SBF reportedly cashes out crypto while being under house arrest
Happy New Year, fellow FinTech Fanatics!
Hope you all had a nice New Year’s Eve and a smooth start to 2023!
Before we start the new year with some renewed energy, we have one last recap of the year behind. Check out the list of Europe’s biggest FinTech funding rounds of 2022, selected by AltFi.
Definitely a list worth looking at, because despite 2022 being one of the worst years for companies on a micro-economic level and huge valuation drops, there were some big names still taking the stage with massive funding rounds in 2022.
A remarkable story to start 2023 with, was brought by Cointelegraph. Former FTX-founder Sam Bankman-Fried reportedly cashes out large amounts of cryptocurrency soon after being released on bail, the article claims.
Even more remarkable is the fact SBF allegedly cashed out while being under house arrest, according to the on-chain investigation by DeFi educator BowTiedIguana.?
Did disgraced crypto founder Sam Bankman-Fried just cash out $684k to a crypto exchange in the Seychelles while under house arrest? His release conditions are that he not spend more than $1,000 without permission from the court. Let's examine the evidence on chain ??— BowTiedIguana (@BowTiedIguana) December 30, 2022
A fresh year, a fresh #FinTechReport. Let's start the year with an interesting one: the UX Playbook for Finance. Check out some great case studies, and take them into account for your business model for 2023!
On to the new week and please find the other FinTech-news listed below??
BREAKING NEWS
Sam Bankman-Fried likely to plead not guilty to fraud and other charges at his arraignment next week, according to people familiar with the matter. Bankman-Fried is scheduled to appear in court on January 3. Link here
NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Crypto exchange Kraken closes Japan business. The company said that current market conditions in the country combined with a weak crypto market globally were the main reasons for its decision. Link here
Bahamas Securities Commission announced on December 29 that it is temporarily holding FTX assets with a value of $3.5 billion based on market pricing at the time of transfer in order to deliver them to customers and creditors who own them. Link here
Check out Financial Technology Partners / FT Partners recent research: “Blockchain Accounting & Tax Solutions: Automation for the Digital Assets Ecosystem,” which provides a detailed overview of companies providing tax and accounting services for the crypto and blockchain economy. Link here?
INSIGHTS
Silicon Valley staff rush to offload start-up shares as valuations plummet. Workers forced into sales at sharp discounts amid job cuts and a stalled IPO market. Link here
Digital Turkish Lira passed the first payment transaction test. The project launched by The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkey aims to integrate digital currency into the national identity system. The project team confirms that the digital lira will undergo more technical tests next year. Link here
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FINTECH NEWS
Faced with the drought of venture capital financing in 2022, the large startups in Latin America turned to debt. Kavak.com, Mexico’s first unicorn, took on the biggest debt. Link here
Sezzle becomes first buy now, pay later in Canada to offer free credit-building to users with the expansion of Sezzle Up, an opt-in service that enables shoppers to report their payment behaviour to credit reporting agencies and help build their credit, now available for Sezzle Canada users. Link here
Cellulant wins Kenya’s payment brand. The award recognised Cellulant as a leader in FinTech and payments that acknowledged the company’s commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction. Link here
China regulator asks Futu and UP Fintech to stop soliciting mainland clients. China's securities regulator recently said that both online brokerages have conducted unlawful securities businesses, and will be banned from opening new accounts from mainland Chinese investors. Link here
PayU urges regulators to improve global payments in Brazil. The payments service provider wants traditional banks and regulators to work together to increase the adoption of online money transfer services in the country in 2023. Link here
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
Digital Banks Are Not Making it in Singapore. The fledgling newcomers in the city-state seem to be having a much harder time than expected. Or is that largely in line with expectations? finews.asia investigates here
BLOCKCHAIN
FTX Japan to return assets to clients from February. FTX Japan is developing a system with which customers can withdraw assets via the website of Liquid Japan, a crypto exchange it bought in February of 2022. Link here
Cathie Wood buys more Coinbase shares on the cheap. Noted growth investor Cathie Wood's ARK Invest made its largest investment in crypto exchange Coinbase's stock, adding about $5.5 million of the shares, based on closing prices. Link here
The Winklevoss twins and their cryptocurrency exchange Gemini are being sued for fraud by investors, who are accusing Gemini — along with its founders — of fraud, per a complaint filed on Tuesday, Dec. 27. Link here
Venezuelan banking watchdog to oversee crypto transactions to preserve currency stability. Sudeban is currently working on a mechanism to review crypto-related transactions in real-time to control the influence these have on the stability of the exchange market. Link here
PARTNERSHIPS
Pak-Qatar Takaful Group teams up with B2B FinTech firm BLINQ. The partnership's goal is to streamline payment collections and assist existing and new clients with making payments from an extensive range of payment solutions. Link here
This ends Your Daily FinTech News. Let me know if there are any questions or comments. Until the next!
Regards,
Marcel van Oost