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Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko reflects on the fallout of FTX's failure and its initial impact on Solana ecosystem builders. The now-infamous collapse of FTX sent shockwaves through the broader cryptocurrency space in 2022, but the Solana ecosystem was particularly hard hit in the fallout.  Speaking exclusively to Cointelegraph at the latest edition of the Solana Breakpoint conference hosted in Amsterdam, Solana co-founder and CEO Anatoly Yakovenko recalls his concern for several projects that were building on the layer 1 smart contract blockchain protocol. “I was more worried about the ecosystem of start ups; we didn’t know how exposed teams were,” Yakovenko explains. Solana’s native token SOL saw a significant drop in value in the immediate wake of FTX’s bankruptcy, with its token trading at $36 in early Nov. 2022 before dropping as low as $12 in the days after the exchange’s collapse . Related: Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty on all 7 charges in FTX fraud trial Solana’s ...

Following the court’s decision, Genesis debtors have gained authorization to execute the settlement agreement, which entails the payment of $175 million to FTX. At the same time, the New York Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane has also removed several claims made by FTX debtors against Genesis. Claim withdrawals  As per the filed documents, the court has granted the withdrawal of numerous claims, including three from FTX Trading, six from Alameda Research, and six from West Realm Shires Services, which acts on behalf of FTX US. The approved settlement signifies a reduction from the initial claims made by FTX debtors, who initially asserted claims totalling approximately $3.9 billion back in May 2023.  You might also like: Genesis went bankrupt months after Gemini reportedly withdrew $282M in crypto These claims from FTX encompassed approximately $1.8 billion in purported loan repayments from Alameda to GGC, $1.6 billion in assets supposedly withdrawn by the Genesis...

The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, will enter its fifth day on Oct. 10 when one of the most anticipated witness es takes the stand. Caroline Ellison was CEO at FTX’s sister firm, Alameda Research, as well as Bankman-Fried’s on-and-off-again girlfriend. The 28-year-old is expected to take the stand on Tuesday, picking up where another former Bankman-Fried confidant, Gary Wang, leaves off once his testimony concludes. Like Wang, Ellison was privy to most of the goings-on at Bankman-Fried’s once-thriving crypto conglomerate. The news of former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison testifying in the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried is a significant development in the cryptocurrency industry. Trials involving prominent figures in the crypto space can attract widespread attention. Here are some key points to… https://t.co/JbzB4USxN7 — Michael J Burgess (@BeItMeNotYou) October 7, 2023 In July, the New York Times (NYT) reported that Elli...

Sam Bankman-Fried ’s [ SBF ] trial started earlier this week. Today, i.e. Oct. 5, 2023, marked the third day of the trial. Two former FTX and Alameda employees, Gary Wang and Adam Yedidia, testified in court along with Paradigm Co-Founder, Matt Huang. In this article, we will delve into the top 3 revelations made during the trial. Also Read: Ethereum Transaction Cost Drops to $1 FTX Swept Everything Suspicious Under the Rug Gary Wang, the Co-Founder and former Chief Technology Officer at FTX, revealed that he created “special privileges to Alameda Research” through the exchange code he wrote. He asserted that SBF directed him to provide advantages for Alameda not available to FTX customers. This included the ability to place orders faster than other market makers. He further explained that using these privileges, Alameda could withdraw an unlimited amount from FTX’s accounts. In fact, it could do so, even if the balance went negative or below zero. Nevertheless, a norm...

The Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) trial’s first day ended with multiple jurors dismissed; selection will resume for another day before the trial starts. The U.S. District Court in New York aims to select 12 jurors and six alternates, with the process slated to finish on Oct. 4. Dismissals and delays Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed several potential jurors on the first day, Oct. 3, citing conflicts of interest and other factors. Several potential jurors disclosed that they or their relatives had suffered financial setbacks in the crypto market. The jury select ion process, known as voir dire, has touched on a range of issues. These include personal beliefs and financial hardships that could affect potential jurors’ impartiality. Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon listed several potential witnesses and individuals connected to the case, underlining the broad scope of the investigation. Juror number 29, Zal Dang, expressed reservations about his ability to be impartial in a...

The SEC has filed a lawsuit against the accounting firm Prager Metis for allegedly violating audit or independence rules in relation to its work for cryptocurrency exchange FTX. According to a statement released by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Sept. 29, Prager Metis provided both auditing and accounting services to clients over a period of around three years, which is prohibited under SEC regulations. The rules state that auditors must remain fully independent from their clients to avoid conflicts of interest. The SEC alleges that Prager Metis conducted “hundreds” of audit s, reviews, and exams while also providing accounting services to those same clients between 2019 and 2021. The agency says this violated fundamental principles of audit or independence. While the SEC statement does not name specific companies, a court filing shows that in 2021, Prager Metis audit ed the financial statements of FTX and its subsidiary FTX US. FTX declar...

The British Broadcasting Corporation [BBC] released a documentary a few hours ago revolving around the rise and fall of crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried [SBF]. The ‘Downfall of the Crypto King’ assesses how SBF’s $40 billion company, which is currently bankrupt, blew its own trumpet in order to make crypto more mainstream. However, a series of events resulted in the collapse of the firm, snatching away funds from over a million customers. Tonight on Panorama… the rise and sensational fall of $40bn company FTX, which tried to take crypto mainstream but crashed, leaving more than a million customers with nothing Downfall of the Crypto King is on @BBCOne at 8pm and on @BBCiPlayer now https://t.co/BfztifhHPS pic.twitter.com/WRpZRYc2Z6 — BBC Panorama (@BBCPanorama) September 25, 2023 Also Read: Japan: Binance to Launch Dollar, Yen, Euro Stablecoins in 2024 The documentary went live on Sept. 25, 2023, at 8:00 PM. According to details from the ...

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, is scheduled to ask a 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to order his release from a New York prison weeks before the start of a trial where he faces seven criminal charges. Bankman-Fried and his attorneys will have five minutes to convince a trio of judges that remaining at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) will deter SBF’s ability to prepare his defense, according to Reuters. This is SBF’s second attempt following a decision by a Southern District of New York court to deny his pre trial release After U.S. District Judge Kaplan Lewis revoked Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail, his lawyers said the ruling violated SBF’s Sixth Amendment rights.  They argued that easy access to Bankman-Fried would be crucial in building a defense ahead of the trial slated to kick off Oct. 3.  Judge Kaplan’s ruling on Aug. 11 found that prosecutors proved that the FTX founder had probable cause to tamper with witnesses. The ruling came aft...

Celsius $2 Billion Claim Against FTX In a recent development, Celsius Network filed a substantial $2 billion claim against FTX, an influential cryptocurrency exchange operated by Alameda. The claim alleges that certain FTX users engaged in suspicious trades that had a significant impact on the price of the Celsius CEL token in 2022. CEL rose from its ICO price of 30 cents to $8.02 in June 2021. After the market crashed the following year, CEL had fallen to 68 cents by June 2022. advertisement The creditors of Celsius Network, seeking justice and transparency, believe that these manipulative trading activities played a role in the downfall of the company. By pursuing this legal action, Celsius Network aims to recover a substantial amount of funds, potentially mitigating the losses suffered by its creditors. Some members of the crypto Twitter community responded sarcastically to the news, with one commenter suggesting that the only money Celsius cr...

Crypto exchange FTX , founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, is suing former executive Daniel Friedberg for allegedly paying off whistleblowers. Friedberg served as FTX’s chief regulatory officer, as the chief compliance officer for FTX US, and was part of Alameda Research’s general counsel. The new CEO of FTX, John Ray III, took over to guide it through the bankruptcy process. Under Ray’s leadership, FTX now alleges that Friedberg often “fixed” problems for Bankman-Fried — such as silencing at least two whistleblowers with hush money before they could broadcast FTX’s problems. Those problems included regulatory issues and closer ties between FTX and Alameda Research than Bankman-Fried wanted to admit. FTX wants Dan Friedberg’s salary and stake The lawsuit includes eleven civil counts, including breach of fiduciary duty and approval of fraudulent transfers and “loans” to FTX executives. FTX is asking to receive Friedberg’s compensation during his time at the firm, including...

2022’s crypto winter was quite harsh. A host of companies from the industry collapsed one after the other. This deteriorated investors’ sentiment and ended up putting pressure on the price of the assets. A recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago put things into perspective and revealed the role that institutions, or large account holders, played in the crypto bank runs . Specifically, the report noted, “While the platforms had many retail clients, the runs were spearheaded by customers with large holdings, some of which were sophisticated institutional customers.”  Consider Celsius’ case for instance. Every group provided Celsius with about $1.9 to $2.0 billion worth of funding before June 9, 2022. The report underlined that the owners of large-sized accounts, i.e. with over $500,000 in investments, were “the fastest to withdraw.” Moreover, they ended up withdrawing “proportionately more” of their funding. The report added, “ In fact, during this run, 35%...

According to bankruptcy court filings made by the new management, FTX founder and former CEO, Sam-Bankman Fried (SBF), received $2.2 billion during his time as the exchange’s CEO. SBF and five people in his immediate circle, reportedly transferred $3.2 billion in total to their accounts. These funds were distributed in the form of “loans and payments.” The majority of the funding came from Alameda Research, FTX ’s sibling company that was also established by SBF. JUST IN: Sam Bankman-Fried received $2.2 billion from FTX while CEO, court filings reveal. — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) March 16, 2023 However, the $240 million for “luxury property in the Bahamas,” “political and charity gifts,” and “substantial transfers” to subsidiaries, according to the new management, were not included in the $3.2 billion sum. Other Executives received capital while at FTX? FTX and Alameda Research executives, Nishad Singh, Gary Wang, and Caroline Ellison, were sent more than $800 mi...

According to the cryptocurrency-focused security firm PeckShield, around $13 million worth of assets were transferred to Alameda Research ’s consolidation wallet. Alameda Research is the sister company of the bankrupt exchange FTX . Additionally, PeckShield notes that cryptocurrencies valued at around $8.5 million were sent by the exchange Bitfinex. As per the security firm, 6 million USDT (worth $6 million), 1545 ETH (worth $2.5 million), and 4.6 million USDC (worth $4.6 million) were transferred to FTX’s sister firm Alameda Research. Among all the assets, the 6 million USDT and 1545 ETH were sent from Bitfinex. #PeckShieldAlert ～$13M worth of cryptos have been transferred to Alameda consolidation-labeled address, including ~6M $USDT & 1,545 $ETH ($2.5M) from Bitfinex, ~4.6M $USDC from 0x7889 Wondering why Bitfinex transferred ~$8.5M worth of cryptos to Alameda consolidation address pic.twitter.com/YU8RNcrdxs — PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert...