The surge in Bitcoin's value over the last week is credited to a couple factors, the main driver seems to be the growing mistrust of traditional banks. As reports of bank failures and bailouts continue to make headlines, investors are turning to alternative forms of investment to safeguard their wealth. Bitcoin's decentralized nature has made it an attractive option for those looking to spread risk across different investment types.

The Federal Reserve's announcement of an emergency loan program to backstop depositors as three regional U.S. banks collapsed only added to Bitcoin's momentum.

The gains stopped today - for what may end up just a 'short pause'...

That momentum hit bump today as the Federal Reserve's decision to raise its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, as well as its indication that it is unlikely to cut its key interest rate this year, led to a pullback.

Despite the setback, in the big picture Bitcoin remains largely unaffected having surged from $22,000 to $28,000 over the past week, and today's losses have it settling around $27,000 (at the time of publishing) - the overwhelming majority of its recent gains remain intact.

The reasons that sparked the last bull run remain present, and may even intensify - unless there's some unexpected bad news, things could turn bullish again at any moment.

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Author: Mark Pippen
London News Desk 
Breaking Crypto News

The battle for the future of money is heating up in the United States, with some states proposing to ban the "digital dollar" before it even exists, while others quietly pass laws to make it a reality. It's a conflict that has raised concerns about privacy, surveillance, and control.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is leading the charge against the digital dollar, announcing a proposed bill to ban it in his state. According to a statement from the governor's office, the legislation is intended to "protect Floridians from the Biden administration's use of financial sector weapons through a central bank digital currency (CBDC)."

DeSantis's bill seeks to prohibit the use of the digital dollar or CBDC as money in Florida and to create "protections" against digital currencies issued by central banks belonging to nations sanctioned by the United States. He hopes that other states will follow suit and establish similar prohibitions to "fight this concept throughout the country."

In the view of the Republican governor, a digital currency "has to do with surveillance and control" of citizens, and it "will stifle innovation." adding that "Florida will not side with the economic central planners. "We will not adopt policies that threaten economic freedom and personal security."

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is also pushing for a ban on the digital dollar, citing concerns about privacy implications. He argues that a digital dollar "could be used as a financial surveillance tool by the federal government."

As Other States Quietly Take Steps to Move the Digital Dollar Forward...

President Biden issued an executive order last year that instructs several government offices to research creating a central bank digital currency, since then things have appeared to be moving forward with no official updates from the federal government.

The silence seems to be deliberate when it comes to the most recent steps targeting the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which are laws that every state has, and every state controls. 

Intended to make sure states can easily conduct business with each other, the digital dollar may be the first time there's been major disagreements between some states and could result in the 'Uniform' codes ending up far from uniform nation-wide. 

Just this week South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem vetoed House Bill 1193 which would have opened the doors for the digital dollar in her state by amending their UCC to allow for fully electronic payments backed only by electronic records "this is extremely troubling. If Congress were to someday create an official electronic currency that is programmable, it would pose significant threats to Americans’ liberty and privacy rights. Why, then, would so many lawmakers want to make it easier for such a currency to be used in their states?"

Both republicans and democrats have made more public statements implying they are against the digital dollar, yet both parties have been found slipping the verbiage needed to make it happen into bills in their states, now there are similar bills headed to vote soon in 20 more states including in Arkansas, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and California.

One Major Roadblock Could Still Stop the Digital Dollar from Happening...

Not because they share any of the same concerns citizens have voiced - but nonetheless, they hate the idea and they may have enough power over politicians to get their way - the banks.

Banks see the Digital Dollar as a way for the government to become their biggest competitor.  Imagine - your job pays you in digital dollars, they're stored in an app on your phone, and virtually every place you would spend money accepts it, what do you need a bank for? 

While banks would still have a role when it comes to investing, lending, and securing larger business and personal accounts, the average person could go months, or even years without needing to interact with a bank, and have no need for a personal account. 

A battle with significant consequences...

Both for the future of our economy and the role of the government in our financial lives. Will we become a cashless society dominated by a digital dollar, or will we maintain the status quo? 

Until recently, this all felt like something so far in the future it was hard to really concern yourself with - but as we begin seeing real laws designed to move plans for the digital dollar forward proposed in multiple states, the potential implications are beginning to feel very real.

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Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News

China banning Bitcoin had become a joke in the years preceding it actually happening, with the country repeatedly announcing that Bitcoin was banned, 6 times to be exact, and every time the percentage of Bitcoin's network located within China increased  

However, last year, Chinese authorities began seizing expensive mining equipment from facilities still up and running, and the ban began to be taken seriously.

The process of shutting down hundreds of mining operations happened virtually overnight.

At the time of the ban, China was the top-ranked nation for Bitcoin mining...

China is currently just a blip on the radar, occasionally a Chinese IP address will be seen as some individual hobbyists, and a few remaining mining operations still running “taking steps to hide their location”. 

Now there are signs that China's leadership may view the ban on cryptocurrencies as too broad, with manybusiness leaders within China's tech industry believing that a crypto-free China would put the country to be a step behind the rest of the world. 

"VR and the metaverse are largely considered the next big thing that will have a major impact on the industry - do people think they can hand over printed paper money in a virtual world?" Says one of my sources within China, a lead developer for a Chinese software company that provides software related to the back-end management of both stock and crypto trading platforms. With an agreement that we wouldn't use his name, our (very encrypted) chat last night continued... "That's just the beginning, because everything you own in that world, your clothes, your house, your car. they're all going to be NFTs.  I was worried China would be sitting it out, delusionaland waiting for the day people say they no longer have a need for decentralized cryptocurrencies thanks to China's digital yuen. The reality of it is, people are going to be buying crypto (NFTs) with other crypto."        

The Signs...

The current crypto ban did not result in every crypto-related company in China being shut down. Some crypto-based companies were allowed to continue operating inside China if their user base was mostly international. If companies could remain profitable while still excluding Chinese citizens from their services, they were allowed to continue operating.

One such company is Conflux, which recently saw a huge influx of funds, resulting in gains of 143% in just one week and 800% over the last month.

Assets such as Filecoin, Neo, Vechain, Cocos-BCX, Polkadot, and EOS have registered price increases of between 10% and up to 40% in a matter of days.

Why this sudden positive price movement for anything crypto related out of China? 

What began as a rumor has just became a very real possibility...

It is now confirmed via the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) - they're evaluating a proposal that would legalize crypto trading in Hong Kong.  While officially part of China, Hong Kong still has the ability to pass laws independent of the mainland. 

The law would bring regulation of exchanges - and also legalize buying, selling and trading in the territory.

Currently, no western investment firms (which are required to reveal their holdings) have announced large investments in Chinese based cryptocurrencies or their supporting companies.

As of now, our best guess that the investing is happening internally, specifically by wealthy investors who believe this is going to happen. While these trades may technically be breaking the rules today, they believe ownership of these assets will soon be given the green light anyway.

Keep in mind, anyone in China with millions to invest will also have close ties with the ruling party, so their investments could indicate they know much more than the general public.  If that is the case here, it seems they've been told that this is going to happen.

Where things stand as of today...

The biggest surprise  - we're hearing that Hong Kong leaders are NOT being met with disapproval from China's leadership in Beijing "there's nothing to indicate mainland officials don't want this to happen, and I believe we're well beyond the point where they would make their stance known" a source explained.

Beijing quietly allowing this to happen may be thanks to some of China's wealthiest business leaders, who have been complaining to officials about being restricted from a market with huge growth potential - saying they understand the risks, and take proper safeguards to prevent any catastrophic losses.  They believe those who can afford to take risks should be guided by regulations that take this in to account. 

It's unlikely the same leadership that banned crypto trading have completely reversed their views, but they may now be willing to allow it if the the requirements still discourage the average citizen  Only allowing crypto trading via Hong Kong would be enough of a barrier to stop the 'average worker' from risking their funds in the market, as the expenses involved with taking trips to and from Hong Kong would be enough to make simply make it not worth doing. 

A major impact to global crypto markets...

As one of the largest economies in the world, China’s re-entry into the cryptocurrency market could have a ripple effect on the global market. This could lead to increased adoption of cryptocurrencies worldwide. 

Also worth noting - China's ban has been an example to other counties that discourage investing or adoption of cryptocurrencies - Chinese investors re-joining the crypto market would mean no major superpower is enforcing a ban on cryptocurrencies.

While the scam is over, the story behind it is not. That won't change as long as it's main character remains in hiding. 

The dollar amount allegedly stolen by 'Crypto Queen' Ruja Ignatova is approximately the same amount Bankman-Fried is accused of losing. But Sam's story is downright boring compared with the chaos still happening today in the aftermath of OneCoin.

Both Sam and Ruja are accused of losing $3 - $4 billion of their user's funds, which puts them in a category beyond just running "crypto scams"- they're officially among the "largest scams ever" both in the number of victims, over 3 million, and the total dollar amount taken from them - over $4 billion in USD value, according to the FBI and Europol.

First Time Hearing About This?

The first time I heard of "OneCoin" it was already over, they had just been shut down, and the people behind it were in the process of being tracked down and arrested.

I was shocked - how could a multi-billion dollar crypto scam happen and it wasn't even on my radar?!

Good news, the problem isn't that you weren't paying attention - OneCoin deliberately avoided attracting attention from people in select 'Western' nations.  They feared that law enforcement in these countries were tech savvy, and way ahead when it comes to cases involving crypto. 

Still, today it's not uncommon to find someone who is in the crypto industry (full time) who says they've never heard of OneCoin. But most common seems to be someone remembering OneCoin was 'some kind of scam a few years back' with maybe 10% of people aware of its size - one of the largest scams in history and on the extremely short list of scams with a multi-billion dollar price tag.

It was the US FBI they feared the most, and to avoid them they also avoided scamming US citizens. They believed this was so important that if someone in the US ended up on their site and wanted to join - the signup page would give them an error and close itself.

Ironically, the FBI is leading the way in dismantling OneCoin, and is credited with tracking down many of the executives in custody today.

Comparing Sam and Ruja May Be Unfair... to Sam. He Isn't Nearly as Evil...

There's one huge difference between them  - Sam started a legitimate business. The more money he had the more careless he became.  But those funds were handed over to him for use in his legitimate business, which did exist..

Ruja never intended to start a business - she created a scam. 'OneCoin' was a fraud from the first day it launched, not a single feature ended up to be true.

Her public image was the same, professionally she introduced herself as "Dr Ruja Ignatova" and claimed an educational history of elite colleges, and an employment history at major financial firms.

She is the definition of 'scammer' - so dedicated to it she lives her daily life as the character she created for the single purpose of getting people to believe the opposite of what is really happening. 

Exactly how it appeared on OneCoin's website - but when Forbes was contacted they said OneCoin simply purchased as space, in that space they put an interview, then announced people could read an interview with Ruja in the latest edition of Forbes Magazine.

People behind scams this large don't struggle morally about what they're doing, far from it. They become addicted to the power they feel whenever they step on stage and see thousands of people clapping and cheering for them - the same people they will soon financially ruin. In these short moments they feel like the smartest person on the planet. 

What Puts This Story On a New Level of CRAZY: OneCoin Wasn't Even Real...

To be clear, I am not saying "her coin wasn't as good as she claimed" - I'm saying they didn't even have a coin.

She nicknamed their non-existent cryptocurrency the "Bitcoin Killer', claiming the blockchain technology behind it was so superior, it would soon come to replace Bitcoin.  In reality, she had nothing. No blockchain, no cryptocurrency.

What they did have was the OneCoin App, where people couduse real money to purchase OneCoin, and see it added to their balance - that's the entire system.

The price of OneCoin was also entirely imaginary, having nothing to do with supply and demand they could simply decide what the app would show the public, and of course, they decided to make it look like demand was huge. 

In e-mails obtained by investigators and used in court against OneCoin leaders, Ruja is seen telling the developers building the OneCoin system that:

"We would like to be able to set the price manually and automatically and also control the traded volume."

Legitimate cryptocurrencies cannot control any of those - the market decides the price, and volume is simply the total amount people bought or sold. 

Now That They at Least Appeared to Be Having a Strong Start, They Would Use Their Fake Coin's Fake Success, to Bring in Real Money...

Within the app was also the only 'exchange' where OneCoin could be traded - it had to be this way because trading it anywhere outside of their app would have been technically impossible -  no transferable cryptocurrency existed.  But according to their app, their imaginary cryptocurrency was quickly increasing in value, and that's all they needed to keep users buying more and telling their friends. 

This is where the pyramid aspect comes in to play -users would receive commission from people they invited to OneCoin, then they would also receive commission if that friend brought their friends.

OneCoin users who referred a lot of other users are the only group of people who walked away with a profit, but it's impossible to figure out who was knowingly promoting a scam, and who was a victim believing they were sharing something good. 

OneCoin Held 'Conferences' Attended By Thousands - Here Ruja Would Speak About Blockchain Revolutionizing the World of Finance...

Always booked as the special 'keynote speaker' at her own events, Ruja would give long speeches about what blockchain tech can do, and will do in the future. But back in reality, no blockchain of any kind was being used at OneCoin.

E-Mails obtained by investigators and shown in trials of her partners made it clear - she was the mastermind behind the lies, fully aware of every shady thing they were doing.

In one exchange with co-founder Karl Greenwood, she says “We are not mining actually – but telling people shit" and jokingly referred to OneCoin as 'Trash Coins'. 

The Collapse...

The red flags started to pile up - people discovered that some of OneCoin's directors had previously been involved in other known scams.

Plus, for years people requested any verifiable evidence for any of their claims, and the excuses dragged on so long it became obvious they were hiding something.  They had been telling so many lies for so long that their own statements would occasionally contradict things they said in the past. 

As the inflow of money began to slow down, use of their fake exchange became limited, dividing their members into different levels with each given different trading restrictions. Those who spent a lot on 'educational materials' could trade on more days than those who didn't. 

They were making it impossible for there to be a run of users withdrawing until there was nothing left.

As OneCoin Comes Crashing Down,  Ruja is Nowhere To Be Found...

Some believe she bribed government officials in the 3 countries she had homes in, so they would agree to warn her in advance of any plans against her, or her business.

While that hasn't been proven, we can say that somehow she managed to stay months ahead of authorities, and was long gone when the day came, and OneCoin was forced to shut down as it's leaders were rounded up and arrested.

In those final months without Ruja, OneCoin stayed open for business, with her younger brother Konstantin Ignatov taking over the title of CEO.  But his reign as OneCoin's top boss was a short one, as he was arrested March 2019 in Los Angeles, and it all ending with him pleading guilty to fraud and money laundering charges.

Co-Founder Greenwood was detained in Thailand in 2018 and then extradited to the United States - just 3 weeks ago his case was closed after a deal to plead guilty was reached.  He still faces up to 40 years in prison.

Mark Scott, a former corporate lawyer, was convicted in November 2019 of laundering $400 million for the group by using a network of shell companies, offshore bank accounts and investment funds.

Another man, David Pike, pleaded guilty to committing bank fraud. He was sentenced to two years probation in March.

Not Even her Husband or 9 Year Old Daughter Has Heard from Her Since...

Most shockingly, she left her husband and now 9 year old daughter behind as well.   

They are said to be under 'constant surveillance' as authorities were expecting Ruja to eventually make contact with them.  If she has, it was done without anyone noticing, as the official status of her with the FBI describes her 2019 disappearance has the 'last time anyone has heard from or seen' her.

Is She Now a He?

It's hard to believe that a 3 year long global search with the powers of multiple law enforcement agencies from multiple countries behind it still hasn't found anything - to avoid even the occasional random sighting she either never goes outside, or has drastically changed her appearance. 

One way people believe she could do this would be for her to live as a man.

A professional sketch artists rendering of Ruja as a male, commissioned as part of Tradingpedia's research in to her disappearance.

Simpler methods of disguise have been suggested too, such as plastic surgery to make her face and body thinner, along with dying her hair blonde, would probably also make her unrecognizable. 

Possible Leads...

This week was brutal for those betting the crypto market would continue to drop lower, as they were instead met with a surprise bull run leading to the most liquidations of short positions in over a year.

In the case of Bitcoin (BTC) which rose from $17,500 at this time last week, to over $21,000+ at the time of publishing, truly punished those who bet against it. 

Short trader losses for BTC reached levels not seen since Aug 2021.

Total Lost by those Shorting the Crypto Market this Week Totals OVER $500 Million...

Ethereum has been the most shorted coin with 49% of liquidations coming from ETH shorts, Bitcoin was the second most popular coin responsible for 29% of the liquidations, with the remaining liquidations spread among altcoins that also went along for the ride up.

One thing is clear from looking at these stats - a lot of people were caught off guard!

The Question on Everyone's Mind - Where Do We Go From Here?

There's a split among analysts who predict that prices will continue to rise, and others who believe prices are soon heading back down... so, that doesn't help much.

Both sides have valid reasoning behind their predictions, it's up to you to decide which feels right.

Those who believe that bitcoin will continue to rise point to the fact that the cryptocurrency has bounced off lows of approximately $16,000 on five different occasions over the last three months. This is seen as proof that "we've found the bottom" - many investors were standing by, waiting to see what the bottom would be - now that they have an answer, expect more to take positions as prices remain low.

Others believe that these gains are only temporary. They point to the general economic uncertainty that can be found in most industries, in most countries - and top concern, inflation, far from resolved.

Make Smart Moves: 

There's 2 strategies dominating in communities of experienced traders.

Those who agree$16,000 is indeed 'bottom' will likely agree with the strategy shared by one trader "Anything within $10k of that is an automatic buy - so if the price is $26,000 or less I'm accumulating."

If you're not convinced that we've seen the worst of it, you'll probably agree with what another trader shared, saying "I still believe a drop to $10-12k is possible before the next real, sustained bull run.  So I'm going to keep my DCA strategy running" - DCA stands for Dollar Cost Averaging, this method involves investing a set amount each week no matter what the price is. If it goes down from here, you still have funds to buy the dip.  If the price continues to go up, you at least bought some near the recent low.

Share your thoughts:
Do you believe recent gains will hold? Tweet us at @TheCryptoPress 

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Author: Mark Pippen
London News Desk 
Breaking Crypto News 

Computer Security specialist Alex Holden was born in Ukraine, and while he now lives in the United States, he's doing what he can to help his countries efforts against Russia. 

Holden is sharing his accomplishment of infiltrating Russia's largest online drug market, called Solaris, steal 1.6 bitcoin (BTC) from the website's main wallet, and donate it to Ukraine.

The funds were sent to a Ukrainian non-profit called 'Enjoying Life", and the organizations co-founder Tina Mikhailovskaya confirms it was received, saying it was "given directly to the elderly, families and internally displaced people who suffered from the Russian war."

Holden declined to tell how he did the robbery, only sharing that it involved help from his team of hackers from he employs at his company Hold Security, and that they took 'partial control of the Solaris infrastructure' which somehow included access to the wallet. 

While an amusing story, this is small compare to the true impact of crypto on this war...

Ukraine is the first nation in history to formally accept bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to finance the costs of a war, and so far their wallet has received 645 BTC in donations from around the world. That is equivalent to $10 million USD at current rates, and $45 million at Bitcoin's high.

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Author: Mark Pippen
London News Desk 
Breaking Crypto News

There's only two ways this can turn out, both bad, but one massively worse than the other.

Prosecutors from New York have unsealed the indictment against him, charging Bankman-Fried with wire fraud, conspiracy, committing fraud against investors, lenders, and the United States, securities fraud, money laundering, and violation of campaign finance laws.

But things aren't as straightforward as it sounds - there's a real possibility some, maybe even most of these charges, get dropped.

It All Comes Down to This: Did Sam Misuse of Funds Include Those from FTX US - a Separate Company and Website from FTX International?

This could be the difference between life in prison, or 10 years with a chance to get out early with good behavior.

The US will only charge him with crimes he committed while in the US, or against US citizens.

For example, US law enforcement cannot pursue a case where investors from France were victims of fraud committed by a company in the Bahamas.  Actually, no country on earth prosecutes cases under those circumstances.

As covered in previous articles, if someone from the United States visited FTX International (ftx.com) they would find themselves unable to get past the home page, they were blocked from joining, only able to view a message re-directing them to FTX's platform for US citizens (ftx.us).

The platforms did not share storage of funds with FTX International either, separate wallets for crypto, separate banks for fiat currency.

In other words, it would be extremely easy for Sam to exclude US funds from his alleged scheme, which would be the smartest thing someone in his position could do (besides leave everyone's funds alone).

So, are there any signs indicating FTX US funds were left untouched?

While Sam's word means very little and I'm not suggesting you put any trust into him, for some reason in every interview he's done following the FTX collapse, he made sure to tell the audience that the US site was not effected, everyone's funds are still there, and he believes 'it could open to let people withdraw today'.

If that is true, Sam committed no crime while in the US, and committed no crimes against US citizens, and suddenly this becomes a very different thing.

Sam Bankman-Fried Being Taken Into Custody by Police in the Bahamas.

As predicted in previous articles, we see Sam being charged with additional crimes like wire fraud, this so they can still lock him up for something even if the charges directly related to him losing billions don't hold up in court.

Similar to how the FBI lacked evidence against Mafia leaders for murders they knew they had committed, so they started digging through their tax history and locked them up for tax violations.

Are There any Signs Sam Mismanaged Funds Belonging to Both FTX International and FTX US Users?

The acting CEO, John J. Ray, appointed to oversee the company's bankruptcy testified with Congress yesterday, Sam was scheduled to appear but that was canceled with his arrest. 

Ray stated they had "NOT found evidence (that Sam made unauthorized withdraws from US customer funds) of that yet"

This is a HUGE - It means if what Ray said is True, Prosecutors do Not Have Evidence for Several of the Charges Against Him! 

If Sam really did leave US funds alone, several charges get dropped before he ever sets foot in a courtroom.

However, a source on the 'inside' at FTX told me that the new CEO "thinks Sam was so reckless with funds from FTX International he's assuming Sam did the same at FTX US and just hid it better" adding that this was "just a personal opinion, but it's a fact that they're looking into where every dollar or token went, so if Sam did anything he shouldn't have they will find it'.

The new CEO and his team have been digging through the records for nearly a month, and their failure to find anything showing Sam's abuse of funds included the FTX US has me prepared for the possibility Sam told the here.

Remember, FTX US staff included former government regulators - would you hire former IRS tax auditors to work for your company if you were secretly committing tax fraud? Probably not.

It's starting to look like Sam followed the rules when it came to FTX US, all high-profile employees specifically worked for FTX US, and saw no red flags that would stop them from vouching for Sam as a legitimate business person.

Where they went wrong is assuming FTX International was operating similarly to FTX US - when in reality Sam saw FTX International as the place where the rules no longer applied.

Life in Prison?

Yes, really.  Many think life-sentences aren't given for financial crimes, and that's true for the average case of someone stealing thousands or even low-millions from a company they work for.

But when someone defrauds investors at a total cost in the billions, everyone involved is willing to punish  them as severely as legally allowed. Prosecutors seek the maximum sentence, and if guilty, the jury will agree. 

Looking at the other high-profile multi-billion dollar scandals, one thing that immediately stands out is how we refer to them by the company name, 'Enron scandal' or 'Worldcom scandal' for example. With the focus on the companies involved, the names of the actual people behind those scandals are generally forgotten. 

A multi-billion dollar loss with all the blame focused on 1 individual, the only other name that comes to mind is Bernie Madoff, the former head of the NASDAQ stock exchange, who lost billions of investors funds when his investment firm was exposed for not investing in anyone, it was actually the largest Ponzi scheme in history.

If Sam truly belongs in the same category as Madoff, he should expect a similar fate. Madoff received a sentence of 150 years in prison in 2009 - he died there last year.

If found guilty on all charges, Sam could be sentenced for a maximum of 115 years under current law.

An Unplanned, Early Exit?

Sam was politically connected, and many FTX members with empty accounts are wondering how their money is gone, but Sam had millions in 'profits' to donate to politicians.

Sam and Bill Clinton shared the stage at a conference in the Bahamas.

Sam leveraged his political donations for meetings with lawmakers and other VIPS, he was becoming well-connected in Washington DC - many believe Sam may "know too much" and that worries powerful people.

Take this with a huge grain of salt since it is both a conspiracy theory and prediction - but the idea that Sam's former friends may now want him eliminated was on enough people's minds that both 'Sam Bankman-Fried' and 'Epstein' began trending on twitter with hundreds of tweets like:

"He either gets Epstein treatment or sentenced 2 weeks in a luxurious resort jail, no in between."

While this is one of the more extreme possibilities, one thing is clear - there's no 'good outcome' for him from here.

-----------
Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News

While watching Sam Bankman-Fried's recent media appearances, a theory entered my head - a gut feeling, but a strong one saying "He's been told he has nothing to worry about" and the more I listened with this theory in mind, the more convinced I became. 

Take a look for yourself and tell me if you see a man in fear of spending years in a federal prison - I don't think anyone could hide how stressful that possibility would be, but at no point did Sam show he was feeling any significant amount of stress. Not in some delusional way either - I don't believe his lack of stress comes from him being detached from reality, pretending everything is fine.

What I do see, is someone who believes the worst case scenario isn't going to happen...

These interviews seem like nothing more than an attempt to salvage his public image.   His strategy is more obvious than he seems to be aware of, as uses a classic pity-educing method of 'beating himself up', expressing regret, and taking some blame... but not too much. 

When it comes to blame, he seems to think he found the magic ratio of blame to excuses, as anytime he takes responsibility for doing something wrong, it comes with a reminder that he would never had made these mistakes if he knew the details of Alameda Research's trading positions at the time.

While it was met with disbelief every time he said it, he remained firm on not knowing vital details about Alameda Research, even though it is a company he created, that he has majority ownership of, and is holding a massive amount of the funds from investors he brought in.  I doubt his pitch to investors was 'put a few million in to this company, which I have nothing to do with'. 

My point is, he isn't making these public appearances to claim innocence, or even explain what happened. He's making them with the goal of getting people to say "Sam's a good guy who just made some mistakes".

I can't help but think that the only way being liked becomes more important than being free, is if he's already convinced his freedom isn't at risk.

But in order to objective, i'm open to the possibility that I'm just misreading him.  So I set aside any of my own opinions and 'gut feelings' and re-examined the situation strictly looking at the facts to see if I come to the same conclusion in the end.

Starting with some things worth a deeper look.

Sam's parents are not typical lawyers, and after learning more about them I think it's time to question how involved in FTX Sam's parents may be... 

Those who graduate from Stanford law school are considered among the top of the legal field - so you can imagine what it takes to be hired to teach those students - both of Sam's parents worked as Stanford Law professors. 

What kind of law do they specialize in? The kind that someone in Sam's position would be hiring right now.

The mother worked at Paul Weiss, one of the top firms in the US with clients like Exxon, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Universal Pictures, Sony and more. She is one of the founders of a "secretive Silicon Valley PAC that supports Democratic candidates" called Mind The Gap. 

Sam's father is considered one of the leading experts in tax law, tax shelters, and tax compliance, according to his Stanford bio page. I found this video uploaded by Stanford Law School featuring him speaking on the topic.

In other words, Sam Bankman-Fried was born with the perfect legal team already in the room.

If anyone could make sure Sam's actions stayed within legal grey areas or completely unenforceable by US regulators, it's them.

On this note, Sam has repeated in every interview that none of these questionable actions were done with funds from the US version of FTX. There indeed was a completely separate site for US investors, and if someone from the US tried to access the FTX for the rest of the world, they would find themselves blocked from signing up.

Sam remaining in the Bahamas doesn't help him avoid anything, the Bahamas does have an extradition treaty with the US, so if US regulators charged him with a crime, the government in the Bahamas would arrest Sam and put him on an airplane.  Most seem to believe he's 'obviously guilty' - so why hasn't he been extradited?

But his parents weren't his only source for guidance...

Gary Gensler is the head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. A man named Ryne Miller was Gensler's lead counsel at his previous role as CFTC Chairman.

Ryne Miller has been working at FTX for a little over one year - now he's their general legal council.

"His industry expertise and leadership will be critical as we forge cooperative working relationships with U.S. regulators" FTX said in an official press release at the time. In that same statement, Ryne Miller confirms he will be "working alongside U.S. regulators" for FTX's benefit.

These are the people who helped make sure the US branch of FTX stayed completely separate from FTX International...

FTX international is registered in Antigua and Barbuda, a small island with no capital gains tax, no wealth or inheritance taxes, and no personal income tax.

In every interview Sam has stated that the US version of FTX could open up to users immediately, and they will find all of their funds there untouched. If true, it's likely Sam violated no US laws.

If only his non-US company broke any laws, and none of it's victims were US citizens - the US justice system isn't interested.

It's election day in America, for those unfamiliar with US politics, this one is a 'mid term' - no new President will be selected, but seats in virtually all other elected rolls are up for grabs.

All 435 members of the House of Representatives and 34 senators are running.  According to media reports, political action committees and bitcoin lobbyists have contributed millions of dollars to candidates races.

As of two weeks ago, crypto-related donors had given more money than the traditional big election spenders - surpassing both defense and big pharma.

The industry expected 2022 would be the year policymakers came up with a plan for regulating crypto - that didn't happen...

Unresolved policy disputes between lawmakers and lobbyists left this unfinished, as Congressmembers and Senators left Washington DC until the new year.

That means those elected today are virtually guaranteed to be the ones voting on crypto regulation in the near future.

Crypto becomes a mainstream topic for voters...

According to a poll by Grayscale early October, 38% of voters said candidates "crypto policy positions" mattered to them when deciding who to vote for. 

Another poll by the Crypto Council for Innovation, taken around the same time, had 45% of voters agreeing that lawmakers should "treat crypto as a serious and valid part of the economy."

The ideal outcome for crypto...

Most crypto traders want a Republican majority in either or both chambers, since Republicans have been some of their most loyal supporters in the past.

The Republicans have also indicated the willingness to move bills that many in the industry say create a reasonable regulated environment, where protections for investors can be implemented without slowing down the progress of a fast growing industry.

"We believe crypto is one of the few sectors we follow where the midterms will have a material impact on policy. Republicans tend to be more accepting of fewer limits on crypto products because they are decentralized and different - We believe a GOP sweep of the midterm elections would be the best outcome for crypto" said Jaret Seiberg, an analyst at financial services company Cowen.

Generally favoring less government involvement in free markets, Republicans would also likely put pressure on agencies like the SEC stop over-aggressive regulation of crypto firms and seek reasonable regulation aimed at protecting investors.

A history of bipartisan support...

While crypto does have a history of finding supporters from both major parties, many see the Democrats as 'dropping the ball'.  Some expressed the desire for what sounded like reasonable solutions to the regulation issues, some even co-authored bills with Republicans. 

But at the end of the day, they had 2 years where they held most of the power, and nothing was accomplished.

Then, with some opinions from members of the Biden administration that sounded like they don't understand the basics of what crypto is, many who consider crypto an important issue switched to a firm "Republicans only' stance this election.

The crypto industry may get their wish...

Polls are indicating that Republicans will take back the House and probably the Senate as well.  

A common prediction from crypto traders on multiple platforms right now is that a Republican win of both the House and Senate tonight could immediately trigger some market movement upward, we'll probably soon see if they're correct.

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Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News

"Regarding any speculation as to whether this is a move against a competitor, it is not" said Binance CEO 'CZ' on Twitter, while confirming "recent revelations that have come to light" are behind a decision to sell-off $2.1 billion USD worth of FTT, the native token of rival exchange FTX.

Binance first obtained the tokens last year, as part of their payment from a pre-planned exit from investment in FTX equity.

Can't Have it Both Ways...

CZ first attempts to include the FTT sell-off as part of everyday 'business-as-usual' saying:

"Liquidating our FTT is just post-exit risk management, learning from LUNA."

That sounds like he's saying it's a purely strategic move, like the reasoning behind it could be something as simple as not believing the bear market has hit bottom - until in his next sentence where he immediately makes it clear - there's more to this story.

"We gave support before, but we won't pretend to make love after divorce. We are not against anyone. But we won't support people who lobby against other industry players behind their backs. Onwards."

FTX is accused as a company, or perhaps CEO Sam Bankman-Fried himself of doing something behind the scenes, with at least the goal of hurting a competing crypto company...

At least that seems to be the accusation CZ, the Binance CEO, is making, although vaguely, and because of their mention of LUNA (which famously crashed, then crashed the market, and never recovered) and FTT together - the FTX CEO has been trying to assure customers that their token has none of the same risk factors (and from what we can see, that's true).

Any comparison of FTT with LUNA is a bit unfair...

There's no reason for CZ to bring back memories of the LUNA disaster when mentioning FTT - none of LUNA's risk factors can be applied to FTT.

"A competitor is trying to go after us with false rumors. FTX is fine. Assets are fine" said CEO Sam Bankman-Fried his first public response.

However - Binance CEO CZ has proven to be a level-headed voice of reason in the industry, and seems to have a reasonable outlook on the 'big picture' of cryptos future - so if he's accusing FTX or their CEO of crossing a line, it's probably true. 

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Author: Oliver Redding
Seattle Newsdesk  / Breaking Crypto News

Dogecoin, the tenth-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $10.5 billion, outperformed any of the other top 50 coins over the last 24 hours, with gains of over 15%. 

For the week, DOGECOIN gained nearly 30% and was only outperformed by Telegram's TON token.

Behind The Rise...

Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter nw seems to be a 'sure thing', as the Tesla and SpaceX CEO walked through the doors of the Twitter offices earlier today. 

From what we can tell, social sentiment is driving the price, with people assuming Twitter will eventually implement the use of Dogecoin, somehow.

Bad Time To Bet Against The DOGE...

Almost $9 million in Dogecoin futures positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, almost all by people taking short positions.

The increased attention going to DOGE seems to have spread to its main competitor, SHIBA, which posted gains of around 7%. 

It's Easy To Downplay the strength of DOGE - but this 'joke coin' is showing some legitimately strong fundamentals...

A large, seemingly majority of people holding DOGE today appear to be true believers in the coin's long-term potential.

Wallets holding DOGE for more than 1 year are currently at an all-time high of 2.8 million, according to IntoTheBlock. 

Also, wallets that buy and sell within a month are at an all-time low - only 132,000 wallets can be considered 'short-term traders' - this is the lowest since mid 2020.

Recently, Dogecoin was the reason for a new lawsuit that has been filed against Elon Musk...

We spoke with the lawyer representing those suing Elon, while initially reaching out to us first, he refuses to answer some very basic questions on issues vital to the case, read about that here.

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Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News

Apple has established a rule for how apps can work with NFTs,  basically stating that there cannot be any app features that a user can unlock by buying/owning a particular NFT.

Some apps already do this, like Moonbirds NFTs and Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs can unlock exclusive chat rooms, products, and other benefits within their apps - well, not anymore.

Additionally, developers are prohibited from producing "buttons, external links, or other calls to action" that could instruct users on how to purchase NFTs outside of the App Store on other websites. The App Store prefers that customers buy things inside of apps.

Apple Protecting Profits...

This is purely profit motivated.

Currently, if an app has premium features, users unlock them for a fee, processed by Apple. The app developer gets their cut, and so does Apple. 

But if someone can unlock app features by purchasing an NFT from anywhere online, then an app includes a way for someone to verify ownership of that NFT -  Apple was just removed from the process.

Making Enemies in the NFT World...

This comes after another recent move by Apple that angered the NFT world, when they announced they will allow NFT sales, but they will include a 30% going to them.

While it's hard to pity the projects that mass produce low quality gimmick NFTs, the actual artists who put a lot of time and work in to creating unique excuse content to be sold as NFTs, a 30% cut going to a company that just processed a transaction is rather offensive. 

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Author: Oliver Redding
Seattle Newsdesk  / Breaking Crypto News

Rishi Sunak, a well-known crypto bull and former UK Finance Minister, will soon succeed Liz Truss as the country's leader.

Only Sunak received endorsements from more than 100 legislators. Because he was the only MP qualified to run, he automatically won the election.

Graham Brady, a party official, declared, "I can confirm that we have received one valid nomination, and Rishi Sunak is therefore elected as leader of the Conservative Party,"

Sunak is the third prime minister in the last 7 weeks...

The first had resigned due to controversy. then in just 45 days after taking office, departing Liz Truss was removed from her leadership post following the swift failure of her ambitious plan to lower taxes on the country's richest earners.

Instead of improve the economy, it got worse fast - mortgage rates skyrocketed and the pound fell sharply, making her unpopular with the vast majority of Britons.

It's fair to say Sunak has a huge challenge ahead, and a large mess to clean up.

He's made his stance on crypto crystal-clear...

Rishi, who is only 42 years old, belongs to the first generation to have grown with the internet, and is generally more comfortable with new technologies.

Just months ago in to his prior position as chancellor of the Exchequer (or Head of the Treasury) Sunak said, "It’s my ambition to make the UK a global hub for crypto asset technology"

He elaborated in a press release from his office on the topic of crypto, which said "the government can ensure financial stability and high regulatory standards so that these new technologies can ultimately be used both reliably and safely". 

He thinks stablecoins ought to be a "recognized form of payment" since they might provide consumers a "more efficient" way to pay.

Sunak takes office tomorrow,  Tuesday, October 25.

This is the most powerful government position a known crypto supporter has held. 

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Author: Mark Pippen
London News Desk 
Breaking Crypto News 

The Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer of Walmart, Suresh Kumar says crypto will play an integral payment role for the company, as they and others enter the metaverse. Kumar discussed the role of crypto in Walmart’s future:

With the emerging technology, Kumar aims to make payment options friction-free for customers who want to transact. Kumar believes that the payments disruptions will begin in terms of different payment methods and different payment options.

"Crypto will continue to play a significant role in that. And obviously, we want to be there where the customer really needs us to be. So whether it is physical or virtual goods, it plays a part in what the customer wants." says Kumar.

The CTO also noted that a large number of customers will be approached through the Metaverse and other live streams on social media apps, and that crypto could be an important payment option in such areas.

Retail in the metaverse...

Last month, Walmart made its debut on Roblox Worlds as a testing ground for the metaverse. Walmart created “Walmart Land” and “Walmart’s Universe of Play” within Roblox.

Earlier this year, Walmart took a leap into blockchain technology to create an automated process for handling invoices and payments of its 70 third-party freight carriers. By using blockchain, Walmart has eliminated its issues of incompatible enterprise systems by replacing them with a shared single source of credible information for Walmart and its carriers.

Today, Mastercard announced their goal of supporting more financial institutions in offering cryptocurrency trading.

People are still optimistic about the future of cryptocurrencies despite the present bear market. According to Jorn Lambert, chief digital officer at Mastercard, "there is still a high desire for cryptocurrencies among clients".

“There’s a lot of consumers out there that are really interested in this, and intrigued by crypto, but would feel a lot more confident if those services were offered by their financial institutions... It’s a little scary to some people still.” Mastercard’s chief digital officer, Jorn Lambert, told CNBC.

Is the dream of escaping banks dead?

Many in the cryptocurrency community view blockchain technology as a way to liberate people from banks, now every major banking institution seems to be aggressively moving to take positions within the crypto market.

According to Mastercard, many people prefer having their bank involved. They claim that when they surveyed customers, almost 60% of those surveyed stated they were willing to own cryptocurrency in the future but preferred to do so through their current bank.

Mastercard's bold offer to banks: We're ready to handle every major concern...

Large investment banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan already have specialized crypto teams, but still haven't offered a way for their clients to buy cryptocurrency - but they may be more likely to begin if all they need to do is trust Mastercard, rather than directly partner with an exchange.

Mastercard says that if a bank chooses them to handle crypto offerings to customers, they will handle both security and regulatory compliance - the two main concerns that have held many intuitions back. 

Opening to a new market usually comes with a new load of liabilities - but with Mastercard taking responsibility for them adhering to crypto compliance guidelines, confirming transactions, and offering anti-money-laundering and identity monitoring services, there's not many reasons left to say no.

Bad News for existing exchanges... maybe...

The program will involve Mastercard routing orders to Paxos, an exchange they've already been working closely with - so if banks do embrace this Mastercard model, it may take a bite out of the pool of potential future users of Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, and other exchanges operating in the U.S.

However, if successful, Mastercard's program will likely inspire banks to create their own, similar partnerships directly with crypto exchanges. 

The pilot program will launch in the first quarter of 2023. There is currently no information on which banks will participate.


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Author: Justin Derbek
New York News Desk
Breaking Crypto News

Founder of Cardano (ADA) Carles Hoskinson makes the case for his slow but steady approach to winning the long game, at the Mainnet 2022 Event. 

Video Courtesy of Mainnet 2022