Sam Bankman “Fraud” aka The Hairy Plotter Arrested

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"Scam Bankman Fraud" Arrested, Faces Extradition to the US

This week started with a bang! According to The New York Times, the one-time crypto billionaire and alleged con artist "Scam Bankman Fraud" (Sam Bankman Fried) was arrested and detained on Monday after a series of criminal charges were filed by prosecutors in the United States. Reliable sources following the defunct crypto exchange debacle state that the criminal charges against Bankman included wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering. How will his case revolutionize the crypto arena moving forward?

The FTX debacle; what really transpired?

If you have yet to follow the FTX saga, here is what transpired before the collapse. On November 6th, Binance's CEO CZ announced on Twitter that it would release its FTT holdings worth $530 million. This caused a massive sell-off for the token as it plummeted to all-time lows. At the same time, crypto-savvy investors rushed to withdraw funds from the exchange, fearing more profound malicious activities. FTX halted withdrawals a few hours later as requests continuously pilled to $6 billion in a matter of hours, leading to the chapter 11 bankruptcy a few days later.

Sam Bankman Fried stepped down as FTX's CEO. Celebrities such as Billionaire Kevin O'Leary and all-time basketball megastar Stephen Curry (among others) have found themselves in front of the jury based on their endorsements with the collapsed exchange. Now that we are on the same page, let's look at what has changed since the exchange announced insolvency, shall we?

New Crypto Reforms- The Aftermath

Impending tighter regulations

The fall of FTX raised the eyebrows of regulators around the world. US president Joe Bidden recently issued a mandate to push for tighter crypto regulations during Indonesia's G20 leaders' summit. Jim Chalmers, a spokesman for the Australian Treasury, stated that the Australian government is working on tighter regulations on centralized digital asset entities such as exchanges. Singapore also joined the group by presenting a consultation document proposing new rules on cryptocurrencies. More countries support the notion.

Artist Spotlight: Andre O'Shea

Andre O’Shea is an NFT artist determined to make digital art for individuals looking to escape reality and develop the future. O’Shea is a 3D animator working hard to create exclusive and rare NFT art pieces. His artworks are sleek state of the art. He has collaborated with various individuals and organizations such as Christies Inc, Adult Swim, Vogue, Netflix, and The Grammy’s NFT.

The artist minted an NFT in honor of the late Chadwick Boseman, which was auctioned to support the Colon Cancer Foundation. Chadwick was a renowned actor who acted as the main character of one of marvel's top-grossing movies Black Panther. The NFT is one of Andre's attractive collections since his inception in the world of digital art.

🚀 Important links: Andre's Makersplace, Twitter

Proof of Reserves 🏦

Proof of Reserves (PoR) is a new form of security assurance that mandates crypto exchanges to publicly account for their digital assets, ensuring that creditors' deposits are available for withdrawals. FTX was illegally using customer deposits to conduct risky investments. Exchanges such as Binance have speared headed this proposal to fish out bad entities in the crypto world.

Tighter regulations will make cryptocurrency investing safer and prevent loss of funds through institutions with inexperienced leaders, such as Alameda Research. FTX's insolvency also serves as a wake-up call to remind crypto investors of the words "not your keys, not your coins." FTX is just the recent saga. Institutions such as Celsius, BlockFi, 3AC, and Voyager also collapsed due to turbulence caused by the ongoing bear market. Decentralization is safer and less likely to be affected by regulators and corrupt leaders.

The Future of Web3 in 2023

Web3 virtual space has been in the minds of netizens since Facebook introduced the idea, now Meta, in October 2021. Although Facebook’s (Meta LTD) virtual experience is not performing to expectations according to reports, the world has been slowly embracing the new space. Despite the NFT downturn attributed to the current bear market that commenced early this year, more brands have joined the arena. Apparel currently leads the pack with Adidas and Nike on the forefront, minting and selling NFT collections for virtual fashion experiences.

Nike currently leads the pack with a newly launched marketplace, DotSwoosh, developed to facilitate virtual footwear. Since its inception in the space, the apparel giant has generated more than $183 million in sales from selling Web3 products. Adidas follows far behind with $11 million, and puma comes in third place with $1.3 million. Other brands, such as Barbie Dolls, a renowned toy manufacturing company, have shown mass interest in the virtual space. Barbie partnered with Boss Beauties to launch a new NFT collection with 15000 pieces.

The future of Web3 is bright. As the number of brands join in the space and the number of active users continues to surge, mass adoption is likely to be sooner than the world thinks.

Sponsored Content: Today's newsletter was sponsored by Knights Who Say Nah.

• Is CZ the Jay-Z of Crypto

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