Latest news with #marketmanipulation
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Trump's Stablecoin Now Minted On Justin Sun's Tron Crypto Blockchain
Donald Trump has deepened his ties with Chinese billionaire Justin Sun—who's fighting civil charges in the United States of fraud and market manipulation—as the president's stablecoin begins minting on Sun's blockchain, which hosted the largest share of illicit crypto activity last year, according to a crypto intelligence firm. A cartoon image of President Donald Trump holding a Bitcoin token is displayed in Hong Kong in ... More December 2024. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg Trump and his family control about 40% of World Liberty Financial, according to its website—where he's listed as chief crypto advocate—and in April, the firm launched a stablecoin, USD1, pegged to the U.S. dollar and backed by Treasuries and cash equivalents. On June 11, Tron founder Justin Sun announced his blockchain had begun minting USD1, making the stablecoin native to his network. World Liberty Financial earns interest on its USD1 reserves, so the more USD1 minted, including by Tron, the more the president's company stands to profit, Molly White, a crypto researcher told Forbes. In March 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil charges against Sun and his company, alleging market manipulation and selling unregistered securities; Sun has denied the charges and the judge paused the case at the request of both parties this February to allow time to discuss a possible settlement (a move that came just weeks after Sun invested $30 million in World Liberty Financial). In 2024, Tron hosted 58% of all illicit crypto activity—the most of any blockchain and more than Ethereum and Bitcoin combined—'reflecting continued preference for blockchains that have low transaction fees, smart contracts, and popular stablecoins,' according to blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told Forbes in a statement Trump has no conflicts of interest because his 'assets are in a trust managed by his children'; a spokesperson for World Liberty Financial declined to comment; and spokespeople for Tron and the Trump Organization did not respond to inquiries. Trump can earn income from his businesses while in office through the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, the same structure he used during his first term. He is its sole donor and beneficiary, while Donald Trump Jr. serves as the trustee. The Trump Organization confirmed in an April regulatory filing in the United Kingdom that Trump retains control over his businesses. As president, he has pledged to make the United States the 'crypto capital of the world,' aligning with his expanding investments in digital assets. Sun, who has now invested a total of at $75 million in World Liberty Financial, has become an advisor to the company. In May, he toured the White House and dined with Trump at his D.C.-area golf club for being one of the top holders of the president's meme coin, a separate crypto venture, according to social media posts. $57.4 million: Trump's income from World Liberty Financial in 2024, which only launched in September, according to a financial disclosure he released Friday. 'We've seen increased criminal use of stablecoins on the Tron blockchain, and I think the launch highlights how little is known about USD1 and World Liberty Financial's ability to thwart criminal activity,' White told Forbes. 'There is very little transparency into how the project intends to grapple with this persistent problem, and whether they have the capacity to do so responsibly.' While TRM Labs found 'the largest percentage of illicit crypto activity occurred on the TRON blockchain' in 2024, Tron also 'saw the most significant decline in illicit volume, dropping by $6 billion and halving its proportion of illicit volume.' TRM Labs credited the decline to Tron's efforts to root out abuse, including collaborating with, yes, TRM Labs to establish what it calls the 'first-ever private-sector financial crime unit.' 'The first USD1 minted on Tron—just the beginning of something much bigger,' World Liberty Financial's X account posted in response to Sun's announcement. 'Appreciate the support, @justinsuntron. Let's bring USD1 everywhere.' In addition to Tron, two other crypto firms that announced relationships with World Liberty Financial in the past month also have faced scrutiny from U.S. authorities. In May, USD1 started trading on KuCoin, an exchange recently banned from the United States after admitting to anti-money laundering violations and agreeing to pay $300 million in penalties. It also launched on Binance, which admitted in a November 2023 plea deal with the Justice Department to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations, agreeing to pay $4 billion in penalties. (Days after USD1 launched on BInance, the SEC dropped a lawsuit it had brought against the firm.) Tron is going public through a reverse merger with a toy manufacturer, SRM Entertainment, the companies announced on Monday. As part of the deal, SRM will raise $100 million to buy Tron tokens and issue $210 million in shares and warrants. SRM Entertainment will change its name to Tron Inc. and Sun will become an advisor. Sun shared a post claiming Eric Trump was expected to join the company, though Trump denied it, calling Sun a 'great friend' but saying the report was 'inaccurate.' The Tron-SRM merger was brokered by Dominari Securities, whose parent company—Dominari Holdings—is partially owned by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. The brothers each hold more than 5% of the firm, largely in exchange for serving 10 weeks on an previously somewhat dormant advisory board that also includes three other Trump Organization executive vice presidents. Dominari Holdings CEO Anthony Hayes praised the advisory board's work in a letter to shareholders. On Tuesday, the Senate passed the Genius Act, a crypto industry-backed bill that would create new rules for stablecoins like USD1. In response to Trump's crypto ventures, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced the End Crypto Corruption Act, which would ban presidents and other top officials from 'issuing, endorsing or sponsoring crypto assets.' The bill is pending and has 24 co-sponsors. Forbes estimates Trump's net worth at about $5.2 billion, with crypto now accounting for most of his wealth. Sun is worth around $8.5 billion. Trump Org Applies For Sweeping Trademark Covering Items From Crypto Wallet To Virtual Cologne (Forbes) Trump Media's $2.5 Billion Bitcoin Bet Mirrors White House Crypto Strategy (Forbes) Trump Media Executives Launch New SPAC Seeking $179 Million—And Target Crypto, Defense Sectors (Forbes) How Trump's Sons Cashed In On Their Father's Comeback (Forbes) Trump Secretly Sold Stake In Crypto Venture, Document Suggests (Forbes) 'Trump Mobile' Cell Phone Service Announced In Latest Presidency Monetization Push (Forbes)
Reuters
12-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Russian cryptocurrency firm founder avoids further US prison time for fraud
BOSTON, June 12 (Reuters) - A Russian-born founder of a cryptocurrency financial services firm avoided having to spend any further time in a U.S. prison on Thursday for participating in a wide-ranging scheme to manipulate the market for digital tokens on behalf of his company's clients. Federal prosecutors in Boston had argued that Aleksei Andriunin, the founder and CEO of cryptocurrency "market maker" Gotbit, deserved a 15-month prison sentence after he pleaded guilty in March to charges that he conspired to commit market manipulation and engaged in wire fraud. Instead, U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley sentenced him to just eight months in prison, which he was deemed to have already served based on the time he spent in jail following his arrest in October in Portugal, prosecutors said. Portugal extradited him in February. He now faces deportation. His company Gotbit was meanwhile ordered to forfeit $23 million worth of cryptocurrency as part of a separate plea deal. "We're incredibly gratified by the sentence, and he's looking forward to getting home to his wife and family," Roger Burlingame, his lawyer at Dechert, said. Andriunin and Gotbit were among 15 people and three firms charged last year following a novel investigation dubbed "Operation Token Mirrors," in which the FBI for the first time directed the creation of its own digital token to help catch fraudsters in the crypto market. Before the charges were filed, Gotbit was a premier "market maker" in the cryptocurrency industry, making tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue and employing over 200 people, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said that from 2018 to 2024, Gotbit engaged in "wash trading," a form of sham trading, and market manipulation on behalf of several cryptocurrency clients to help artificially inflate trading volume for their tokens. Prosecutors cited a 2019 interview published online in which Andriunin described developing a code to wash trade cryptocurrencies to artificially inflate trading volume so they could become listed on larger cryptocurrency exchanges.
Globe and Mail
10-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Safe and Green Holdings Corp. Engages ShareIntel to Investigate Unusual Trading Activity
MIAMI, FL, June 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Safe & Green Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SGBX) ("Safe & Green Holdings" or the "Company"), a leading developer, designer, and fabricator of modular structures diversified platform transforming critical infrastructure through sustainable modular innovation, announces it has engaged Shareholder Intelligence Services, LLC ('ShareIntel') to support efforts to investigate and address potentially illegal trading activity. This includes suspected naked short selling and market manipulation involving the Company's common stock. The decision to engage ShareIntel follows an internal review of trading patterns that raised concerns regarding potential violations of securities laws. Using ShareIntel's proprietary DRIL-Down™ analytics, Safe and Green expects to gain deeper insight into shareholder trading activity and take appropriate steps to protect the interests of its investors. 'We are committed to safeguarding the integrity of our stock and acting decisively in the interest of our shareholders,' said Michael McLaren, CEO of Safe and Green Holdings Corp. 'By leveraging ShareIntel's analytics platform, we will be better positioned to identify irregularities and pursue corrective measures where necessary.' As part of this initiative, the Company is also evaluating further legal and regulatory actions, including potential participation in the SEC Whistleblower Program and collaboration with other affected public companies. About ShareIntel, LLC ShareIntel is an application service provider retained by public companies to obtain, aggregate, track and analyze shareholder trading information. ShareIntel will utilize its patented process called DRIL-Down™ to aggregate and analyze repository data from reporting entities, broker-dealers and shareholders, enabling Safe and Green Holdings to proactively track shareholder ownership, identify parties to suspicious, aberrant or unusual trading activity and deploy corrective action steps to help curtail such an illegal activity. About Safe and Green Holdings Safe & Green Holdings Corp., a leading modular solutions company, operates under core capabilities which include the development, design, and fabrication of modular structures, meeting the demand for safe and green solutions across various industries. The firm supports third-party and in-house developers, architects, builders, and owners in achieving faster execution, greener construction, and buildings of higher value. For more information, visit and follow us at @SGHcorp on Twitter. Safe Harbor Statement Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and include statements regarding the hiring of Shareholder Intelligence Services, LLC. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, the Company's ability to maintain compliance with the NASDAQ listing requirements, and the other factors discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and its subsequent filings with the SEC, including subsequent periodic reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release on account of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: CORE IR 516 222 2560 investors@
New York Times
10-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Mandel: House settlement clearinghouse won't create CFB's goal for more level playing field
With the House vs. NCAA settlement approved, college athletics is about to begin the latest chapter in its long history of attempting to interfere with the market for athletes' services. Let's see if this version holds up better in court than all the ones before it. As you know by now, the House settlement has given birth to a new system by which schools for the first time can directly pay their athletes up to $20.5 million this coming school year. The schools will insist these are purely NIL deals and do not constitute 'pay-for-play,' but of course, they are entirely contingent on the athlete playing for that university. And that's fine. Nothing wrong with paying someone for their services. Advertisement But where the settlement veers into outright market manipulation is the establishment of a new NIL Go clearinghouse, operated by Deloitte, by which athletes must submit all deals they receive from outside sources that exceed $600. Which, in the major sports, is pretty much all of them. If Deloitte deems, say, a running back's $1 million deal from a school's collective to be above 'fair market value,' he cannot accept it. In every other industry in this country, 'fair market value' is whatever someone is willing to pay you. Just ask the many mediocre football coaches who make $6-8 million a year. Or the athletic directors who make $1.2 million a year to hire those mediocre coaches. No clearinghouse for those folks. Every legal expert I've spoken with about this subject thinks there's little chance this clearinghouse would survive a legal challenge. It sure sounds like yet another instance of competitors (in this case, the Power conferences) conspiring to limit athletes' compensation. Go back and read the Supreme Court decision in Alston v. NCAA to see how the highest court in the land feels about restrictions on athletes' compensation. It's somewhat poetic the House settlement got approved during Game 3 of the WCWS, where $1M pitcher NiJaree Canady nearly led Texas Tech to an improbable national title. Because the purpose of the new Deloitte NIL clearinghouse is to stamp out collectives like Texas Tech's. — Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) June 7, 2025 Nevertheless, the Power conferences — it's them, not the NCAA driving this — are pressing ahead. On Monday, they proudly unveiled their newly created enforcement entity, the College Sports Commission, led by former Major League Baseball executive Bryan Seeley, who is likely being paid seven figures to make sure college athletes stop getting paid seven figures. Presumably, they've consulted with their lawyers, who have told them the thing is ironclad. The next Judge Wilken will be totally fine with it. By now, you may be asking yourself, 'Why are they doing this? Who exactly is being harmed by a transfer quarterback getting $3 million from a school's collective?' Athletes going into the portal at any moment is an understandable source of frustration, but the House settlement does nothing to address that issue. It just wants to curb how much one gets for going into the portal. Advertisement The stated reason, as Nick Saban, for one, has said 1,000 times, is the need for a 'level playing field.' It's not 'fair' that Texas Tech has an oil billionaire willing to spend $10 million-plus on the transfer portal if Alabama doesn't have one. How many times have we heard: This is not what NIL is intended for. It doesn't particularly matter at this point what NIL was intended for. This is what it's become. Collectives became a thing specifically because schools didn't want anything to do with paying athletes. Now that they're forced to, they want to unwind time and reverse things. But what's really rich is the whole 'level playing field' thing. There has never, ever been a level playing field in college recruiting. The schools with the most money have always held an advantage over everyone else. They have the most history, the biggest stadiums, the best-paid coaches and the most lavish facilities. Ohio State was dominating Purdue in recruiting long before there were ever NIL collectives, and the Buckeyes will keep dominating in the revenue-sharing era. You could set the cap at $60.5 million, not $20.5 million, and there's still no scenario where the Boilermakers would be able to outspend the Buckeyes. Meanwhile, people have been so busy the past few years shouting that the sky is falling that they've failed to notice that NIL may be the first development in history that's actually given a larger pool of teams a chance at landing top talent. The top quarterback in the portal this offseason, Tulane's Darian Mensah, did not go to Georgia or Ohio State. He chose Duke, where he's getting a reported $4 million NIL deal. The nation's No. 1 men's basketball recruit, A.J. Dybantsa, is not going to North Carolina or Kansas; he's going to BYU, for a reported $5 million deal. And last year, softball phenom NiJaree Canady turned down that sport's biggest juggernaut, Oklahoma, in favor of Texas Tech, which gave her that sport's first-ever seven-figure deal. Earlier this month, she and her team ended the Sooners' reign — and she signed another deal. Advertisement All of those deals got done before the House settlement was approved. Had they not, theoretically, Deloitte could flag them for being too far above 'market value.' Clearly, booster-driven collectives aren't going away. If Oracle founder Larry Ellison wants to give the next Michigan quarterback recruit $4 million, it seems highly unlikely someone could tell him no. Either the collectives will get more creative in how they structure their deals, or someone is going to sue and succeed in getting an injunction. Neither the schools nor the athletes would be the ones filing that suit because they're bound by the settlement. But boosters aren't bound by it. Companies aren't bound by it. And, most concerning to the conferences, state attorneys general aren't bound by it. They're the folks who succeeded in getting both the NCAA's booster restrictions and transfer restrictions shot down. We know this much: Most schools that plan to offer the maximum $20.5 million in House payments are following a formula by which they'll allocate around $13 million for football and $3 million for men's basketball. Ohio State last year spent $20 million on football alone, and many schools are spending way more than that this year. Kentucky is one of several programs planning to spend more than $10 million on men's basketball. Coaches' and administrators' salaries have only gone up and up and up over time, but the powers that be seem to think they can make athletes' unofficial salaries go down with their magic clearinghouse. That's not generally how markets work.
CTV News
03-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
B.C. Man fined $50,000 for breaching Alberta securities laws
A B.C. man has been fined $50,000 by the Alberta Securities Commission for involvement in a market manipulation scheme. (Bloomberg Creative Photos/Bloomberg Creative Collection) A B.C. man has been fined $50,000 by the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) following a settlement agreement relating to a market manipulation scheme. In the settlement agreement, Michael Baron admitted to engaging in uptick trading and bid support of Softlab9 Software Solutions Inc. shares in 2020. At the time, the B.C. company was a reporting issuer in Alberta. 'Uptick trading and bid support are trading strategies used in market manipulations to show false momentum or interest in the trading of a stock and creating an artificial price for the stock, not reflective of genuine supply and demand,' said a statement from ASC Monday. 'Manipulative trading is a form of fraud and is fundamentally incompatible with investor protection, market fairness and public trust in capital markets,' said the ASC. As part of the settlement agreement, Baron agreed to resign all positions he may have had as a director and/or officer of any reporting issuer on top of paying the ASC $50,000. He is also prohibited for four years from acting as a director/officer of any reporting issuer, engaging in investor relations activities in respect of any reporting issuer, and trading in or purchasing securities or derivatives, with limited exceptions. A notice of hearing was issued by the ASC on April 2, 2024. According to the settlement agreement, Baron had a less-significant role in the admitted conduct than the other respondents. There were initially four other Albertan respondents involved, plus Baron. A hearing into the allegations against the others was scheduled to commence on May 26 but has been adjourned. A new date for the hearing has yet to be set.
