Hut 8 tips 66% hashrate boost after deal to buy 31K Bitcoin miners

FTX co-founder Gary Wang should not receive prison time, his lawyer argued, pointing to the former executive's cooperation with authorities and saying he did not know the extent of the exchange's crimes.

Wang did not know that the sister firm, Alameda Research, was taking FTX customers' money and learned of the fraud after it "was well underway," according to a sentencing memorandum filed on Wednesday.

Wang is set to be sentenced in a New York court on Nov. 20. Wang is also expecting the birth of his son a week later, on Nov. 27, with his wife, Cheryl Chen, and he works full-time as a software engineer. His current job includes supporting “forensics companies, criminal investigators, and justice professionals who seek to faithfully preserve evidence," according to the memo.

"Cheryl is nine months pregnant, in the process of naturalizing, and has not been able to work," Wang's lawyer said. "A custodial sentence would leave both her and Gary’s soon-to-be-born son without their primary source of financial support."

Wang pleaded guilty in December 2022 to fraud-related charges following the collapse of FTX a month earlier. The exchange subsequently filed for bankruptcy following a liquidity crisis and fraud allegations.

Alameda Research also fell. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to nearly 25 years in prison on March 28 and ordered to pay back up to $11 billion in investor and lender losses. He was found guilty in November 2023 of seven criminal counts, including two counts each of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as well as several counts of conspiracy to commit securities and commodities fraud, among other criminal acts.

Bankman-Fried and Wang had been friends since high school where they met at a summer math camp. Wang was also very trusting of others, according to the memo.

"Tragically, Gary’s compassion and kindheartedness made him trusting to the point of naivete," Wang's lawyer said. "Bankman-Fried preyed on that quality, and Gary’s resulting deference to his judgement. And, for all his undeniable brilliance as a coder, Gary allowed himself to become one of BankmanFried’s pawns."

Wang later went on to testify at Bankman-Fried's trial, where he told the court about special privileges that Bankman-Fried secretly granted Alameda Research's accounts on FTX.

"Crucially, as the Government has acknowledged and the evidence at trial showed, when Gary wrote that code, he had no idea Bankman-Fried would exploit the features to steal customer funds. Bankman-Fried did not even inform Gary (let alone coordinate with him) before the exploitation began," Wang's lawyer said.

Nishad Singh, FTX's former engineering director, was given no prison time but three years of supervised release last month after pleading guilty and cooperating with authorities. Former co-CEO of Alameda Caroline Ellison was sentenced in September to two years in prison for her role after cooperating with prosecutors. Former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets Ryan Salame began his prison sentence of seven and a half years last month.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Ethereum is up $275.98 today or 11.43% to $2689.97

• Highest 5 p.m. level since Oct. 20, 2024, when it traded at $2710.45
• Largest percentage increase since May 20, 2024 when it gained 13.86%
• Up two consecutive days, up 13.42% over this period
• Best two day stretch since the two days ending May 21, 2024 when it rose 21.86%
• Up 17.83% year-to-date
• Down 43.96% from its all-time high of $4800.00 on Nov. 9, 2021 (based on 5 p.m. levels)
• Up 42.46% from 52 weeks ago (Nov. 8, 2023), when it traded at $1888.25
• Down 33.28% from its 52-week high of $4031.50 on March 11, 2024 (based on 5 p.m. levels)
• Up 42.46% from its 52-week low of $1888.25 on Nov. 8, 2023 (based on 5 p.m. levels)
• Traded as high as $2704.88
• Up 12.05% at today's intraday high; Largest intraday % increase since May 20, 2024 when it was up as much as 15.94%

Note: The Ethereum price is a 5 p.m. ET snapshot from Kraken

Data compiled by Dow Jones Market Data

Crypto assets kept climbing higher Wednesday after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency, with bitcoin {{BTC}} blasting through $76,000 for the first time ever amid optimism the election will usher in a far friendlier environment for digital assets in the world's largest economy.

Bitcoin {{BTC}} hit a fresh record high of $76,330 during the U.S. day and is up 9.5% over the past 24 hours. Ethereum's ether {{ETH}} surged to just shy of the $2,700 level, up 11% during the same period. The broad-market CoinDesk 20 Index advanced 10.7%, led by gains of decentralized exchange Uniswap {{UNI}}, layer-1 blockchain Solana {{SOL}} and decentralized GPU rendering platform Render {{RNDR}}.

The violent crypto rally triggered $592 million in liquidations of leveraged derivatives trading positions across all crypto assets during the day, CoinGlass data shows. The majority, some $390 million of the liquidations were leveraged shorts betting on lower prices, making the largest short squeeze in at least the past six months.

Crypto stocks also joined the rally, led by crypto exchange Coinbase's C 31% advance. Bitcoin miners Riot Platforms (RIOT), TeraWulf (WULF) and CleanSpark (CLSK) were up 20%-25%, too.

The action happened amid a risk-on day with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 climbing 3% and 2.5%, respectively, following Trump's decisive win in the U.S. elections. Bettors on blockchain-based prediction venue Polymarket project that Republicans are poised to clinch both houses of Congress, a result that observers see as even more bullish for the crypto industry.

"It's hard to think how the election outcome could have landed better for the industry, and expectations of key regulatory improvements are likely to build in the coming months and quarters," David Lawant, head of research at crypto prime brokerage FalconX, said in a Wednesday report. "Such clarity could open room for additional crypto ETF products, covering the main crypto assets and potentially also a broader crypto index, and give entrepreneurs and investors more comfort in U.S. token launches." However, Lawant warned of short-term risks in the meanwhile, which may include "last-minute enforcement actions by departing officials."

Bitcoin's new record high marks a decisive breakout from its grueling, eight-month consolidation phase, which tested crypto investors' patience. Analysts say the leading crypto asset may have more room to run.

"Every way I look at bitcoin here after the election, there just are no more excuses or reasons left for why it doesn't full send over the next 9-12 months," well-followed cross-asset trader Bob Loukas said in an X post.

With the election over, the next key event to watch is Thursday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting, where market participants near-universally expect policymakers to lower Fed fund rates by 25 basis points, per the CME FedWatch Tool.

Bitcoin soared by over 1,900% during Donald Trump’s first term as the United States president between November 2016 and November 2020. This occurred despite his critical stance on the cryptocurrency at the time, highlighted by his well-known 2019 tweet labeling BTC as "highly volatile" and claiming its value was "based on thin air."

Crypto.com hosts an AMA with its co-founder Kris to reveal the 2025 roadmap. Discussions like these can impact investor sentiment. If future plans sound promising, it may lead to positive price movements in CDCETH and MCO. Attendees can ask questions, making it an interactive session. Knowing the company's vision helps traders decide on their investments. Stay updated with this source for further developments.

The listing of Agoric (BLD) on Coins.ph, a well-known exchange in the Philippines, is noteworthy. With the BLD/PHP pair, it becomes accessible to a wide user base. This listing can bring more liquidity and demand for BLD, potentially raising its price. New coin listings often attract increased trading interest, which might drive prices up. However, considering the market's usual swings, investors should remain alert. For more information, read here.