Miami

Tom Brady and other celebrities named in class-action lawsuit against FTX

Evidence suggests “FTX’s fraudulent scheme was designed to take advantage of unsophisticated investors,” according to the lawsuit.

Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried and a number of celebrities who endorsed FTX have been named in a class-action lawsuit filed on Nov. 15 in Miami. 

Implicated in the class-action lawsuit are celebrities, athletes and teams, including Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Steph Curry, the Golden State Warriors, Shaquille O’Neal, Udonis Haslem, Larry David and all other parties who either “controlled, promoted, assisted in, and actively participated in” FTX Trading LTD and West Realm Shires Services Inc.

According to the filed court documents, Edwin Garrison, the plaintiff, purchased and funded his account with a sufficient amount of crypto assets to earn interest on his holdings but “sustained damages” in the wake of FTX’s collapse.

The lawsuit alleged that FTX attempted to destroy incriminating emails, texts and evidence of its criminal activities. However, the recovered evidence suggests that “FTX’s fraudulent scheme was designed to take advantage of unsophisticated investors from across the country, who utilize mobile apps to make their investments.”

The lawsuit alleges that “American consumers collectively sustained over $11 billion dollars in damages.”

Related: US reportedly considering Bankman-Fried extradition for questioning

Since the collapse of FTX, many have called for the former CEO to face legal ramifications. As Cointelegraph reported, authorities in the United States have reportedly begun working with law enforcement in the Bahamas to potentially extradite SBF to the U.S. for questioning.

FTX is already under investigation in the Bahamas where its FTX Digital Markets arm, as well as many company executives — including SBF — are located. Financial authorities in Turkey have also launched an investigation into the exchange.

Boomer on the dancefloor! The 64 yr old Bitcoin breakdancer on investing

One of the world’s oldest breakdancers tells Cointelegraph why he’s spreading the Bitcoin message across dance floors in the United States.

One of the world’s oldest competitive “breakers,” or breakdancers, is twisting and shouting Bitcoin (BTC) on dancefloors across the United States. Aged 64, Ben Hart told Cointelegraph he reckons he’s “the world’s oldest actively competing breaker.”

For context, Gary Gensler, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, is the same age. But it’s unlikely Gensler will be shredding up the dancefloor wearing Bitcoin jerseys any time soon:

Hart took up breakdancing in 2011, amazed by the “athleticism” of the hip hop street dance. He recruited an expert to learn the ropes and spent years honing his skills by incorporating flips, power moves and freezes.

He took a similar approach to Bitcoin, which he first learned in 2014. He spent hundreds of hours studying the tech before buying his first Bitcoin in 2019. Hart took Gary Gensler’s MIT Course on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and read the Bitcoin white paper “at least ten times.” Plus, rather than going all in, Hart began by dollar-cost averaging into what he considers “the only truly decentralized cryptocurrency or asset out there.”

As a result, when the price crashed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020—and many sold—Hart bought more. His thorough education crystallized into a resolute conviction about the currency’s future.

Furthermore, Hart explains “When the Fed launched its manic money printing in 2020 to start handing out free money to people (even way more money printing than usual), I thought this was the exact situation Bitcoin was designed for.”

“Bitcoin’s mission is to be honest money. So I started buying a lot more Bitcoin.”

Hart was hooked. So much so that he began wearing Bitcoin jerseys to breakdancing competitions and evangelized Bitcoin to his entourage, while steering them clear of trading and altcoins.

“I basically think trading is a losers game. […] My advice to them is to take 10% of whatever they have to invest and buy Bitcoin. That’s what I tell my kids to do.”

Hart told Cointelegraph that he tells his younger breaker peers to stop trading and “forget about the other cryptos for now.”

Hart’s been spotted on dancefloors on TV shows such as Good Morning America, while he’s already twstepped his way into the Bitcoin community. Cory Kliippsten, CEO of Swan Bitcoin, appears to have extended an invitation Hart’s way for Bitcoin conference Pacific Bitcoin in November this year.

Related: Busking on Bitcoin: How Lightning Network outperforms Ethereum for tipping

Hart and his wife have six kids and split their time between Miami and Chicago. Besides breaking, he is now dedicating his time to Bitcoin education. He joins a growing list of Bitcoin Boomers—HODLers born between 1946 and 1964—while his first Bitcoin book is soon to be published.