Monday April 1, 2024
Sam Bankman-Fried received a 25-year sentence, shorter than the anticipated 30 - 40 years. That said, this is still the second longest sentence in terms of length for white-collar crimes - second only to Bernie Madoff's. With good behavior, SBF could be eligible for release in as little as 12.5 years.
◾ Sam Bankman Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison. (X)
◾ A federal judge rejected Wyoming-based Custodia Bank's argument that it is entitled to a Federal Reserve master account. (CourtFiling)
◾ Microsoft (MSFT) and OpenAI are planning to build a datacenter and $100 billion supercomputer, codenamed ‘Stargate’ to power ChatGPT. (TheInformation)
Government & NGO Actions
◾ The Biden administration updated regulations to tighten restrictions on China's ability to obtain US manufactured AI chips and tooling. (Reuters)
◾ Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed his government to look at developing a Russian-made video game console platform to compete with Micosoft’s (MSFT) Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation. (PCmag)
◾ CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham said her agency‘s actions against KuCoin may be infringing on the SEC’s securities jurisdiction. (CFTC.gov)
◾ The US and UK are reviewing more than $20 billion of USDT transactions that traded through Russian crypto exchange Garantex. (Bloomberg)
◾ The US and Japan plan to announce increased cooperation around AI and the development of semiconductors. (Reuters)
◾ The US House of Representatives banned its congressional staffers from using Microsoft’s (MSFT) AI-chatbot ‘Copilot.’ (Axios)
Financial Notices & Public Company Releases
◾ Bitdeer Technologies (BTDR) reported total revenue of $386 million for 2023 with adjusted EBITA of $100 million. (BitDeer)
◾ Mawson Infrastructure Group (MIGI) announced total revenue of $43.5 million for the year ending December 31, 2023. (MarketScreener)
◾ WonderFi Technologies (WNDR) recorded Q4 revenue of $12.0 million with EBITDA of $6.7 million. (Wonderfi)
◾ CleanSpark (CLSK) increased the size of its ATM offering to $800 million. (SECfiling)
◾ Bitdeer Technologies (BTDR) is speaking with private credit firms about a $100 raise. (Bloomberg)
◾ Kerrisdale Capital issued a short report on MicroStrategy arguing the bitcoin hodler cannot justify the premium to the digital assets that drive its value. (Kerrisdalecap)
Restructuring, Losses & Legal News
◾ FTX hopes to begin repaying creditors by the end of the year. (TheBlock)
◾ A British court froze £6 million of Craig Wright’s global assets to insure that he pays all expenses related to the trial that determined he is not Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of bitcoin. (CoinDesk)
◾ Roman Storm, the cofounder of the Tornado Cash mixer submitted a request to have his charges from the US Justice Department dismissed. (TheBlock)
AI Announcements
◾ X.AI announced plans to release the next generation of its Grok LLM (v.1.5) “in the coming days.” (X.AI)
◾ Samsung is contemplating the integration of generative AI technology into its 'Bixby' voice assistant. (CNBC)
Protocols, Applications & Business News
◾ Brazilian exchange operate B3 plans to offer bitcoin futures starting later this month. (Reuters)
◾ Bitkub, the largest crypto exchange in Thailand, is planning to IPO in 2025. (Bloomberg)
◾ Crypto custodian Copper is facing criticism after hosting a party where “guests were served sushi from the bodies of scantily clad models .” (FT)
Metaverse & Gaming Briefings & Activations
◾ Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) is buying Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment from Sweden’s Embracer Group for $460 million. (Reuters)
Market Data
◾ Tether (USFT) spent $618 million from its reserves to buy 8,888 bitcoin brining its total BTC holdings to 75,354 ($5.2 billion). (Cointelegraph)