DeFI News by Thebittimes.Com

FTX, the defunct cryptocurrency exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, will start a $1.6 billion distribution to verified creditors on September 30, marking its third payout under bankruptcy proceedings. The payment will be disbursed to creditors within one to three business days via Bitgo, Kraken, or Payoneer, covering both so-called Convenience and Non-Convenience classes, an  announcement said. FTX will pay out $1.6B to creditors on September 30th. Will they buy, or will they sell??? pic.twitter.com/F2bkBeTl35 — Kyle Chassé / DD🐸 (@kyle_chasse) September 19, 2025 Smaller victims with claims under $50,000 are set to recover 120% of their funds, while international customers’ cumulative recovery will climb to 78%. The latest distribution underscores FTX’s progress in repaying creditors, with more than $15 billion recovered so far toward an estimated $16.5 billion liability. Eligibility Depends On Pre-Distribution Compliance Creditors are ...

1. Russian President Putin Signs Law Officially Legalizing Cryptocurrency Mining link Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill officially legalizing cryptocurrency mining. The law introduces new concepts such as digital currency mining, mining pools, mining pool infrastructure operators, address identifiers, and individuals organizing mining pool activities. Mining is considered part of circulation rather than the issuance of digital currencies. Only registered Russian legal entities and individual entrepreneurs are authorized to engage in mining, while individuals who do not exceed government-set energy consumption limits can mine without registration. Additionally, foreign digital financial assets can be traded on Russian blockchain platforms, and the Russian Central Bank has the authority to prohibit individual issuances if financial stability is threatened. The law will take effect ten days after its official publication. Putin described this as a promising economic secto...

Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer , David Mills, calls his client the worst witness ever and emphasizes the FTX founder made the case unwinnable .  In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Mills described the former FTX CEO’s trial as one of his most daunting cases yet. The case began with a personal request, as Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, Bankman-Fried’s parents and long-time acquaintances, sought his expertise. The parents believed in their son’s innocence and needed a capable defender in his corner. Mills, acknowledging the depth of their friendship, agreed to assist without any financial compensation. You might also like: Forbes publishes ‘Under 30 Wall of Shame’ with Sam Bankman-Fried, Caroline Ellison and Martin Shkreli on list Bankman-Fried went off-script Throughout the trial, Mills witnessed Bankman-Fried’s approach in court, which often strayed from the planned defense strategy. Bankman-Fried’s responses under cross-examination, particularly wh...

Genesis Block was an over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk in Hong Kong that was deeply integrated with Alameda Research and FTX, serving as a way for people to convert bags full of fiat to cryptocurrency and vice versa. The firm has a Cayman Islands-based related entity, Genesis Block Ventures, sometimes called GBV Capital, which is also deeply connected to FTX and Alameda Research. Crypto researcher Dirty Bubble Media has previously highlighted how wallets associated with Genesis Block’s trading activities were often funded by, and deeply interconnected with, Alameda Research wallets. At some level, this was acknowledged by Genesis Block when it detailed how “Alameda Research will also provide the technology that acts as the backbone for Genesis Block’s new OTC portal.”  Analysis by Protos now confirms wallets associated with Genesis Block Ventures are deeply connected to FTX and Alameda Research. Genesis Block Ventures on the blockchain Genesis Block Ventu...

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX seeks details about the millions of dollars it had earlier donated to the Center for AI Safety (CAIS). New details were revealed in an Oct. 25 filing in a Delaware Bankruptcy Court. FTX’s legal team stated that the exchange had donated $6.5 million to CAIS, a nonprofit focused on AI safety, between May and September 2022. This was just months before FTX faced financial collapse and filed for bankruptcy. The exchange now requests the court’s permission to issue subpoenas requiring CAIS to disclose any payments , funds, communications, or agreements with FTX, its affiliates, and former executives. FTX alleges that CAIS has been unresponsive to its requests for voluntary accounting related to the financial transfers between the two entities. The exchange further revealed that there had been communications between the firms, including an August phone call and emails in early October. You might also like: Breaking: FTX founder Sam Bankman-...

The credibility of FTX’s “Backstop Fund” has been shattered, as revealed by the former chief technology officer of the cryptocurrency exchange. FTX, a prominent player in the crypto space, employed concealed Python code to distort the true value of its insurance fund. This fund, designed to safeguard users against substantial losses during significant liquidation events, was subject to manipulation, according to the testimony of Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX. In a startling revelation made on October 6th, Gary Wang, the former chief technology officer of FTX , asserted that the purported $100 million insurance fund in 2021 was nothing more than a fabrication. Furthermore, it was devoid of the FTX tokens (FTT) that it had claimed to hold. Instead of an authentic valuation, the figure presented to the public was derived from the daily trading volume of the FTX Token, multiplied by a seemingly arbitrary number close to 7,500. When confronted with this revelation by th...

From charges to testimony to strategy, here’s everything you need to know to follow the biggest fraud trial of the decade. This morning, Tuesday October 2, in downtown Manhattan, Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial for a litany of alleged financial crimes will begin.  Bankman-Fried stands accused of effectively stealing roughly $8 billion dollars worth of cryptocurrency and other funds belonging to large and small speculators worldwide. His methods were a mix of complex related-party accounting, uncanny media magnetism, and simply giving money to his friends. If convicted, Bankman-Fried would be by many measures the biggest financial fraudster since Bernie Madoff. Here’s how Sam Bankman-Fried ’s alleged crimes, as well as some pretty wild stuff adjacent to the crimes , will be presented to a jury. Caroline Ellison’s diaries reveal Alameda chaos, imposter syndrome, toxic SBF Read more: SBF leaked diaries to harass Caroline Ellison and derail trial, lawsuit claims The courtr...

Within these transactions, a significant portion of 7,749 ETH, equivalent to $13 million, was directed toward the Thorchain router and Railgun contract. According to recent information from Spot On Chain, an address linked to the FTX exploit , identified as 0x3e9, has conducted transfers exceeding 10,000 ETH, valued at more than $17.1 million, across five different addresses within the past day. It's worth noting that these addresses had remained inactive for several months before this recent activity. Within these transactions, a significant portion of 7,749 ETH, equivalent to $13 million, was directed toward the Thorchain router and Railgun contract. Furthermore, the exploit er engaged in a swap involving 2,500 ETH, valued at $4.19 million, converting it into 153.4 tBTC at an average rate of $27,281 per token. This address, which has recently become active, has exhibited noteworthy activity and is anticipated to continue transferring ETH, most likely to Thorchain. At the time of...

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao recently addressed various pertinent questions about the leading Bitcoin (BTC) trading venue and its future amid ongoing regulatory challenges. Zhao, known within the crypto sector as “CZ,” provided insight on the exchange’s current situation as well as BNB Chain’s momentum in a recent X (formerly Twitter) “Ask Me Anything” session. CZ debunks Binance rumors and FUD Zhao began by addressing the rumors surrounding Binance, emphasizing that negative news often spreads faster than the truth in the crypto world.  He acknowledged the presence of FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) but highlighted that Binance is fundamentally different from the disgraced Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX.  According to Zhao, the key difference lies in Binance’s financial structure. He claims the world’s largest centralized crypto exchange operates without debt, ensuring its financial stability. When asked about the sluggish momentum of th...

Solana was one of the most-affected casualties of the FTX crash. Sam Bankman-Fried’s exchange collapsed in November 2022 and it subsequently filed for bankruptcy. From its $38.59 local high created in November 2022, the crypto asset’s price dropped down to a low of $8 by December. The same translated to a whopping 387% decline. However, like most digital assets in 2023, even Solana rallied on a positive note. It went on to fetch investors lofty returns in Q1. A recent tweet from Kaiko pointed out that Solana managed to erase a significant chunk of its FTX losses. It did so by registering a three-digit gain. Specifically, its tweet noted, “ In our L1 basket, SOL erased most of its post- FTX losses with gains of 100%. “ Notably, Cardano, Avalanche, Fantom, and Atom were other cryptos part of the same L1 basket analyzed by Kaiko. SOL/USDT by TradingView Also Read: $135 Million Flows Into Bitcoin, Solana , XRP, MATIC: Highest Since July 2022 Solana and its broa...

Charges against Sam Bankman-Fried have been piling up lately. Just a day back, he was charged with bribing a Chinese official. In fact, as reported earlier today, the FTX founder now has a total of 13 criminal counts and faces more than a century behind bars if convicted. Bankman-Fried’s legal team has been upfront all this while. Right from submitting motions to bargaining bail condition deals, the defense has been checking the boxes one by one. Now, a recent report from Forbes unveiled that Bankman-Fried’s legal defense is allegedly being paid with the “multi-million dollar gift” he gave his father with money borrowed from FTX ’s sister company, Alameda Research. Two unnamed sources with operational knowledge of FTX and Alameda confirmed to Forbes that Bankman-Fried gave “a large monetary gift” to his father Joseph Bankman. The transaction was made in 2021, when Bankman-Fried was the CEO of FTX. Sam Bankman-Fried ’s Legal Defense Is Being Funded With Alameda Money He G...

The total crypto market cap slipped below $1.025 trillion as concerns over Silvergate Bank’s solvency triggered a sharp sell-off in BTC, ETH and altcoins. Cryptocurrency markets experienced a relatively calm month in February as the total market capitalization gained 4% in the period. However, the fear of regulatory pressure appears to be having an impact on volatility in March. Bulls will undoubtedly miss the technical pattern that has been guiding the total crypto market capitalization upwards for the past 48 days. Unfortunately, not all trends last forever, and the 6.3% price correction on March 2 was enough to break below the ascending channel support level. Total crypto market cap in USD, 12-hour. Source: TradingView As displayed above, the ascending channel initiated in mid-January saw its $1.025 trillion market cap floor ruptured after Silvergate bank, a major player in crypto on and off-ramping, saw its stock plunge by 57.7% at the New York Stock Exchange on March 2. Silvergat...