SBF bail guarantor to go public, UK crypto framework and Celsius…

This Week’s Top Stories

SBF $250M bail bond must be made public, judge rules

The identities of two individuals who helped former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried with a $250 million bail bond could be revealed next month following a new ruling by United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan. Bankman-Fried’s legal counsel has until Feb. 7 to contest the decision. While the bankruptcy process continues, FTX and affected parties have requested subpoenas for information and documents from close relatives of Bankman-Fried, claiming that not all members of the main circle have responded to requests for information. Other recent news include Alameda Research suing crypto lender Voyager Digital for bankruptcy in an attempt to recover $445.8 million in loan payments before FTX collapsed.

UK Treasury publishes crypto framework paper: Here’s what’s inside

The UK’s HM Treasury has published a much-anticipated consultation paper on upcoming crypto regulation. The document covers a wide range of topics, from algorithmic stablecoins to nonfungible tokens for initial coin offerings. The authority aims to level the playing field between crypto and traditional finance by incorporating digital assets into the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Celsius published a list of eligible users to withdraw the majority of their assets

Insolvent crypto lending company Celsius has created a withdrawal process for users who have funds on hold in June 2022, when the company stops withdrawing. Celsius released an official update on the upcoming withdrawal, providing a list of users who are eligible to access approximately 94% of the eligible captive assets. Users will also receive specific details related to gas costs and transactions related to upcoming procedures.

Silvergate is facing a DOJ investigation into the FTX and Alameda affairs

Crypto bank Silvergate is being investigated by the fraud unit of the United States Department of Justice for its involvement with the bankrupt FTX exchange and its affiliates. Investigators are trying to find out how deep FTX and Alameda Research dealings went with the California-based bank. According to Silvergate, Alameda opened the account in 2018, before the launch of FTX. Silvergate was hit hard by the collapse of FTX in November, reporting a loss of $1 billion in the last quarter.

Meta CEO Zuckerberg is firm on his metaverse plans despite the $13.7B setback

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, said that the company plans to remain committed to its long-term strategy for metaverse even though the Reality Labs business will experience an operating loss of up to $13.7 billion in 2022 – the largest annual loss recorded for the metaverse building division. . The company’s overall revenue for the fourth quarter was $32.1 billion, exceeding Wall Street expectations.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) that’s it $23,572Ether (ETH) at $1,661 and XRP at $0.40. The total market capitalization is at $1.09 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoins of the week were Render Token (RNDR) at 94.86%, dYdX (DYDX) at 45.84% and ImmutableX (IMX) at 43.41%.

The top three altcoins of the week were UNUS SED LEO (LEO) at -12.30%, eCash (MRI) at -5.50% and Toncoin (TON) at -5.30%.

For more information on crypto prices, be sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotes

“Regulators are really going to scrutinize this industry, harder, which is probably a good thing, to be honest.”

Changpeng “CZ” Zhaofounder and CEO of Binance

“The fact that the SEC and CFTC are taking action against alleged market manipulation by rogue traders is a positive credit to the industry as a whole.”

Cristiano Ventricelliassistant vice president of decentralized finance at Moody’s Investor Service

“There are no signals that I’ve seen so far that indicate that we need to switch Reality Labs’ strategy for the long term.”

Mark Zuckerbergfounder and CEO of Meta

“Behind the scenes, Celsius conducts business in a very different way than the way it markets itself to customers in all important respects.”

Shoba Pillaiformer federal prosecutor and partner at Jenner & Block

“We believe that Bitcoin mining is being unfairly targeted and double-taxed by the IRS, right now.”

Dennis PorterCEO Satoshi Action Fund

“[Bitcoin is] does not save wealth effectively. But we live in a world where money as we know it is in danger.

Ray Daliobillionaire investors and entrepreneurs

Sunday Predictions

$25,000 Bitcoin is now ‘busy trading’

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.25% this week, in line with almost all expectations, leading to the BTC/USD pair spiking above $24,000 for the second time in as many days, with market participants still hoping for a trip to $25,000 before the rest . significant retracement.

“BTC has a clean breakout above the macro downtrend + backtest line,” investment research source Game of Trades stated on Twitter, adding that “the next big resistance to clear is the $25k area.”

The trader under the pseudonym Crypto Tony admits that the target is no longer possible. “$25,000 was the main target, but now I see a lot of people asking for this, and it’s a busy trade,” he wrote.

FUD from Sunday

BonqDAO protocol suffers $120M loss after oracle hack

The decentralized autonomous organization BonqDAO has experienced a smart contract exploit that resulted in millions of dollars being stolen through an oracle hack that allowed the exploiters to manipulate the price of AllianceBlock tokens (ALBT). An independent analyst from blockchain security company PeckShield estimated the loss to reach $120 million, including $108 million from 98.65 million Bonq Euro (BEUR) tokens and $11 million from 113.8 million Wrapped AllianceBlock Tokens (WALBT).

The owner of Bithumb was arrested in South Korea on suspicion of embezzlement

The man suspected of being the real owner of South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, Bithumb, has been arrested for embezzlement. According to prosecutors, he and his brother, the head of Inbiogen’s Bithumb affiliate, conspired to defraud the company’s funds and manipulate Inbiogen’s stock price. Among other headlines, Spanish authorities have arrested the CEO of the Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato in a joint effort between France, Portugal, Cyprus and the United States to enforce the law.

Kraken is closing its Abu Dhabi office, suspending support for AED

Crypto exchange Kraken has closed its Abu Dhabi office less than a year after receiving regulatory approval to operate in the region. According to the company, existing users will still have access to the platform using other fiat currencies. Some employees are also expected to remain in the area. The move in the Middle East comes after Kraken announced plans to cut its workforce by 30% – more than 1,000 people – in an effort to save the future of crypto.

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