Cryptocurrency Exchanges

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried oversaw one of the biggest financial frauds in American history, a top federal prosecutor said in charging that the former chief executive stole billions of dollars from the crypto exchange’s customers while misleading investors and lenders.An indictment by the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, unsealed Tuesday, charges Mr. Bankman-Fried with eight counts of fraud. Prosecutors allege that he took FTX.com customers’ money to pay the…

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried diverted customer funds from the start of his cryptocurrency exchange to support his hedge fund, Alameda Research, and to make venture investments, real-estate purchases and political donations, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.The SEC said those moves were concealed from Silicon Valley investors who poured $1.8 billion into FTX. U.S. investors contributed $1.1 billion of that total. Mr. Bankman-Fried also failed to…

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested in the Bahamas after the U.S. filed criminal charges that it expects to unseal Tuesday morning, the authorities in the two countries said Monday evening. The development is the latest bombshell in a case that has transfixed Wall Street and Washington since FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, filed for bankruptcy last month after it ran out of cash and rival Binance walked away from a shotgun…

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the collapsed exchange FTX, always stood apart from other cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, and it wasn’t for his baggy shorts or taste in videogames.Both his parents, as Mr. Bankman-Fried would note in meetings with Washington policy makers, are professors at Stanford Law School. Their reputations were a credential to their son as he grew his crypto empire, even to those inclined to see little value in the industry. FTX failed last month, brought down after…

Coinbase COIN -6.00% Global Inc. Chief Executive Brian Armstrong believes that regulation will help fuel the rise of a stablecoin backed by his exchange. USD Coin will become “the de facto central bank digital currency” of the U.S., he said in a Friday interview.  “If we can get regulatory clarity, I think it will sort of shepherd in or grandfather in some of these stablecoins that have been…

Binance recently made a commitment to transparency, but it has a long way to go before it discloses enough meaningful information to give investors confidence in its future, accounting and financial specialists say.The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is seeking to reassure customers about the safety of their holdings after the collapse of FTX. Binance’s position means its success or failure will weigh heavily on the entire crypto market. “It’s important for us to show users that the coffers are not bare, like at…

The Securities and Exchange Commission says companies may have disclosure obligations over how recent crypto bankruptcies may have affected their business. Photo: Eric Lee for The Wall Street Journal…

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried said he would testify next week before Congress, setting up a high-profile discussion with lawmakers he sought to court before his crypto exchange collapsed into bankruptcy.Mr. Bankman-Fried said on Twitter he would appear before the House Committee on Financial Services. The committee has a hearing scheduled for Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET to investigate the collapse of FTX. Mr. Bankman-Fried will most likely testify remotely, according to a person familiar with the…

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an appeal by the major crypto exchange Coinbase, which is seeking to have two customer lawsuits against the company resolved by private arbitration, not by a federal court."We are gratified the Supreme Court agreed to hear our appeal, and we look forward to its resolution of this matter," a Coinbase spokesperson said.related investing newsThe issue the high court will take up in Coinbase's case relates to the highly technical question of whether a party in a lawsuit can be forced…

FTX’s new management has hired a team of forensic investigators from advisory firm AlixPartners to help track the billions of dollars that have gone missing from the failed cryptocurrency exchange, people familiar with the matter said. The AlixPartners team is led by Matt Jacques, a former chief accountant for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Jacques didn’t respond to a request for comment. AlixPartners... FTX’s new management…