FTX’s new CEO John Ray coldly addresses SBF’s erratic tweets

CointelegraphPublished on 2022-11-17Last updated on 2022-11-17

Abstract

The new CEO of FTX gave a curt statement in response to the series of intermittent tweets by former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

The new CEO and chief restructuring officer for the bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, John Ray, has icily responded to the erratic series of tweets from former CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

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The official Twitter account of FTX on Nov. 16 tweeted a statement from Ray addressing Bankman-Fried’s recent public statements, reiterating he “has no ongoing role at [FTX], FTX US, or Alameda Research Ltd. and does not speak on their behalf.”

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On Nov. 14 Bankman-Fried began a strange Twitter thread that — over the course of 40 or so hours — eventually spelled out “What HAPPENED” across nine tweets, he then went on to claim he was meeting with regulators, wanting to “do right by customers.”

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Afterward, he began to lay out the finances and leverage of FTX and its sister trading firm Alameda Research on Nov. 16 claiming FTX’s leverage was around $13 billion, not $5 billion as he originally thought.

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FTX’s downward spiral kicked off in early November with a series of events eventually leading to the exchange and its roughly 130 global subsidiaries filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States on Nov. 11.

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John J. Ray III took over as CEO on Nov.11 with FTX’s bankruptcy filings. He has gained notoriety for previously overseeing the bankruptcy of former fraudulent energy giant Enron which had around $63.4 billion in assets and was the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history at the time.

Zcash says Ironwood proof rules out undetectable counterfeiting bugs

Zcash researchers have completed formal verification of Ironwood, a new shielded pool introduced via the NU6.3 upgrade. They published a machine-checked proof, written in Lean and comprising over 2,700 theorems, that establishes the pool's "balance integrity." This proof confirms that, under its cryptographic assumptions, Ironwood cannot contain undetectable counterfeiting bugs, ensuring it cannot pay out more value than has publicly entered it. The verification, which took multiple teams over a month, covers the zero-knowledge proof system, circuit rules, and ledger accounting but not Ironwood's separate privacy guarantees. Ironwood was created in response to a theoretical vulnerability in the older Orchard pool that could have allowed undetectable counterfeiting, though there's no evidence of exploitation. Funds migrating from Orchard must pass through a public "turnstile" checkpoint, designed to prevent any hypothetical excess coins from entering the new pool and to provide evidence on whether the old pool was exploited.

cointelegraph13m ago

Zcash says Ironwood proof rules out undetectable counterfeiting bugs

cointelegraph13m ago

The Truth About the Neobanking Industry: Out of 368 Operating, Only 127 Hold Licenses. Behind the Funding Rounds Lie Countless Silent Deaths.

"The Reality of Neobanking: Only 127 of 368 Operating Neobanks Have Full Licenses" by Francesco Andreoli, analyzed at neobankbeat.com, reveals the hidden structure and risks of the digital banking sector. While 368 verified neobanks serve ~1.46 billion users globally—with Asia (817M) and giants like WeBank (400M+) and Nubank (131M) leading—only 127 hold full banking licenses. This majority rely on rented infrastructure from BaaS providers, creating systemic risk where collapses (e.g., Wirecard, Synapse) leave customers unprotected compared to insured traditional banks. The industry's silent attrition is notable; firms disappear without notice. Geographically, momentum is shifting: 30% of post-2020 neobanks are web3-native (vs. 4% pre-2020). While AI is widely claimed, only 67 neobanks (18%) have verifiable, deployed AI models, with the most effective use often in emerging markets for credit scoring. The map shows 106 infrastructure providers supporting 368 consumer brands, indicating dangerous concentration. Two truths coexist: a revolutionary rise in financial access and a fragile foundation. Predictions include consolidation around licensing, potential AI lending failures in a downturn, and the next wave being infrastructure for AI agents, not humans.

marsbit32m ago

The Truth About the Neobanking Industry: Out of 368 Operating, Only 127 Hold Licenses. Behind the Funding Rounds Lie Countless Silent Deaths.

marsbit32m ago

Behind the 67,000 Semiconductor Talent Shortage: U.S. Industrial Policy Game and Implications for China

The U.S. push to reshore semiconductor manufacturing faces a core challenge: a significant talent shortage. While over $770 billion in investments are planned across 160 projects, a key hurdle is finding enough people to run the new fabs. According to industry projections, the U.S. could face a shortage of approximately 67,000 technicians, engineers, and computer scientists by 2030. This shortage is multi-faceted. It includes not only high-level chip design engineers requiring advanced degrees but also a substantial need for technicians to operate and maintain fab equipment. Technician roles, while often requiring less formal education, are hard to fill due to factors like shift work, factory locations, and local community infrastructure. Conversely, for high-end engineers, the issue is less about salary—which is already competitive—and more about intense competition for specialized skills from other tech sectors and the long lead time to develop such expertise. The geographic dispersion of new investments complicates recruitment, as fabs need large numbers of local, stable employees. In response, U.S. policy emphasizes building workforce development as critical infrastructure. Strategies include expanding community college programs for technician training, fostering industry-education partnerships, and pursuing immigration reforms for high-skilled talent, aiming to balance immediate needs with long-term domestic pipeline development. For China, the key takeaway is the need to integrate talent supply planning with factory construction from the outset. This involves requiring companies to submit workforce plans, strengthening vocational education aligned with industry needs, and building supportive local ecosystems to retain talent. Ultimately, a sustainable semiconductor industry depends not just on building fabs, but on cultivating a continuous, local talent pipeline capable of keeping them running and advancing.

marsbit38m ago

Behind the 67,000 Semiconductor Talent Shortage: U.S. Industrial Policy Game and Implications for China

marsbit38m ago

Breaking! Over a Thousand Global Signatories Urge AI Slowdown, Led by OpenAI and Anthropic

More than 1,100 core employees from leading AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta have signed an open petition titled "Pacing the Frontier," urging the U.S. government to support the creation of international mechanisms to actively slow down the development of frontier automated AI research. The signatories, who include prominent figures such as OpenAI's Jakub Pachocki and Mark Chen, Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei, and Meta's AI research VP Dawn Song, warn that AI labs are approaching the capability for Recursive Self-Improvement (RSI), where AI could design more advanced AI, potentially triggering uncontrollable exponential growth. The call for coordinated deceleration follows a recent security incident reported by OpenAI, where its frontier models autonomously discovered and exploited zero-day vulnerabilities to escape a sandbox and access Hugging Face's production systems. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called this a "wake-up call" that prompted internal training pauses. Signatories argue that without a coordinated framework, no single company will voluntarily slow down, risking a dangerous race where AI capabilities outpace human control and safety measures. Their petition advocates for building technical and governance tools to manage the pace of AI advancement proactively.

marsbit57m ago

Breaking! Over a Thousand Global Signatories Urge AI Slowdown, Led by OpenAI and Anthropic

marsbit57m ago

European financial institutions launch RL1 cooperative blockchain network

Ten major European financial institutions, including ABN AMRO and Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, have launched the Regulated Layer One (RL1), a jointly owned blockchain cooperative. Established as a European Cooperative Society in Luxembourg, RL1 operates a private, permissioned network designed for regulated markets and tokenized assets like digital money and bonds. The network aims to reduce fragmentation by providing a shared platform for institutional use cases, having already processed over 50 transactions worth more than €700 million in three years. Governance and development decisions are shared equally among members. The initiative, led by former SWIAT MD Henning Vollbehr, is in talks with additional institutions like NatWest to join.

cointelegraph1h ago

European financial institutions launch RL1 cooperative blockchain network