Memecoins based on Sam Bankman-Fried experienced a surge and subsequent drop as a US court sentenced the former FTX CEO to over two decades in prison. Memecoin enthusiasts once again invested heavily in a variety of questionable tokens, this time amid the historic conviction of Sam Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison by Judge Lewis Kaplan on March 28 for seven counts of fraud. This marked the first time an FTX executive faced prison time due to the exchange's collapse in November 2022, which was described as one of the largest corporate collapses in US history.
A few hours before the verdict against Bankman-Fried was announced, a developer launched a memecoin called Sam Baseman Fraud, humorously featuring the FTX symbol, on Coinbase's Layer 2 network. Within just seven hours, the FTX memecoin rose more than 23,300%, with its market cap peaking at $1.5 million on March 28, according to data from DexScreener. Like many memecoins, the token experienced a sharp sell-off, losing more than 85% in three hours. As of this writing, the price of the memecoin has stabilized at around $0.06, still 60% below its all-time highs. About two hours after the ruling, another SBF-themed memecoin called Som Bonkmon Fraud was launched for Solana SOL $187.
The Solana-based memecoin SBF initially reached a market cap of around $20 million, an increase of more than 18,000% from its launch value of $30,000. However, the token quickly sold off, falling more than 95% from its peak. The memecoin trend saw a significant boost following the emergence of a Solana-based memecoin called Dog Wif Hat (WIF), which rose from a market cap of around $50,000 to $3.5 billion in four months. Memecoins are hyper-speculative investments that often offer no utility or underlying valuation outside of current interest and hype. Notably, FTX Token (FTT), the native cryptocurrency of the now-defunct exchange, also plunged more than 16% following news of Bankman-Fried's conviction, according to data from CoinGecko.
Major global crypto exchange Bybit has announced the launch of Bybit.nl as a new regulated crypto trading platform in the Netherlands. Bybit, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volumes, is expanding operations in Europe after facing regulatory scrutiny in Hong Kong. On March 28, Bybit officially announced the launch of its digital asset platform, Bybit.nl, in the Netherlands. Dutch users can immediately deposit, withdraw, trade, and use staking through the Bybit card on Bybit.nl.
The launch of Bybit.nl is enabled through collaboration with Satos, one of the oldest Bitcoin-focused companies in the Netherlands. Through a strategic partnership with Satos, a licensed virtual asset service provider recognized by De Nederlandsche Bank, Bybit is allowed to provide crypto services in compliance with local regulatory requirements," the Bybit spokesperson stated. The initial partnership was signed in June 2023. Bybit's launch in the Netherlands aims to further the company's commitment to serving users while upholding regulatory compliance, Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou said.
According to Rottier, other major global exchanges like Binance and Gemini were forced to terminate their operations in the Netherlands to comply with local laws in 2023. The SFC is concerned that these products have also been offered to Hong Kong investors and wishes to make it clear that no entity in the Bybit group is licensed by or registered with the SFC to conduct any ‘regulated activity’ in Hong Kong,” said the regulator. According to data from Kaiko, Bybit's daily spot trading volume peaked at $4.3 billion on March 4, ranking as the second biggest exchange after Binance, which reached nearly $24 billion in volumes on that day.
Former FTX Executives and Promoters Settle Class Action Lawsuit for $1.3 Million. Former FTX and Alameda executives agreed to share information to support Class Group's litigation against other alleged FTX promoters. Former FTX executives and promoters have reached a nearly $1.36 million settlement with a class action group of the cryptocurrency exchange's former investors seeking compensation for the fraud. FTX co-founder Zixiao Gary Wang, former chief engineering officer Nishad Singh, and former CEO of sister trading firm Alameda Research Caroline Ellison have agreed to cooperate and provide information to the lawsuit to resolve the claims against them, it said a March 27 offer in Miami federal court. Ask for consent to the agreements. Daniel Friedberg, U.S. Chief Compliance Officer.
The former executives did not admit to any of the allegations made in the lawsuit, but the class group concluded that the trio's knowledge and other information would be valuable in making their case against other plaintiffs, including celebrities, companies, and venture capitalists. Each of the three faces their punishment after pleading guilty to fraud. The class will confirm its cooperation with the court prior to sentencing. The former executives will also release the documents used in the FTX bankruptcy case and make available for depositions and hearings. In the settlement agreement, the three also agreed to confiscate their assets so that the judge in their criminal case could decide on the recovery and distribution of the victims' funds. Unlike FTX's bankruptcy decisions or other proposed actions, you may not oppose a request by FTX investors to distribute funds as part of the class action.
An agreement was also reached with Friedberg, and the documents state that he voluntarily provided valuable information to the class group and "agreed to do so on an ongoing basis." Friedberg's agreement stated that he had "no knowledge of the FTX scam," and upon learning of it, he immediately resigned and immediately contacted authorities. Seven YouTubers and influencers also paid to settle the lawsuit, including $180,000 from Brian Jung, $122,000 from Kevin Paffrath, $37,485 from Tom Nash, $10,000 from Graham Stephan, and $5,000 each by Jeremy LeFebvre and Andrei Jikh. All individuals named in the settlements have been released from all claims relating to the alleged conduct giving rise to this litigation.
