnering attention than cooperating as a dispute over competing bankruptcy processes intensified when Ray spoke before the US House Committee on Financial Services. The regulator stated that “key misstatements made by John J Ray III… do not appear to be concerned with facts but rather, appear intended only to make headlines and advance questionable agendas.” Read more here