Crypto Market Overview January 16th | Dex-Trade
SBF Kept Silent About a Secret Credit Line for Alameda for $65 Billion
According to the New York Post, FTX attorney Andrew Dietderich revealed during the crypto exchange’s bankruptcy hearing on Jan. 11 that its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), allegedly ordered co-founder Gary Wang to open a “secret line of credit on $65 billion" for their subsidiary Alameda Research, which was led by Caroline Ellison. “Mr. Wang created this backdoor by inserting a single number into millions of lines of code for the exchange, creating a line of credit from FTX to Alameda, to which customers did not consent. And we know the size of that line of credit. It was $65 billion." Dietderich said. It is noteworthy that in December 2022, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against FTX and Alameda, accusing the companies of having a number of unethical business practices between them. In particular, the CFTC officials claimed that the features built into the program by FTX officials allowed Alameda to create a virtually limitless credit line of funding from the crypto exchange. and it looks like the CFTC claims have been confirmed. However, in a recent blog post titled “FTX Pre-Mortem Overview,” SBF attributed the crash to general market conditions and under-hedging of Alameda Research's investment. He also claims that Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao is responsible for the bankruptcy of Alameda, since it was he who created the negative image of FTX in the media precisely at the moment of crisis for the exchange.
The Crypto Market Is Now Unpredictable: a Moment of Doubt from Peter Brandt
One of the most experienced traders in the cryptocurrency community, Peter Brandt, believes that no market player or analyst can now predict the movement of the crypto market, since the nature of the current asset rally is simply unpredictable. However, Brandt shared his technical analysis of bitcoin, which can be called optimistic. In particular, he predicts an upward movement of BTC to the $25,000 zone and a subsequent rollback to $17,000. And after this prelude, the trader may experience a correction, which will be replaced by a powerful bull run of Bitcoin to $30,000. If we take Brandt's analysis for granted (which, of course, you should not do), then we can see Bitcoin reach $100,000 in just a couple of years. However, as the trader himself points out, there is no correct way to accurately predict the upcoming movements of BTC and the cryptocurrency market in general. According to Brandt's commentators, he is most likely referring to the lack of fundamentals that are commonly considered bullish for the digital asset industry. Despite the statement by Jerome Powell, the financial market has been growing since the beginning of 2023. Given the clear correlation (but not dependency) of bitcoin with key tech stocks, an upward movement at the moment is not unusual. But so far, the current growth of the crypto flagship raises more questions than rave reviews.
Is Anthony Scaramucci from SkyBridge Capital Investing in FTX US’s ex-head Crypto Startup?
The founder of SkyBridge Capital, Anthony Scaramucci, announced his intention to invest in a cryptocurrency startup founded by former FTX US President Brett Harrison, which was launched just three weeks after the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. According to the press release, the unnamed crypto startup will develop crypto software and allow digital asset traders to independently develop algorithm-based strategies to access various markets, both centralized and decentralized. It is known that Harrison is looking for investors to close the first round of financing in the amount of $10 million at an estimated company value of $100 million. Scaramucci's capital investment and his stake in the company have not yet been disclosed. However, the head of SkyBridge Capital said that he would invest exclusively personal funds in support of the new project of the ex-president of FTX US. In his latest tweet, Harrison revealed that he left FTX US in September 2022 after his relationship with Sam Bankman-Freed soured and growing difficulties and uncertainties at FTX forced him to turn his attention to his own company. However, Scaramucci is optimistic about the Harrison project in particular and the prospects for the cryptocurrency market in 2023 in general.
