Blockchangers Blog

Weekly Wrap Up #73

Quote of the week: “Every day there is some accusation being hurled at The Bahamas, but it is clear the jurisdiction of the alleged fraud is not the reason the fraud happened… We in The Bahamas can ask the question: How did the mastermind of FTX get on the front page of Forbes magazine, a U.S. magazine? Which nation’s press called him the next Warren Buffett? Clearly, that was the United States.” – Fred Mitchel, Bahamas Foreign Minister

The FTX Saga Continues:  Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”) left the Bahamas on Wednesday to go to the United States where he will face fraud charges. Federal prosecutors announced that Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX, pleaded guilty to defrauding investors. There is now heavy pressure on SBF to cooperate with the United States government after two of his closest former associates decided to cooperate. Source: www.FXEmpire.com

Amazon Releases NFT Series:  Amazon released a new series called “NFTMe,” which is a series that explores NFT culture and disruption worldwide. The show features artists, collectors, and industry professionals globally, and the show shares its experiences with NFTs. Each episode in the series is 30 minutes.  Source:

www.Cointelegraph.com

International Regulation Featuring Brazil:  This week, the president of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro approved a cryptocurrency regulation bill that establishes a crime of fraud involving virtual assets; there will be a penalty of between four to six years in jail plus a fine. The law also requires digital asset companies, including exchanges and trading intermediaries, to obtain a “virtual service provider” license. Companies will have 180 days to adapt and comply with the new rule. Source: www.Coindesk.com

Binance.US to Acquire Voyager Digital’s Assets:  According to a recently issued press release published on December 19, the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.US will acquire Voyager Digital’s assets for $1.022 billion. Source: www.CNBC.com

Argentina Football League Partners with Metaverse Platform:  Argentina’s football association partnered with the metaverse platform Upland following the national team’s World Cup victory. The deal will power fan engagement between the football fans, teams, and players of Argentina, and it will gamify several opportunities; the gamified opportunities are said to include many Argentine football collectibles and exclusive offers.  Source: www.Cointelegraph.com

And, that’s a wrap!

Jordana Cohen,

Associate

Alpha Sigma Capital

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Alpha Sigma Capital
Daniel Siciliano

F. Daniel Siciliano is an Independent Director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and Chair of the American Immigration Council. He is the former faculty director of the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University and former Professor of the Practice and Associate Dean at Stanford Law School. His work has included expert testimony in front of both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives and for 2009, 2010, and 2011, alongside leading academics and business leaders such as Ben Bernanke, Paul Krugman, and Carl Icahn, Professor Siciliano was named to the “Directorship 100” – a list of the most influential people in corporate governance.

Siciliano was also co-founder, CEO and ultimately Executive Chairman of LawLogix Group, Inc. – a global software technology company named 9 consecutive times to the Inc. 500/5000, several times ranked as one of the Top 100 fastest-growing private software companies in the US and named to the US Hispanic Business 500 (largest) and Hispanic Business 100 (fastest growing) lists for 2010 and 2011. In 2012 he sold a majority stake of the company to PNC Riverarch Capital, continued as Executive Chairman, and led the sale of the company to Hyland Software/Thoma Bravo in 2015.

Siciliano is a co-founder and board member of the Silicon Valley Directors’ Exchange (SVDX), Chairman of the national non-partisan American Immigration Council, past-President of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council #1057, and an active member of the Latino Corporate Directors’ Association.


Siciliano’s related areas of expertise include executive compensation, corporate compliance, the legal and social impact of autonomous (AI/robotic) systems, and corporate technology strategy and security. He has served as a governance consultant and trainer to the Board of Directors of dozens of Fortune 1000 companies (including Google, Microsoft, Fedex, Disney, Entergy and Applied Materials), is an angel investor and consultant to several firms and companies in Silicon Valley, Hong Kong, India, and Latin America, and currently serves as an independent director on the board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. He lives in Los Altos, California.