This week in the Wild West of crypto we saw FTX trying to claw back $1 billion from its former executives, Nasdaq cancel its crypto custody plans due to regulatory uncertainty, and Multichain shut its doors after the arrest of its CEO.
Weird old world, this one.
FTX Owners Want $1 Billion From Former Execs
FTX’s owners this week filed a lawsuit against Sam Bankman-Fried and other former executives seeking to recover over $1 billion they allegedly misappropriated before FTX’s bankruptcy.
The execs, including former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX technology chief Zixiao “Gary” Wang, have been accused of misusing funds for personal gain, financing luxury condominiums, making political contributions, engaging in speculative investments, and funding other “pet projects.”
Nasdaq Cancels Crypto Custody Plans
Nasdaq this week decided to halt its plans to launch a cryptocurrency custody service, blaming the impact of a regulatory crackdown on the mainstream financial industry’s involvement with digital assets. The exchange operator had been actively exploring ways to offer a crypto custody service tailored to institutional clients, with its digital assets division set up in September, but on Wednesday it pulled its application, citing regulatory uncertainty as the primary reason for doing so.
Nasdaq announced its crypto custody project in September 2022 and as late as March 2023 it was still talking up the move, targeting a launch by the end of July, but this had now been canned with just days to go.
Multichain Calls Time After Hacks and Arrests
Multichain’s eight weeks of hell has ended with the announcement this week that it is winding down operations following a crippling hack and the arrest of its CEO. The project revealed that a lack of operational funds is behind the decision while confirming that Zhaojun is in police custody following his “disappearance” last month.
The Multichain bridge was exploited earlier this month for $126 million which has left it unable to function, and with no CEO, at least for the short term, those left in charge have decided they have no choice other than to wrap up the project.
