Today Bitcoin briefly tumbles to a Two-year low FTX reveals it only has 1.2 Billion dollars in cash to cover Billions in debt and Pat lavecchia the CEO of Oasis Pro markets breaks down What's next for crypto regulation [Music] Welcome to cnbc's crypto world I'm Tanaya McKeel crypto Prices rose this Morning even as investors worry that the FTX collapse could drive contagion Across the industry Bitcoin bounced Higher after briefly hitting a two-year Low as of noon Eastern Bitcoin was Trading above sixteen thousand dollars After falling to around fifteen and a Half thousand dollars earlier in the day Ether meanwhile Rose to eleven hundred Dollars an xrp climbed to 37 cents the Cryptocurrency market has lost more than 1.4 trillion dollars in value this year As failed projects and bankruptcies Plagued the industry Okay let's talk about the top stories First hackers who stole hundreds of Millions of dollars worth of crypto from FTX have started to launder the funds Into Bitcoin you might remember after FTX filed for bankruptcy the new CEO John Ray said that unauthorized access To certain assets has occurred Blockchain analytics from elliptic Estimates that around 477 million Dollars worth of crypto was stolen from
The collapsed exchange and converted Into different digital coins with most Of it changed into ether the co-founder Of elliptic told CNBC that the hackers Were using a common tactic converting The Ether into a crypto product called Ren BTC which is then being converted Into Bitcoin via a bridge bypassing Centralized exchanges in the process Next FTX attorneys said in a hearing Today that the collapsed exchange Continues to suffer cyber attacks and That substantial assets are missing According to Reuters a court filing Revealed that FTX has a total cash Balance of 1.24 billion dollars which a Consultancy for from advising FTX noted Is quote substantially higher than Previously thought over the weekend the Company said it has launched a strategic Review of its Global assets and is Getting ready for the sale or Reorganization of some businesses The Exchange and its Affiliates filed for Bankruptcy in Delaware earlier this Month leaving an estimated 1 million Customers and other investors facing Total losses in the billions of dollars Finally as crypto markets whether the Implosion of FTX for Democratic senators Have urged Federal Regulators to look Into sofi's crypto trading activity in a Letter on Monday the lawmakers who Include Jack Reed of Rhode Island and
Senate banking chair shared Brown warned That it's quote digital asset activities Pose significant risk to both individual Investors and safety and soundness the Lawmakers expressed deep concern about The lack of regulation in crypto markets In two separate letters one to Federal Regulators the other to CEO of Sofi Anthony Noto zofi is unique among Institutions because it's both a bank Holding company and a crypto exchange Through a subsidiary so if I Spokesperson said that the company takes Its Regulatory and compliance Commitments seriously including their Non-bank operations within the digital Asset space the statement went on to say Quote we believe we have been fully Compliant with the mandates of our bank License and all applicable laws All right on to our main story as the Digital asset Market continues to take a Bruising following the collapse of major Exchange FTX crypto world's Jordan Smith Spoke with Pat lavecchia the CEO of Oasis Pro markets on the impact of the Fallout and what's next for regulation So looking at the Fallout from FTX and Some of the Lessons Learned there what Sorts of regulations or guidelines for The industry look most urgent in your Opinion so I've always been a believer That regulation was required in in this Space
Um the the current approach with Regulation by enforcement has been has Been choppy it started with a an action Against Ripple before chairman Gensler Came in that was the that was a big uh That's a big entity right uh Ripple is Very prevalent and uh that's ongoing Because of lawsuits Etc that's that's uh Going through its Paces right now but Most recently it's been really small Companies that have been um Um uh paying fines or shut down by The Regulators rather than the big players And that is um that that's been Concerning because Um chairman genzer's came out over the Last two years and and it stated on more Than one occasion and is also written Op-eds regarding the fact that he needed Legislation in order to go after the Crypto Market because of the uncertainty But I firmly believe that uh you know Unfortunately the legislation won't Catch up Uh for a couple of more years at least Here in the U.S Mika is coming through In Europe uh at the end of q1 so they Will have some some uh some types of Regulations in place uh in the EU but Here in the U.S we're we're going to be Further behind there so you know we Expect more regulation by enforcement But but what really would help the Industry and we can talk more about this
Well really will help the industry is if They're going down that path you really Have to work you really have to cite the Large players now I'm not beating the Drum that you know all the large players Need to be regulated necessarily in the Token world but that'll send a message And move more toward regulation whereas To date it's been a bit fuzzy we spoke To Senator Ted Cruz last week and he Told us that Congress needs to be Careful not to over regulate uh and that Lawmakers need to be educated on what Crypto is or what different areas of the Industry three need the most guidance do You agree with his view that maybe There's a risk of over regulation or the Wrong regulation and since you say that It could take a while to see regulation Here in the US as it's a time for the Industry or for experts to come in and Educate lawmakers on what the Differences are in crypto the education Has been happening over the last four Years there's a whole cottage industry Of lobbyists and advisors and Consultants lawyers that have been Educating uh the legislature so that's Been ongoing for a long time we've been Part of that process as well I I would Agree with Senator Cruz in regards to Over regulation is not a good thing Because it you know at the end of the Day it stifles Innovation over
Regulation does so we don't want that But we do have a set of laws and Regulations in place that go back to 33 34. um the the downside is they really Don't take advantage of the blockchain The blockchain allows for perfect data It allows for lower costs for Transactions increased safety zero Counterparty risks and faster payment I Mean there are all these great benefits Of the blockchain it's like a Ferrari But with the you know the uncertainty Coming from The Regulators it's like a Ferrari on training wheels so I've used That comment before but I think that Shows you it if you can picture it Exactly what the downside is in regards To the current approach so I I would agree with him but I think There are a set of regulations in place That if they're implemented in regards To many of these tokens then there's a Process over the next several years Where they're improved upon some in the Industry have said that okay maybe we Can self-regulate or maybe we can have Some sort of guidance on our own uh that Will help restore trust uh in some of These big players is that the right way To go about it in the meantime is there Enough trust for the industry to be able To manage something like that and how Effective could that be as an example Finra as a self-regulatory organization
And we're regulated by finra and they're Overseen by the SEC and we're also Regulated by the SEC so sros Self-regulatory organizations do work I'm not quite sure that'll work Initially in in the blockchain crypto World FTX was actually leading the charge on As taking an SRO approach Obviously now that approach has been Tainted by what's occurred with FTX they Were leading a lot of this You can't you can't um regulate against Fraud fraud happens but it's a black eye And this black guy is gonna hang with us Unfortunately in my opinion for the next 12 to 18 months and you know we're in a Crypto winner for some I've been saying It's a crypto Ice Age for at least 12 Months that's been extended uh because Of what's occurred with FTX and this Contagion that's going to continue we're Going to see you know a lot of us are Seeing the news every week every day Every minute it keeps changing more Unfortunately funds and um and companies Are going to fail and that's going to Continue this negative news cycle for Some time but I do think we're in this This uh unfortunate Um uh crypto Ice Age for the next or Crypto freeze I mean there's so many Comments out there over the next 12 to 18 months so during that period I think
Having an SRO in place or actually Spending a lot of time on it is Unfortunately not going to lead to the Desired outcomes The world today but we'll be back again Tomorrow so we'll see you then
