Former CFTC Chair Upgraded to French Knight!

Another Example of ESG-Related Actions Leading to a Securities Lawsuit

In a recent post, I noted that while companies may face investor and regulator pressure to address ESG-related issues, ESG-related actions can also entail operational and financial risks — and litigation risks, as well. In the latest example of a company whose ESG-motivated actions went awry, leading to securities litigation, Wells Fargo has been sued in a securities class action lawsuit after media reports that its efforts to diversify its work force led to fake job interviews, allegedly contrary to the company’s disclosures concerning its diversity efforts….

SEC’s Gensler Reiterates Bitcoin Alone Is a Commodity. Is He Right?

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has reiterated his claim that bitcoin (BTC) is a commodity. His interpretation is partially rooted in precedent and, one would hope, reality.

“Some, like bitcoin, and that’s the only one, Jim, I’m going to say because I’m not going to talk about any one of these tokens [that] my predecessors and others have said [are] a commodity,” Gensler said in an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday.

Crypto Crash Widens Divide Between Rich and Amateur Traders

No crypto investor has fully escaped the downturn. But a small group of industry titans accumulated immense wealth as prices spiked over the last two years, giving them an enviable cushion. Many of them bought Bitcoin, Ether and other virtual currencies years ago, when prices were a small fraction of their current value. Some locked in their gains early, selling parts of their crypto holdings. Others run publicly traded crypto companies and cashed out of their stock or invested in real estate.

By contrast, many amateur traders flooded into the crypto market during the pandemic, when prices had already started soaring. Some poured in their life savings, leaving them vulnerable to a crash. Thousands also flocked to work for crypto companies, thinking it was a ticket to new riches. Now many of them have seen their savings vanish or have lost their jobs.

Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital plunges into liquidation

Three Arrows Capital, a cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund, has plunged into liquidation, deepening the crisis engulfing the global digital assets sector.

Sky News has learnt that partners from Teneo in the British Virgin Islands has been lined up to handle the insolvency of the Singapore-based firm, which was set up in 2012 by Su Zhu and Kyle Davies.