Sam Bankman-Fried’s media tour of lies ends

In Token Issue this week, we also look at a crypto startup that has big plans for the Philippines. [Read from your browser]( Token Issue Welcome to Token Issue! Delivered every Friday, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories in Asia’s crypto scene and beyond. View past issues [here]( or [sign up here]( to receive future newsletters. Written by Deepti Sri Crypto journalist Hi {NAME} It looks like Sam Bankman-Fried’s media tour of lies is finally over. The disgraced founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, who’s nicknamed SBF, has finally been arrested in the Bahamas. The federal agencies are coming down hard on him. The SEC, CFTC, DOJ, and the rest of the "alphabet soup" of authorities have filed some seriously long complaints against him. According to the SEC's complaint, FTX defrauded investors of US$1.8 billion, US$1.1 billion of which belonged to people from the US. The complaint also focuses on the relationship between FTX and crypto trading company Alameda Research. FTX was apparently Alameda’s unlimited piggy bank, with a balance made up of FTX customer funds. FTX’s new CEO, John Ray, the Winston Wolf of bankruptcies, said he is going to be closely reviewing every single FTX transaction to see if SBF let Bahamians take out their holdings so that he could maintain control of the company. He also made it clear that the firm’s top priority is to recover as many assets for customers as possible. This includes the [US$100 million]( in Bahamian withdrawals and the [US$5.4 billion]( in Alameda venture investments. And of course, SBF's lawyers said he's not testifying in front of Congress. Amid all the chaos in the crypto world, Coins.ph CEO Wei Zhou, the former CFO of Binance, has taken up the herculean task of convincing people that his crypto exchange is unlike all the other platforms. He’s set to relaunch Coins Pro this month with a whole new strategy. Hopefully, our big story of the week serves as the light at the end of your crypto tunnel! Also, Token Issue is taking a break on December 23 and December 30. Wishing everybody a merry Christmas and a happy new year! – Deepti  ---------------------------------------------------------------  THE BIG STORY [Coins.ph CEO relaunches Philippine crypto exchange, unveils DeFi wallet ambitions]( Wei Zhou’s revamp of Coins Pro has all the keywords a crypto investor will potentially look for after the FTX and Terraform Labs collapses: regulation, segregation of customer assets from the company’s own proprietary assets, and low costs. The company has also made progress in bridging the gap between the Philippines’ largely cash-based economy and the Web3 industry.  --------------------------------------------------------------- ⭐ TO THE STARS A look at what’s pushing Web3 forward [Pouring rewards and free NFTs]( Magic Eden, the biggest Solana NFT marketplace by sales volume, has announced a rewards program that will offer perks to its frequent traders, such as fee discounts and free NFTs. The Magic Eden Rewards program has five levels of rewards, with users earning points based on how much Solana they've spent on the marketplace. The program could help drive up activity in a market that saw NFT volume fall drastically from its peak. This move also comes after Magic Eden launched an opt-in program for NFT creators to enforce royalties on the platform, a reversal of its earlier stance of making royalties optional.  --------------------------------------------------------------- 🌙 TO THE MOON Promising crypto projects we’re noticing. [Sooho.io secures funds to bridge blockchains]( Sooho.io is based in Seoul and wants to build tools like software development kits and [APIs]( to help set up DeFi infrastructure and connect isolated blockchains in South Korea and around the world. The company sees itself as similar to Swift, which helps banks in different countries send money to each other. The firm recently raised US$4.5 million to cater to its clients, which include Samsung and LG. Its partners include blockchains like [Wemix]( [Bora]( and [Oasys](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🌏 BACK TO EARTH The week’s biggest roadblocks Binance hit with fresh allegations Binance was the target of speculation on Tuesday when it [paused USD Coin withdrawals]( for a few hours. This follows the release of an [audit report]( last week that was supposed to show that Binance was not at risk of collapsing like FTX. However, the report [raised concerns]( among experts because it lacked key information about the exchange's internal controls, liquidation of margin-called assets, and corporate structure. Kraken CEO [Jesse Powell]( was among those who criticized the report. The release of the questionable audit was followed by news of potential [money laundering charges]( against Binance and its executives. Binance [disputed the report]( but the damage was done and investors started withdrawing their money. In just one day, US$902 million was withdrawn, followed by a peak net outflow of US$2.5 billion on Tuesday and US$3.8 billion in the last week. Binance’s total asset net worth has barely budged, however. It stands at US$56 billion, down slightly from US$56.4 billion on December 8.  --------------------------------------------------------------- STILL A PONZI SCHEME Another one bites the dust So unexpected I like this method, pre publishing bankruptcy papers. Yeah! — [@Masticina]( Crypto firms have made tons of grave mistakes over the past few months, but this one was hilarious. Bitcoin mining company Argo Blockchain accidentally published a [draft document]( on its website announcing that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This led the London Stock Exchange to temporarily suspend trading in the company's stock on Friday. Argo is actually looking to sell assets and get a loan to avoid bankruptcy as it runs low on cash. It's currently in advanced negotiations with a third party to make this happen. The company hopes to be able to complete the transaction without having to file for bankruptcy, but there's no guarantee that this will be possible. In October, Argo Blockchain [warned]( that it could run out of cash in the near future unless it was able to raise more capital. The company has been hit hard by the bear market and has had to sell some of its mined Bitcoin to pay off a [loan from Galaxy Digital](. --------------------------------------------------------------- MORE TO CHEW ON 1️⃣ [Deep Dive: Hodlnaut’s mismanagement and lies]( On this episode of Deep Dive, my colleague Scott Shuey discusses how the collapse of several crypto firms sparked Hodlnaut’s downfall, the alleged mismanagement and lies that exacerbated the situation, and what’s in store for the company. 2️⃣ [WeMade to buy back tokens after delisting saga]( WeMix, a Web3 gaming network created by South Korean video game giant WeMade, announced that it will buy back and burn US$10 million in WeMix and WeMix Classic tokens. The decision comes after four crypto exchanges in South Korea – Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit – delisted the token from their platforms due to a discrepancy between the amount of tokens in circulation and what was reported by WeMix. 3️⃣ [MetaMask x Web2]( Crypto wallet MetaMask will let its US users buy Ethereum on its app using PayPal. The feature is being deployed gradually over the coming weeks. The integration will only be available through the MetaMask mobile app. The browser extension already lets US users buy cryptocurrency using fiat onramps like Coinbase Pay, Transak, MoonPay, or Wyre. That’s all for this issue - we hope you liked it. Do also check out previous editions of the newsletter [here](. WAGMI.  --------------------------------------------------------------- That’s all for this issue - we hope you liked it. WAGMI! P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. 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