Autor Cointelegraph By Brayden Lindrea

Bahamian securities regulator ordered the transfer of FTX’s digital assets

Bahamian securities regulator ordered the transfer of FTX’s digital assets

Uverejnil používateľ | nov 18, 2022 |

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) said it had ordered the transfer of all digital assets of FTX Digital Markets (FDM) to a digital wallet owned by the commission on Nov. 12. In a Nov. 17 statement, the SCB said it exercised its power as a regulator acting under the authority of a Supreme Court order — moving the assets to a “digital wallet controlled by the Commission, for safekeeping.”Securities Commission of The Bahamas Assumes Control of Assets of FTX Digital Markets Ltd. pic.twitter.com/IzW4PGZSJm— Securities Commission of The Bahamas (@SCBgov_bs) November 18, 2022SCB justified last week’s move by stating that “urgent interim regulatory action was necessary to protect the interests of clients and creditors of FDM.”The latest revelation could shed some light on certain movements of funds detected last week. On Nov. 11, the crypto community flagged a number of suspicious transactions in wallets tied to FTX and FTX.US, with analysts reporting around $663 million drained. $477 million were suspected to be stolen while the remainder was believed to have been moved to secure storage by FTX themselves. The SCB statement however did not make any mention of how much of FDM’s digital assets were moved as a result of their order. Cointelegraph has reached out to SCB for clarity but has not received a response by the time of publication. The commission’s order would have been made only two days after the commission froze FDM’s assets on Nov. 10, suspended FTX’s registration in the country, and stripped the FTX directors of their power. At the time, it also stated that FDM’s assets could only be moved by obtaining the approval of a provisional liquidator appointed by the Supreme Court.Related: FTX reportedly hacked as officials flag abnormal wallet activityThe FTX bankruptcy drama has continued to unfold over the last week. On Nov. 15, FDM filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in a New York-based court in order to seek U.S. recognition of the Bahamian liquidation proceedings. Brian Simms, the court-appointed provisional liquidator overseeing the bankruptcy proceedings of FTX Digital Markets in the Bahamas argued in the filing that FDM wasn’t authorized to file for Chapter 11 in the United States, and rejected the validity of the filing. On Nov. 17, an emergency motion by FTX Trading Limited argued that both the Chapter 11 case and all proceedings related to Chapter 15 filings should take place in the Delaware-based U.S. Bankruptcy Court in order to “end the chaos and to ensure that assets can be secured and marshalled in an orderly process.”The same filing also claimed they have “credible evidence that the Bahamian government is responsible for directing unauthorized access to the Debtors’ systems for the purpose of obtaining digital assets of the Debtors—that took place after the commencement of these cases.”

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Aussie treasurer promises crypto regulation next year amid FTX debacle

Aussie treasurer promises crypto regulation next year amid FTX debacle

Uverejnil používateľ | nov 17, 2022 |

The Australian government has doubled down on its commitment towards a robust regulatory framework for crypto following the catastrophic collapse of FTX last week.A spokesperson for Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the Treasury said it is now planning on regulations to improve investor protection next year, according to a Nov. 16 report from the AFR. The spokesperson made the announcement in light of the FTX’s fall last week, stating that it was closely monitoring the fallout from the FTX collapse, “including further volatility in crypto-asset markets and any spillovers into financial markets more broadly,” adding:“These developments highlight the lack of transparency and consumer protection in the crypto market, which is why our government is taking action to improve the regulatory frameworks while still promoting innovation.”The call for fast-tracked regulation comes as 30,000 Australians and 132 companies have fallen victim to Sam Bankman Fried’s fallen empire. Michael Bacina, Digital Asset Specialist at Piper Alderman lawyers told Cointelegraph that regulation was the only way forward to re-establish the much-needed trust in trading platforms:“Regulatory certainty is key to rebuilding trust in relation to centralized exchanges, and while law cannot eliminate bad behavior, it can set powerful norms and standards which make that behavior easier to find.”While Danny Talwar, the head of tax at crypto tax platform Koinly added that a robust regulatory regime may fill in the holes where retail investors are left to be exploited:“Following the FTX fallout highlights the need for sensible regulations within the crypto world, both domestically and across the globe, in order to eliminate uncertainty and remaining grey areas and provide clarity around digital assets — especially for retail consumers.”“[But] the challenge will be ensuring that regulation does as intended to effectively protect consumers without suppressing industry growth,” he added.As for what the regulation may entail, Talwar noted that while Australian trading platforms must comply with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), recommendations have been put forward to establish a market licensing regime.The regime would include “capital adequacy and auditing standards to demonstrate the operational integrity” of trading platforms, which Talwar stressed is of great importance given that many exchanges are offering high yield products at a heightened risk in order to gain a competitive edge. Related: Australian prudential regulator releases roadmap for cryptocurrency policyBacina also stated that the “measured approach” taken by the Australian government could also position the country to become an industry leader in digital asset regulation:“When Australia brings in technology-enabling custody rules for centralized holders of crypto-assets, we will either be a leader in the space, or catching up, depending on how fast other jurisdictions, like Singapore and Europe, move to make rules.”The Treasury is also looking to provide greater protection to investors by establishing a “token mapping” system, which will help identify how certain digital assets should be regulated, according to an Aug. 22 statement by Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones.

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Esports team TSM suspends $210M sponsorship deal with FTX

Esports team TSM suspends $210M sponsorship deal with FTX

Uverejnil používateľ | nov 17, 2022 |

Professional esports organization Team SoloMid (TSM) (previously TSM FTX) has suspended its $210 million sponsorship deal with the now-bankrupt FTX crypto exchange “effective immediately” following the cryptocurrency trading platform’s shock collapse last week.The United-States-based esports organization made the announcement in a Nov. 16 tweet to its 2.2 million followers, adding that the decision was made after “monitoring the evolving situation and discussing internally.”We’ve suspended our partnership with FTX effective immediately. pic.twitter.com/u8vQSWnAbX— TSM (@TSM) November 16, 2022The $210 million deal was put to paper in Jun. 2021, which resulted in the renaming of TSM to TSM FTX. At the time of the deal, the esports organization said it would allocate its new resources to all corners of the globe by opening offices in Asia, Europe and South America, according to Esports insider.TSM also purchased $1 million worth of FTX’s native token, FTT, which was distributed to players and employees. Following FTX’s collapse last week, TSM in a Nov. 13 tweet said the firm was discussing its legal counsel “to decide the best next steps to protect our team, staff, fans and players.”TSM Statement on FTX pic.twitter.com/nbiCCnciNF— TSM (@TSM) November 13, 2022

In its most recent announcement, TSM said its partnership suspension with FTX means that FTX branding would be scraped off TSM’s official name, team and player social media profiles and jerseys, stating: “This means that FTX branding will no longer appear on any of our org, team and player social media profiles, and will also be removed from our player jerseys.”TSM also took the opportunity to confirm with its stakeholders that its balance sheet remains intact and would be so for the foreseeable future without FTX’s support:“TSM is a strong, profitable and stable organization. We forecast profitability this year, next year and beyond. The current situation with FTX does not affect any part of TSM’s operating plan, which was set earlier this year.”TSM is most well known for its participation in League of Legends, one of the largest multiplayer online battle arena video games that is played competitively. TSM also fields players in the online games Dota 2, Apex Legends and Valorant.TSM isn’t the only company to have struck off a massive sponsorship agreement with FTX following its collapse. The NBA’s Miami Heat took things one step further than TSM in announcing to terminate its business relationship with FTX in a Nov. 12 Twitter post:Miami-Dade County and the Miami HEAT have released the following statement pic.twitter.com/ERZo1IsZ2o— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) November 12, 2022

The Miami Heat added that they’re looking to find a new naming rights partner for the arena, which was officially renamed to FTX Arena in Mar. 2021 following a 19 year sponsorship agreement worth $135 million. Related: FTX collapse: The crypto industry’s Lehman Brothers momentThe Mercedes Formula 1 team was another sports team to suspend its sponsorship with Sam Bankman-Fried’s fallen empire, which was announced shortly after FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 14.Grand Prix 247 reported that in a recent video call, the CEO of Mercedes’ Formula 1 team Toto Wolff stated that while he still believes in the long-term prospects of blockchain and cryptocurrency, FTX’s collapse provided a textbook example of the many vulnerabilities still present in the industry:“This situation is very unfortunate. We considered FTX because they were one of the most credible and solid, financially sound partners that were out there.”“Out of nowhere we can see that a crypto company can basically be on its knees and gone one week. That shows how vulnerable the sector still is,” the executive added. But not every sports organization with a business affiliation to FTX has pulled the pin yet.The Major League Baseball (MLB) is currently in discussing with its legal counsel about what the best course of action is, according to SportTechie.

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Circle marks a possible $3B loss from Binance stablecoin conversions

Circle marks a possible $3B loss from Binance stablecoin conversions

Uverejnil používateľ | nov 16, 2022 |

Circle, the company behind the issuance of USDC Coin (USDC) said recent events have caused it to miscalculate its financial projections — referring to the collapse of FTX and a decision by rival exchange Binance.In September, crypto exchange Binance announced it will auto-convert USDC to its own stablecoin Binance USD (BUSD), last week saw the collapse of FTX.Circle’s 2022 miscalculated projection was noted in its amended S-4 registration statement which was filed to the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) on Nov. 14.The S-4 is a registration statement is a document that companies fill out and submit to the SEC before merging or taking over another company or providing an exchange offer.Circle noted that while they were not able to assess how significant a role Binance’s auto conversion’s from USDC to BUSD played in USDC’s decline in circulation, they observed an approximate $3 billion increase in BUSD from Aug. 17 to Sept. 30, with the firm adding: “We estimate that up to $3.0 billion of the $8.3 billion decline in USDC in Circulation from June 30, 2022 to September 30, 2022 was driven by the auto conversion by Binance.”The stablecoin issuer added that the additional $13.5 billion USDC issued since Jun. 30 was a 36% reduction in comparison to 2021.The first S-4 filing was submitted to the SEC in Aug. 2021, in which Circle planned to merge with capital markets firm Concord Acquisition. However, Concord decided to delay the merger in Oct. 2022 until “no later than Jan. 31, 2023.”As for its business partnership with FTX, Circle has historically conducted payment processing services for FTX by issuing the now bankrupt trading platform with USDC and being a customer of Circle’s Payment API over the last 18 months, according to Circle CEO and co-founder Jeremy Allaire. The stablecoin issuer said the financial impact that FTX has had on its balance sheet wouldn’t be any larger than its $10.6 million equity investment, which it will officially address in the next reporting period.“The Company has suspended its services and transactions with the FTX Group and is in process of evaluating the impact on the provision of future services to the FTX Group and the potential indirect financial impact of the FTX Group bankruptcy,” the filing stated.Related: Crypto stablecoin issuer Circle adds Apple Pay supportThe $10.6 million figure comes as Allaire confirmed in an 11-part Twitter thread on Nov. 9 that Circle only holds a “tiny” equity position in FTX, which represented “no material exposure” on the company’s balance sheet:5/ Circle is a tiny equity holder of FTX, and FTX is a tiny equity holder of Circle. Circle is also a tiny equity holder of Kraken, Coinbase and BinanceUS.— Jeremy Allaire (@jerallaire) November 9, 2022Allaire also added that “Circle has never made loans to FTX or Alameda, and has never received FTT as collateral, and has never held a position in or traded FTT.”

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FTX Australia's license suspended as 30K Aussies left in the lurch

FTX Australia's license suspended as 30K Aussies left in the lurch

Uverejnil používateľ | nov 16, 2022 |

Australia’s financial markets regulator has suspended FTX Australia’s financial license following the appointment of a voluntary administrator to help nearly 30,000 Australians and 132 Australian companies get their funds back from FTX.The announcement was made by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on Nov. 16 local time, which suspended the Australian Financial Services (AFS) license of FTX’s local entity until May 15, 2023.Before its suspension, FTX Australia’s AFS license permitted it to create a market for derivatives and foreign exchange contracts to Australian-based retail and wholesale clients. Australian traders who signed up to trade digital assets were routed through FTX Australia.FTX Australia has however, been permitted to provide limited financial services that strictly relate to the termination of existing derivative contracts with its clients until Dec. 19.The suspension comes as John Mouawad, Scott Langdon, and Rahul Goyal of Sydney-based investment and advisory firm KordaMentha were appointed as voluntary administrators to provide restructuring services to FTX Australia and its subsidiary FTX Express on Nov. 11.KordaMentha will attempt to recoup the funds of nearly 30,000 Australian investors and 132 Australian companies due to the catastrophic FTX fallout, according to a Nov. 14 report in the Australian Financial Review (AFR).The report added that FTX Australia employees have been cooperating with KordaMentha’s administrators to resolve the matter. FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried are listed as one of the three directors of FTX Australia.The suspension of FTX Australia’s customer-facing operations comes nearly eight months after it was established on Mar. 20, the firm also set up a Sydney-based office for its five employees.Related: ‘Do not delay’ — ASIC warns Aussies to look for 10 signs of a crypto scamLast wee130 firms tied to FTX including FTX US and its partner trading firm Alameda Research filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Code on Nov. 11, the same day that Bankman-Fried also resigned as FTX’s CEO.ASIC noted that FTX Australia has the right to apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to challenge ACIS’s decision.Cointelegraph contacted ASIC and FTX for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

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