A federal judge has reportedly revoked former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail following the release of information to New York Times reporters in an alleged attempt to intimidate witnesses.
According to reports of individuals present at an Aug. 11 hearing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered Bankman-Fried’s bail revoked, suggesting he will be held in jail through the end of his two trials for fraud related to his activities at FTX. Prosecutors had been pushing for the revocation of Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail, which had kept him out of custody since his arraignment in December 2022.
Kaplan reportedly said that Bankman-Fried’s interviews with New York Times reporters resulted in sharing information with the likely intention “to hurt and frighten” former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, his former colleague and girlfriend. Bankman-Fried’s legal team confirmed he had provided the reporters with some of the published information, which led Kaplan to impose a gag order preventing extrajudicial statements related to the criminal case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon reportedly cited Bankman-Fried’s violations of previous bail conditions, which included a message on the Signal app to FTX US general counsel Ryne Miller in January, using a virtual private network for his internet activity and releasing information to reporters aimed at intimidating Ellison. Sassoon added that the Putnam County Correctional Facility was prepared to offer Bankman-Fried, who also goes by “SBF,” a laptop should the judge order him remanded but also suggested home detention with restrictions on Google Drive was an option.
“In view of the evidence, my conclusion is that there is probable cause to believe that the defendant has attempted to tamper with witnesses at least twice,” said Kaplan, listing additional violations. “All things considered, I am going to revoke bail.”
SBF just arrived to court – a judge could send him to jail this afternoon over witness tampering. Here’s a primer ahead of the hearing: https://t.co/7xA205agrD w/ @DawnGiel https://t.co/tb29du8WGY pic.twitter.com/shdjrbPeTG
— MacKenzie Sigalos (@KenzieSigalos) August 11, 2023
Sassoon reportedly argued SBF had allegedly asked witnesses to delete certain messages and documents. Bankman-Fried’s attorney, Mark Cohen, reportedly pressed the judge to allow SBF to continue his bail conditions, citing the need to coordinate with the legal team, and added any allegations of witness intimidation were a matter for his October trial.
“Just because the defendant was more subtle than a mobster doesn’t mean it’s okay. […] It’s enough for the court to conclude detention is appropriate if he’s unlikely to abide by his bail conditions,” reportedly said Sassoon. “He is intent on interfering with the integrity of the trial.”
Cohen reportedly said SBF’s legal team intended to appeal the ruling and pressed Kaplan to stay his order until such time. However, the judge denied the motion and ordered Bankman-Fried remanded to custody, likely at the Putnam County Correctional Facility. Once the October trial begins, SBF could be moved to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He was reportedly led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
Related: Was Sam Bankman-Fried behind a scam project?
Inner City Press reported Bankman-Fried’s parents may have been present at the hearing. SBF has largely been confined to their California home when not traveling to New York for court proceedings.
Bankman-Fried faces 12 criminal charges spread across two trials scheduled to begin in October 2023 and March 2024. Though prosecutors announced in July they planned to drop a charge concerning violations of campaign finance laws due to the conditions of an extradition agreement with the Bahamas, they said on Aug. 8 they will still consider the alleged scheme as part of a wire fraud charge.
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Update (Aug. 11 at 7:44 PM UTC): This article has been updated to include the proposed facilities in which Sam Bankman-Fried will spend his time through his trials.
Asset manager Canary Capital has filed to list an exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding Pengu (PENGU), the governance token of the Pudgy Penguins non-fungible token (NFT) project, US regulatory filings show. The ETF is the latest in a slew of filings for new US investment products tied to spot cryptocurrencies, including altcoins and memecoins. According to the filing, the ETF is intended to hold spot PENGU as well as various Pudgy Penguins NFTs. It would be the first US ETF to hold NFTs if approved. Additionally, “[t]he Trust will also hold other digital assets, such as SOL and ETH, that are necessary or incidental to the purchase, sale and transfer of the Trust’s PENGU and Pudgy Penguins NFTs,” the filing said. Launched in December, PUDGY has a roughly $438-million market capitalization as of March 20, according to CoinGecko. On March 18, Canary filed to list the first US ETF holding Sui (SUI), the native token of the Sui layer-1 blockchain network. Pudgy Penguins is among the most popular NFT brands. Source: Cointelegraph Related: Canary Capital proposes first Sui ETF in US SEC filing The US Securities and Exchange Commission has acknowledged dozens of filings for new crypto investment products since US President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20. They include filings for proposed ETFs for native L1 tokens such as Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP), as well as for memecoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Official Trump (TRUMP). Some industry analysts are skeptical that ETFs holding non-core cryptocurrencies will see a meaningful uptake among traditional investors. “Pengu ETF announced. Price barely goes up. New ETFs for crypto assets have become an irrelevant joke,” crypto researcher Alex Krüger said in a March 20 post on the X platform. “Most crypto ETFs will fail to attract AUM and cost issuers money.” Since starting his second presidential term, Trump has reversed the US government’s stance on digital assets, promising to make America “the world’s crypto capital.” Under his predecessor, former US President Joe Biden, US regulatory agencies brought upward of 100 enforcement actions against crypto firms. On March 20, asset manager Volatility Shares launched two Solana futures ETFs, the Volatility Shares Solana ETF (SOLZ) and the Volatility Shares 2X Solana ETF (SOLT). They use financial derivatives to track SOL’s performance with one- and two-time leverage, respectively. Spot SOL ETFs are still awaiting regulatory approval. Magazine: Crypto fans are obsessed with longevity and biohacking — Here’s why
“Almost every” council the Conservatives won in 2021 could be lost in this year’s local elections, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has conceded. Speaking at the launch of her party’s campaign, Ms Badenoch said the votes four years ago followed the COVID vaccine rollout – helping her party to 14 council gains and holding another 49. Politics live: Badenoch has a dig at Farage On 1 May, across England, more than 1,600 council seats will be up for re-election, alongside six mayors. The Tories face being squeezed by Reform on their right, as well as a blend of Liberal Democrats and independents. Ms Badenoch warned party members: “It will be the first time since the general election, the greatest defeat in all parties’ history, that we fight these seats.” Map the 2024 election results on to the upcoming council ones, and the Tory leader admitted “we lose almost every single one”. ‘People have lost trust in politics’ Labour are also likely to perform poorly, as local election results tend to reflect public opinion towards the national governing party. Measures like inheritance tax on farms, benefit cuts, planning reform, reducing winter fuel payments and others could weigh heavily on Sir Keir Starmer’s chances. It was put to Ms Badenoch that lots of these protest votes look set to go to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Asked about the differences between the Tories and Reform by Sky News deputy political editor Sam Coates, Ms Badenoch said: “Loads of other parties just tell people what they think they want to hear. “We think through and make sure that we are providing a credible plan that can be delivered. “A lot of people have lost trust in politics because politicians make promises and do deliver.” Read more: Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Badenoch asked if she’s different to Reform ‘This is not a protest vote’ But the Tory leader acknowledged the party faces “a challenge on the right”, which she said was partly down to its record in government in recent years. “The protest votes are going to Reform,” she said. “But at the end of the day, this is not a protest vote – these are local elections.” The Tory leader instead urged people to vote for who will sort out bin collections, fix potholes and run local services well – which she said would be the Conservatives. She unveiled the slogan for her party’s campaign as “lower taxes, better services”. 👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈 Mr Farage described that as “comical”, saying the Tories’ track record was of “higher taxes and crumbling services”. The Reform leader is eyeing big gains in May, and said: “After decades of mismanagement, Conservative councils across the country are buckling under the pressure.” Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said Ms Badenoch’s speech was a “desperate attempt to shore up the crumbling Conservative vote as people in the home counties turn to the Liberal Democrats”. She said her party is focusing on the cost of living, river sewage, and the NHS and social care. XDAO, a protocol based on The Open Network (TON), has enabled over 367,000 decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to achieve legal status through its initiative that automates legal recognition for such organizations. In an announcement, XDAO said it had streamlined the DAO creation process to allow DAOs to achieve legal status. An XDAO spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the protocol offers a standard for other “sub-entities” within its legal framework. “Basically, those sub-entities exist both in relation to each other and outside entities that had acknowledged their existence and assented to some articles of the XDAO Labs’ Constitution,” the spokesperson told Cointelegraph. XDAO added that the parties recognize Singapore, where XDAO Labs is incorporated, as the primary jurisdiction where disputes may be resolved if necessary. The protocol also said it could enable the signing of legally binding documents using Web3 wallets. XDAO said DAOs could archive their transactions using a Telegram bot. When asked about the security and practicality of its Telegram bot-based legal framework, the XDAO spokesperson said agreements formed through the messenger work in “most jurisdictions.” However, the XDAO representative outlined its limitations, including “real estate, securities, and other matters that call for a prescribed procedure for the contract’s formation.” The spokesperson told Cointelegraph: “However, when making agreements through a Telegram bot, it is important to approach the recording of all details and specifics responsibly, as this can later facilitate dispute resolution.” The spokesperson added that the bot can store information that DAO participants consider significant. It can even be used to conduct basic Know Your Customer procedures. Related: Texas court issues judgment against Bancor DAO after it ignored summons When asked how their smart contract compliance models would work in arbitration scenarios, XDAO said the parties could form valid arbitration agreements through messenger or e-signature methods such as Docusign and Ethsign. This requires personalities to be firmly established and the “intention to adjudicate the dispute is clearly expressed.” “Arbitration is a commonly recognized dispute resolution procedure, which exists under influential international conventions. Those conventions do not specify the exact way of making an arbitration agreement, apart from it being in writing,” the spokesperson told Cointelegraph. The spokesperson added that if payment is required, an arbitrator can be added to the DAO with the right to a key vote. This would allow them to sign a transaction with their digital signature if the parties fail to reach a consensus. 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Policy reversal
Kemi Badenoch is not optimistic about her party’s chances. Pic: PA
Some local elections delayed by a year
Badenoch says net zero goal ‘impossible
Signing legally-binding documents through Telegram bots
How smart contract-based compliance would work in practice
