Bankman-Fried Faces More Criminal Charges | Binance’s Voyager Bid Threatened By SEC

FTX FOUNDER HIT WITH NEW FRAUD CHARGES

On Thursday, federal prosecutors in Manhattan unveiled a superseding indictment that charges former billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried with four new criminal counts, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud, securities fraud on investors in FTX, fraud on customers of FTX in connection with purchase and sale of derivatives, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. The 39-page document also includes new language related to Bankman-Fried’s political donations, alleging that he “perpetuated his campaign finance scheme at least in part to improve his personal standing in Washington, D.C., increase FTX’s profile, and curry favor with candidates that could help pass legislation favorable to FTX or his personal agenda.”

Bankman-Fried is now facing 12 criminal counts. He was extradited from the Bahamas in December and has been under home confinement in California while awaiting trial, scheduled for October.

BINANCE.US’ DEAL FOR VOYAGER ASSETS THREATENED BY SEC, NEW YORK REGULATORS

The exchange’s attempt to buy customer accounts of Voyager Digital is at risk after the SEC opposed the failed cryptocurrency lender’s restructuring plan because it does not include “necessary information regarding the safety of assets” and that the company failed to demonstrate that a provision to return frozen funds to investors could be done “in compliance with the federal securities laws.” The SEC claims the plan is “unconfirmable” under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Separately, New York State also opposed the plan, alleging that Voyager, which filed for bankruptcy protection in July, was running an unlicensed business. The restructuring plan was overwhelmingly supported by creditors and it echoes an earlier attempt by the now-crippled FTX conglomerate to gain access to Voyager’s clients.

Source: Forbes Digital Assets, powered by Nomics. Prices as of 4:00 p.m. on February 24, 2023.

COINBASE LOOKS TO A WELL-REGULATED FUTURE AFTER Q4 RESULTS

The crypto exchange reported fourth-quarter results that were mixed when compared with Wall Street forecasts but dreadful in absolute terms, though nothing in the results disputed Coinbase’s contention that it could emerge from the tumult of 2022 as a well-regulated digital-asset market in a world littered with failed rivals.

Revenue came in 8.3% higher than analyst forecasts at $629.1 million versus the $581.1 million consensus compiled by Bloomberg. But that was a far cry from the $2.5 billion top line of a year earlier. Trading volume fell to $145 billion from $547 billion a year ago. The company did not provide forecasts for sales or earnings, but it did say general and technology expenses combined would fall to about $650 million in the first quarter of this year from $984 million a year ago.

THE BUSINESS OF RECOVERING STOLEN CRYPTO

Recovering money lost to crypto scams is extremely rare, even when law enforcement takes up a case. But in recent years, a nascent industry has cropped up, offering services that promise to do just that. These companies convince consumers to spend more money in order to recover their already-lost sums, with scant evidence that they regularly work as advertised.

Forbes spoke with 11 former and prospective clients of five such firms, including CipherBlade, CNC Intelligence and Coin Dispute Network who said they had either paid thousands of dollars or were asked to pay a similar amount, and essentially got nothing for it. Read more here.

The True Value Of Cryptocurrencies

The geopolitical strife taking place in Ukraine has once again underlined the true value proposition of digital currencies that are censorship resistant and easily transportable. To get in-depth research, interviews, trading signals and other valuable information unavailable anywhere else subscribe to Forbes CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor.

Get Forbes CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor

ELSEWHERE

Coinbase’s New Layer 2 Blockchain, Base, Has Rocky Rollout [CoinDesk]

IMF Lays Out Crypto Action Plan, Recommends Against Legal Tender Status [Reuters]

‘Alameda Gap’ Persists In Liquidity-Lacking Crypto Market Post FTX [Bloomberg]

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