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Sam Bankman-Fried to enter plea in FTX fraud case

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Sam Bankman-Fried to enter plea in FTX fraud case

NEW YORK, Dec 28 (Reuters) – Sam Bankman-Fried is predicted to enter a plea subsequent week to legal expenses he defrauded traders and looted billions of {dollars} in buyer funds at his failed FTX cryptocurrency change.

The 30-year-old is predicted to be arraigned on the afternoon of Jan. 3, 2023, earlier than U.S. District Choose Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan federal courtroom, courtroom information on Wednesday confirmed.

Kaplan was assigned to the case on Tuesday, after the unique decide recused herself as a result of her husband’s legislation agency had suggested FTX earlier than its collapse.

Prosecutors have accused Bankman-Fried of participating in a years-long “fraud of epic proportions,” by utilizing buyer deposits to assist his Alameda Analysis hedge fund agency, purchase actual property and make political contributions.

Bankman-Fried is charged with two counts of wire fraud and 6 counts of conspiracy, together with to launder cash and commit marketing campaign finance violations, and if convicted may spend a long time in jail.

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Earlier than his Dec. 12 arrest, Bankman-Fried acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX, however mentioned he didn’t imagine he was criminally liable.

Two of his associates, former Alameda chief government Caroline Ellison and former FTX chief expertise officer Gary Wang, have pleaded responsible over their roles in FTX’s collapse and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

A lawyer for Bankman-Fried didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

Bankman-Fried was launched on Dec. 22 on a $250 million bond and ordered to stick with his mother and father in Palo Alto, California, the place they train at Stanford Legislation College. He’s topic to digital monitoring.

FTX filed for chapter safety on Nov. 11. Its new chief government, John Ray, advised Congress on Dec. 13 that the change misplaced $8 billion of buyer cash whereas being run by “grossly inexperienced, non-sophisticated people.”

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Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York
Enhancing by Matthew Lewis

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Belief Ideas.

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Detroit Becomes First Major US City To Accept Taxes And Fees In Crypto; Mayor Says, 'Fostering a Technology-Friendly Environment' – Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH) Common units of fractional undivided beneficial interest (ARCA:ETH)

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Detroit Becomes First Major US City To Accept Taxes And Fees In Crypto; Mayor Says, 'Fostering a Technology-Friendly Environment' – Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH) Common units of fractional undivided beneficial interest (ARCA:ETH)

Detroit is set to become the first major U.S. city to accept cryptocurrency for taxes and other city fees, top officials from the city said in a Thursday press release.

What Happened: Residents would have the option to use cryptocurrencies to pay for utilities through a secure platform managed by PayPal. This initiative was part of a broader strategy to tap blockchain technology to enhance public services and boost civic engagement in the city.

“Detroit is fostering a technology-friendly environment that empowers residents and entrepreneurs,” said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. “We are thrilled to be among the first major U.S. cities to explore blockchain’s civic applications and offer residents the option to use cryptocurrency for payments.”

See Also: Can Blockchain Improve Cross-Border Payments Without Regulatory Roadblocks?

The new payment option is projected to be available by mid-2025, Treasurer Nikhil Patel added. The city would also encourage blockchain innovators to propose their ideas for civic applications to Justin Onwenu, Detroit’s first Director of Entrepreneurship and Economic Opportunity.

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Williston in North Dakota and Miami Lakes in Florida are the cities that accept cryptocurrencies for utility bill payments, while Colorado and Utah allow their residents to pay state taxes using digital assets.

Why It Matters: Detroit’s move to accept cryptocurrency payments aligns with the state of Michigan’s growing interest in cryptocurrencies.

According to a recent SEC filing, the Michigan State Pension Fund invested $10 million in Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF ETHE, the largest Ethereum ETH/USD exchange-traded fund (ETF) as of this writing.

In doing so, it surpassed its $7 million allocation in Bitcoin BTC/USD ETFs.

Earlier in May, the University of Michigan’s endowment increased its investments in cryptocurrency, following the footsteps of Harvard and Yale. The university invested in a crypto fund from Andreessen Horowitz, indicating a growing acceptance of digital currencies among large funds and endowments.

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Photo: Linda Parton/Shutterstock.com

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

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Cryptocurrency Cronos's Price Increased More Than 9% Within 24 hours

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Cryptocurrency Cronos's Price Increased More Than 9% Within 24 hours

Over the past 24 hours, Cronos’s CRO/USD price has risen 9.17% to $0.09. This continues its positive trend over the past week where it has experienced a 25.0% gain, moving from $0.07 to its current price. As it stands right now, the coin’s all-time high is $0.97.

The chart below compares the price movement and volatility for Cronos over the past 24 hours (left) to its price movement over the past week (right). The gray bands are Bollinger Bands, measuring the volatility for both the daily and weekly price movements. The wider the bands are, or the larger the gray area is at any given moment, the larger the volatility.

The trading volume for the coin has climbed 366.0% over the past week, moving opposite, directionally, with the overall circulating supply of the coin, which has decreased 0.71%. This brings the circulating supply to 27.09 billion. According to our data, the current market cap ranking for CRO is #43 at $2.50 billion.

supply_and_vol

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This article was generated by Benzinga’s automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.

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Binance Targets Thailand’s Crypto Oasis As Launchpad To 1 Billion Users | Bitcoinist.com

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Binance Targets Thailand’s Crypto Oasis As Launchpad To 1 Billion Users | Bitcoinist.com

Binance is shifting its focus to increase cryptocurrency adoption in Thailand which could transform the future of digital assets in the Asian region.

Binance announced it wants to make virtual coins a mainstream currency in the Thai market, which could propel the crypto platform to hit 1 billion users.

Binance Chief Marketing Officer Rachel Conlan said that the crypto firm sees Thailand as a key strategic market in expanding its dominance in the cryptocurrency sector.

A Strategic Market

During the Binance Blockchain Week, Conlan explained that Binance’s primary market is Asia because there are many early crypto adopters in the country.

The Binance executive added that the Southeast Asian country has taken the “pioneering approach” when it comes to digital currency, believing that Thailand is moving in the right direction in making crypto regulations.

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“I think that is what ultimately is going to help this industry thrive and drive forward,” Conlan remarked.

A High Crypto Penetration

Conlan explained that one of the reasons why Binance targets Thailand for its expansion is its high crypto penetration rate, which is twice the global average.

Statistics showed that the global crypto penetration rate is only 6% but Conlan said that in Thailand the penetration rate is pegged at 12%.

The Binance executive noted that Bitcoin adoption worldwide remains relatively low although cryptocurrency has been in existence for many years now.

Bitcoin market cap currently at $1.45 trillion. Chart: TradingView.com

In recent months, there have been several factors driving the surge in crypto.

Currently, the cryptocurrency platform operates in 100 markets globally with at least 240 million users. The crypto firm continues its business expansion wherein 60 million users were added in more than six months.

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Turning Thailand Into A Crypto Hub

Binance’s crypto expansion is a welcome development in the Southeast Asian country as it aims to become a crypto hub in the region.

In October this year, Thailand’s Digital Asset Association president Nares Laopannarai said that it is plausible that the country could become a cryptocurrency center once strategic policies that support its development are implemented.

Laopannarai said that to be able to compete regionally, Thailand should bolster its position as a hub for digital assets by striking a balance between traditional finance and blockchain technology.

He added that the country is already going in that direction to become more supportive and less regulatory.

Binance Exec Filed Motion To Dismiss

In a related development, Binance lawyers and its ex-CEO Changpeng Zhao have asked the court to dismiss the charges filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against them.

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The crypto firm’s lawyers and its former executive argued that the SEC’s amended complaint is a “lip service” to a previous ruling of the court which stated that crypto assets are treated as securities.

They added it seems that the SEC did not recognize the impact of the court’s ruling in cryptocurrency trading, saying that secondary market resales of crypto do not constitute “securities” transactions.

Featured image from Wanderlust Travel Magazine, chart from TradingView

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