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Andrew Throuvalas



Articles by Andrew Throuvalas

Forget Bitcoin, Coinbase CEO Advocates for a US-Backed Stablecoin (Op-Ed)

13 hours ago

In a post-FTX world, it’s really hard being a crypto executive.
Not only are your bags empty and revenues down, but you also have United States financial regulators breathing down your neck with subpoenas one day, and lawsuits the next.
It’s understandable, then, why industry leaders like Brian Armstrong may wish to present themselves to both media and authorities with their state-worshipping foot forward. 
As the CEO of Coinbase – America’s largest crypto exchange – one wrong move could get his company sued and regulated beyond repair by politicians already paranoid about a fraud-ridden industry. After all, what reason does the state have left to not just ban crypto entirely?
On a media blitz earlier this week, the executive attempted to answer that question: supportive

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How Bitcoin’s Price Will Moon During a Potential Oil Crisis: Arthur Hayes

1 day ago

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes published an essay on Thursday outlining “realistic potential situations” that could make oil prices boom, and make Bitcoin’s price skyrocket as a result. 
The former CEO argued that such a scenario could spur central banks across the world – including the Federal Reserve – to return to a market-friendly loose monetary policy.
Oil and the Money Printer
In his blog post titled “Curve Ball,” Hayes described three possible futures that could lead to an oil supply shortage across the globe, given the current state of geopolitical tensions. 
For example, Iran could escalate its conflict with Israel/ Saudi Arabia by closing the Strait of Hormuz – one of the world’s largest oil chokepoints between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

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Kraken Reduces Reliance on Signature Bank for Certain Transactions

2 days ago

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is stepping away from Signature Bank for processing certain transaction types due to decisions made by the New York-based banking firm. 
From now on, non-corporate clients cannot deposit or withdraw dollars from Kraken through Signature. 
As reported by Bloomberg Law on Wednesday, deposits to Kraken using Signature will cease on March 15, while customers have until March 31 to withdraw from the company. 
The news comes after Signature Bank warned its banking partners in January that it would stop helping its crypto exchange customers process transactions worth less than $100,000. This rule applied to both Binance and Kraken. 
Signature noted in December that it would start reducing its exposure to the crypto industry, one month after FTX’s

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A Top Italian Football Club is Taking Payments in This Cryptocurrency

2 days ago

AS Roma – a top Italian soccer club – is now accepting payment in DigitalBits (XDB), the self-described “leading blockchain for brands.”
Payments will be taken across five of the club’s flagship retail stores, including Via del Corso, Piazza Colonna, Ottaviano, Porta di Roma, and Fan zone at Stadio Olimpico.
AS Roma Accepts Crypto
Per a press release shared with CryptoPotato, customers will be able to use DigitalBits to purchase branded AS Roma merchandise. 
Payments can be made through the AstraX mobile wallet by scanning a QR code, at which point payments are processed within a few seconds, and customers are given cash-back through XDB. They are processed by the DigitalBits blockchain, and Coinbar pay processing provides additional support. 
“This is a big step for the

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Bullish or Bearish? A Closer Look at Bitcoin’s Historical Performance in March

2 days ago

Following an ultimately flat February, eager investors are curious: what’s in store for Bitcoin’s price this March?
Here’s a look at how Bitcoin has performed each March over the last 12 years. On average, the asset’s price has risen by 10% each time. 
Bitcoin, March, and the Halving
In its earliest days, March wasn’t a particularly bullish month for BTC. The cryptocurrency fell by 8.2% to just $0.79 in 2011, and went on to move 0% in March of the following year. 
Things changed in 2013, however, when Bitcoin closed the month at $92.19 – a whopping 176.2% rise from the start of the month. This came five months after Bitcoin’s very first halving in November 2012.
“The halving,” refers to when Bitcoin’s supply issuance per block is cut in half every 210,000 blocks, roughly

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Two Considerations as Bitcoin Withdraws Toward $23K

3 days ago

With Bitcoin withdrawing toward $23k, blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant has noted two data points to keep in mind while monitoring the asset’s future short-term price action. 
Analysts for the company found that some large players appear to be topping up the market with sell pressure – including Bitcoin miners. 
Dump Alert?
According to CryptoQuant analyst abramchart, whale activity is rising on Bitcoin spot exchanges. 
The Bitcoin Exchange Whale Ratio – a metric comparing the top 10 Bitcoin transactions flowing into exchanges to the total number of exchange inflows – rose to 0.78 as of March 1st, compared to roughly 0.5 last month.
Bitcoin Exchange Whale Ratio. Source: CryptoQuant“The BTC Whale Rato metric is high for the next day in SPOT exchanges and this rise is

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Effective Altruism? FTX-Linked Charity Org Spent $3.5 Million on Czech Castle

3 days ago

FTX – the bankrupt crypto exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried – appears to have spent millions of dollars purchasing a luxurious castle in the Czech Republic through an obscure non-profit with ties to the “effective altruism” movement. Stemming from a $4.5 million grant to the European Summer Program on Rationality (ESPR), the group spent roughly $3.5 million on the estate. 
A Castle for Charity?
According to Forbes FTX did not disclose the donation before being closed in December. However, Irena Kotikova, a former Czech Association for Effective Altruism chairperson who applied for the grant, confirmed to the outlet that the distribution of funds took place in July 2022
Specifically, Kotikova claimed that a group called FTX Philantropy Inc. – later renamed to FTX

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Robinhood Rolls Out Wallet App Worldwide for IOS

3 days ago

Online brokerage firm Robinhood rolled out its crypto wallet app worldwide for IOS users on Wednesday. 
The app will support both the Ethereum network and its Layer 2 scaling solution, Polygon – but not Bitcoin. 
Robinhood’s Web3 Wallet
Per a blog post from Robinhood, the firm’s wallet app has now rolled out to a waitlist of over 1 million users, and has been downloaded in over 130 countries. 
For a limited time, users of the app can be rewarded with 1 USDC if they deposit $10 worth of crypto to it from an external wallet or exchange, or earn 5 USDC if they withdraw an equal amount from Robinhood’s own exchange. 
The wallet lets users hold and swap cryptocurrencies without network fees – which have been known to reach exorbitant levels in times of peak demand. It can also

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Coinbase Launches Nationwide Pro Crypto Policy Campaign

4 days ago

America’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is pulling out all the stops to ensure U.S. policymakers get things right with how they treat the crypto industry.
The company has announced Crypto435 – a grassroots initiative to expand pro-crypto advocacy to citizens across all 435 Congressional Districts.
Coinbase’s Advocacy Mission
As tweeted by Coinbase on Tuesday, the initiative presents an opportunity for lovers of crypto and web 3 to make their opinions known in DC. Coinbase will provide the community with various tips related to local politicians and the crypto landscape – including their contact information, their records on crypto policy, and how best to make sure those with a voice can be heard. 
“The crypto community has reached an important moment,” stated Coinbase.

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Coffeezilla Accuses Khabib Nurmagomedov of Promoting NFT Scam

4 days ago

Coffeezilla – the popular YouTuber and “Internet Detective” covering crypto scams – is now accusing the mixed martial arts legend Khabib Nurmagomedov of “scamming” his followers with NFTs. 
The former UFC lightweight champion said his new collection will give fans access his his “private club,” while enabling holders to mine Bitcoin. 
Khabib’s NFT Collection
Nurmagomedov launched his NFT collection in partnership with GoMining, for whom he became an ambassador in October 2021. The company’s goal is to provide Bitcoin mining industry access to regular consumers, by rewarding holders of its GMT tokens and custom NFTs with BTC mined from its data centers. 
“You will soon be able to buy NFT, which will become a pass to my private club and will mine BTC for you,”  tweeted

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FTX Top Executive Pleads Guilty to Fraud

4 days ago

Nishad Singh – the former head of engineering at bankrupt crypto exchange giant FTX – pleaded guilty to six criminal charges related to his activity with the firm during a court hearing on Tuesday.
The ex- executive’s crimes include wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and violation of campaign finance laws. 
Another Guilty FTX Executive
The plea, reported by Reuters,  was accepted by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan and is the next in a list of similar guilty admissions from fellow higher-ups in Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire. Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to a years-long fraud scheme at FTX in December. 
Word began to spread that Singh was

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Coinbase Suspends BUSD Trading for Failing to Meet Listing Standards

6 days ago

Coinbase – the largest crypto exchange in the United States – announced that it is halting BUSD trading one week after the stablecoin’s issuer ceased minting new units of the token. 
According to a tweet from Coinbase on Monday, the exchange will suspend trading for the token across Coinbase.com, Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Exchange, and Coinbase Prime.
Users can still access any BUSD held in their accounts, and withdraw it from the platform at any time. 

“We regularly monitor the assets on our exchange to ensure they meet our listing standards,” stated Coinbase. “Based on our most recent reviews, Coinbase will suspend trading for Binance USD (BUSD) on March 13, 2023, on or around 12pm ET.”

Coinbase is hesitant to list tokens that exhibit certain characteristics – including

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Another Bitcoin Core Maintainer Steps Down After 7 Years

7 days ago

Bitcoin developer Marco Falke announced that he has stepped down as a maintainer for Bitcoin Core on Tuesday.
There now remain just four maintainers of the protocol: Michael Ford, Hennadii Stepanov, Andrew Chow, and Gloria Zhao.
Falke was Bitcoin Core’s single largest contributor, having proposed over 2000 individual changes to Bitcoin’s codebase – aka “commits” – in his lifetime. 
During three of his seven years as maintainer, Falke was supported and sponsored by the crypto exchange OKCoin and Web3 investment firm Paradigm. 
“I remain passionate about open source and Bitcoin and I am positive about the future, however being a maintainer is no longer a good fit for me personally,” wrote Falke over Twitter. “I am happy about my achievements and recognize that they would not

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President Biden Nominates Crypto Skeptic to Lead World Bank

8 days ago

U.S. President Joe Biden nominated Ajay Banga to be the new leader of the World Bank – an executive who’s been critical of the crypto industry in the past. 
Banga is expected to take over David Malpass as president by May. 
The New World Bank President
As detailed in a White House statement on Thursday, Banga is currently the Vice Chairman of growth equity firm General Atlantic and was formerly the President and CEO of Mastercard. 
“Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history,” wrote Biden in his statement. “Raised in India, Ajay has a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing developing countries and how the World Bank can deliver on its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and expand prosperity.”
The World Bank is

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Bitcoin Falls 3% As PCE Rises 0.6% in January

9 days ago

Bitcoin (BTC) sank back to $23,000 on Friday shortly after the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index registered a 5.4% annual increase, and a 0.6% monthly increase, in January.
The higher-than-expected figure means the Federal Reserve’s war against rising inflation will likely continue. 
Bitcoin started at roughly $24,000 on Friday, staying above $23,800 until about 13:30 UST – when January’s PCE figure was released. 
The asset tumbled after that, falling as low as $23,000 within just 30 minutes. It trades for $23,217 at writing time. 
Bitcoin’s fall is coupled with a 3.3% fall for Ethereum (ETH), a 4.6% drop for Cardano (ADA), and a 7.1% drop for Polkadot (DOT). Meanwhile, the NASDAQ and S&P500 have slumped by 1.81% and 1.25% respectively.
The crypto market

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Banks Are Still Allowed to Service the Crypto Industry, Clarifies Federal Reserve

9 days ago

America’s 3 federal bank regulators had a clarifying message for banking organizations on Thursday: servicing the crypto industry is neither illegal nor discouraged. 
That said, the institutions – including the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) – named various risks to keep in mind when interacting with the crypto sector, and which risk management practices to follow as a result. 
Crypto is Risky, but Still Allowed
The statement began by reminding banks to apply existing risk management principles when dealing with crypto firms – but did not create any new principles to follow. 
“Banking organizations are neither prohibited nor discouraged from providing banking services to customers of any

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Sam Bankman-Fried Slapped With 4 New Criminal Charges After FTX Fallout

9 days ago

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is under yet another layer of legal pressure after a judge unsealed a superseding 12-count indictment against him on Thursday. 
The filing adds 4 new charges to an 8-count indictment introduced in December, and includes new details regarding illegal political donations made by SBF.
Straw Donor Scheme
As the government alleges, Bankman-Fried “corrupted” the operations of both crypto exchange FTX and its sister trading firm Alameda Research for at least three years up until their collective collapse in November of last year. 
His schemes, according to the filing, involved stealing FTX customer deposits for a variety of purposes, such as enriching himself and currying political favor among both parties in Washington. 
The

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NBA Top Shots NFTs Might Be Securities, Rules Federal Judge in Dapper Lawsuit

10 days ago

Dapper Labs will be forced to face a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging that the NFT Top Shot NFT Moments on its platform are unregistered securities, following a judge’s refusal to dismiss the case on Wednesday.
United States District Court Judge Victor Marrero ruled that such NFTs may plausibly qualify as securities under the Howey Test. 
Are NFTs Securities?
Per Marreno’s ruling, part of what makes the SEC’s allegations “facially plausible” is that the NFTs in question circulate on the Flow blockchain – a private network developed and maintained by Dapper. Without Dapper’s efforts, such NFTs would theoretically have no value, ticking the final prong of the Howey Test requiring another party’s efforts to uphold an investment’s value.
“The

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The United States is Headed Toward a Debt Crisis: Former VP Mike Pence

11 days ago

Mike Pence – former Vice President of the United States – believes his country is en route to a debt crisis within the next 25 to 30 years due to the government’s irresponsible fiscal policy.
Within 3 decades, he claimed that the nation’s debt could balloon to $150 trillion.
Insurmountable Debt
In an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Wednesday, Pence commented on the United States’ record high inflation, pinning its cause largely on “unnecessary” covid relief spending from the Democratic party in 2021.  
The “real issue,” however, surrounds U.S. national debt, for which President Joe Biden’s current policy is “insolvency,” according to the former VP. 
“We’re looking at a debt crisis in this country over the next 25 years that is driven by entitlements and no one in

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COIN Briefly Pumps After Better Than Expected Q4 Earnings Report

11 days ago

Crypto exchange Coinbase reported net revenue of $605 million in Q4 2022, according to its latest earnings report published after the bell on Tuesday.
Since its release, COIN shares briefly jumped 3% to $64 before falling back to $62 in after-hours trading. 
Coinbase Survives the Bear
The exchange’s latest numbers present a 5% boost compared to the previous quarter’s $576 million figure, and a touch above analysts’ estimates of $588 million. 
According to the company’s filing, over half of that revenue ($322 million) was generated from transactions, while the rest came from subscriptions and services ($283 million). The former rose 12% from the prior quarter, while the latter rose by 38%. 
Nevertheless, on an annualized basis, net revenue fell from $7.4 billion in 2021 to

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VC Investors Are Moving on From Crypto, Says Kevin O’Leary

11 days ago

Venture capital money is fleeing crypto as regulators tighten their noose around the industry in a post-FTX crackdown, according to Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary.
The investor claimed on Monday that VC funding is now headed toward artificial intelligence. 
Why Regulators Are Mad
During an interview published on Twitter, O’Leary described his experience attending various Capitol Hill hearings related to FTX’s collapse and interacting with the politicians involved.  
“These senators – they’re fatigued,” said O’Leary. “They’re really tired of gathering every six months when the next crypto company blows up and goes to zero.”
There’s been no shortage of crypto industry blowups in the past 12 months. Following a euphoric 2021, hawkish monetary policy culminated in massive

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Not Just Bitcoin: Ordinals Are Now On Litecoin

11 days ago

Chasing a bounty of over $2000, a coder has successfully imported the Ordinals NFT protocol to Litecoin. 
The new functionality arrives shortly after Bitcoin – the network on which Ordinals initially launched – surpassed 150,000 inscriptions this week. 
Why Litecoin Gets Ordinals
On Sunday, a coder named Anthony Guerrera launched Litecoin Ordinals on GitHub by forking the Bitcoin repository for the project, published by Casey Rodarmor last month. 
The Bitcoin-based version allows satoshis to be inscribed with data including images and videos, effectively bringing NFTs to a network once frequently criticized for lacking them. 
Things changed thanks to Bitcoin’s Taproot upgrade in November 2021, which brought more privacy and smart contract capabilities to Bitcoin, with

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UK Fintech Investment Fell Nearly 60% in 2022: KPMG Report

14 days ago

The United Kingdom’s crypto and fintech industries saw investment dry up in the latter half of 2022 amid a combination of turbulent macroeconomic conditions and record-high inflation.
Businesses in the region completed a total of 591 fintech deals in 2022, compared to 724 in 2021. 
The Fintech Trajectory
According to Bloomberg, the data comes from a report published Wednesday by the big four accounting firm, KPMG. Its numbers show a $22 billion drop in Fintech investment in 2022 down to just $17 billion – a 60% decline.
“The variance highlights the shift in investor sentiment in the face of increasing geopolitical challenges leading to the lack of IPO exits, the downward pressure on valuations, and market turbulence,” said.
The drop mirrors the roughly equivalent drop in

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FTX Japan Set to Return Client Assets By the End of February

16 days ago

FTX’s Japanese subsidiary has moved closer to its goal of unlocking its users’ trapped funds. 
The bankrupt company told clients on Friday that they can now confirm their balances on the platform, as part of a plan to compensate clients by the end of the month. 
A Step Closer to Compensation
Besides viewing their balances, users have been notified that they can migrate their assets to the Japanese crypto exchange platform, Liquid. The firm received $120 million from FTX after a cyberattack in 2021, and was later bought out by the exchange in 2022. 
The newly provided access is part of a timeline announced in December that would let clients withdraw their funds from the defunct exchange by the end of the month. In a statement to Bloomberg, Liquid’s Chief Operating Officer

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Joe Kernen Calls Out Charlie Munger for Being Ignorant on Bitcoin

16 days ago

CNBC Anchor Joe Kernen pushed back against Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger’s latest tirade against cryptocurrency on Thursday. 
Specifically, the anchor called the billionaire’s assessment of Bitcoin while criticizing his lack of knowledge on the subject. 
Munger’s Latest Rant
On Wednesday, Munger appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box where Rebecca Quick asked him to steelman the arguments against his anti-crypto position. After a brief pause, Munger refused to do so. 
“I don’t think there are good arguments against my position,” he said. “I think the people that oppose my position are idiots. 
The investor’s “position” in question was published in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal earlier this month, arguing that the United States should ban

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Why Crypto Mom is Against the SEC’s New Crypto Custody Rules

16 days ago

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) just voted to propose new amendments affecting rules around crypto asset custody in the United States – and commissioner Hester Peirce (aka “Crypto Mom”) is not a fan. 
Peirce believes the proposed rules could leave crypto investors more vulnerable to theft and fraud, contrary to their intent. 
Crypto Mom’s Criticisms
The rule change in question would modify the Commission’s custody rule to “amend certain related recordkeeping and reporting obligations” with the goal to “enhance protections of customer assets managed by registered investment advisers,” according to the SEC’s press release on Wednesday. 
The amendments would also “expand the scope” of its rules to apply to assets beyond just client funds and securities, and

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Here’s Who Co-Signed Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250 Million Bail Bond

17 days ago

The guarantors behind Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF)’s $250 million bail package have been revealed after news organizations gained court approval to unseal their names in early January. 
Both individuals are high-ranking academics at Stanford, where the disgraced CEO’s parents are law professors.
Who Granted SBF Bail?
The signatories’ names are Larry Kramer and Andreas Paepcke – a former Stanford law school dean and computer scientist, respectively. 
Kramer is president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, a charitable organization with $15 billion in assets, per his online biography on Stanford Law’s website. He also serves on the boards of numerous non-profits, such as the National Constitution Center, Independent Sector, and the ClimateWorks Foundation.
Meanwhile,

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Bitcoin Reclaims $23,500, Notches $120 Million in Liquidations

17 days ago

Bitcoin soared back above $23,500 on Wednesday, less than one week after losing the support line in response to the regulatory crackdown against an industry giant last week.
The event has triggered $120 million in liquidations within the past 24 hours. 
Bitcoin began the day trading for roughly $22,000 but began to climb at 11:38 US, reaching $22,800 within 40 minutes. 
The cryptocurrency soared again at about 18:24, eventually climbing to a high of $23,348 by 19:30. It trades for $23,809 at writing time. 
Coinglass shows that $68 million in liquidations have occurred in the past 4 hours after the pump – most of which occurred on Bitcoin and Ether trades.
Over 28,000 traders were recorded getting liquidated within the past 24 hours, with the largest single liquidation

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FinTech Law Professor Tells Congress That Crypto Should Be Restricted From Banking System

18 days ago

Lee Reiners, policy director at the Duke Financial Economics Center, recommended that banking agenices restrict the crypto industry from accessing the banking system while testifying to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. 
The professor claimed that crypto has produced nothing of benefit during the 14 years since Bitcoin’s whitepaper was published. 
What to Do About Crypto
The hearing, titled “Crypto Crash,” explored why crypto needs tighter regulation and safeguards to protect investors, especially in the aftermath of last year’s contagious market collapse. 
Banking Committee chairman Sherrod Brown opened the hearing with fierce criticism. Calling out the industry for not running ads at this year’s Super Bowl, he mocked Matt Damon’s famous ad on behalf of CryptoCom:

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How FTX Roped African Students Into Trading On Its Platform

18 days ago

African victims are speaking up about FTX after a variety of promotional schemes lured them into putting their money into the now-defunct industry giant. 
One such deal was an ambassador program promising 40% commissions to members who invited their friends to join the exchange. 
Africans Speak Out
FTX Africa promoted its ambassador program in early August – roughly 3 months before the exchange froze user withdrawals and filed for bankruptcy, due to a multi-billion dollar shortfall on customer and investor deposits. 
The program was largely targeted toward African students, who were encouraged to get their friends and classmates to onboard the exchange. The platform was popular in the region not only as a means of trading crypto, but for exchanging local currency into U.S.

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