• According to an analyst on Dec. 29, 2020, the disgraced co-founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), may have cashed out $684,000 in crypto assets while under house arrest.
• Analyst Discovers Funds Tied to SBF’s and Alameda’s Wallets Moved While the FTX Co-Founder Is on House Arrest
• Funds were sent to a no-KYC exchange based in Seychelles and to the Bitcoin network via the Ren Protocol, a bridge funded by Alameda.

On Dec. 29, 2020, an analyst named Bowtiediguana published a Twitter thread that suggests the disgraced co-founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), may have violated the conditions of his house arrest. According to the thread, SBF may have cashed out $684,000 in crypto assets without permission from the court.

The analyst’s investigation began with a financial agreement between SBF and the anonymous founder of the decentralized exchange (dex) Sushiswap, Chef Nomi, which dates back to August 2020. When the deal was made, SBF shared a public Ethereum address and Chef Nomi transferred ownership of Sushiswap to SBF’s address.

However, after SBF was released from house arrest, his wallet sent all of its remaining crypto tokens to a new Ethereum address created an hour earlier. Bowtiediguana’s Twitter thread reveals that in less than four hours, 570 Ethereum, which is worth approximately $684,000, was transferred out of this new wallet to various destinations.

The funds were sent to a no-KYC exchange based in Seychelles and to the Bitcoin network via the Ren Protocol, a bridge funded by Alameda. The analyst also noted that the address in question received a further $1M from 11 wallets labeled as Alameda Research. According to the court’s release conditions, SBF is not allowed to spend more than $1,000 without permission from the court.

Bowtiediguana’s revelation has since sparked an investigation into whether or not SBF violated the conditions of his house arrest. If he did, it is likely that the SEC attorneys will be notified. For now, however, the matter remains unresolved and SBF has yet to comment on the situation.

• Venezuelan banking watchdog Sudeban is currently working on a mechanism to review crypto-related transactions in real-time to control the influence these have on the exchange market.
• The Venezuelan government is aiming to monitor the movements of crypto-based P2P exchanges to protect the value of the bolivar.
• Since the end of 2021, more than 75 bank accounts have been blocked due to suspicious activity related to cryptocurrency transactions.

The Venezuelan banking watchdog, Sudeban, has announced its plan to monitor cryptocurrency transactions in order to protect the country’s currency, the bolivar. The agency is currently working on a system to review crypto-related transactions in real-time, with the help of Sunacrip, the national cryptocurrency regulator.

The primary aim of the system is to “fight the irregular practices that attack our currency and the stability of the exchange market”. This means that the government is looking to investigate the correlation between the volumes exchanged in cryptocurrency markets, and the U.S. dollar – Venezuelan bolivar exchange rate. Analysts have recently linked the recent cryptocurrency drought in peer-to-peer markets, due to the collapse of FTX, to the sudden rise in the aforementioned exchange rate.

In addition to this measure, more than 75 bank accounts have been blocked due to suspicious activity related to cryptocurrency transactions since the end of 2021. This activity was identified by Legalrocks, a national blockchain intelligence organization.

The Venezuelan government is taking these steps to protect the value of the bolivar and ensure the stability of the exchange market. By monitoring cryptocurrency transactions, the government hopes to be able to identify and tackle any irregular activities that could adversely impact the currency and the market. The results of the monitoring system remain to be seen, however, these measures could be the first step in ensuring a stable economy in Venezuela.