The Federal Deposit Insurance coverage Company (FDIC) slapped the Sam Bankman-Fried-owned cryptocurrency alternate FTX with a cease-and-desist order over “false and deceptive statements” that recommend its belongings are FDIC-insured. The FDIC doesn’t cowl shares or crypto, and solely safeguards funds held in insured financial institution accounts.
In a letter to the alternate, the FDIC factors to a now-deleted tweet from FTX president Brett Harrison, which states “direct deposits from employers to FTX US are saved in individually FDIC-insured financial institution accounts within the customers’ names.” The referenced tweet additionally says that “shares are held in FDIC-insured and SIPC [Security Investor Protection Corporation]-insured brokerage accounts.” The FDIC claims this falsely represents that FTX and the funds invested by customers are FDIC-insured after they’re actually not.
Whereas not flagged within the FDIC’s letter, customers have additionally identified one other potentially misleading tweet from Harrison that claims “money related to brokerage accounts is managed into FDIC-insured accounts” at FTX’s “associate financial institution.”
We actually didn’t imply to mislead anybody, and we didn’t recommend that FTX US itself, or that crypto/non-fiat belongings, profit from FDIC insurance coverage. I hope this gives readability on our intentions. Pleased to work instantly with the FDIC on these essential matters.
— Brett Harrison (@Brett_FTX) August 19, 2022
1) Clear communication is basically essential; sorry!
FTX doesn’t have FDIC insurance coverage (and we have by no means stated so on web site and so forth.); banks we work with do. We by no means meant in any other case, and apologize if anybody misinterpreted it. https://t.co/MHMSMDE8Le
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) August 19, 2022
Harrison has since issued a response to the FDIC’s letter, explaining that FTX “actually didn’t imply to mislead anybody,” and claims FTX “didn’t recommend that FTX US itself, or that crypto/non-fiat belongings, profit from FDIC insurance coverage.” FTX CEO and founder Bankman-Fried provided further clarification as properly, stating that whereas “FTX doesn’t have FDIC insurance coverage,” the banks it does enterprise with do. Bankman-Fried provides that it could “discover potential ways in which particular person accounts utilizing direct deposit… might, sooner or later, be used to additional shield clients,” and that FTX “can be excited to work with the FDIC on that.”
As famous by the FDIC, the Federal Deposit Insurance coverage Act (FDI Act) prohibits firms from ”implying that their merchandise are FDIC–insured by utilizing ‘FDIC’ within the firm’s title, commercials, or different paperwork.” The FDIC is giving FTX 15 days to supply affirmation that it has eliminated or corrected any alleged misrepresentations. Along with FTX, the FDIC doled out cease-and-desist warnings to 4 different firms, together with Cryptonews.com, Cryptosec.information, SmartAsset.com, and FDICCrypto.com.
The FDIC declined to remark past the contents of its letter, and FTX didn’t instantly reply to The Verge’s request for remark.
Like Robinhood, FTX has began providing each conventional inventory and crypto buying and selling choices. In Might, crypto billionaire Bankman-Fried disclosed a 7.6 % stake in Robinhood, and he’s reportedly wanting into buying the buying and selling platform.
Even with the so-called crypto winter driving a number of crypto firms to chapter, FTX and Bankman-Fried’s crypto buying and selling agency Alameda Analysis have someway managed to remain afloat. Bankman-Fried has prolonged strains of credit score to quite a few struggling crypto companies to assist them climate the unsure financial system, and instructed Reuters he has “just a few billion” extra for future bailouts. In keeping with paperwork obtained by CNBC, FTX introduced in $1.02 billion in income in 2021 and $270 million within the first quarter of 2022.
