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John Ray, chief executive officer of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, arrives at bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware, US, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022.

Eric Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The Department of Justice has requested that an independent examiner be appointed to review “substantial and serious allegations of fraud, dishonesty” and “incompetence” after the implosion of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire. It could be one way for the DOJ to gather evidence of alleged fraud.

In a filing in Delaware federal bankruptcy court, Andrew Vara, a U.S. bankruptcy trustee, told the court that the allegations of corporate misconduct and complete failure merited an immediate and speedy examination of the events leading up to FTX’s stunning collapse three weeks ago.

Vara said there’s a substantial basis to believe that Bankman-Fried and other managers mismanaged FTX or engaged in fraudulent conduct.

“It seems to me that the DOJ is trying to use the bankruptcy process as a way of getting evidence,” former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti told CNBC.

“Many times, the Department of Justice and bankruptcy estates in fraud cases work together in compiling potential restitution or other types of actions to make victims whole,” he said. The DOJ “will likely be part of the asset recovery and potentially having a Victims Fund with money going to those that lost money and what the Department of Justice potentially will view as a fraud.”

“It just shows a level of interest and attention that they’re paying to this that should be troubling to Mr. Bankman-Fried.”

Vara said an examination is preferable to an internal investigation because of the wider implications the company’s collapse may have on the crypto industry.

Another legal expert said that there could be other factors at play too, including the extensive political donations that FTX executives were involved in on both sides of the aisle.

There have been “campaign donations on both sides of the aisle from FTX and there have been political overtones and undertones in this case,” said Braden Perry, former senior trial attorney at the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and Kennyhertz Perry partner.

“I think that this is just out of prudence and out of caution to make sure that whatever is happening is done at an independent level,” Perry continued.

It’s not unusual to appoint a bankruptcy examiner. There was one to oversee the crypto bankruptcy process of Celsius Network, for example.

Bankruptcies above a certain size require an examiner. In this case, the U.S. Trustee said that an examiner is mandatory because FTX’s fixed, liquidated and unsecured debts to customers exceed the $5 million threshold.

FTX’s November collapse left creditors reeling over the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars, in some cases, and has rocked the wider crypto world. BlockFi, a crypto lender, filed for bankruptcy protection in New Jersey last week.

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Apple Watch getting redesigned blood oxygen feature following legal dispute

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Apple Watch getting redesigned blood oxygen feature following legal dispute

Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) at Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, US, on Monday, June 9, 2025.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Apple on Thursday announced a redesigned blood oxygen feature for some Apple Watch users, following a years-long intellectual property dispute over the capability.

Apple said the redesigned feature is coming to some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users on Thursday. The update was possible because of a recent U.S. Customs ruling, the company said.

In 2023, the International Trade Commission found that Apple’s blood oxygen sensors infringed on intellectual property from Masimo, a medical technology company. Apple paused the sale of some of its watches and began selling modified versions of the wearables without the blood oxygen feature.

“Apple’s teams work tirelessly to create products and services that empower users with industry-leading health, wellness, and safety features that are grounded in science and have privacy at the core,” the company said in a release announcing the feature rollout.

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Apple still has a lot of ways to deliver a premium AI experience, says T. Rowe Price's Tony Wang

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Bitcoin touches record, ether almost makes new high before rolling over

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Bitcoin touches record, ether almost makes new high before rolling over

Ether and bitcoin.

Yuriko Nakao | Getty Images

Bitcoin hit a new record late Wednesday as ether climbed even closer to its all-time high.

The flagship cryptocurrency rose as high as $124,496, surpassing its July record of 123,193.63, according to Coin Metrics. Ether rose to $4,791.19 overnight, edging closer to its 2021 record of $4,866.01.

Both coins took a hit Thursday, however, after July’s wholesale inflation data came in much hotter than expected. Bitcoin was lower by 3% at $118,481.00 while ether fell 2% to $4,629.20.

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Bitcoin hit a new record overnight, surpassing its July all-time high

The initial gains were sparked by Tuesday’s cooler-than-expected July inflation report, which had lifted investor optimism for rate cuts from the Federal Reserve at the end of its September policy meeting. The coins rallied with the stock market for two days. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also scaled new records.

For the week, bitcoin is on pace for a nearly 2% gain, while ether has rallied more than 14%. Ether flipped bitcoin as the crypto market leader in June, gaining 85% since then thanks to heavy institutional buying, tightening supply and adoption from corporate accumulators – all under the backdrop of a friendlier regulatory environment for the crypto industry. Jake Kennis, analyst at Nansen, said the rally likely has more room to run given the flows remain strong.

“Bitcoin hitting a fresh all time high and ETH being on the verge of doing so means we’ve moved from speculative mania to a phase where institutional adoption, real-world integration, and global liquidity are driving price discovery,” said Ben Kurland, CEO at crypto research and trading platform DYOR.

“The fact that both assets are on the verge of breaking records in tandem signals broad market conviction, not just a single-asset rally,” he added. “Momentum this strong rarely burns out instantly, but it also tends to draw in latecomers who can fuel volatility. Right now the story is less about euphoria and more about validation. Crypto is graduating from ‘alternative’ to ‘essential’ in the global portfolio mix.”

Don’t miss these cryptocurrency insights from CNBC Pro:

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AI demand boosts iPhone maker Foxconn’s second-quarter profit by 27%, beating forecasts

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AI demand boosts iPhone maker Foxconn's second-quarter profit by 27%, beating forecasts

Foxconn Hon Hai Technology Group signage during the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in San Jose, California, US, on Thursday, March 20, 2025.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, reported Thursday that its second-quarter operating profit rose 27% year over year, on the strength of its growing artificial intelligence server business.

Here’s how Foxconn did in the second quarter of 2025 compared with LSEG SmartEstimates, which are weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate:

  • Revenue: 1.79 trillion New Taiwan dollars ($59.73 billion) vs. NT$1.79 trillion
  • Operating profit: NT$56.596 billion vs. NT$49.767 billion

Second quarter revenue grew 16% from last year, coming in line with LSEG’s SmartEstimates. The company’s net profit for the second quarter came in at NT$44.36 billion, beating expectations of NT$38.81 billion.

Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry, is the world’s largest manufacturer of Apple’s iPhones, and has been looking to replicate its success in consumer electronics in the world of AI.

The firm manufactures server racks designed for AI workloads and has become a key partner to American AI chip darling Nvidia.

Sales of Foxconn’s server products made up the lion’s share of revenues in the second quarter at 41%, surpassing its smart consumer electronic products for the first time, which accounted for 35%.

In an earnings report, the company forecasted that its AI server business would continue to drive growth into the current quarter, with revenue expected to increase by over 170% year over year.

Foxconn said earlier this month that it expected overall revenue to grow further in the third quarter, but noted that the impact of “evolving global political and economic conditions” would be closely monitored.

At the end of July, Foxconn announced that it was taking a stake in industrial motor maker TECO Electric & Machinery in a strategic partnership to build more AI data centers.

The company has also shown its willingness to expand into new areas, including the assembly of electric vehicles and the manufacturing of semiconductors.

However, U.S. President Donald Trump’s global tariffs could impact Foxconn’s outlook this year. In response to Trump’s tariff threats, the company has already moved most of its final production of made-for-the-U.S. iPhones to India.

Taiwan has been hit with a 20% “temporary tariff” from the U.S., with trade negotiations said to be ongoing.

Last week, Trump also said he would impose a 100% tariff on imports of semiconductors and chips, but not on companies that are “building in the United States.”

While the details of these tariffs remain unclear, Foxconn Technology Co, a metal casing supplier owned by Hon Hai Precision Industry, announced plans to invest $1 billion in the U.S. over the next ten years as part of its North American expansion strategy, according to local media reports.

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