Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia compiles the most significant developments in the industry.
– The Chinese bribe scandal involving FTX and Alameda Research has escalated, with testimony revealing that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried allegedly paid $150 million in bribes to Chinese government officials, higher than the initial disclosure of $40 million.
– Binance co-founder Yi He clarified that only accounts of users suspected of violating international sanctions will be frozen on the exchange, responding to inquiries about the freezing of accounts of suspected Hamas militants.
– A second Chinese court has ruled that crypto lending contracts are not protected by law due to the illegal nature of the underlying asset. The ruling states that participating in virtual currency investment and trading activities violates public order and good customs.
– The hacker who stole 5,000 Ether ($8 million) from Huobi’s hot wallet has returned all the funds, as promised. Huobi’s de-facto owner, Justin Sun, expressed gratitude to the industry for their help and rewarded the hacker with a white hat bonus of 250 ETH.
In summary:
– FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried allegedly paid $150 million in bribes to Chinese officials, according to testimony in the ongoing trial.
– Binance clarified that only accounts suspected of violating international sanctions will be frozen on the exchange.
– A second Chinese court ruled that crypto lending contracts are invalid due to the illegal nature of virtual currencies.
– The hacker who stole funds from Huobi’s hot wallet returned all the stolen Ether and received a white hat bonus.
