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Three Arrows Capital Liquidators Tweet Subpoena to Founders

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Singaporean courts subpoenaed Three Arrows Capital (3AC) founders Kyle Davies and Zhu Su on Thursday last week.

In a public tweet, 3AC Liquidation, the official court-appointed joint liquidators of the firm, published the documents on their feed at the time.

The court order shows authorities summoning Davies, a US citizen, to appear before judges to resolve concerns over the collapse of the Singaporean firm.

Liquidators for the massive company aim to receive key evidence from the company, including accounts, private keys, wallets, and seed phrases, among others. It also aims to investigate data on the firm’s securities, unregistered shares, and accounts on its exchanges.

It said that the founders should “produce at the time, date, and place set forth below the following documents, electronically stored information, or objects, and to permit inspection, copying, testing, or sampling of the material.”

The subpoena requested that Su and Davies “furnish all documents available to you regardless of whether this information is possessed directly by you, your agents, representatives, employees, or investigators; or by any other legal or non-legal entities controlled by or in any manner presently or precisely affiliated with you.”

The news comes after the firm filed for bankruptcy in July last year, triggering Singapore’s Monetary Authority (MAS) to crack down on cryptocurrency platforms.

The government body passed several measures to regulate digital payment token service providers (DPTSP) and stablecoin issuers. Coins affected included Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP, and aim to protect consumers from risk and boost stablecoin transactions.

Magic Eden Vows to Refund Victims of Fake NFT Exploit

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Magic Eden, a platform for buying and selling non-fungible tokens (NFT), vowed to refund money to victims of fraudulent purchases.

A Thursday statement revealed an exploit in its Activity Indexer for the platform’s Pro Trade and Snappy Marketplace tools. Some users trading on the services bought fake NFTs from the fraudulent exploit, which circumvented verification processes.

The following day, Magic Eden revealed users purchased 13 fraudulent NFTs on five collections in 27 transactions, totalling 1,100 Solana or roughly $15,000.

The company tweeted concerns on the fake NFTs on Wednesday. Scammers hit sales from two major Solana-based collections y00ts and ABC, with Magic Eden raising concerns on the latter.

It added: “Please hard refresh your browsers to make sure you are only seeing verified collection items. We’re monitoring the situation & will use this thread for updates.”

The platform concluded after resolving the incident that it was “safe for trading” and that users could no longer buy unverified NFTs on its platform.

It added: “Over the last day, the issue was contained to 25 unverified NFTs in 4 collections. We are confirming impact beyond the last 24h.”

2023 ‘Hack Jobs’ Set to Hit Crypto Market

The news comes after hackers struck the website with pornographic photos and pictures from The Big Bang Theory, triggering Magic Eden to issue a statement on the “unsavory images.”

Additional hacks have taken place on Binance and hot wallet hacks on Derebit, among others, leading to a tightening of cybersecurity protocols and responses to protect crypto investors.

2023 is expected to be a major year for cybersecurity threats and breaches, prompting crypto platforms to remain vigilant, analyses from a CertiK report revealed this week.

2023 to Offer Breakthrough on Crypto Regulatory Clarity, Ripple CEO Says

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Ripple chief executive Brad Garlinghouse has tweeted that he was “cautiously optimistic” about a breakthrough in cryptocurrency regulations across the United States for 2023.

His tweet comes as the 118th Congress kicks off on Capitol Hill. Garlinghouse said in his tweet he hoped 2023 would see US lawmakers gain clarity on “bipartisan [and] bicameral” cryptocurrency regulations.

He said that the stakes “couldn’t be higher,” adding that no bill was perfect and “there likely never will be one that satisfies everyone.”

Garlinghouse continued that the US lagged behind crypto hubs such as the European Union, Brazil, Japan, and Singapore.

Continuing, he said that US lawmakers failed to create a joint effort to build a framework for regulations in the US and worldwide.

He said the lack of coordination “continues to push business to countries [with] lower regulatory bars [leading to] sometimes catastrophic results.”

The news comes after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple for allegedly selling its native token XRP as an unregulated security. The SEC accused Ripple of not registering its earnings on XRP as securities, according to its regulations. Ripple has strongly and vehemently denied the allegations.

US Courts Assemble FTX Task Force to Trace Stolen Crypto Funds

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US courts have created an FTX Task Force to track and recover funds for customers hit by the exchange’s bankruptcy. It will also process prosecutions and investigate the matter following FTX’s collapse.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York’s (SDNY) announced the task force following a statement from US Attorney Damian Williams, the prosecutor overseeing the FTX case.

He said in his statement that authorities were “working around the clock to respond to the implosion of FTX.”

“It’s an all-hands-on-deck-moment […] “We are launching the SDNY FTX Task Force to ensure that this urgent work continues, powered by all of SDNY’s resources and expertise until justice is done,” he added.

The Crypto Cleanup Crew

Several senior prosecutors across multiple units are tasked with the “investigation and prosecution of matters related to the FTX collapse.” Departments involved include units for securities and commodities fraud, public corruption, money laundering, and transnational crime.

Following his arrest in the Bahamas, Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former CEO faces multiple charges. These include securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, violating campaign finance laws, and money laundering, among others.

Williams also said in a 13 December statement,

“One month ago, FTX collapsed, causing billions of dollars in losses to its customers, lenders, and investors. Now, a federal grand jury in New York has indicted the former founder and chief executive officer of FTX and charged him with crimes related to the phenomenal downfall of that one-time cryptocurrency exchange, including fraud on customers, investors, lenders, and our campaign finance system. As today’s charges make clear, this was not a case of mismanagement or poor oversight, but of intentional fraud, plain and simple.”

Guilty as Charged?

The news comes as Bankman-Fried, Alameda Research chief executive Caroline Ellison, and FTX co-founder Gary Wang face charges linked to the aftermath of his company’s bankruptcy. Just days before its implosion, FTX executives hired a $12 million retainer tasked with managing the fallout.

Bankman-Fried pleaded “not guilty” on 3 January to all charges totalling 115 years in prison. Conversely, Ellison and Wang plead guilty, with the former striking a plea deal with prosecutors. This reduced her sentence to one charge rather than the full seven totalling 110 years in prison.

25-year-old Crypto Unicorn Tops $3bn AU in Trades after Registering at Mum’s House

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A young Australian crypto trader that sold off roughly $2 billion USD in cryptocurrencies in 2021 is a man aged 25 who operated his platform from his parent’s home in Sydney, reports revealed. 

The Australian noted the public filings in an article on Sunday, which document Darren Nguyen’s PO Street Capital and its successes. 

According to the documents, Nguyen’s cryptocurrency venture earned around $10.41 million AU by 30 June 2021, filings from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). 

It also revealed at the time a total of $2.98 billion AU in crypto trading over a 12-month period, a massive 1,404.12 percent increase from the previous year of $692,182 AU. 

It also found that PO Street Capital’s short-term provisions in June 2021 were 4.3 million USD and no debts, with an additional $873,200 in dividends at the same time.  

He, his family, including his mother, declined to comment on the business’s activities, including the company’s performance last year. 

The successes come amid a major shift in cryptocurrency markets, which saw the massive collapse of FTX in November 2022. Other failing crypto businesses such as Terra/Luna and Voyager also suffered insolvencies the same year. 

US Lawmakers May Crack Down on Crypto Firms Amid FTX Collapse, WSJ Report Finds 

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US lawmakers have begun revising cryptocurrency regulations following the collapse of FTX, with the latter triggering the proposed regulations, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on New Year’s Eve. 

According to the report, Capitol Hill has mulled several proposals across banking, tax and securities regulations, and other measures. Legislators have also urged the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to adopt stricter rules across cryptocurrency markets. 

Rep Jake Auchincloss of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, said in a hearing last month that it was “time for the blockchain investors and entrepreneurs to build things that matter or to lose more credibility.”   

He slammed the cryptocurrency industry for allegedly creating “white papers and podcasts.” 

Blockchain advocate Senator Roger Marshall added: “Someone needs to convince me that it’s not all just a Ponzi game.” 

FTX Crisis Continues 

The news comes after Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced chief executive for FTX, supported a bill allowing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to regulate digital currencies. 

Lawmakers aimed to add the bill to budgetary packages in 2023, but may face obstacles due to the ongoing collapse of Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency platform.  

In mid-December, a White House spokesperson refused to respond to reporters when asked whether US president Joe Biden would return Bankman-Fried’s $5.2 million campaign donations.  

Bahamian authorities arrested the disgraced FTX chief in December on charges of mishandling funds and committing financial fraud via his company and Alameda Research, FTX’s crypto research wing. 

He also faces charges of violating campaign finance laws, breaching contribution rules, funds contribution violations, and obstructing Federal Election Commission duties, among other offences. 

He also contributed $36.8 million to Democratic Party candidates for the 2022 midterms, OpenSecrets data revealed. 

Crypto Enthusiast Nic Carter Ranks Exchanges on Proof of Reserves Health

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Bitcoin cheerleader Nic Carter has published data detailing proof-of-reserves (PoR) activity from major centralised cryptocurrency exchanges.  

According to his analysis, Carter monitored attestation to assets held, liabilities, third-party auditors, among others, to determine the top exchanges for PoR.  

Crypto exchanges Kraken and BitMex were ranked the highest on the list. His analysis found that Kraken hired Armanino for its PoR and offered clients a “good level of confidence” against hidden liabilities while re-evaluating its operations every six months. 

BitMEX, the second-highest crypto platform, utilised transparent operations models for assets, liabilities, and PoR verification. 

Regarding assets, it listed its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings along with liquidity data verified by the BitMEX multisignal. It also published full Merkle tree data of user wallets. 

Binance Ranking, Rebuttal to FUD Claims 

Conversely, Binance scored lower on the rankings chart, indicating the Chinese-owned cryptocurrency exchange’s data was not complete. 

He accused Binance’s Changpeng Zhao (CZ) of urging exchanges to post PoR but had not “yet risen to his own challenge.” 

He added: “Binance’s first PoR doesn’t grant strong assurances. It only covers Bitcoin, which only represents 16.5% of their client assets.” 

Binance Rebuttal to FUD Claims 

Despite the accusations, Binance posted a seven-point rebuttal to accusers stating the company failed to live up to transparency and PoR expectations. 

The world’s largest crypto platform hit back at such claims, citing accusations on its stablecoin consolidation, liquidity, and reserves, among others. It later verified in a CryptoQuant audit that its reserves were 99 percent accurate. 

FTX’s Bankman-Fried Reportedly Withdraws $684K from Crypto Accounts Post-Bail

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Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former chief executive of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, has reportedly withdrawn a huge sum of digital coins from an offshore account. 

According to on-chain data from decentralised finance (DeFi) watchdog BowTieIguana, the FTX founder has taken out $684,000 of his cryptocurrency funds from a crypto exchange in Seychelles despite remaining under house arrest. 

The crypto analyst tweeted on Thursday that several wallet transactions had taken place, which Bankman-Fried allegedly withdrew at the time. This could indicate that he had violated his bail conditions to avoid spending over $1,000 without court approval. 

The analysis also found that SBF transferred all remaining Ether (ETH) from his public address (0xD5758) to a new account (0x7386d), BowTiedIguana revealed. 

Sushiswap had formerly owned the new account in August 2020, which received up to $367,000 from 32 Alameda Research crypto wallets.  

It also received a further $322,000 from additional wallets and later transferred it to the Seychelles-based wallet exchange and a second to crypto bridge RenBridge. 

BowTiedIguana also found a further five transactions at 51 ETH each, totalling ($61,000), moved to new wallets and later to the “Seychelles-based exchange.”  

SBF’s wallet at address 0x64e9B later sent over three transactions of Tether (USDT) at 200,000 each to cryptocurrency exchange FixedFloat.  

BowTiedIguana said in a tweet: “As the Ethereum blockchain is an immutable public ledger, this on-chain evidence is permanently available to law enforcement and the courts,”  

The watchdog later urged authorities from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and others to look into the matter. 

The Usual Suspects? 

According to Conor Grogan, Coinbase’s strategy chief, the transactions were linked to previous Sushiswap activities.  

He said in a tweet: “These wallets — assuming they all belong to him — were heavily involved with LPing Sushi early on, well before Chef Nomi handed off the project to SBF.” 

Despite this, SBF had previously stated in September 2020 he had nothing to do with building the Sushiswap platform, contradicting Grogan’s statement.  

Additionally, Bahamian authorities announced on 12 November that they had taken possession of $3.5 billion USD in FTX cryptocurrency to avoid an “imminent dissipation” of funds linked to alleged cybersecurity attacks on the FTX exchange. 

BTC Miners Sell-Off Nearly All Holdings for 2022 – Messari Report

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Bitcoin (BTC) miners publicly listed on exchanges have sold nearly their entire mined BTC in 2022, sparking discussion on the gains for Bitcoin prices previously stated in media reports. 

According to Tom Dunleavy, an analyst for Messari, a blockchain research company, cryptocurrency miners sold roughly 40,300 out of 40,700 BTC mined in the crypto space.

Involved crypto miners include Riot, Core Scientific, Marathon, Hive, Bit Digital, and others, with transactions taking place from 1 January to 30 November this year. 

This has significantly lowered reserves in the second half of the year, with lows peaking in November due to the ongoing FTX collapse. This has caused Bitcoin prices to slump, Dunleavy added. 

Despite this, numerous reports have evidenced Dunleavy’s claims, with Bitcoin Visuals noting on 26 December that Bitcoin’s daily trade volumes topped $12.2 billion. Conversely, CryptoQuaint figures showed outflows reached $15.35 million the same period, or 0.13 percent of total trading volumes. 

December saw miner reserves recover by roughly 1 percent despite ongoing challenges such as skyrocketing electricity costs, a turbulent crypto market, several collapsed cryptocurrency platforms such as FTX, and increasing difficulty mining digital coins.

Core Scientific Sell-Off 

The news comes after numerous mining firms were forced to sell reserves for their operations and expansion plans, namely due to declining hash rates, reports have shown.   

Core Scientific, one of the biggest firms to date, sold 9,618 in Bitcoin in April 2022 to cover the costs of plummeting revenues.

It reportedly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy despite efforts to bail out the embattled company. While facing its earnings crisis, it stated it would continue cryptocurrency mining operations. 

B Riley proposed a $72 million non-cash lifeline as Core Scientific nosedived from $4.3 billion USD in July 2021 to $78 million as of December. 

Conflux Network Expands into Hong Kong

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Toronto, Canada, 28th December, 2022, Chainwire

  • Dr. Ming Wu, co-founder of Conflux Network, was invited to Hong Kong to speak with various government and private organizations about the digital economy, innovation and technology, and has reached an initial strategic cooperation intention. 
  • Conflux is already in the process of registering related entities for the entry into Hong Kong, solidifying its role as foundational infrastructure for Web3.
  • This follows October’s announcement of the  “Policy Declaration on the Development of Hong Kong Virtual Assets” which has paved the way for a more hospitable blockchain environment in Hong Kong.

Dr. Ming Wu, Co-Founder of Conflux Network,  was invited by the Hong Kong Government to discuss the rise of tech innovation through Web3 and how the Conflux Network could play a foundational role in these developments. During the visit, Dr. Ming Wu had an in-depth discussion with the heads and reception staff of various institutions under the new “Policy Declaration on the Development of Hong Kong Virtual Assets” officially released in October. 

Over the past several years, stringent COVID-19 travel control measures and regulatory uncertainty saw many Hong Kong blockchain and crypto companies shift their businesses to more hospitable areas.  This policy shows a significant refocus on digital assets and coincides with the launch of the first two exchange-traded funds for cryptocurrency in Hong Kong.

Dr. Ming Wu introduced the Conflux Tree-Graph public chain, explaining it is the only compliant, public and permissionless chain in China and has achieved 3000+ TPS, 5000+ nodes and 0.5s block generation. In terms of throughput, confirmation time, and cost of use, it has 2-3 orders of magnitude advantages over the international first-generation public chain “Bitcoin” and the second-generation public chain “Ethereum”. The system performance ranks first in the world.

Dr. Mig Wu said ‘Hong Kong’s open environment for crypto provides more opportunities for practitioners in Web3 and Metaverse, especially for those from China. People here have more freedom to make the technique and business innovations in a compliant manner. This will also accelerate the integration of Web3 into the traditional internet business and economies to maximally extract its value. By expanding to Hong Kong, Conflux will be able to take a whole different strategy and have the potential to become the foundation to fulfill the Web3 vision of Hong Kong.’

The expansion follows Conflux Network being named a potential unicorn, a private startup company valued at over $1 billion, in the Emerging Giants in Asia Pacific joint report from HSBC and KPMG.  One of only five blockchain-related companies to make the prestigious list. 

About Conflux

Conflux is a permissionless Layer 1 blockchain connecting decentralized economies across borders and protocols. Recently migrated to hybrid PoW/PoS consensus, Conflux provides a fast, secure, and scalable blockchain environment with zero congestion, low fees, and improved network security.

As the only regulatory-compliant public blockchain in China, Conflux provides a unique advantage for projects building and expanding into Asia. In the region, Conflux has collaborated with global brands and government entities on blockchain and metaverse initiatives, including the city of Shanghai, McDonald’s China, and Oreo.

To learn more about Conflux, visit confluxnetwork.org

Contact

Melissa Tirey
Shift6 Studios
conflux@shift6studios.com

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