A Scam From the Very Beginning? 🧐
In today's edition: The Chopping Block's new show, OKX's outage, SBF's parents, 3AC's withdrawals, and more!
On the Pod…
The Chopping Block: Was FTX a Scam From the Very Beginning?
Welcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, and Tarun Chitra were joined by Laura Shin to chop it up about the latest news. Show topics:
the details of the SEC and CFTC complaints
how crypto traders have always speculated about Alameda's preferential treatment
whether many people knew about the mismanagement of funds and alleged fraud
why Haseeb thinks SBF was a "f*cking psycho"
how helpful Tarun believes a testimony from Sam Trabucco, former co-CEO of Alameda, would be
why Alameda and FTX lost billions of dollars, and the poor diligence of SBF's venture investments
Sam's "ineffective altruism"
why a bull market wouldn't have solved the insolvency problems of FTX
whether SBF will fight extradition and how long it would take
how Sam's consistent use of Facebook and his anti-Maker stand shows he was not a crypto-native
why Laura thinks that The Block CEO's undisclosed loans represent a "total betrayal"
Robert's take on the ineffectiveness of the government's control of information
why Binance is under scrutiny and whether it's the "next FTX"
What’s Poppin’?
OKX Sees Outage Amid Alibaba Cloud Equipment Failure
by Samyuktha Sriram
Crypto exchange OKX cited an “intermittent connection error” with its main cloud infrastructure provider Alibaba Cloud.
SBF’s Parents ‘Certainly Received Payments’ From FTX, Says New CEO
by Samyuktha Sriram
FTX’s new CEO John Ray III told members of Congress that Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents received payments from the now-insolvent crypto exchange.
Three Arrows Capital Just Withdrew $2.4M ETH From Binance
by Samyuktha Sriram
On-chain data showed that an address belonging to 3AC withdrew 2,000 ETH worth $2.38 million at around 9 pm ET on Dec. 18.
Solana DEX Raydium Shares Next Steps After $4.4M Exploit
by Samyuktha Sriram
Solana’s second largest decentralized exchange Raydium has disclosed how a hacker gained access to $4.4 million worth of crypto from its liquidity pools.
In Other News…✍️✍️✍️
Grayscale Investments is examining the potential for returning a portion of capital of its Grayscale Bitcoin (GBTC) product if the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) denies approval of its proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Federal prosecutors requested information regarding donations made to Democratic and Republican causes by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and colleagues.
FTX founder and former chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried will not fight extradition to the U.S. from the Bahamas.
DCG's tokens have seen a market downturn, leading to speculation in the industry following a month of suspended redemptions from Genesis Global Capital, part of DCG's ownership.
Bitvavo, a cryptocurrency exchange, said that it's unable to access the 280 million euros ($297 million) held at Genesis Global Capital.
Karl Sebastian Greenwood, cofounder of the fraudulent crypto exchange OneCoin, pleaded guilty to his involvement in a multibillion-dollar pyramid scheme.
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown suggested that regulators should 'maybe' ban cryptocurrencies
Donald Trump's NFT collection sold out the day after its initial release.
Today in Crypto Adoption...
The Australian Open is releasing a new collection of ArtBall NFTs featuring a range of renowned Web3 collaborators.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) endorsed the adoption of its global regulatory framework for crypto banking by Jan. 1, 2025.
The $$$ Corner…
Dragonfly led a $5 million seed round for fiat-to-crypto platform Utorg.
What Do You Meme
📈 Your Market Update 📉
BTC is up .16%, trading at $16,725
ETH is up .35%, trading at $1,182
BTC dominance: 38.4%
Crypto market cap: $838 billion
*All data as of today, 5 am ET
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