SBF slapped with $250M bail bond; FTX co-conspirators take plea deal; SEC declares FTT a security -CryptoSlate Wrapped Daily

On Dec 22, 2022

The biggest news in the cryptoverse for Dec. 22 is dominated by FTX news as SBF lands in the US and is granted bail pursuant to house arrest, Caroline Ellison takes plea deal to avoid jail, Tornado Cash could be back and more in this CryptoSlate Wrapped Daily.

CryptoSlate Top Stories

SBF granted highest ever pre-trial bail of $250M, released to parents’ home in Palo Alto

The dramatic story of Sam Bankman-Fried is far from over as he landed on U.S. soil today and stood before a magistrate in the Southern District of New York where he was indicted on 8 counts of financial crimes.

At the culmination of the hearing, SBF was granted a “$250 million bond, signed by the defendant and his parents, and a non-family member, secured by the parent’s home, where he will live, in Palo Alto.” The bond is the “highest ever pre-trial bond” according to Assistant US Attorney Nick Roos.

The judge granted bail on the provision that he surrender his passport and be under house arrest with the assistance of the GPS tracker.

Tornado Cash developer seeks $240K salary to resurrect protocol

A Tornado Cash developer identified as “Gozzy” has initiated a proposal to receive $240,000 in remuneration to continue development activities on the sanctioned mixing protocol.

The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Tornado Cash in August for allegedly facilitating the laundering of over $7 billion worth of cryptocurrencies.

Based on the proposal, the developer’s responsibilities will range from maintaining Tornado’s website, moderating community activities, further developing the protocol, and providing educational resources for Tornado Cash users.

The governance voting process on Gozzy’s proposal is scheduled to commence on Dec. 24, for all surviving TORN token holders.

Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison takes plea deal, faces no criminal charges

Caroline Ellison, the CEO of Alameda Research, won’t face any criminal charges for her role in the FTX fiasco. Ellison’s plea agreement with a New York court was unsealed on Dec. 22, showing that she faces only a fine and forfeiture of assets for pleading guilty.

According to the agreement, she won’t be prosecuted if Ellison continues cooperating with the Southern District of New York’s investigation into FTX and Alameda. However, as part of her deal with the SDNY, Ellison will not be allowed to leave the U.S. and will have to forfeit any money or assets she gained from the money stolen from FTX.

SEC filing declares FTT a security in FTX case development

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its filing against Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, said that the FTX’s exchange token (FTT) is considered a security, given that it was sold as an investment contract.

According to the Howey test, which is used by the SEC to classify security tokens, a transaction is considered an investment contract if there is “an investment of money in a common enterprise with a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the efforts of others.”

As of press time, the FTT Token was trading below $0.8, falling over 98% from its all-time high of $85 on Sept. 9, 2022.

Research Highlight

Research: US leads weak Bitcoin and Ethereum accumulation into festive period

Bitcoin accumulation has softened significantly but as 2022 draws to a close, the U.S. is buying more BTC than any other region, according to CrytoSlate’s analysis of Glassnode data.

A similar pattern of accumulation and distribution was noted with Ethereum.

Asia continued buying into September and November. But since mid-November, no regions were accumulating.

Leading into Christmas, the U.S. is accumulating again, albeit at weak levels.

With macroeconomic uncertainty continuing to linger, the appetite for crypto has slowed significantly going into the new year.