Cryptocurrency

Here’s what happened in crypto today

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FTX’s former chief technology officer, Gary Wang, testified at Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial on Oct. 6. Meanwhile, the European markets regulator has issued a second consultation on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) and plans to submit its final report to the European Commission by June 2024, and a judge has given EthereumMax (EMAX) investors suing celebrities over their alleged endorsements a third and final shot at an amended class-action complaint.

Alameda account on FTX had “special privileges,” according to Wang

Gary Wang appeared at Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial on Oct. 6, where he was asked a series of questions about the alleged connections between FTX and Alameda Research.

According to reports, Wang said that Alameda’s FTX account was the only one allowed to trade more funds than it had available. This feature, called “allow negative,” presumably enabled Alameda to continue trading despite having a negative account balance. 

“We had said we wouldn’t use funds like this,” Wang reportedly said. “After I said the Alameda balances were off by billions, [Bankman-Frie] asked to meet in the Bahamas office. He asked me about the bug, and then he told Caroline [Ellison] Alameda can go ahead and return the borrows.”

According to Wang, Bankman-Fried gave Alameda “special privileges” on FTX, which were tied to the exchange’s native FTX Token (FTT).

Bankman-Fried’s trial began earlier this week. The former FTX CEO faces a slew of criminal charges.

European regulator publishes second consultation on MiCA

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the European Union’s markets regulator, released a second consultative paper on MiCA mandates on Oct. 5. The previous consultation paper was published in July.

In the 307-page document, the ESMA seeks stakeholders’ input on five areas of MiCA, including sustainability indicators for distributed ledgers, disclosures of inside information, technical requirements for white papers, trade transparency measures and record-keeping for crypto asset service providers (CASPs).

Among the sustainability indicators, the uthority counts quantitative metrics on the consumption of energy, greenhouse gas emissions and the production of waste, together with a qualitative statement on the impact of the use of equipment by blockchain network nodes on natural resources.

As for post-trade transparency, the ESMA proposes requiring CASPs to report trading and publication date and time, identification of the crypto-asset, pricing information, quantity, venue of execution and transaction ID.

The ESMA also suggests allowing CASPs to store transaction data in “the format they consider most appropriate,” provided they can convert it into a specified format should the authorities request it.

The regulator will publish a final report based on feedback received and submit the draft technical standards to the European Commission by June 30, 2024. However, before that, it will also publish a third consultation package in Q1 of 2024.

Judge gives EMAX investors final shot at class suit

The judge presiding over the EthereumMax (EMAX) investor class action gave a final chance for the plaintiffs to amend their lawsuit against celebrities they accuse of promoting the now-defunct cryptocurrency.

In an Oct. 3 order, United States district court Judge Michael Fitzgerald gave EMAX investors a third try at submitting an amended complaint — but warned it’s their last time to get it right.

“Plaintiffs have repeatedly failed to cure the deficiencies identified by the Court and were explicitly warned that this would be their last opportunity to amend.”

The suit alleges boxing champion Floyd Mayweather, pro basketball star Paul Pierce, reality TV personality Kim Kardashian and others promoted EMAX — which the suit called a “pump and dump” scheme.

Last year, the suit was dismissed but was revived in June after the judge refused to throw out the plaintiff’s “unfair competition” claims against the celebrities.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.