Cryptocurrency

Caroline Ellison: Secret recording offers trove of explosive revelations

Published

1 year ago

October 13, 2023

The ongoing trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has uncovered a series of explosive revelations in the form of testimonies from former key FTX and Alameda Research executives.

The latest court proceedings on Oct. 12 saw former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison testify for the third day, following which the jury was presented with a recording of a meeting she held with Alameda staffers on Nov. 9, 2022, just days before the collapse of the FTX empire.

The meeting, held in Hong Kong and joined by nearly half of Alameda’s employees, was the key moment Ellison came clean about the ongoing scenario with the crypto exchange to her colleagues. This admission was accompanied by explosive revelations about Alameda’s financial relationship with FTX. Cointelegraph has obtained access to the secret recording, and we have curated a list of four striking elements it revealed.

Alameda’s bad investments led to the financial crisis at FTX

The first and most crucial revelation came early in the meeting when Ellison revealed that Alameda had borrowed money from FTX for a year. She admitted that Alameda had made several illiquid investments using the borrowed funds.

Due to the market downturn, Alameda’s loan positions were called in, creating a shortfall in FTX’s balance sheet. Here’s an excerpt from the discussion:

“Most of Alameda’s loans got called in in order to meet those loan recalls. We ended up borrowing a bunch of funds on FTX, which led to FTX having a shortfall in user funds. And so with the, once there started being like FUD about this and users started withdrawing funds.”

Ellison revealed that Alameda’s bad loans created market panic around FTX, causing users to withdraw their funds. FTX then paused withdrawals to contain the situation, and the exchange came crashing down within days.

FTX planned to raise more funds to compensate users

When one of the employees attending the meeting asked Ellison how FTX intended to pay back its customers, Ellison said that the crypto exchange was planning to raise further funds to fill the gap.

“Basically, FTX is trying to raise in order to do this [compensate users], but yeah, after the crash, no one wanted to invest. I don’t know, obviously, in retrospect, the plan of waiting around for several months and like for the market environment to get better and then raise.”

During the court proceedings on Thursday, Christian Drappi, a former software engineer at Alameda who was present during the meeting, told the court that Ellision’s response about paying back customers sounded concerning to him because he wasn’t aware of a scenario where investors have contributed to making customers whole due to bad financial decisions of the company.

The nervous laughter

As the secret recording was played in the court, the former Alameda employee also pointed out that Ellison had giggled during the meeting. The employee suggested this was Ellison’s “nervous laughter,” something she often did when in a tight spot.

When Ellison was asked by a staffer at the meeting whose idea it was to plug Alameda’s loan losses with FTX customer money, she responded with, “Um, Sam, I guess,” and giggled.

Alameda almost always had access to user’s funds at FTX

Another staffer enquired about the backdoor access of Alameda to FTX and asked how long Alameda had been using FTX customers’ funds to bridge holes in its balance sheet. Ellison responded, “FTX basically always allowed Alameda to borrow user funds, as far as I know.”

Collect this article as an NFT to preserve this moment in history and show your support for independent journalism in the crypto space.

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Cryptocurrency

Official Trump Surpasses PEPE as Binance, Coinbase Join the TRUMP Craze

Published

1 hour ago

January 19, 2025

Within just a day after its launch, Official Trump has become the talk of the town, with its price skyrocketing by triple digits.

The asset has now received backing from two of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges amid its mindblowing rally and spectacular trading volumes.

Binance, Coinbase Join the Pack

It’s not every day that you see the release of a meme coin by a former and upcoming US president. But we do live in wild times, and that’s what happened on Friday evening when the president-elect, who will return to office on January 20, announced the launch of such a token dubbed Official Trump.

Within a day or so, the asset exploded in value and is currently the 23rd-largest, according to CoinGecko, and 21st-biggest on CoinMarketCap. Despite the discrepancies, both platforms agree that its price is well above $43, and its market cap is somewhere around $9 billion, creating numerous success stories in the meantime.

Moreover, the trading volumes went through the roof (over $11 billion within a 24-hour period). This has turned many leading exchanges toward the TRUMP token. Binance and Coinbase were the latest (and among the biggest) to join the craze.

The largest US-based crypto exchange said it had added TRUMP to its roadmap, which typically means that it will be listed for trading soon.

Binance noted that trading for TRUMP will begin on January 19 at 8:30 UTC, and the first pairs will be against the two biggest stablecoins, USDC and USDT. Withdrawals will be available from January 20 at the same time.

Above PEPE

After speculating yesterday whether TRUMP can become the largest meme coin by market cap, the asset, which was in fourth place at that time, has climbed a spot and is now above PEPE.

The frog-based meme token peaked at around $0.000021 yesterday, but when the TRUMP mania went wild, it started to lose value rapidly. It now sits below $0.000018, down by 15% within a day. Its market cap has dropped to $7.5 billion on CG, well below TRUMP’s $9 billion.

Next on Official Trump’s path toward the number one spot is Shiba Inu, which is also down daily. Its market cap stands close to $13 billion, which seems doable given the massive rally that transpired since TRUMP’s launch.

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Cryptocurrency

GameGPT Launches The Revolutionary Genesis AI NFT Collection, Combining AI and Blockchain for the Future of Gaming

Published

1 hour ago

January 19, 2025

[PRESS RELEASE – Austin, United States / Texas, January 18th, 2025]

Bringing cutting-edge AI technology to the forefront of gaming and blockchain, GameGPT announces the official launch of their Genesis AI NFT Collection—an innovative blend of digital NFT ownership and advanced AI Agent capability. With this launch, GameGPT aims to redefine how video games are created: providing gamers, creators, and blockchain enthusiasts with next-generation tools for immersive digital experiences.

A New Era for Gaming: AI Meets NFTs

Just as AI-driven automation transformed global industries in recent years, GameGPT is poised to do the same for gaming and Web3. The company has been building AI solutions since 2020, culminating in a platform that can create fully functional video games from user prompts at a fraction of the usual development time—1/100 of the norm.

The upcoming AI Agent NFT Collection of 6,000 NFTs offers owners the ability to upgrade these digital assets into interactive AI Agents. These Agents can:

Engage with social media on behalf of the owner,
Execute blockchain transactions autonomously, and
Learn to play games built on GameGPT’s platform (or others).

It’s a powerful merging of two major trends—AI and NFTs—at a time when the gaming world is increasingly embracing new technologies.

Key Features At a Glance

Automated Game Creation

AI Game Builder: turn simple text prompts into functional video games—dramatically reducing development time and costs.
Collaborative Creativity: Ideal for teams or individuals looking to expand their creative reach without requiring advanced coding skills.

AI Agent NFT Collection

Upgradeable Agents: Each NFT can evolve into an intelligent Agent capable of social media interactions and game-playing actions.
Blockchain Integration: Agents can perform on-chain tasks, bringing unparalleled utility to NFT ownership.

Massive Community & Backing

Over 500k social media followers, US$11.5 million raised to date, and partnerships with leading firms such as Animoca Brands, CoinFund, Polygon, Merit Circle, Hivemind, Republic Ventures, Placeholder Ventures, and Liberty City Ventures.

Launch Details

AI Agent NFT Auction:

Start Date: January 20, 2025, 10 AM EST
Platform: nft.prism.ai website
Supply: 6,000 total, with 2,400 in auction.
Bid Range: 0.035–0.075 ETH

Game Builder V1:

Target Release: Coming soon.
Access: Web-based platform; additional details will be announced closer to launch.

During the first 12 hours of the auction, whitelisted wallets can place bids; the last 12 hours will be open to the public. If more than 2,400 bids are placed at the max bid price, the top 2,400 bidders will each win an NFT. Unsuccessful bidders receive a full refund.

The Growing Impact of AI in Gaming

As AI and blockchain continue to surge in adoption, GameGPT sees 2025 as a pivotal year for AI-based gaming. The ability to automate game creation and manage in-game activity through AI Agents stands to revolutionize how players and developers interact with virtual worlds.

“We believe AI is the next frontier in game development,” says Will Deane, Founder and CEO of GameGPT. “By combining blockchain with advanced AI, we’re not only speeding up the creation process but also enabling the average person to bring their game ideas to life. This launch is just our first step in radically reshaping the future of online gaming.”

About GameGPT

GameGPT aims to bridge the gap between AI, gaming and blockchain technology — empowering millions of gamers and creators worldwide. GameGPT’s mission is to democratize game creation through the power of AI and blockchain, making it possible for anyone to conceive, build and monetize unique gaming experiences. The company is best known for creating the first-ever AI Game Builder, which was demoed live for over 500,000 followers. GameGPT’s achievements are fueled by partnerships with industry leaders, including Animoca Brands, CoinFund, Aethir and others.

For more information on the upcoming AI Agent NFT auction or AI Game Builder, visit GameGPT’s Discord channel or follow their social media channels.

Disclaimer: The AI Agent NFTs are digital collectibles that enable optional AI-powered features. Buyers should familiarize themselves with potential risks, including technical, financial, and regulatory considerations.

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Cryptocurrency

TRUMP Overtakes SHIB in Meme Coin Battle, BTC Nears $105K (Weekend Watch)

Published

1 hour ago

January 19, 2025

Bitcoin’s price actions during the weekend have been quite positive, given the overall market condition, and the asset remains close to $105,000.

The altcoins have been hit hard, especially the meme coins, since the emergence of TRUMP, which is now the second-biggest in its field after surpassing PEPE and SHIB today.

TRUMP Above SHIB

It’s safe to say that the past 36 hours or so belong to Donald Trump’s official meme coin, which saw the light of day on Friday evening. The token took the crypto world and turned it upside down. Within less than a weekend, it has garnered the attention of the entire community. Its price has shot up to over $60 now, and its market cap is at roughly $13 billion on CMC and CG.

Moreover, TRUMP has now become the second-largest meme coin by that metric after surpassing PEPE in the morning and SHIB minutes ago.

The other notable gainer from TRUMP’s success is SOL since the meme coin was launched on the latter’s blockchain. SOL jumped to a fresh all-time high of $270 yesterday, only to break it to almost $280 today.

In contrast, most other larger-cap alts, especially meme coins, are deep in the red. However, the total crypto market cap has maintained its level of almost $3.750 trillion on CG.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto

BTC Close to $105K

The primary cryptocurrency had a highly volatile trading week. It started with a massive price dump to below $90,000 for the first time since November, but the bulls didn’t allow any further declines and helped the asset recover all losses within days.

Even the CPI numbers from the US couldn’t keep BTC down, and it flew past $100,000 just a few days after that multi-month low. Moreover, it kept climbing and exceeded $105,000 on a couple of occasions since Friday to mark its highest price tag in about a month.

As of now, bitcoin trades close to $105,000, and its market cap is up to $2.075 trillion. Its dominance over the alts is also on the rise to 55.4%.

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