At the time of publication, the United States House of Representatives was at a historic standstill in its process of choosing a Speaker for the 118th Congress — a quagmire that could lead to lawmakers delaying committee hearings. As of Jan. 4, California Representative Kevin McCarthy lost the fifth round of votes to become the next Speaker of the House following Republicans taking majority control of the chamber in the 2022 midterm elections. This marked a rare occurrence — only 15 times in the entire history of Congress since 1789 — when more than one round of voting was required …

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) has formed an FTX Task Force to “trace and recover” missing customer funds, as well as handle investigations and prosecutions related to the exchange’s collapse. The announcement came via a statement from U.S. Attorney Damian Williams who is the federal prosecutor in the FTX case involving founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Charges from the Manhattan attorney’s office against Bankman-Fried include wire and securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, money laundering and violation of campaign finance laws. “The Southern District of New York is working around the …

The legal team behind former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried has petitioned a court to redact certain information on individuals acting as sureties for his $250-million bond, citing threats made against his family. In a letter dated Jan. 3 filed to Judge Lewis Kaplan for the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York, Bankman-Fried’s legal team requested the court order “names and other identifying information” of two bail sureties not be disclosed to the public and redacted from bonds once they were signed on Jan. 5. Mark Cohen of the law firm Cohen & Gresser …

There is little agreement among Bitcoin’s commentators over the last few weeks, with crypto execs, research analysts and billionaire investors offering wildly different takes on what's in store for Bitcoin for the year ahead. One crypto exchange founder expects Bitcoin (BTC) to spike to $40,000 by the “summer” of 2023, while a Bitcoin billionaire has renewed his bullish $250,000 BTC price prediction for the year. Erik Voorhees — $40,000 by the “summer” Erik Voorhees, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift, was optimistic about a potential recovery of Bitcoin’s price during an interview with Bankless on Jan. 2, stating he …

Although having been granted the opportunity to enjoy Christmas and the New Year with his family, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has very few reasons for optimism in 2023. The United States Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the whereabouts of approximately $372 million in missing digital assets from FTX and its U.S.-based subsidiary, FTX US. According to SBF, the incident was perpetrated by either a former FTX employee or someone who had unauthorized access to a former employee’s computer. It would be great to know which former employees started to transfer out funds from Alameda Research just …

Many United States lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have at one point expressed support for legislation banning members from investing in stocks or crypto — an initiative the 118th Congress could address following a shift in leadership. Beginning on Jan. 3 as the next session of the U.S. Congress opens, Republicans will take control of the House of Representatives with a slim majority following the 2022 Midterms, while Democrats will maintain a majority in the Senate. Kevin McCarthy, a Republican representative in contention to be the next Speaker of the House, reportedly said in January 2022 he would …

The United States economy could be in for an upset. Data from a Wall Street Journal survey revealed financial experts expect the country to face an economic downturn this year. Over two-thirds of economists at 23 major financial institutions that do business with the Federal Reserve believe the U.S. will have a “shallow” or “mild” recession in 2023. Two of the surveyed institutions predict a recession for the following year. The research included big names in the financial services sector, such as Barclays PLC, Bank of America Corp., TD Securities and UBS Group AG. Collectively the Federal Reserve was named …

Legislators in the United States seem to be reevaluating the crypto industry and its regulatory needs in light of FTX's collapse. According to the Wall Street Journal, since the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy in November, lawmakers have been under pressure to set a new regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. Several proposals are in the works that would apply existing banking, securities, and tax rules to cryptocurrencies, and lawmakers are calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to adopt an aggressive approach to the crypto market. In a December House hearing, Rep. Jake Auchincloss, who is also a member of …

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), currently free on a $250 million bail bond, will reportedly plead not guilty to the alleged FTX and Alameda-related financial frauds in court on Jan. 3. SBF was arrested in the Bahamas at the request of the U.S. government under suspicion of defrauding investors and misappropriation of funds held on the FTX crypto exchange. Following a court hearing on Dec. 22, SBF was released on bail and is slated to appear on court on Jan.3 before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan. During the hearing, SBF is expected to enter a plea of …

Cryptocurrency-related Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have taken the two top spots for the worst-performing ETFs in Australia for the year, with the same story playing out in the United States. BetaShares Crypto Innovators ETF (CRYP) and Cosmos Global Digital Miners Access ETF (DIGA) have provided investors down under with respective negative returns of nearly 82% and 72% year to date (YTD) until Dec. 30. BetaShares launched its ETF on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in Oct. 2021 mere weeks before most cryptocurrencies hit all-time highs that they’re yet to regain. CRYP provides exposure to publicly listed blockchain and crypto companies …

The largely disputed Robinhood shares might be transferred to a neutral broker or an escrow account while the courts determine the rightful owner. Digital asset lender BlockFi recently sued former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to claim the shares that were supposedly pledged as collateral for the more than $600 million that BlockFi loaned to Alameda Research. The 56 million Robinhood Markets shares, which are currently frozen, are worth around $450 million. These are owned by Sam Bankman-Fried's holding company called Emergent Fidelity Technologies which was formed in Antigua and Barbuda and held by a brokerage company called Marex Capital Markets. …

Cryptocurrency had its Lehman moment with FTX — or, perhaps, another Lehman moment. The macroeconomic downturn has not spared crypto, and as November rolled around, nobody knew that we were in for the collapse of an empire worth billions of dollars. As the rumors of bankruptcy began to take hold, a bank run was inevitable. Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, the once effective altruist now under house arrest, continued to claim that assets were “fine.” Of course, they were not. From Genesis to Gemini, most major crypto organizations have been affected by the contagion effect in the aftermath. The problem with exchanges …