Crypto News: SBF sent home, Alameda Research and FTX heads plead guilty, and other news


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A week in review: December 18–24

Your weekly highlights to stay up to date with the latest crypto news

#1. SBF sent home after his parents put up their house to cover his astronomical bail bond

Sam Bankman-Fried will spend the holidays with his family in Palo Alto, California, after his parents secured $250 million in bail funds with the equity in their home. Among the conditions of the bail are home detention, location monitoring and his passport surrender. The former FTX CEO signed surrender documents on Dec. 20, allowing his extradition from the Bahamas to the United States, where he faces eight charges that could keep him behind bars for the rest of his life. Bankman-Fried will now wait for his sentence at home with his family.

#2. Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang plead guilty to fraud charges

Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang have pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges. Ellison, however, is working on a plea deal with the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which would evade all the seven charges against her, resulting in a $250,000 bail bond and prosecution only for criminal tax violations. The agreement doesn't provide protection against any other charges that Ellison might face from any other authorities. Wang and Ellison are reportedly cooperating with U.S. authorities on investigations related to FTX's collapse.

#3. Binance.US set to acquire Voyager Digital assets for $1B

With a bid of $1.022 billion, Binance.US will acquire the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital. The sale, however, is subject to a creditor's vote and closing requirements. A hearing will also be held by the presiding bankruptcy court to approve the purchase agreement on Jan. 5, 2023. In good faith, Binance has agreed to deposit $10 million and reimburse Voyager for certain expenses up to a maximum of $15 million.

#4. Prediction of the week. Bitcoin dips below $16.7K as US GDP meets fresh BTC price 'death cross'

Bitcoin prices dip below $16,700 at the end of the week, after recovering some ground on the previous day.

A Santa Claus rally for Bitcoin is unlikely to happen, as the mood among some pundits is firmly bearish.

Pseudonymous Twitter user Daan Crypto Trades called attention to Bitcoin's yearly close, which is likely to be Bitcoin's third negative performance year. "The percentage loss this year is sitting right in between the other two negative years, being 2014 and 2018," he noted on Twitter.

#5. FUD of the week. Crypto platform Paxful removes ETH from its marketplace

Ethereum's native token, Ether, is no longer available on Paxful, a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange. Ray Youssef, CEO of Paxful, announced the move in a message to the roughly 11.6 million users of the platform. Among the reasons to unlist the token, Youssef mentioned Ethereum's switch from a proof-of-work to proof-of-stake consensus, claiming the transition has turned ETH into a "digital form of fiat."

#6. FUD of the week. South Korean court freezes $92M in assets related to Terra tokens

South Korean authorities continue to investigate and freeze funds of the people involved with the Terra ecosystem. By order of the local court, several assets of Kernel Labs, a Terraform Labs affiliate, valued at $92 million have been frozen. Kernel Labs CEO Kim Hyun-Joong reportedly holds the largest amount of illegal proceeds from Terra. In November, assets worth over $104 million were also frozen following a request from South Korean prosecutors in the case.

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