– The trial of former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried began on Oct. 4 in New York, with prosecutors alleging that Bankman-Fried used FTX customer funds for personal gain.
– Alex Mashinsky, former CEO of Celsius, will go on trial in September 2024 on charges of fraud and market manipulation.
– Binance’s market share continues to decline for the seventh consecutive month, with HTX, Bybit, and DigiFinex gaining market share.
– FTX sent $4.1 billion worth of FTT tokens to Alameda Research before its bankruptcy filing, according to a report from Nansen.
– Valkyrie has backtracked on its plan to purchase Ether futures contracts until it receives approval for its ETF launch.
– Bitcoin is currently priced at $27,880, Ether at $1,640, and XRP at $0.52.
– The top altcoin gainers of the week are Trust Wallet Token, Avalanche, and Render.
– The top altcoin losers of the week are ApeCoin, THORChain, and Curve DAO Token.
– Blockchain security platform Immunefi reported a 153% year-over-year increase in crypto hacks and scams in Q3.
– Bitcoin analysts predict a price crash to $20,000.
– The US Treasury has sanctioned multiple crypto wallets connected to fentanyl manufacturers and dealers.
Read more: [Coinpostman](https://coinpostman.com)
Top Stories This Week
– Opening arguments begin in Sam Bankman-Fried trial
– Alex Mashinsky’s jury trial scheduled for September 2024
– Binance spot market share drops for 7th consecutive month
Opening arguments begin in Sam Bankman-Fried trial
The trial of former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried kicked off on Oct. 4 in New York. Prosecutors alleged that Bankman-Fried used FTX customer funds to enrich himself and gain credibility among politicians through donations. Bankman-Fried’s attorney argued that the downfall of FTX was not solely his responsibility and that other individuals, including former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, share some of the blame.
Alex Mashinsky’s jury trial scheduled for September 2024
Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky will go on trial in September 2024 on charges of fraud and market manipulation. Mashinsky is accused of defrauding investors out of billions of dollars. The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Federal Trade Commission all have active suits against Mashinsky.
Binance’s spot market share continues to decline for the seventh consecutive month. Analysts attribute its decline to ongoing struggles with regulators in the United States, the end of its zero-fee trading promotion for major trading pairs, and its withdrawal from the Russian market. The beneficiaries of Binance’s decline are HTX, Bybit, and DigiFinex.
Alameda sent $4.1B of FTT tokens to FTX before crash: Nansen report
A report from Nansen shows that FTX moved $4.1 billion worth of its native FTT tokens to Alameda Research between Sept. 28 and Nov. 1, 2022. This suggests that FTX and Alameda Research were using the tokens to prop up each other’s balance sheets. FTX also transferred $388 million in stablecoin to Alameda Research during the same period.
Valkyrie backtracks on Ether futures contract purchases until ETF launch
Asset management firm Valkyrie has decided not to purchase Ether futures contracts until it receives approval for its exchange-traded fund (ETF). Valkyrie had previously planned to offer investors exposure to ETF futures before launching its combined Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF in early October. The firm will also sell the ETH futures it had already bought.
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin is priced at $27,880, Ether at $1,640, and XRP at $0.52. The top three altcoin gainers of the week are Trust Wallet Token, Avalanche, and Render. The top three altcoin losers of the week are ApeCoin, THORChain, and Curve DAO Token.
For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
Most Memorable Quotations
– “We allowed Alameda to withdraw unlimited funds.” – Gary Wang, co-founder and former CTO of FTX
– “He told me to use Signal. He told the entire company. It also had auto-delete. […] He said it [auto-delete] was all downside to keep messages around. If regulators found things they didn’t like, it could be bad for the company.” – Adam Yedidia, former FTX employee
– “Macroeconomic headwinds are limiting our ability to generate revenue…we must reduce roles across the global business.” – Pascal Gauthier, CEO and Chairman of Ledger
– “The gravitational pull in crypto for the time being stays in BTC…the faster we get back to the crypto bull market.” – Arthur Hayes, BitMEX founder
– “It’s relatively difficult to innovate in traditional finance…crypto is a lot better and more efficient.” – Lennix Lai, global chief commercial officer at OKX
– “Banks have trillions of dollars of transactions with each other at the end of the day, but there is a cut-off time where you simply cannot transact internationally.” – Akshay Chopra, Vice President at Visa
Prediction of the Week
Bitcoin bull market awaits as US faces ‘bear steepener’ — Arthur Hayes
With bond yields surging to 30-year highs, BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes predicts that mass liquidity injections will provide the next catalyst for the crypto bull market.
FUD of the Week
– California files order against Nexo interest account
– Crypto suffered 153% YoY increase in hacks and scams in Q3
– Bitcoin analysts still predict a BTC price crash to $20K
– US Treasury sanctions crypto wallets as authorities crack down on fentanyl
Read more: [Coinpostman](https://coinpostman.com)
