Bitcoin is up about 3% this week, topping global stocks and bucking the chaos sparked by FTX’s chaotic bankruptcy.  

Democratic lawmakers who received millions of dollars in campaign donations from Sam Bankman-Fried say they will be ready to grill the former FTX CEO about the exchange’s collapse. 

Liquidators appointed by a Bahamian court to take over FTX Digital Markets Ltd.’s affairs said there’s “significant” concern that FTX management lacked authority to put the crypto businesses into bankruptcy in the US.

The embattled cryptocurrency mogul and two other top FTX executives received massive loans from affiliated trading arm, Alameda Research. Advisers overseeing the bankruptcy of FTX Group are struggling to locate the company’s cash and crypto, citing poor internal controls and record keeping. 

Eoin Treacy's view

The collapse of FTX is revealing a web of activity that will eventually be made into a movie. However the broader point is the collapse of this crypto exchange is a symptom of the broader tightening of liquidity in the international capital markets.

Bitcoin has been steady over the last week but is susceptible to additional weakness as the trajectory of monetary policy continues to tighten. Cyclically, this is the time to expect a crypto winter and there will be additional bankruptcies.

When central banks eventually pivot back to easier policy, sometime after the middle of 2023, it is reasonable to expect bitcoin to bottom. How willing central banks will be to inflate their balance sheets after the visceral experience of having to deal with out of control inflation will dictate whether bitcoin subsequently multiplies like it has in former easing cycles.