This week in the crypto world we saw BitBoy crypto crying over his lost Lambo and asking for money from his followers, MtGox payments delayed by a little and then delayed by a lot, and some FTX daddy drama.
Joe, Joe, Joe…what have you done?
Don’t Call Me BitBoy…and Give Me Money
Ben Armstrong, the former figurehead of the BitBoy Crypto empire, this week pleaded for donations for a legal fund to try and get his brand back, saying his ‘life has been on the line’ in recent weeks. Armstrong says he was kicked out of the company in a coup, since when the orchestrators have taken control of all his money, losing him his Lamborghini. He has also exorcised any reference to ‘BitBoy’ in his name and brand, telling people that it is dead.
Armstrong, whose BitBoy Crypto channel amassed a huge following over the years despite promoting exit scam and meme coins, famously sued X (then Twitter) user Erling Mengshoel last year for libel and then mocked him for asking for donations to fight the legal battle, only to do the same thing himself now.
The reaction to Armstrong’s appeal has been savage, with one observer pointing out that in a video to accompany his pivot away from the BitBoy Crypto he was wearing a Rolex watch.
MtGox Payments to Start Soon
The first MtGox payouts are due to be sent out at the end of this year, according to the trustee, Nobuaki Kobayashi, who this week pushed the deadline for those who haven’t submitted their bank details by a year. This will mean that the tenth anniversary of the collapse will see payments still pending for many.
Kobayashi posted an update to the MtGox creditor website this week, explaining that the year delay was only for those who hadn’t submitted their payout details, while those whose details have been accepted can expect payouts to start “in sequence as early as the end of this year.”
The deadline for payouts had been 31 October 2023, but there were few in the creditor community who believed this would hold given the lack of action leading up to it.
FTX Has Another Busy Week
You have to hand it to FTX’s lawyers – they are trying everything in their power to get money back for the company. This week saw the company sue the employees (and one of their mothers) of a Honk Kong affiliate, Salameda, for $157 million after they used their influence to push through withdrawals before the drawbridge was pulled up.
That wasn’t the biggest headline though. That honor belonged to Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents who, it seems, were up to their necks in FTX shenanigans. According to a lawsuit filed agains them last week they received a $10 million cash gift from their son and a $16.4 million Bahamas home, purchased by the exchange and located where FTX had its headquarters.
SBF’s father, Joe Bankman, also allegedly aided in concealing complaints made by a FTX former lawyer, facilitating hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to top FTX employees, billed FTX for private jet travel and $1,200-per-night hotel stays, and complained about his $200,000 a year salary.
Lovely man.
