Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) continues to make news on the cryptocurrency market. Recently, the face behind collapsed exchange FTX gave an interview to The New York Times (NYT) in which he appeared calm and said that the collapse of his companies is not keeping him from sleeping.

“You would’ve thought that I’d be getting no sleep right now, and instead I’m getting some. It could be worse,” said SBF.

However, what really caught the attention of the blockchain milieu was the direction the NYT article took.

The Twitter profile of Trung Phan, for example, pointed out that words associated with the FTX case, like “fraud,” “crime,” “illiquidity” and “back door, were not mentioned in the publication, as they were in other media sources.

“In NYT article, Alameda CEO admits to misappropriating FTX customer deposits. Per FTX Terms of Service, the deposits are not FTX’s to use…and FTX can’t loan it. NYT writes it up FTX “used” and “lent” deposits. Think the appropriate words are: “wire fraud,” “stole,” “theft””.

Sharing the mentioned tweet, Cardano creator Charles Hoskinson said: 

“Guys it might be a good idea to donate some money to certain politicians. It seems that you can get away with anything and have zero media accountability.”

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was also outraged by the NYT content.

“Twitter has broken just about every piece of this FTX story using blockchain analytics, while NYT is writing puff pieces on a criminal. Feels like a turning point for citizen journalism and loss of trust in MSM.”

Crisis on crypto market caused by FTX

The outrage ensued as the fall of SBF’s empire brought a meltdown to the cryptocurrency market.

Not only has the price of Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins been affected, but companies have started to declare insolvency. An example of this is BlockFi, a crypto credit platform that can file for judicial recovery.

Last Thursday, BlockFi paused customer withdrawals, and earlier this week, the company reaffirmed that it would keep withdrawals paused and limit activity.

This all came about as BlockFi relies heavily on FTX, as it had a $400 million line of credit on the bankrupt exchange.

On Friday, Nov. 11, Sam Bankman-Fried announced his departure as CEO of FTX and was replaced by J. Ray III, who has already worked in restructuring companies after bankruptcy, such as Enron Corporation.

Additionally, SBF has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection not only for the cryptocurrency exchange but also for Alameda Research and an additional 130 companies affiliated with FTX.

Ukraine is exploring more means of thwarting Russia’s onslaught on their country by running after government official’s crypto wallets.

Ukrainian authorities are attempting to stay ahead of crypto-savvy Russian officials who may shift to digital currency in order to evade rising efforts to financially isolate the Kremlin and its allies.

Wars can be waged on numerous fronts, as few stones are left unturned in the pursuit of the most effective techniques for gaining the upper hand.

Ukraine demonstrates resourcefulness in this aspect, as it fights Russia’s recent unprovoked invasion with conventional military techniques.

The country – which is unparalleled in terms of military capacity – is now hellbent on crippling Russian political figures by actively pursuing information about any digital wallets they may possess.

Ukraine Dangles Reward For Crypto Wallets Info

Vice Premier Mykhailo Fedorov announced on Saturday that the Ukrainian crypto community will reward those who give information.

The government has already begun soliciting cryptocurrency donations via social media and has advertised in online hacker forums that it is seeking assistance in defending against cyberattacks.

Federov also indicated that Ukraine is assembling an “IT army.”

Russia’s policy of combating adversaries using digital assets and online means has been in place for a long time, and the Ukrainian hope is that it may be turned around on them in a significant way.

Total crypto market cap at $1.731 trillion | Source: TradingView.com

Sanctions are among the most potent measures available to the United States and its Western allies for influencing the behavior of states they regard as threats.

And in this instance, a bounty for anyone who can provide information about crypto wallets belonging to Russian and Belarusian politicians can be a very effective instrument.

Related Article | Goldman Sachs Excutive Packs Up To Join Coinbase Global

Bounty To Be Paid By Private Donors

According to Artem Afian, a Ukrainian attorney in charge of the project, the incentives for politicians’ crypto wallet information will be paid by private donations rather than by the Ukrainian government.

Afian did not disclose the total amount raised thus far, but said that donations were made primarily in Ether (ETH), but also in Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies.

Ukraine’s actions demonstrate how cryptocurrencies can cross borders and be used by both those seeking assistance and those attempting to evade the law.

Afian said he intends to publish a list of politicians’ addresses over the next two to three days and distribute it to major cryptocurrency exchanges.

Putin May Not Fall Into The Trap

The primary goal is to flag these addresses as “unsafe” and to deter individuals and businesses from transacting with them.

However, it is unlikely that Russian President Vladimir Putin will fall victim to this dragnet.

According to credible grapevines, Putin is notoriously averse to technology and reportedly does not own a cellphone.

Related Article | Russia Said SWIFT Ban Could Be Tantamount To A Declaration Of War

Featured image from Make An App Like, chart from TradingView.com