Crypto News: SBF to enter plea deal, Mango Markets exploiter arrested and other news


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A week in review: December 25–31

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

#1. Bankman-Fried may enter plea in NY federal court next week before Judge Lewis Kaplan

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is scheduled to appear in court on the afternoon of Jan. 3 to enter a plea on two counts of wire fraud and six counts of conspiracy against him in relation to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. After being released on a $250 million bail bond, Bankman-Fried reportedly met with Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, a bestseller that was turned into a movie, spurring speculation that a film about the disgraced exchange's saga is on the way.

#2. Mango Markets exploiter arrested on fraud charges — Maybe it was illegal

Avraham Eisenberg, the hacker who stole $110 million from decentralized exchange Mango Markets, was arrested in Puerto Rico. Eisenberg called the exploit a "highly profitable trading strategy" and noted that he considered all his actions to be "legal open market actions." It appears, however, that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has a different interpretation of the facts. According to the FBI complaint, Eisenberg's actions constitute both fraud and market manipulation.

#3. SBF borrowed $546M from Alameda to fund Robinhood share purchase

In another headline related to Sam Bankman-Fried, an affidavit by the founder of FTX revealed that he previously borrowed over $546 million from Alameda Research to fund a purchase of Robinhood shares. Later, those same shares were used by Bankman-Fried as collateral for a $600 million loan taken by Alameda from digital asset lender BlockFi. The shares are currently frozen and are worth around $450 million. BlockFi filed a lawsuit seeking to receive the collateral shares in November.

#4. Prediction of the week. Bitcoin 'not undervalued yet,' says research as BTC price drifts nearer to $16K

Bitcoin's price has been hovering around $17,000 for the majority of December, according to Cointelegraph's BTC price index.

Based on the analysis of MAC_D, a pseudonymous contributor to the on-chain platform CryptoQuant, Bitcoin is "not undervalued yet," as an indicator tracking transactions in profit and loss has yet to repeat its traditional bear market bottom sequence.

"Therefore, the BTC is likely to fall further, and spot hedging and down trend trading are required," noted MAC_D.

#5. FUD of the week. Midas Investments closes down amid $63M DeFi portfolio deficit

While the FTX contagion continues, custodial investment platform Midas Investments has announced that it will cease operations due to a $63.3 million deficit in its decentralized finance portfolio. Midas has experienced some difficulties following the collapses of Terra, Celsius and FTX, which led to users withdrawing 60% of their funds over the course of six months.

#6. FUD of the week. Kraken quits Japan for the second time, blaming a 'weak crypto market'

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has shut down its operations in Japan for the second time, blaming a "weak crypto market." A blog post by the exchange announced the decision on Dec. 28. After closing in 2018, Kraken reopened its Tokyo headquarters during the bull market of 2020, offering spot trading on five major assets with plans to expand. Kraken's clients in Japan will have until Jan. 31 to withdraw their funds from the exchange.