Charles Morgan Bitcoin Reclaims $28,000 | U.S. Regulator Sues Binance

BITCOIN RECLAIMS $28,000 LEVEL; XRP RALLIES ON HOPES OF RIPPLE COURT VICTORY

Despite the jitters caused by the CFTC complaint, cryptocurrencies had a good week. With a roughly 70% gain, bitcoin, which surged past $28,000 on Wednesday, is closing out its best quarter since March 2021, according to crypto trading firm QCP Capital. Another big winner of the week is XRP. The token jumped almost 30% for the week amid hopes that Ripple Labs, the company closely associated with the token, will win its legal battle against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As of Friday morning in New York, the two tokens are trading at $28,435 and 53 cents, respectively.

Source: Forbes Digital Assets, powered by Nomics.  Prices as of 4:00 p.m. on March 31, 2023.

SIGNATURE CRYPTO CUSTOMERS GET ONE WEEK TO REMOVE FUNDS

Former cryptocurrecy clients of the Signature Bank bank are getting the boot as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) says depositors whose accounts were not sold to Flagstar Bank with most of the rest of the shuttered bank’s business, have until April 5 to close their accounts.

David Barr, deputy director of communications at the FDIC, said in an emailed note to Forbes that the agency will put Signet–the Signature transfer system that bridged the crypto and traditional finance worlds–up for sale, though he did not disclose if any potential buyers have expressed interest.

BANKMAN-FRIED’S LEGAL DEFENSE IS BEING FUNDED WITH ALAMEDA MONEY HE GIFTED HIS FATHER

The founder of fallen cryptocurrency exchange FTX, who claimed to have just $100,000 in his bank account last November, is preparing for trial in October backed by a roster of powerful attorneys. But it has remained unclear, until now, how the former billionaire would afford his pricey defense.

Forbes has learned that Bankman-Fried has been paying legal fees from a multi-million dollar gift he gave his father in 2021 with money borrowed from FTX’s sister company. Read more.

FTX FOUNDER FACES FOREIGN BRIBERY CHARGE

Bankman-Fried Fried also faces an additional criminal charge of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, according to a new indictment unsealed Tuesday. Prosecutors said that in 2021 he instructed employees of his hedge fund Alameda Research to pay a $40 million bribe to one or more unnamed Chinese officials to help unfreeze the firm’s trading accounts. The new charge brings the number of counts against the former FTX CEO to 13. He has pleaded not guilty to all.

ELSEWHERE

Canada's 'Crypto King' Claimed He Was Kidnapped and Tortured for 3 Days ... Leaving a Trail of Unanswered Questions [The Block]

U.S., South Korea Vie Over Extradition of Crypto Fugitive Do Kwon [The Wall Street Journal]

Crypto Mogul Who Riled China Before Pushes the Envelope Again [Bloomberg]

Nina Bambysheva
Reporter
Forbes Money & Markets

Steven Ehrlich
Editor 
Forbes CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor

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