Former FTX CTO Gary Wang Testifies Against SBF

Former FTX CTO Gary Wang testifies against SBF

In the ongoing criminal trial of ex-FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, recent court proceedings revealed startling insights into the intertwined operations of crypto exchange FTX and Alameda Research. Gary Wang, FTX’s ex-chief technology officer, testified about the exclusive privileges granted to Alameda’s account on FTX.

Wang disclosed that under Bankman-Fried's directives, Alameda's account was the lone entity authorized to trade beyond its fund limits on FTX, through a feature dubbed "allow negative." This mechanism, initiated in 2019, enabled Alameda to incur a negative balance exceeding FTX’s entire 2020 revenue, a stark contrast of $200 million to $150 million. Moreover, despite public assertions to the contrary, Alameda was reportedly extended a staggering $65-billion line of credit.

The central issue underpinning the prosecution’s stance is the alleged misappropriation of FTX user funds by Bankman-Fried for Alameda's benefit, without client consent. Wang’s testimony, confessing to fraudulent activities alongside Bankman-Fried and Alameda’s former CEO, Caroline Ellison, adds a complex layer to a case set to unfold further with upcoming testimonies from other key figures.

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US added 336K jobs in September

In the month of September, the US saw a substantial influx of 336,000 new jobs, as unveiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday morning. This figure notably exceeded the economists' forecast of a mere 170,000 job additions. Moreover, the job gains initially reported for August, standing at 187,000, received an upward revision to settle at 227,000.

Contrary to the encouraging employment data, the unemployment rate chose to remain steady at 3.8%, instead of taking the anticipated dip to 3.7%. In the wake of this news, Bitcoin's (BTC) price mildly recoiled by about 1%, steadying at $27,900. However, it's key to note that the BTC price stabilized post this update, with the crypto market displaying mixed reactions.

The unveiled employment figures carry a significant weight, particularly considering the recent downward trend observed in government bond prices over the previous five weeks. This trend has spurred the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to climb from slightly over 4% to touch a high of 4.80% earlier this week. The interplay between bond yields and employment data sketches a detailed financial narrative, with the crypto market seemingly assimilating the cues. 

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Base welcomes tokenized short-term US Treasury ETF

Swiss-based company Backed Finance is aiming to tokenize real-world assets on-chain. As part of this initiative, they have introduced blB01, a tokenized short-term US treasury bond ETF on Base, which is Coinbase's layer-2 network.

According to Backed Finance, blB01 will be the first tokenized security available on Base and will adhere to Switzerland's Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Act. This act requires all tokens to be fully collateralized and transferable across wallets, as stated in a press release reviewed by Blockworks.

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Canada relaxes strict stablecoin rules

Canada's securities regulators have provided clarity on their proposed approach to the trading of stablecoins, which they refer to as value-referred crypto assets.

The Canadian Securities Regulators (CSA), an organization comprising provincial and territorial regulators throughout the country, recognized the potential benefits of stablecoins for Canadian customers on Friday.

In accordance with this recognition, the CSA announced on Friday that it may allow the trading of certain stablecoins that are linked to the value of a specific fiat currency, known as fiat-backed crypto assets, under certain terms and conditions.

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Other breaking news

• Solana-based DEX Kamino introduces Kamino Lend
• Nexo to slowly shut down cashback for UK exchange and card transactions
• Kraken sets sail for European waters
• Hong Kong police arrest seven more on JPEX probe
• THORSwap pauses platform

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Wrapping Up

As we wrap up the final edition for the week, today's key narratives were framed by the startling revelations from FTX’s former CTO, Gary Wang, against ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, unveiling a complex and murky layer of crypto exchange operations. On a broader economic scale, the US job market surprised us with a notable uptick in September, despite a slight dip in Bitcoin's price. We'll catch you on Monday with the next edition of Datawallet Daily, unfolding more stories that shape the crypto and financial world.