US Eyes Crypto Execs' Cases for Conflicts; Crypto Leads Canadian Fintech Investments, BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Flourishes
Summary:
US prosecutors have called for a hearing to address potential conflicts of interest in the criminal cases against former CEOs of FTX and Celsius, Sam Bankman-Fried and Alex Mashinsky. Meanwhile, a KPMG report shows crypto and blockchain leading the Canadian fintech space in terms of investments, despite a significant drop in deal volumes. BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF has recorded $3.9 billion inflows since its launch, placing it in the top 0.16% of all US-issued ETFs. Fidelity's Bitcoin ETF also shows significant inflow, ranking eighth among US ETF products.
The US authorities have solicited a court hearing to discuss possible conflict of interest issues in the ongoing criminal proceedings involving two prominent figures in the crypto industry. Concurrently, investments in crypto and blockchain technology lead the fintech sector in Canada, whilst BlackRock's Bitcoin fund is close to being the best-performing ETF in terms of intake for the current year. Prosecutors in the US have indicated possible conflict of interest problems concerning the criminal cases of ex-CEOs of FTX and Celsius, Sam Bankman-Fried and Alex Mashinsky respectively. The lawyers representing both defendants, Marc Mukasey and Torrey Young, are under scrutiny due to notes of appearance they filed in the case against Bankman-Fried and Mashinsky.
The prosecutions' letters to the overseeing judges suggest that exchange of funds between Alameda Research and Celsius could lead to numerous potential conflicts. Mashinsky laid part of the blame for the 2022 downfall of Celsius on Alameda Research, an affiliate of FTX. However, officials stated that these conflicts may not be severe enough to warrant action, and it would be up to the judges to decide. Last year, Mashinsky faced seven felony charges, while Bankman-Fried was found guilty on similar grounds in October.
Meanwhile, a report from KPMG confirmed that crypto remains the leader of fintech investments in Canada despite an overall decrease in deal figures in 2023. It revealed that blockchain and crypto had the highest number of deals at 31, followed by software-as-a-service at 24 and AI and machine learning at 15. Edith Hitt, a partner at KPMG, attributed investors' attraction to crypto to an expected approval of Bitcoin ETFs by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
BlackRock's Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), Shares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), has seen an influx of $3.9 billion since its launch on January 11th this year. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas's data shows that this puts IBIT in the high-performing 0.16% of all ETFs issued in the US. Furthermore, Fidelity's Bitcoin ETF, Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), comes in eighth with an inflow of $2.51 billion since January 11th. Both BlackRock and Fidelity ETFs have continuously progressed up the ranks since the end of January.
Published At
2/7/2024 10:59:45 PM
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