Sam Bankman-Fried seeks dismissal of several charges, Bittrex files for bankruptcy

Sam Bankman-Fried seeks dismissal of several charges

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer sought to dismiss 10 of 13 criminal charges he currently faces in a Monday filing.

The disgraced former crypto tycoon’s lawyers stated that some of the charges levied against him — including bribery, unlawful political contribution, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and fraud — failed to clearly state an offence.

The lawyers did not seek to dismiss charges alleging conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Bankman-Fried is currently awaiting trial following the collapse of FTX in November of 2022, which saw investors and users lose billions.

NOW READ: Arrest of Turkey’s failed crypto exchange boss kicks off hunt for answers

Bitcoin fees up 800% since 2022 amid heavy congestion

Bitcoin fees rose as high as 800% from the 2022 average over the weekend, due to unprecedented congestion, CoinDesk reported.

The activity is fuelled by a minting frenzy of BRC-20 tokens, which can create NFTs on the Bitcoin network, that saw leading global exchange Binance halt Bitcoin withdrawals twice on Sunday.

One Bitcoin miner made 6.7 Bitcoin, translating to nearly $200,000, in transaction fees on Sunday amid the heightened network activity.

NOW READ: NFT credo goes from WAGMI to just ‘survive’ after 76% sales plunge

Bittrex files for bankruptcy protection

Crypto exchange Bittrex has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US less than one month after the Securities Exchange Commission sued the company for unregistered operations.

The company has more than 100,000 creditors owed somewhere between $500 million and $1 billion, it stated in the announcement Monday.

Bittrex said that the decision would not affect its international branch Bittrex Global, which continues to operate for users outside the US.

The exchange announced it would wind down its US operations in March, blamming the “regulatory” environment in the US.

Cantor Fitzgerald’s Han points to tokenisation as institutional draw for crypto

Cantor Fitzgerald’s Elliot Han pointed to tokenisation as the main driver for institutions to remain invested in crypto in a CNBC interview on Monday.

Han leads the financial services powerhouse’s digital asset wing and highlighted tokenisation — which is a broad term for the representation of real world assets such as gold or stocks on the blockchain — as the “baseline” for crypto’s future.

The comments from the Cantor Fitzgerald executive comes as a number of traditional finance firms such as BlackRock and Fidelity have recently positioned themselves to jump on new digital asset opportunities.

NOW READ: Secretive trading firms that pile into crypto are ‘first sign’ of mainstream adoption

Paxful platform operational again despite co-founder spat

Despite internal strife, P2P trading platform Paxful is once again functional, according to a Monday note posted by the company.

Paxful ceased operations in April following a dispute and eventual lawsuit between co-founder Arthur Shaback, and defendant co-founder Ray Youssef.

The company had initially shuttered due to heightened US regulations, according to Youssef.

More web3 news from around the web…

The Solana Saga is here. Should you spend $1,000 on the newest crypto smartphone? — Fortune

Private-equity giant Apollo Is part of a bid to buy bankrupt crypto firm Celsius — CoinDesk

Sam Altman’s Worldcoin rolls out app as token launch looms — The Block