SBF faces 115 years in prison, Binance FUD and auditors quit crypto: Hodler's Digest Dec 11-17

Top stories this week FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Arrested and Set for Extradition to US

Sam Bankman-Fried has been taken into custody by the Royal Bahamas Police Force and will likely remain there until February, after his bail request was denied by a Bahamian court. A second bail application has reportedly been filed by SBF with the Supreme Court of the Bahamas. His arrest came after the US government formally filed criminal charges against him, including eight counts of fraud. If convicted, Bankman-Fried could face 115 years in prison, but legal commentators told Cointelegraph there was “a lot at stake” in the case. The domino effect resulting from the collapse of FTX also impacted the professional lives of Bankman-Fried's parents, resulting in the cancellation of their classes at Stanford Law School. In other recent developments regarding FTX, a class action lawsuit has been filed against Silvergate Bank in California, seeking to hold the bank accountable for its alleged roles in placing FTX users' deposits in Alameda Research bank accounts. Binance "put FTX out of business" - Kevin O'Leary

Venture investor Kevin O'Leary claimed during a US Senate committee hearing that Binance and FTX "were at war with each other, and one intentionally put the another bankrupt". The hearing was part of a larger investigation by lawmakers into the collapse of FTX, in which Binance played a significant role, O'Leary claimed. The past few days have seen Binance beset by Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD), leading to lower liquidity on the exchange. Crypto analytics firm Nansen reports that Binance saw net withdrawals of over $3.6 billion from December 7-13.

Read also

Features

Blockchain and the world's growing plastic problem

Features

Exoduses and ex-communications: blowing Steemit with Andrew Levine

Rep. Tom Emmer plans to bring back bill to cut crypto bureaucracy

US lawmakers are under pressure to enact crypto regulations in light of FTX's collapse, and Congressman Tom Emmer says now is "probably a good time" to reintroduce a bill bipartisan that would lift requirements for certain crypto firms and projects to register as virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The bill, titled Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, aims to remove certain barriers and requirements for "blockchain developers and service providers," such as miners, multi-signature service providers, and decentralized financial platforms. /p> No more reserve proof checks? Auditors Quietly Abandon Wallet Crypto Projects

Two of the most prominent auditors have experience...