SEC Winning and Losing, FTX Drama Continues
Another day, another hack! This one's a whopper, guys. Bybit just got hit for $1.46 billion, and in what’s looking like a victory for the crypto industry, the SEC is dismissing its lawsuit against Coinbase
Meanwhile, FTX continues to be... well, FTX. Their issues keep unfolding like a badly written soap opera, and in the latest episode, some creditors are more important than others, apparently. Oh, and if you thought the legal drama was over, Coinbase is getting hit by its own shareholders.
Here are the Highlights:
- Coinbase Sued By Shareholders For Allegedly Hiding Bankruptcy Risks And Breaking Securities Laws
- Bybit Loses $1.5B in Hack but Can Cover Loss, CEO Confirms
- FTX creditors in Nigeria, Russia, China, Ukraine, and others excluded from reimbursements
- SEC agrees to drop enforcement case against Coinbase
Coinbase Sued By Shareholders For Allegedly Hiding Bankruptcy Risks And Breaking Securities Laws
Coinbase and several of its top executives are facing a shareholder lawsuit accusing them of misleading investors about the company’s bankruptcy risks and violating securities laws. The complaint, filed on 18 February 2025 in a New Jersey federal court by shareholder Wenduo Guo, alleges that Coinbase failed to disclose key information regarding the treatment of customer assets in the event of bankruptcy. The lawsuit claims that Coinbase’s leadership did not inform investors that customer assets could be included in the company’s bankruptcy estate, potentially leaving retail users as unsecured creditors.
Bybit Loses $1.5B in Hack but Can Cover Loss, CEO Confirms
Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has experienced $1.46 billion worth of "suspicious outflows," according to blockchain sleuth ZachXBT. The wallet in question appears to have sent 401,346 ETH ($1.1 billion) as well as several other iterations of staked ether (stETH) to a fresh wallet, which is now liquidating mETH and stETH on decentralized exchanges, etherscan shows. The wallet has sold around $200 million worth of stETH so far. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou wrote on X that a hacker "took control of the specific ETH cold wallet and transferred all the ETH in the cold wallet to this unidentified address."
FTX creditors in Nigeria, Russia, China, Ukraine and others excluded from reimbursements
Sunil Kavuri, a representative of the FTX Creditors’ group, revealed that the bankrupt crypto exchange is exploring ways to compensate creditors in multiple countries, including Russia, China, Egypt, Nigeria, and Ukraine. According to Kavuri, creditors from these regions are currently excluded from ongoing distributions despite making up a significant portion of FTX’s user base. For context, data on the bankrupt exchange creditor distribution indicates that China accounts for the largest share, representing 8% of total claims.
SEC agrees to drop enforcement case against Coinbase
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to dismiss its lawsuit against centralized exchange firm Coinbase, which had accused the company of operating as an unregistered securities broker. According to an announcement from Coinbase, the dismissal is still subject to approval by an SEC commissioner before the suit is officially withdrawn. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said: “If this goes through, it’s a really big deal, not just for us, but for the whole crypto industry, the 50 million Americans who hold crypto, and I think for the rest of the world because this is an important signal about where things are going.”
Other Highlights Worth Mentioning
BNB Faces Short-Term Bearish Pressure Despite Ecosystem Growth - BeInCrypo
Nigeria Sues Crypto Exchange Binance for $81.5 Billion Following Hostage Crisis - Decrypt
Woman Sentenced To Nearly 10 Years For $5.7M Fraud Against Bybit In Singapore - Bitcoins
Binance.US Restores US Dollar Deposits and Withdrawals After Surviving Chokepoint 2.0 - Coindesk