- Celsius is Owed $12M by Alameda Research, Newest Member of Bankrupt Crypto Club
Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network told the court Tuesday it had $12 million in outstanding loans to Alameda Research, the trading wing of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire.
That money – part of which is represented in locked SRM tokens held as collateral – is now likely wrapped up in Alameda’s own bankruptcy proceedings, adding another obstacle for Celsius’ creditors. It and some 130-odd other entities tied to Bankman-Fried filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week after a bank run exposed a multi-billion-dollar hole in FTX’s reserves.
Celsius’ new CEO Chris Ferraro said the company used to have much more at risk. In January 2020, for example, Celsius had $3.6 billion in total exposure to FTX Group. But it whittled down its exposure to $354 million immediately prior to its own bankruptcy filing earlier this year.
- Cryptopunks Climb Past Bored Ape NFT Floor Values Amid Crypto Market Carnage
Statistics recorded on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, indicate that Cryptopunks NFTs are now more valuable than Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs, as far as floor values are concerned. At 8:00 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, the lowest-valued Cryptopunk is around 66.50 ether which equates to 83,027 nominal U.S. dollars.
At the same time, BAYC’s current floor value is 58.50 ETH, which equates to $73,039 using current ethereum (ETH) exchange rates. Ten days ago, BAYC’s floor value on Nov. 5, 2022, was around 78 ether according to nftpricefloor.com stats saved to archive.org.
Furthermore, on the same day, the Cryptopunks NFT floor was 66.70 ether but on Nov. 5, ETH was changing hands for $1,650 per unit. Ten days later, ethereum’s USD value per unit is $1,253 or more than 24% lower on Nov. 15.
- Australian Authorities Suspend License of FTX Australia
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) announced late Tuesday that it had suspended the Australian financial services license of FTX Australia until May 15, 2023. The agency had previously placed the local FTX affiliate in voluntary administration on November 11, 2022, the same day that FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
FTX Australia’s suspension is the latest domino to fall in the catastrophic collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s once-prominent empire.
FTX Australia was not included in the Chapter 11 filing, but it did encompass algorithmic trading firm Alameda Research, FTX.US, and 130 affiliated entities. Also left out of the bankruptcy declaration were FTX Express Pay Ltd., Ledger X LLC, and FTX Digital Markets Ltd.
https://decrypt.co/114764/ftx-australia-license-suspended-australian-authorities-asic
- Crypto Startup Nestcoin Hardly Affected From FTX Crash
According to a statement, Nestcoin retained some of the money it collected throughout its investment rounds in FTX. The sibling company of FTX, Alameda Research, participated in the $6.5 million pre-seed financing round in February as an investor.
Here’s an update we shared with our investors on the FTX incident and its impact on Nestcoin. pic.twitter.com/CbuEIgjDzM
— Nestcoin (@Nestcoin) November 14, 2022
Nestcoin CEO Yele Bademosi stated:
“Last year, Netcoins raised capital from a range of investors, including Alameda Research. For context, Alameda’s equity is less than 1%. We used the closely-associated exchange, FTX, as a custodian to store a significant portion of the stablecoin investment we raised — i.e., our day-to-day operation budget.”
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7281987
- Tim Draper still positive on $250K Bitcoin price prediction in 2023
Billionaire venture capitalist and serial blockchain investor Tim Draper is not giving up on his near-term Bitcoin BTC tickers down $16,688 prediction despite the recent issues in the cryptocurrency industry.
Draper continues to stick with his optimistic prediction that Bitcoin will hit $250,000 in 2023 despite the ongoing crypto crisis fueled by FTX.
“No change in the price prediction. Still $250,000 by early next year,” Draper stated in an interview with Cointelegraph on Nov. 15.
The collapse of the FTX crypto exchange has nothing to do with the success of Bitcoin because Bitcoin is decentralized, and FTX was not, according to Draper.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/tim-draper-still-positive-on-250k-bitcoin-price-prediction-in-2023
- Luna Foundation Guard Spent $2.8B Defending UST Peg, Third-Party Audit Finds
Luna Foundation Guard (LFG), the entity behind the collapsed Terra ecosystem, spent $2.8 billion of crypto trying to defend the peg of algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) in May, according to a third-party audit by JS Held, a Jericho, N.Y.-based consultancy firm.
The audit also suggests that Terraform Labs (TFL), the developer of the Terra blockchain, spent $613 million trying to defend the peg. A stablecoin is an asset that is designed to mirror the value of another asset, commonly fiat currencies. UST was an algorithmic stablecoin, designed to maintain its peg through market forces.
The efforts of LFG and TFL ultimately failed, with the value of UST falling to zero as the $60 billion ecosystem met its demise. The collapse led to widespread contagion across the crypto industry, with numerous lenders, brokers and exchanges filing for bankruptcy protection due to exposure to the ecosystem.
- US Lawmaker Urges SEC to ‘Take Decisive Action’ to Regulate Crypto Industry — Plans to Examine Options for Federal Legislation
Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA), chairman of the subcommittee on Investor Protection and Capital Markets, released a statement regarding the implosion of cryptocurrency exchange FTX on Sunday.
FTX’s “sudden collapse” has been “a dramatic demonstration of both the inherent risks of digital assets and the critical weaknesses in the industry that has grown up around them,” the lawmaker described.
Noting that “We do not yet know the scope of financial harm caused to consumers and investors in the U.S. and around the world,” Sherman stressed:
It is crucial that we develop a clear understanding of the chain of events and management failures that led to this collapse. I fully support the efforts of U.S. regulators and law enforcement to investigate this situation and make sure those responsible are held accountable.
- U.S. Banks Launch a Digital Dollar Blockchain Pilot
While the crypto market is shaken to its core by the failure of FTX, traditional financial institutions are taking a step into the world of digital currency.
A group of banking institutions—including HBSC, Mastercard, and Wells Fargo—announced on Tuesday the launch of a proof-of-concept digital money platform called the Regulated Liability Network (RLN).
“Members of the U.S. banking and payments community involved in this [proof-of-concept] are pleased to be working alongside the New York Innovation Center (NYIC) that is part of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,” the group said in a statement.
https://decrypt.co/114761/us-banks-launch-digital-dollar-blockchain-platform-pilot
- Celsius is Owed $12M by Alameda Research, Newest Member of Bankrupt Crypto Club
Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network told the court Tuesday it had $12 million in outstanding loans to Alameda Research, the trading wing of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire.
That money – part of which is represented in locked SRM tokens held as collateral – is now likely wrapped up in Alameda’s own bankruptcy proceedings, adding another obstacle for Celsius’ creditors. It and some 130-odd other entities tied to Bankman-Fried filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week after a bank run exposed a multi-billion-dollar hole in FTX’s reserves.
Celsius’ new CEO Chris Ferraro said the company used to have much more at risk. In January 2020, for example, Celsius had $3.6 billion in total exposure to FTX Group. But it whittled down its exposure to $354 million immediately prior to its own bankruptcy filing earlier this year.
Celsius is the latest crypto company to disclose its exposure to crypto exchange FTX and trader and market maker Alameda Research.
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7281432
- US national crypto laws should look like New York’s, says state regulator
he superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) joined a nationwide regulatory discussion in the aftermath of the FTX collapse with a fresh take. Adrienne Harris believes that any federal crypto legislation to come should not override state regulatory regimes.
During her speech under the headline “Digital asset regulation: The state perspective,” Harris proposed that lawmakers in Washington take a closer look at the New York state regulatory regime:
“We would like for there to be a framework nationally that looks like what New York has, because I think it is proving itself to be a very robust and sustainable regime.”
