Today in crypto, the FTX bankruptcy estate sues SkyBridge Capital and founder Anthony Scaramucci, the project director for the Norweigan central bank’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), says the central bank is not yet sure if it will issue a CBDC, and Bitcoin Fog founder Roman Sterlingov has been sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison.
FTX sues SkyBridge and founder Anthony Scaramucci
The FTX bankruptcy estate has filed a lawsuit against SkyBridge Capital and founder Anthony Scaramucci to recover $67 million in funds plus additional damages from sponsorship and joint investment deals inked by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
According to a November 8 legal filing, attorneys for the now-bankrupt exchange argued that SkyBridge Capital breached the terms of a 2022 investment deal by allegedly selling a portion of the digital assets stipulated in the agreement sometime in 2023.
Lawyers for FTX also indicated the total damages sought by the plaintiffs may exceed $100 million. The lawsuit against SkyBridge is the most recent in a series of legal actions unleashed by FTX in recent weeks. On November 7, 2024, the former exchange filed a lawsuit against Crypto.Com to recover more than $11 million in funds.
Norway supports MiCA, considers CBDC for financial stability
Norges Bank, Norway’s central bank, has endorsed the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) as the country evaluates the potential adoption of a CBDC.
Kjetil Watne, project director for Norges Bank’s CBDC project, said in an interview with Cointelegraph that Norway, as a member of the European Economic Area (EEA), welcomes MiCA’s framework. However, he noted that the bank is still considering “whether additional regulations are necessary to promote financial stability.”
Watne explained that Norges Bank has “not yet decided” if it will issue a CBDC and is assessing how to “mitigate regulatory gaps related to decentralized finance.”
As part of the EEA, Norway closely aligns with EU regulations, including MiCA, which Watne said is “under public review and currently being assessed by the Ministry of Finance.”
According to Watne, Norges Bank considers CBDCs potentially useful for cross-border payments but that “it remains to be seen how a CBDC-based cross-border payment system would look.”
Crypto mixer Bitcoin Fog founder receives 12.5-year prison sentence
Roman Sterlingov, the founder of the darknet’s oldest cryptocurrency mixer “Bitcoin Fog” has been sentenced to 12.5 years in prison as part of the United States government’s broader crackdown on crypto mixers.
It falls short of prosecutors’ earlier petitions for a 20- to 30-year sentence for Sterlingov following his March conviction by a jury on charges of money laundering, conspiracy to launder money, operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and transmitting money without a license.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) declared in a Nov. 8 statement that throughout the “decade-long operation, Bitcoin Fog gained notoriety as a go-to money laundering service for criminals.”
Sterlingov must pay a “forfeiture money judgment” totaling $395,563,025.39. He is also required to forfeit seized crypto and funds worth approximately $1.76 million.
Sterlingov had argued throughout the trial that he was only a user of the service, and not its operator.