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BlackRock Chief Exec Says Despite FTX’s Fall, Crypto Still Stays Relevant

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BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink stated on Wednesday that the now-bankrupt FTX crypto exchange appears to have engaged in “misbehavior,” but that the technology behind crypto is relevant for the future.

“We’re going to have to wait to see how this all plays out (with FTX).” “I mean, right now we can make all the judgment calls and it looks like there were misbehaviors of major consequences,” Fink said.

BlackRock’s Fink stated that most crypto firms are not going to be around

At an event sponsored by the New York Times DealBook, he said the majority of crypto companies “are not going to be around” in the future.

Following its abrupt collapse, FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US on November 11. It claimed it may owe money to more than 1 million creditors.

Through a billionaire fund it administers, BlackRock reportedly invested $24 million in FTX. In Sam Bankman-FTX, Fried’s other international asset managers including Temasek Holdings, the venture capital firm Tiger Global, and Sequoia Capital have also made investments.

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BlackRock Chief Exec Says Despite FTX’s Fall, Crypto Still Stays Relevant 2

Fink stated that he believes the technology behind crypto “will be very important” despite all of the issues surrounding FTX. “I think the tokenization of securities will be the next generation for markets and for securities,” he continued.

Treasury Secretary for the United States Janet Yellen called for regulation earlier on Wednesday and expressed her continued skepticism about cryptocurrencies. Fink painted a bleak picture of the economy, pointing to unusually high inflation, high-interest rates, slower growth, and a lack of room for fiscal stimulus.

It has also begun to evaluate how the infrastructure supporting the cryptocurrency market can be applied to its traditional money management business, which is the most recent indication that well-known fund groups are seriously considering digital assets.

BlackRock started providing cryptocurrency services in February. The New York-based company, which oversees over $10 trillion in assets for institutions, plans to enter the cryptocurrency market with “client assistance trading and then with their own credit facility,” according to one of the people. BlackRock would allow customers to borrow money by accepting crypto assets as security.

FTX: Telegram Set Sights On A Decentralized Roadmap

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Since the FTX blowout, many centralized industry players have scrambled to find solutions that would restore customers’ trust badly shaken by the events. One such is the leading cloud-based instant messaging app Telegram.

CEO Pavel Durov via telegram channel announced that they would soon embark on building “non-custodial wallets” and “decentralized exchanges,” allowing millions of users safely trade their crypto.

The blockchain industry was built on the promise of decentralization, but ended up being concentrated in the hands of a few who began to abuse their power. As a result, a lot of people lost their money when FTX, one of the largest exchanges, went bankrupt.

According to Durov, the solution for blockchain-based projects is to return to its decentralized roots. Users of cryptocurrencies should move to self-hosted wallets and transactions that are not trusted by any single third party.

Durov highlighted its brand new decentralized project called Fragment built on The Open Network, or TON which he claimed took only 5 weeks and 5 people to put together.

Telegram’s Fragment grants people complete ownership of respective usernames. Durov claimed that the platform’s launch was a success with $50 million worth of usernames sold there in less than a month.

In the coming weeks, Fragment will expand beyond usernames, he added.

The next stage for Telegram is to create a collection of decentralized tools that will enable millions of individuals to securely trade and store cryptocurrencies. These tools will include non-custodial wallets and decentralized exchanges.

“This way we can fix the wrongs caused by the excessive centralization, which let down hundreds of thousands of cryptocurrency users,” the CEO stated.

The collapse of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has shone the spotlight on many centralized platforms. The SBF-led exchange was found to be using customer-deposited crypto assets to mitigate its own business losses.

FTX Fiasco Has Driven Users To Opt For Decentralized Alternatives

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FTX: Telegram Set Sights On A Decentralized Roadmap 4

The revelation of the unethical practices has triggered panic among investors who are already losing trust in these centralized trading firms.

Following the FTX debacle, exchange outflows tapped all-time highs of 106,000 BTC each month, and the lack of confidence in centralized exchanges [CEXs] has driven investors into self-custody and decentralized finance [DeFi] platforms.

On November 11, the day FTX filed for bankruptcy, Uniswap, one of the biggest decentralized exchanges in the ecosystem, recorded a considerable increase in trading volume.

SBF Opens up About the Collapse of FTX

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Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the former CEO of FTX, appeared before the public for the first time in person since FTX’s demise at the DealBook Summit in New York.

Journalist Andrew Sorkin from the New York Times spoke to Bankman-Fried via video call during the hour-long interview, which took place on stage.

The two talked about a variety of topics, including whether or not FTX and Alameda Research were commingling customer funds, what Bankman-Fried would say to clients who had lost everything in FTX, and whether he was worried about being held criminally responsible for FTX’s demise.

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SBF Opens up About the Collapse of FTX 6

SBF speaks about the commingling of funds

SBF asserts that he “unknowingly commingled funds” between Alameda and customer funds at FTX in one of the earlier segments of the interview.

The customers’ funds that were deposited with FTX and loaned to its sister company Alameda were referred to in this case as “commingling.”

Sorkin cited a comment made earlier by a viewer who noted that this incident occurred despite FTX’s terms of service stating that they would act as if the customers’ digital assets were their own even though they are not.

There appears to be a genuine commingling of funds belonging to FTX customers that aren’t supposed to be commingled with your separate firm, according to Sorkin.

However, Bankman-Fried denied being aware of the combined funds and attributed it to inefficient oversight.

“I unknowingly commingled funds […] I was frankly surprised by how big Alameda’s position was which points to another failure of oversight on my part and failure to appoint someone to be chiefly in charge of that.” “But I wasn’t trying to comingle funds.”

SBF

By claiming he wasn’t aware of all the company’s activities, Bankman-Fried further appeared to deflect responsibility for Alameda’s actions.

When Sorkin questioned Bankman-Fried about whether he was worried about his potential criminal liability at this point, the former CEO replied that it wasn’t his main concern.

Even though he’s had a “bad month,” Bankman-Fried insisted that he isn’t worrying about his own future and that what matters is doing everything in his power to support FTX’s stakeholders and customers.

FTX Bankruptcy Procedures To Include $175 Million From LedgerX: Report

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LedgerX, a solvent company owned by FTX Group (which is bankrupt now), is getting ready to offer $175 million available to be used in FTX’s bankruptcy procedures, a person with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.

Bloomberg reported that the funds might be transferred by Wednesday. It will be paid for out of a $250 million fund that LedgerX set aside in an effort to get regulatory approval to clear cryptocurrency derivatives trades without mediators.

LedgerX is governed by the CFTC, which has knowledge of the intended transfer, according to a CFTC representative. However, representatives for both organizations did not respond to requests for comment.

An unexpected financial issue led to the demise of FTX Group earlier this month. According to reports, the exchange operator used user funds to support risky wagers made by Alameda Research, a subsidiary business, which ultimately led to the exchange’s collapse.

According to Bloomberg’s report, since the bankruptcy was declared, new Chief Executive Officer John J. Ray III and his team of advisers have been pouring through the company’s records to find the cash, cryptos, or other possessions they can sell to pay back their creditors.

Sam Bankman-Fried Explains FTX Collapse

The late Monday phone interview between Bankman-Fried and Axios comes while FTX is undergoing a complex bankruptcy procedure. Its creditors are unsure of “if anything, they will be able to recoup.”

When Sam Bankman-Fried last checked, he still had $100,000 in his bank account. The former CEO of FTX explained the collapse of his firm in an interview by citing both individual shortcomings and regulatory flaws.

“Bankman-Fried said regulation and proper oversight could have helped protect FTX from its collapse.” He believes that one thing that should be done is to examine the reporting and CFTC applications, both of which would have been very beneficial in this case regarding international rigor.

He made reference to the bankruptcy court accusation that he treated FTX like a personal domain and stated that there was definitely a point where he wished he hadn’t been in charge of handling conflicts of interest.

Furthermore, the former CEO of FTX stated :

I obviously deeply regret this. I’ve been focusing on volume, rather than positions for balances. I should have been more responsible, and I should have been more on top of what was going on.

Related Reading | Genesis Plays Hard Ball To Avert Bankruptcy

Temasek’s Damage Was Very Limited Post-FTX Collapse as per Deputy Prime Minister

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Temasek has had very limited effects after the fall of FTX. According to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, the failure of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX has “very limited” effects on the larger financial system but damages the standing of Singapore’s state-owned investor Temasek Holdings Pte.

In response to a barrage of inquiries from lawmakers, Wong said in parliament on Wednesday that the FTX loss was disappointing and that it was being taken seriously. After Sam Bankman-crypto Fried’s empire collapsed on November 11, Temasek wrote down the entirety of its $275 million investment in FTX.

Temasek will have an independent team to review the loss

According to an updated explainer page on its website, Temasek will have an impartial team examine the defeat. According to Wong, if there is negligence or misconduct within the organization, the government won’t rule out conducting an outside investigation. The FTX loss, in his words, was an “exceptional situation.”

The loss, according to Wong, who is also the finance minister, did not indicate that Temasek’s governance system was ineffective and “no amount of due diligence and monitoring can completely eliminate the risks.”

However, Singapore’s incoming leader told parliament that the defeat was “disappointing” and had hurt Temasek’s standing.

“The fact that other leading global institutional investors like BlackRock and Sequoia Capital also invested in FTX does not mitigate this,” said Wong.

According to Temasek, it had no current direct exposure to cryptocurrencies, and the cost of its investment in FTX was 0.09% of its net portfolio value of S$403 billion ($293.97 billion) as of March 31, 2022.

Temasek provided an explanation for its actions, stating that from February to October 2021, it had performed “extensive due diligence” on FTX and that its audited financial statement had since “shown it to be profitable.”

The individual loss, according to Wong, had no bearing on Singapore’s reserve returns. After FTX, originally established by Sam Bankman-Fried, filed for bankruptcy in the US this month week in the highest-profile cryptocurrency meltdown to date, FTX’s other backers, including SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund and Sequoia Capital, also reduced their investment to zero.

The fall of FTX and its ripples are still visible in the cryptocurrency market.

FTX’s SBF Summoned to be at a February Hearing in Texas

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Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, has been invited to a hearing on February 2 by the Texas securities regulator as part of a probe into possible violations of Texas securities laws by FTX US and Bankman-Fried.

In a Notice of Hearing approved by Joe Rotunda, director of enforcement for the Texas State Securities Board (SSB), and delivered to Bankman Fried on November 29, the regulator asserts that FTX US sold unregistered securities to Texans through its “EARN” accounts.

Prior to FTX’s worldwide operations experiencing a dramatic collapse and bankruptcy, the investigation was first made public on October 14. At the time, the regulator declared it was looking into FTX Trading, FTX US, and its owners, Sam Bankman-Fried, for selling unregistered securities through their yield-bearing products.

Rotunda earlier tweeted and urged FTX clients to contact him

On November 18, Rotunda urged anyone who had previously used FTX and lived in Texas to get in touch with him via Twitter.

The SSB claimed in its most recent notice that Sam Bankman-Fried had broken the Securities Act while serving as the CEO of FTX at the time.

“Respondent [Sam Bankman-Fried] violated Section 4003.001 of the Securities Act by offering and selling securities in Texas that were not registered or permitted for sale in Texas.” “It also didn’t register as a dealer or agent in Texas,” said Rotunda.

To stop SBF’s exchange from “engaging in fraud in correlation with the offer or sale of securities in Texas,” the regulator stated that it hoped the hearing would result in a Cease and Desist order.

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Additionally, Bankman-Fried was “pray[ing]” for the judge to order the company to repay Texan investors who made investments in its “unregistered EARN accounts.”

The regulator also requests that Bankman-Fried be subject to consideration for an “administrative fine” should he have profited financially from the violations of the securities laws. The maximum fine would be $20,000 per offense, but it could be as much as $250,000 for every “illegal or fraudulent act” committed against Texans over the age of 65.

Bankman-Fried can use Zoom to attend the hearing, which will start at 9 a.m. local time on February 2, 2023, according to Rotunda.

How FTX Token (FTT) Investors Can Learn From The Best, With BudBlockz (BLUNT) And Binance Coin (BNB)

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The end might be near for the FTT token as there are reports that the Binance exchange is backing out from the programmed acquisition of the embattled FTX exchange. The FTX crash is dominating the cryptocurrency market for now as investors are worried about whether or not the crisis can impact their chosen tokens. But at the same time, BudBlockz and Binance are the two cryptocurrencies poised to deliver higher returns in the future.

FTT Prices Drop Down as FTX Peers at an Uncertain Future

FTX is a decentralized exchange to hold, stake, sell, and buy cryptocurrencies. FTT is its native token that can be used for all types of transactions on the platform, including payments, staking, and liquidity pool acquisition. The exchange repurchased FTT tokens and burned them to regulate its supply and hold over price fluctuations.

However, the platform has been in the media for all the wrong reasons in the last few months. It filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The development came a few days after Binance’s CEO tweeted that he is going to liquidate holdings in FTX after reports of troubled financial affairs of Alameda Research. According to the research report, hundreds of dollars of FTT tokens have been used to secure loans. However, events took a grave turn when it came out that Sam Bankman Fried was under the radar of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Department of Justice. It led to a steep drop in FTT prices.

Binance is Pushing the Cryptocurrency Market into Frenzy

As a result of Binance walking away from the FTX deal, its token was trading higher by 3% within 24 hours, while FTX dropped by almost 30%. After seven days, BNB dropped by more than 7%, while the FTX token dropped by almost 87%. In just 30 days, BNB gave positive returns with an upside of almost 12%.

The Binance-FTX deal caused a furor in the cryptocurrency markets, and BNB benefited from the ill-reputation of FTT.

BudBlockz Sets Up Its Game as FTX Tokens Plummets

Many investors are worried about the FTX crash as they believe it can affect their crypto holdings and investments. Nevertheless, cryptocurrencies like BudBlockz are tightening their belts to provide better services to investors.

BudBlockz is an effective e-commerce solution developed on Ethereum. It is a platform serving as a bridge between entrepreneurs, cannabis companies, and users on a global scale. It gives organizations looking for an international cannabis market to expand a new platform.

$BLUNT is a native BudBlockz token created on the ERC-20 protocol. The token can be used to deal with different transactions on the BudBlockz network. A few of the services provided on the platform are NFT trading, staking, liquidity, and petitions. BudBlockz’s presale is currently ongoing. 

The maximum supply of the token has been capped at 420,000,000 units, but the team will constantly burn the token to ensure a limited supply. The limited supply of the tokens will ensure the price is controlled and reduce the token price’s fluctuations rates.

The tokens have been divided into different categories, such as-

  • Presale (25.6%)
  • Marketing (18%)
  • Liquidity (25%)
  • Founders (10%)
  • Project Partners (5%)
  • Developer’s wallet (8%)

They have established the categories to handle the $BLUNT token supply. Its presales and liquidity have the largest share of all categories.

Many investors are beginning to recognize the advantage of this cryptocurrency over others. Its ecosystem has a specific feature with a strong market foundation and use cases. Many analysts believe the cryptocurrency has a significant potential to grow in 2023 after it is launched for the public state.

$BLUNT is now the FTT alternative. The native token powering the BudBlockz ecosystem stays intact. Its long-term prospect has everything to do with the crypto positioning itself in two of the most rapidly scaling sectors with big growth opportunities.

But the marijuana platform isn’t the only thing poised to enable its utility and use case of the token. It also sets sight on the NFT spectacle. BudBlockz has an NFT collection called Ganja Guruz. It will provide the holders with a range of benefits. The NFT holders can own fractional stakes in marijuana farms and dispensaries. 

Bottom Line

FTT token implosion doesn’t mean the end of the road for cryptos. Rather the focus is gradually shifting to projects with long-term prospects and proven utility cases. BudBlockz and Binance are two projects that are turning out to be gems amidst the dropping valuation levels. It can revolutionize the marijuana sector and pursue growth around DeFi, and NFT, underscoring its long-term prospects and growth metrics.

Purchase or learn more about BudBlockz (BLUNT) at the links below:

Official Website: https://budblockz.io/

Presale Registration:: https://app.budblockz.io/sign-up 

BudBlockz Community Links: https://linktr.ee/budblockz

Use the promo code “CYBERWEEK” to receive a 20% bonus on your $BLUNT purchase before 5 December 2022.

Following FTX Failure, Christine Lagarde Pushes For Crypto Regulation in the EU

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Following the failure of the Bahamas-based exchange FTX, Christine Lagarde, the European Central Bank (ECB) president, stated during the speech at the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament on November 28th that regulating cryptocurrencies in the European Union is an “absolute necessity.”

Responding to questions from policymakers who were concerned about the effects of FTX collapse, Christine responded that the stability and reliability of cryptocurrency had been revealed in an obvious way lately.

Concerning the FTX saga, Christine repeated her earlier call for more significant legislative action around cryptocurrencies – as the Parliament nears passage of the Markets in Crypto Assets bill (MiCA).

Regarding MiCA, which is currently being debated in the European Parliament, she said that the EU has already taken necessary steps toward efficiently regulating the industry.

Ms. Christine Lagarde asserted that enforcing MiCA would make Europe pioneers in this world of great invention and unreliability. However, the bill is expected to pass early next year and go into effect in 2024.

According to her statement:

At least Europe is ahead of the pack [in terms of regulation]. But as I said previously, it’s one step in the right direction. This is not it — there will have to be a MiCA II, which embraces broader what it aims to regulate and to supervise, and that is very much needed.

An Upcoming EU regulatory Package Following FTX Issue

She has been advocating for a second set of rules – known as MiCA II – that would continue to explore the possibilities opened up by the landmark framework, focusing on areas beyond those defined by MiCA, such as how crypto activities tie into traditional finance or decentralized financial operations.

In June, after Celsius, the cryptocurrency lending platform froze the withdrawal option for its users, Christine Lagarde first voiced her belief that stricter oversight is needed over these unregulated and unchecked parts of the digital world.

During her testimony at the European Parliament, Lagarde expressed not just her thoughts about impending inflation in Europe and across the world but also about increased crypto-asset involvement. 

She pointed out MiCA II, referring to an upcoming EU regulatory package for markets based on crypto assets:

MiCA II should regulate the activities of crypto-asset staking and lending, which are definitely increasing.

Related Reading | Ripple’s XRP Loses $790 Million In Market Cap Amid Unfavorable Market Conditions

BlockFi and SBF Lock Horns Over Robinhood Shares

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According to the Financial Times, which cited loan documents it had seen, cryptocurrency lender BlockFi, which on Monday filed for bankruptcy protection, sued Emergent Fidelity Technologies, the company owned by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, on the same day for Robinhood (HOOD) shares that had been pledged to BlockFi as collateral.

According to the complaint, on November 9 an agreement was made between BlockFi and Emergent Fidelity Technologies to guarantee repayment by an unknown borrower in exchange for the collateral of an undisclosed common stock. According to the Financial Times (FT), which cited court correspondence, the borrower was Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research.

According to two people with knowledge of the situation, Bankman-Fried continued to try to sell his Robinhood shares after entering into the collateral agreement with the asset trading firm while trying to raise money before to FTX’s bankruptcy.

BlockFi Files For Bankruptcy: Domino Effect Continues

Days after halting withdrawals due to the lingering effects of exchange FTX’s bankruptcy filing, crypto lender BlockFi filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday.

The business announced that it was seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, indicating that it wanted to restructure while carrying on with the business in the interim. The firm has around $257 million in cash in hand, claims a press statement. A Bermuda-based affiliate is likewise submitting a similar form for liquidation.

BlockFi’s executives estimated the company has more than 100,000 creditors, and they marked off the ranges in the petition for the company. According to executives, the company’s assets and liabilities ranging from $1 billion to $10 billion.

As the overall bitcoin market shrank in June, the company reduced its personnel by around a fifth. One indicator of the market’s entire value, the market capitalization, dropped from almost $3 trillion in January to $1 trillion by June.

BlockFi CEO Zac Prince stated that the company had to liquidate a significant client following the failure of Three Arrows Capital, albeit he did not specify whether or not this client was Three Arrows. Soon after, the lender received a $250 million credit facility from the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. This credit facility ultimately became a $400 million credit facility that allowed FTX US to purchase the lender.

Bitfront: The Demise Of LINE’s Crypto Exchange

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LINE’s crypto exchange, Bitfront, has announced that it is ceasing operations. The exchange declared its closure on November 28th while stating that it will not stop developing the LINE blockchain ecosystem or the LINK token ecosystem.

The company, known initially as Bitbox, was established in February 2020. It facilitates trading in US dollar fiat markets for the major cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), as well as Link, the mainnet token for Line’s blockchain.

The business stated that, unfortunately, they have decided that they must close down Bitfront despite their attempts to overcome the difficulties in this quickly-evolving market.

The closure of Bitfront comes in response to the market turbulence and liquidity problems brought on by the consequences of the FTX meltdown in early November. Services and enterprises were brought dangerously close to insolvency due to exposure to FTX and the market liquidity crisis.

According to Bitfront statement:

Please note that this decision was made for the best interest of the LINE blockchain ecosystem and is unrelated to recent issues related to certain exchanges that have been accused of misconduct.

However, by March 31st, 2023, the platform will also stop allowing withdrawals of any kind. Its US customers can claim their assets after that date in each state, while its international customers can do so in Delaware, US. Further details are mentioned in the notice.

Along Bitfront, Crypto Firms Hit Hard By “Crypto Winter”

Fears of interest rate increases and “Crypto Winter” have had a significant negative impact on cryptocurrencies. The biggest digital asset in the world, bitcoin, is down more than 56% from its high, and many cryptocurrency companies have had to file for bankruptcy. 

Additionally, in the first six months of 2022, following the implosion of TerraUSD and LUNA, the prices for all digital currencies plummeted. Multiple crypto-focused companies are now struggling financially; some have already gone under because they couldn’t keep up.

Similar to how Celsius Network began in 2017 and filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, the corporation claimed in a court document that between March 30th and July 14th, 2022, the value of its assets had fallen by 80%.

Following that, on November 11th, 2022, two significant cryptocurrency exchanges—FTX and FTX.US—filed for bankruptcy. The action was taken following a sell-off of FTT, FTX’s native token, and a significant number of withdrawals. Soon after declaring bankruptcy.

Related Reading | Ripple’s XRP Loses $790 Million In Market Cap Amid Unfavorable Market Conditions