The former CEO of the bankrupt exchange is set to face 21 days in court during his criminal trial scheduled from Oct. 4 to Nov. 9. Bankman-Fried has been in pre-trial detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York City since Aug. 11 and has filed several unsuccessful motions seeking temporary release to prepare for his trial.
United States Judge Lewis Kaplan denied the former FTX CEO’s latest motion for release, citing concerns that Bankman-Fried was a flight risk given the severity of the charges he faces and the potential length of time he could spend behind bars if convicted. The former FTX CEO has been granted permission to meet with his legal team at 7 am Eastern Time on active court days.
Proceedings will begin with jury selection on Oct. 3 before the trial gets underway on Wednesday, Oct. 4. Cointelegraph has highlighted five major talking points ahead of one of the most significant cryptocurrency-related trials in history.
What happened to FTX?
Once hailed as the darling of the cryptocurrency industry, FTX was co-founded in 2019 by Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang and became a household name in the U.S. due to its high-profile sponsorships and campaigns.
Over the next three years, the company carried out a series of fundraising rounds, including a preliminary $900 million raise in July 2021 and another $420 million in October 2021. The year 2022 promised to be fruitful for the exchange as it kicked off with a further $400 million fundraising round headed by the likes of SoftBank and Temasek, valuing the company at an estimated $32 billion.
FTX signed several major sponsorship deals during those two years. These included the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team and a reported $135 million deal for the naming rights to Miami Heat’s National Basketball Association arena.
The company appeared to be on a sound footing as the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem wavered after the Terra ecosystem implosion. Several high-profile cryptocurrency lending firms were caught in the fallout, which led to FTX making a $240 million offer to acquire BlockFi and a failed bid to bail out Voyager Digital.
Things began to unravel in November 2022 as rumblings emerged of trouble at FTX related to its relationship with Bankman-Fried’s quantitative trading firm Alameda Research and the latter’s dependence on FTX’s native FTX Token (FTT).
1) Hi all:
Today, I filed FTX, FTX US, and Alameda for voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the US.
The house of cards came crumbling down as Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao announced the exchange would sell its FTT token holdings, which was a catalyst for the liquidity crisis at FTX due to the value of FTT plummeting.
Liquidating our FTT is just post-exit risk management, learning from LUNA. We gave support before, but we won't pretend to make love after divorce. We are not against anyone. But we won't support people who lobby against other industry players behind their backs. Onwards.
On Nov. 11, 2022, FTX, FTX US and Alameda Research entered bankruptcy proceedings, with Bankman-Fried resigning as CEO. John Ray III, the man who handled the infamous Enron bankruptcy, was appointed as acting CEO to review and monetize the remaining assets of the FTX group.
Seven counts
Bankman-Fried stands accused of seven counts of conspiracy and fraud relating to the collapse of the exchange.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had initially announced an eight-count indictment with fraud, money laundering and campaign finance offenses in December 2022. This included two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, two of wire fraud and one of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
An excerpt from the DOJ’s indictment of Bankman-Fried on Dec. 13, 2022. Source: DOJ
Bankman-Fried was also charged with conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States and commit campaign finance violations.
The DOJ informed Kaplan that it would call up several witnesses for the trial, including former FTX clients, investors and staff.
U.S. attorneys noted that they expected FTX customers who had deposited funds on the defunct exchange to testify regarding their expectations and understanding of the exchange’s deposit policy and the ability to withdraw funds at any time.
Investors who purchased shares in FTX are expected to testify about their expectations of the company being a custodian of user funds, as well as the full scope of custodianship regarding cryptocurrency exchanges.
Lastly, the DOJ expects cooperating witnesses who pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to commit fraud alongside Bankman-Fried to testify about their interactions with the former CEO and statements and actions he carried out in the months leading up to the bankruptcy.
Among the cooperating witnesses expected to appear are Wang, former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh and Bankman-Friend’s ex-girlfriend and former Alameda Research CEO, Caroline Ellison.
An Oct. 1 court ruling ahead of the trial has also blunted any potential intent by Bankman-Fried to apportion blame on FTX lawyers, as they were aware of many of the company dealings that now form part of the alleged crimes committed:
“The government disputes this - at least in the way it has been stated by the defendant. It seeks to preclude the defendant “from unduly focusing on the fact of attorneys’ involvement” in such matters or “suggesting that attorneys blessed, for instance, the loans, bank documents, or message deletions.”
Kaplan granted the government’s motion to bar Bankman-Fried from referring to the involvement of attorneys in his opening statement while requiring any future evidence, argument or testimony without notifying the court in the absence of the jury.
The counts of wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years. Meanwhile, charges of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States carry five-year maximum sentences.
According to CNN, the 30-year-old could face over 100 years in prison if he is found guilty of the many charges brought against him by the U.S. government.
Biggest fraud case in U.S. history?
Legal experts have already suggested that Bankman-Fried’s trial could represent one of the most significant fraud cases in U.S. history, with $8.9 billion of customer deposits and investor funds going missing in the wake of FTX’s collapse. An estimated $7.3 billion of liquid assets have since been recovered through bankruptcy proceedings.
The Bernie Madoff trial arguably remains the most significant fraud case in recent U.S. history, with the recent rendition of his $19 billion Ponzi scheme in a Netflix documentary highlighting the grand scale of his influence and shadowy scheme.
While Bankman-Fried may not have caused as much financial harm as Madoff, his image and that of FTX’s brand as a visibly active cryptocurrency proponent has thrust the story into the spotlight as a modern-day parallel of the late Madoff’s 17-year fraud.
Bankman-Fried also became involved in the U.S. political landscape, donating over $40 million to Democratic Party committees and candidates in 2022. The former FTX CEO reportedly even considered paying Donald Trump $5 billion to not run for president in the United States, according to author Michael Lewis’s upcoming biography.
Bankman-Fried maintains his innocence, having pleaded not guilty to all charges brought against him in August 2023.
BUFFALO, NY- March 11, 2024 – Impact Journals publishes scholarly journals in the biomedical sciences with a focus on all areas of cancer and aging research. Aging is one of the most prominent journals published by Impact Journals.
Credit: Impact Journals
BUFFALO, NY- March 11, 2024 – Impact Journals publishes scholarly journals in the biomedical sciences with a focus on all areas of cancer and aging research. Aging is one of the most prominent journals published by Impact Journals.
Impact Journals will be participating as an exhibitor at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024 from April 5-10 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. This year, the AACR meeting theme is “Inspiring Science • Fueling Progress • Revolutionizing Care.”
Visit booth #4159 at the AACR Annual Meeting 2024 to connect with members of the Agingteam.
About Aging-US:
Agingpublishes research papers in all fields of aging research including but not limited, aging from yeast to mammals, cellular senescence, age-related diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s diseases and their prevention and treatment, anti-aging strategies and drug development and especially the role of signal transduction pathways such as mTOR in aging and potential approaches to modulate these signaling pathways to extend lifespan. The journal aims to promote treatment of age-related diseases by slowing down aging, validation of anti-aging drugs by treating age-related diseases, prevention of cancer by inhibiting aging. Cancer and COVID-19 are age-related diseases.
Agingis indexed and archived byPubMed/Medline (abbreviated as “Aging (Albany NY)”), PubMed Central, Web of Science: Science Citation Index Expanded (abbreviated as “Aging‐US” and listed in the Cell Biology and Geriatrics & Gerontology categories), Scopus (abbreviated as “Aging” and listed in the Cell Biology and Aging categories), Biological Abstracts, BIOSIS Previews, EMBASE, META (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative) (2018-2022), and Dimensions (Digital Science).
Please visit our website at www.Aging-US.com and connect with us:
NY Fed Finds Medium, Long-Term Inflation Expectations Jump Amid Surge In Stock Market Optimism
One month after the inflation outlook tracked by the NY Fed Consumer Survey extended their late 2023 slide, with 3Y inflation expectations in January sliding to a record low 2.4% (from 2.6% in December), even as 1 and 5Y inflation forecasts remained flat, moments ago the NY Fed reported that in February there was a sharp rebound in longer-term inflation expectations, rising to 2.7% from 2.4% at the three-year ahead horizon, and jumping to 2.9% from 2.5% at the five-year ahead horizon, while the 1Y inflation outlook was flat for the 3rd month in a row, stuck at 3.0%.
The increases in both the three-year ahead and five-year ahead measures were most pronounced for respondents with at most high school degrees (in other words, the "really smart folks" are expecting deflation soon). The survey’s measure of disagreement across respondents (the difference between the 75th and 25th percentile of inflation expectations) decreased at all horizons, while the median inflation uncertainty—or the uncertainty expressed regarding future inflation outcomes—declined at the one- and three-year ahead horizons and remained unchanged at the five-year ahead horizon.
Going down the survey, we find that the median year-ahead expected price changes increased by 0.1 percentage point to 4.3% for gas; decreased by 1.8 percentage points to 6.8% for the cost of medical care (its lowest reading since September 2020); decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 5.8% for the cost of a college education; and surprisingly decreased by 0.3 percentage point for rent to 6.1% (its lowest reading since December 2020), and remained flat for food at 4.9%.
We find the rent expectations surprising because it is happening just asking rents are rising across the country.
At the same time as consumers erroneously saw sharply lower rents, median home price growth expectations remained unchanged for the fifth consecutive month at 3.0%.
Turning to the labor market, the survey found that the average perceived likelihood of voluntary and involuntary job separations increased, while the perceived likelihood of finding a job (in the event of a job loss) declined. "The mean probability of leaving one’s job voluntarily in the next 12 months also increased, by 1.8 percentage points to 19.5%."
Mean unemployment expectations - or the mean probability that the U.S. unemployment rate will be higher one year from now - decreased by 1.1 percentage points to 36.1%, the lowest reading since February 2022. Additionally, the median one-year-ahead expected earnings growth was unchanged at 2.8%, remaining slightly below its 12-month trailing average of 2.9%.
Turning to household finance, we find the following:
The median expected growth in household income remained unchanged at 3.1%. The series has been moving within a narrow range of 2.9% to 3.3% since January 2023, and remains above the February 2020 pre-pandemic level of 2.7%.
Median household spending growth expectations increased by 0.2 percentage point to 5.2%. The increase was driven by respondents with a high school degree or less.
Median year-ahead expected growth in government debt increased to 9.3% from 8.9%.
The mean perceived probability that the average interest rate on saving accounts will be higher in 12 months increased by 0.6 percentage point to 26.1%, remaining below its 12-month trailing average of 30%.
Perceptions about households’ current financial situations deteriorated somewhat with fewer respondents reporting being better off than a year ago. Year-ahead expectations also deteriorated marginally with a smaller share of respondents expecting to be better off and a slightly larger share of respondents expecting to be worse off a year from now.
The mean perceived probability that U.S. stock prices will be higher 12 months from now increased by 1.4 percentage point to 38.9%.
At the same time, perceptions and expectations about credit access turned less optimistic: "Perceptions of credit access compared to a year ago deteriorated with a larger share of respondents reporting tighter conditions and a smaller share reporting looser conditions compared to a year ago."
Also, a smaller percentage of consumers, 11.45% vs 12.14% in prior month, expect to not be able to make minimum debt payment over the next three months
Last, and perhaps most humorous, is the now traditional cognitive dissonance one observes with these polls, because at a time when long-term inflation expectations jumped, which clearly suggests that financial conditions will need to be tightened, the number of respondents expecting higher stock prices one year from today jumped to the highest since November 2021... which incidentally is just when the market topped out during the last cycle before suffering a painful bear market.
Homes listed for sale in early June sell for $7,700 more
New Zillow research suggests the spring home shopping season may see a second wave this summer if mortgage rates fall
The post Homes listed for sale in…
A Zillow analysis of 2023 home sales finds homes listed in the first two weeks of June sold for 2.3% more.
The best time to list a home for sale is a month later than it was in 2019, likely driven by mortgage rates.
The best time to list can be as early as the second half of February in San Francisco, and as late as the first half of July in New York and Philadelphia.
Spring home sellers looking to maximize their sale price may want to wait it out and list their home for sale in the first half of June. A new Zillow® analysis of 2023 sales found that homes listed in the first two weeks of June sold for 2.3% more, a $7,700 boost on a typical U.S. home.
The best time to list consistently had been early May in the years leading up to the pandemic. The shift to June suggests mortgage rates are strongly influencing demand on top of the usual seasonality that brings buyers to the market in the spring. This home-shopping season is poised to follow a similar pattern as that in 2023, with the potential for a second wave if the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates midyear or later.
The 2.3% sale price premium registered last June followed the first spring in more than 15 years with mortgage rates over 6% on a 30-year fixed-rate loan. The high rates put home buyers on the back foot, and as rates continued upward through May, they were still reassessing and less likely to bid boldly. In June, however, rates pulled back a little from 6.79% to 6.67%, which likely presented an opportunity for determined buyers heading into summer. More buyers understood their market position and could afford to transact, boosting competition and sale prices.
The old logic was that sellers could earn a premium by listing in late spring, when search activity hit its peak. Now, with persistently low inventory, mortgage rate fluctuations make their own seasonality. First-time home buyers who are on the edge of qualifying for a home loan may dip in and out of the market, depending on what’s happening with rates. It is almost certain the Federal Reserve will push back any interest-rate cuts to mid-2024 at the earliest. If mortgage rates follow, that could bring another surge of buyers later this year.
Mortgage rates have been impacting affordability and sale prices since they began rising rapidly two years ago. In 2022, sellers nationwide saw the highest sale premium when they listed their home in late March, right before rates barreled past 5% and continued climbing.
Zillow’s research finds the best time to list can vary widely by metropolitan area. In 2023, it was as early as the second half of February in San Francisco, and as late as the first half of July in New York. Thirty of the top 35 largest metro areas saw for-sale listings command the highest sale prices between May and early July last year.
Zillow also found a wide range in the sale price premiums associated with homes listed during those peak periods. At the hottest time of the year in San Jose, homes sold for 5.5% more, a $88,000 boost on a typical home. Meanwhile, homes in San Antonio sold for 1.9% more during that same time period.
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