Bankrupt FTX sues crypto exchange Bybit over almost $1bn of assets

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Bankrupt FTX sues crypto exchange Bybit, seeking to claw back almost $1 billion of assets. A team of former FTX execs is launching a new firm, Ripple’s CEO has harsh words for the SEC, and Singapore crypto lender Hodlnaut will be liquidated. Read on!

FTX sues Bybit for $1bn

The FTX bankruptcy estate sued crypto exchange Bybit, seeking to claw back assets it values at almost $1 billion, Fortune reported.

Since FTX collapsed last November, its new leadership team headed by John J. Ray III has sought to recover assets from an assortment of related companies and individuals. The Bybit lawsuit is one of the biggest claims of the bankruptcy proceedings.

Ray, who was also steward of the Enron bankruptcy, told Congress last December that he had never seen such a “complete failure” of corporate control as in the case of FTX. Bybit did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Fortune said.

Ex-FTX execs launching new firm

A team of former executives of bankrupt FTX is launching a new crypto firm called Backpack Exchange that will seek to address the issues behind FTX’s failure, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The group is led by ex-FTX lawyer Can Sun, who testified against company founder Sam Bankman-Fried at his trial. The team, which wants Backpack Exchange customers fully enabled to verify their holdings, recently received a Virtual Asset Service Provider licence from the Dubai regulator.

SEC lost sight of mission: Garlinghouse

Blockchain payments firm Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse said on CNBC that he thinks the US Securities and Exchange Commission has lost sight of its mission to protect investors.

“I think the SEC, in my opinion, has lost sight of their mission to protect investors. And the question is, who are they protecting in this journey?” Garlinghouse said. Ripple was sued by the SEC in 2020 in an ongoing securities fraud case in which the company has won some recent partial victories and seen some of the charges dropped.

India leads grassroots crypto adoption

India is No.1 in grassroots crypto adoption, Coin Gabbar reported, citing a 2023 Global Crypto Adoption Index recently published by blockchain analytics platform Chainalysis.

The index assesses crypto adoption by the population, rather than transaction volumes, the report said. India was followed by Nigeria and Vietnam.

Crypto lender Hodlnaut to be liquidated

Singapore-based cryptocurrency lender Hodlnaut will be liquidated, CoinDesk reported, citing a winding-up order filed with the High Court of Singapore.

Hodlnaut incurred about $189 million in losses amid exposure to the Terra ecosystem, which collapsed in May 2022. It also had $13 million in crypto locked on FTX before it filed for bankruptcy last November.

What we’re reading around the web

Crypto rejoiced when SBF went down, but deep structural problems may be ticking time bomb — DL News

One Year After FTX Imploded, Here’s How Crypto Is Changing — Bloomberg

Binance CEO braces for a legal showdown that will rock the industry — who is Changpeng Zhao? — DL News