Former FTX VP of Engineering Pleads Guilty, 83% of Japanese Traders to HODL Crypto
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Here are some of the most important developments from the crypto world in recent days
Former FTX director of engineering Nishad Singh has pleaded guilty to US criminal charges, agreeing to cooperate with an investigation into FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
According to Reuters, Singh pleaded guilty on Tuesday to six conspiracy charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate federal campaign finance laws.
“I am incredibly sorry for my role in all of this,” Binance quoted Singh as saying. He acknowledged that he was aware that Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund, Alameda Research, was discreetly borrowing FTX client funds by mid-2022.
A $250,000 bond was set for his release and he agreed to surrender all proceeds from the scheme. Bankman-Fried’s inner circle now has three members who have pleaded guilty and cooperated with the investigation.
Eight out of ten Japanese traders to HODL Cryptos
New research has found that more than 8 out of 10 Japanese cryptocurrency traders intend to HODL their coins in 2023. HODL, or Hold On for Dear Life, is now widely known in the crypto community as a strategy of not selling digital assets despite extreme market fluctuations.
HODL remains relevant in 2023 amid Bitcoin’s latest bout of volatility. Zero Accel surveyed 330 crypto holders in 47 Japanese provinces in January 2023, and 82.7 percent of them said they “intend to continue holding” their tokens in the future.
Over seven in ten respondents said bitcoin (BTC) was their favorite coin, while most of the rest chose Ethereum (ETH).
Crypto holders said “creditworthiness and future prospects” were key factors when choosing a coin to invest in, not “current market value”.
Legalization of crypto will undermine Russian financial system: Central Bank of Russia
The Russian Central Bank’s Director of Financial Stability said that legalizing crypto could undermine Russia’s financial system. The director believes that allowing crypto into the Russian financial system would entail “fundamental risk”.
Neither crypto nor token trading is illegal or regulated in the country. The Ministry of Finance wants crypto to be legalized and tokens to be regulated.
Elizaveta Danilova, the bank’s director of financial stability warned that such a move could compromise the stability of the financial system and “pave the way” for an influx of illegal activities.
However, Danilova indicated that the central bank was not against the use of crypto in international settlements. The bank can still approve cryptomining’s legalization. The bank wants to keep miners out of the Russian economy by allowing them to trade their coins on international trading platforms.
The central bank’s longtime governor, Elvira Nabiullina, had stated that the bank had a “negative attitude towards the use of cryptocurrency in the domestic market.”
