BlackRock bullish on Bitcoin, Gemini CEO’s ‘delusion,’ and CEXs’ unhappy staff: Hodler’s Digest, July 2-8

Newly revealed court documents show that FTX secretly liquidated $1.53 billion in Three Arrows Capital (3AC) assets just two weeks before the hedge fund collapsed in 2022. The disclosure challenged previous narratives that 3AC’s downfall was solely market-driven.Once valued at over $10 billion, 3AC collapsed in mid-2022 after a series of leveraged directional trades turned sour. The hedge fund had borrowed from over 20 large institutions before the May 2022 crypto crash, which saw Bitcoin (BTC) fall to $16,000.However, recently-discovered evidence shows that the FTX exchange liquidated $1.53 billion worth of 3AC’s assets just two weeks ahead of the hedge fund’s collapse.3AC “asked a bankruptcy court to let it increase its claim against FTX from $120 million to $1.53 billion,” according to “Mbottjer,” the pseudonymous co-founder of FTX Creditor, a group FTX creditors and bankruptcy claim buyers.“3AC says it only recently discovered evidence that FTX liquidated $1.53B of 3AC’s assets just two weeks before 3AC itself went into liquidation, much more than the $120M originally claimed,” they stated.Source: MbottjerThe crypto hedge fund claims it was never notified of these liquidations due to FTX’s own bankruptcy proceedings. A court ruled that 3AC acted in good faith, allowing it to pursue its full $1.53 billion claim in FTX’s bankruptcy case.On Dec. 21, 2023, a British Virgin Islands court froze $1.14 billion worth of 3AC co-founder Kyle Davies and Su Zhu’s assets. Teneo has since estimated that 3AC creditors are still owed roughly $3.3 billion following the hedge fund’s collapse in 2022.Davies claimed that allegations from Teneo — the firm in charge of 3AC’s liquidation — that he and co-founder Su Zhu were “not cooperating” were exaggerated.Related: US court gives Three Arrows nod to increase its FTX claim to $1.53BMissing $1.5 billion not enough to avoid 3AC collapseWhile the $1.53 billion sum is significantly larger than FTX’s previously disclosed liquidations, it may not have been enough to save 3AC from bankruptcy, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, research analyst at Nansen:“From what I can see, even if they in 2022 had the additional $1.5 billion they still would not have been able to meet creditor claims/debt repayments.”“Without being a legal expert, it seems to me that 3AC, while being allowed to pursue a much larger amount, likely won’t get the full $1.53 billion claim. It seems realistic that they will get more, but how much is uncertain,” the analyst added.Related: 3AC liquidators file $1.3B claim against Terraform LabsBinance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao called the revelations an “interesting turn of events.”Source: CZ BNB“I am curious if FTX had anything to do with the LUNA/UST crash/depeg in May 2022,” Zhao said in a March 14 X post.The collapse of 3AC occurred a month after that of Terraform Labs’ Terra (LUNC) and TerraClassicUSD (USTC) tokens and shortly before crypto lender Celsius paused all user withdrawals after its native token Celsius (CEL) dropped 90%.Magazine: ‘Hong Kong’s FTX’ victims win lawsuit, bankers bash stablecoins: Asia Express

Russian companies have been using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and USDt to facilitate trade with China and India amid international sanctions, according to a Reuters report.Russian oil companies have used crypto assets including Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether’s USDt (USDT) for international trade, Reuters reported on March 14, citing four sources with direct knowledge of the matter.One Russian oil trader reportedly conducts tens of millions of dollars worth of monthly transactions using digital assets, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to a non-disclosure agreement.While the Russian finance minister publicly declared in late 2024 that Russia is free to use assets like Bitcoin in foreign trade, the use of crypto in oil transactions with China and India had not been previously reported.Russia’s oil trade in crypto: How does it work?According to Reuters, Russia’s foreign oil trade in crypto involves intermediaries who manage offshore accounts and facilitate transactions in the buyer’s local currency. One example includes a Chinese buyer of Russian oil that pays a trading company acting as a middleman in yuan into an offshore account.The middleman then converts payments into crypto assets and transfers it to another account, which then sends it to a third account in Russia and converts it to Russian rubles, sources said.Crypto will be used no matter of sanctionsAccording to one of Reuters’ sources, crypto will likely continue to be used in Russia’s foreign oil trading regardless of whether any sanctions are in place and even if the sanctions are lifted and Russia is free to use the dollar.“It is a convenient tool and helps run operations faster,” the report said, citing the source.The news comes amid the Bank of Russia officially proposing to legalize cryptocurrency investments for high-net-worth individuals who have at least $1.1 million in securities and deposits.Bitcoin remains highly restricted in mainland ChinaWhile Russia has been increasingly open to Bitcoin, including its use in foreign trade, mainland China has maintained a cautious and restrictive approach toward cryptocurrency.Since banning virtually all crypto transactions in 2021, authorities in mainland China have maintained a restrictive agenda on crypto, while neighboring jurisdiction Hong Kong has emerged as a global crypto hub.Related: Indian authorities arrest alleged Garantex founder for US extraditionDespite the restrictions, mainland China has remained one of the global leaders in Bitcoin mining, raising controversy over the application of its crypto ban.Source: Jan3As the United States moves forward with its strategic Bitcoin reserve initiative, some industry observers believe China will not ignore Bitcoin’s growing role in the global financial landscape.According to data from the Bitcoin technology company Jan3, the Chinese government may be holding at least 193,000 BTC.Magazine: Ridiculous ‘Chinese Mint’ crypto scam, Japan dives into stablecoins: Asia Express

A Texas federal judge has entered a default judgment against Bancor DAO, which operated the decentralized finance platform Bancor, after it failed to respond to an online summons. Judge Robert Pitman issued the judgment after Bancor DAO did not appear to defend itself following a summons that was posted on the DAO’s forum in January 2024.“Defendant Bancor DAO has failed to answer or otherwise defend itself within the time allowed, and that plaintiffs have demonstrated that failure,” wrote district court clerk Philip Delvin on March 13.The class action involves investors who claim they lost tens of millions of dollars due to the exchange’s failure to warn about liquidity issues during a 2022 withdrawal spike.Clerk’s entry of default against Bancor. Source: Law360According to the plaintiffs, who filed the suit in May 2023, Bancor deceived investors about its impermanent loss protection mechanism for liquidity providers and also claimed its token was an unregistered security. They said Bancor’s ILP operated at a deficit and tried to cover by launching a new product, v3, which promised “some of the most competitive returns anywhere without asking users to take on any risk.”Impermanent losses occur within DeFi automated market maker models when liquidity providers deposit assets into a pool, and one of the tokens loses value against another in the pool. Bancor paused impermanent loss protection, citing “hostile” market conditions in June 2022.The plaintiffs also argued that Bancor DAO is an “unincorporated general partnership” consisting of vBNT tokenholders and could be sued in that capacity, according to Law360.The case was previously dismissed entirely because the protocol developers were not based in the United States, but was reopened in December.The plaintiffs said that the DeFi platform “does not appear to be registered in any jurisdiction and has no physical office location, mailing address, officers, directors, or appointed agents.”Bancor is an onchain liquidity protocol that enables automated, decentralized exchange across blockchains. It has $38 million in total value locked, a figure that is down 98% since its peak in May 2021, according to DeFillama.Related: Lawsuits could be catastrophic for DAOs if denied ‘limited liability’The ruling follows precedent from a similar case where the Commodity Futures Trading Commission won a default judgment against Ooki DAO.A California federal judge also ruled in November that DAOs and their governing members can be sued in cases involving unregistered securities.Magazine: Mystery celeb memecoin scam factory, HK firm dumps Bitcoin: Asia Express