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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Prediction markets show Trump leading Harris in <keyword id="19952061" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="2024-election" source="keywords">2024 election</keyword> odds.</li><li>Betting platform <keyword id="22291329" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Polymarket" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Polymarket" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Polymarket">Polymarket</keyword> has seen its trading volume surge, with $1.24 billion bet in October alone.</li></ul>With the Presidential election less than three weeks away, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harris-trump-national-polls-election-2024-10">polls are in a virtual dead heat</a> between candidates Donald Trump and <keyword id="20307089" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kamala-Harris" source="keywords">Kamala Harris</keyword>. But the election odds look somewhat different in the prediction markets, where people can bet money on the outcome of a race, and the constantly changing odds of a Harris or Trump win on these marketplaces are being closely watched by politicos. Since the start of October, there's been a notable divergence between the <keyword id="22477782" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="betting-markets" source="keywords">betting markets</keyword> and the polls. Despite numerous polling averages showing a close race between Harris and Trump, with all major battleground states within the margin of error, the betting markets have moved decisively for Trump. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/bitcoin-price-soars-crypto-president-donald-trumps-election-betting-odds-2024-10">Rumblings have grown</a> that a single person or a consortium of people could be tipping the scale for Trump on the betting platform Polymarket, placing a series of big bets totaling $30 million, in a bid to boost the narrative that he's a shoo-in for the November election. Here's what you need to know. <h2>1. What is Polymarket?</h2>Polymarket is a <keyword id="23618251" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="crypto-based-predictions" source="keywords">crypto-based predictions</keyword> market that has become one of the most popular venues for placing online bets on upcoming elections. The prediction market was founded in 2020 and requires users to place bets via stablecoins. Stablecoins are crypto tokens pegged to a fiat currency like the dollar and rarely deviate from their $1 value. Polymarket allows investors to bet on yes or no questions. For example: Will Donald Trump win the 2024 US Presidential election? Polymarket also allows its users to "trade" its bets, or sell out early for potential profits or to cut their losses. This year, Polymarket has seen $1.75 billion worth of trading volume according to data from The Block, with betting activity exploding on US election outcomes. In October alone, the betting market has seen $1.24 billion in trading volume. Before 2024, Polymarket's monthly trading volume rarely topped $10 million. <h2>2. Who is invested in Polymarket?</h2>Polymarket investors include early Facebook backer Peter Thiel, Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin, and Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia. The company has raised a total of $74 million, according to data from Crunchbase. <h2>3. Where do election odds stand in betting markets now?</h2>Donald Trump has a massive lead over Kamala Harris in the betting markets. As of 11:55 a.m. on Friday, Polymarket odds showed Trump had a 60.1% chance of becoming the 47th President of the United States compared to just 39.8% for Kamala Harris. There is currently $628.5 million wagered on Trump, compared to $416.6 million wagered on a Harris victory. Kalshi, another betting market that recently received approval from a US federal appeals court to operate and take election wagers from US-based bettors, is also skewed heavily toward Trump at 57% vs 43% for Harris. However, the race is much tighter in the polls. Harris maintains a 2-point lead over Trump, at 48.3% versus 46.3%, according to the <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/national/" target="_blank">latest polling average compiled by 538</a>. Swing-state polls are even tighter, with 538 polling averages showing nearly 50-50 odds for the candidates in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. <h2>4. What's going on with the "Trump whale" in the betting markets?</h2>Because Polymarket is decentralized and takes bets via crypto, there's a lot of data to parse through on individual bets, like the source of the crypto wallet a particular wager came from. According to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wsj.com/finance/betting-election-pro-trump-ad74aa71?mod=hp_lead_pos1">a report from The Wall Street Journal</a>, four Polymarket accounts have bet a combined $30 million that Trump will win the election. An analysis of the four accounts by blockchain analysis firm Arkham Intelligence suggests "there's strong reason to believe they are the same entity." The four accounts, which go by the names of Fredi9999, Theo4, PrincessCaro, and Michie, have exhibited similar behaviors and were all funded by deposits from crypto exchange Kraken, according to Arkham. <h2>5. Is the $30 million "Trump whale" an influence campaign?</h2>Because the betting markets are relatively illiquid, a $30 million bet can have a big influence on moving the odds in favor of Trump. The accounts have also wagered millions of dollars on Trump winning key swing states like Pennsylvania and winning the popular vote, which is seen as a long shot. Adam Cochran, a veteran crypto investor, told The Wall Street Journal that the betting spree on Polymarket appears to be a campaign to boost the narrative that Trump has a lot of momentum going into election day. "It is by far the most efficient political advertising one can buy," Cochran to the Journal. When Trump's odds of winning the election initially soared on Polymarket on October 7, Elon Musk, who has strongly endorsed Trump and pledged to contribute tens of millions of dollars to getting him in office again, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1843363275398169020">retweeted</a> a screenshot of the election odds and said, "Victory is not enough, it must be absolutely decisive victory." To be sure, there is no evidence that the apparent "Trump whale" is trying to manipulate the betting markets, and it could just be that the person or persons have an incredibly strong conviction that Trump will win the election next month. Something similar occurred in the weeks leading up to the 2012 Presidential election, when a so-called "Romney whale" placed a flurry of bets totaling almost $7 million that Mitt Romney would win the election, using the betting market Intrade, which is now out of business. That whale ended up losing it all, as Barack Obama secured a second term. Editor's note: The story has been updated to clarify that the data provided by 538 is an average of multiple polls, not a single national poll.

What to know about the potential $30 million whale moving betting markets toward Trump

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Binance founder Changpeng Zhao left prison in September.</li><li>He said he wasn't recognized at first, but inmates and guards soon sought crypto tips.</li></ul>Binance's founder said in a new interview that he wasn't initially recognized in prison — but word of his vast wealth and crypto know-how soon spread.Being incarcerated, however, limited his outlook on the market."Many of them asked, like, which coins should they buy?" <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zhao-changpeng-binance-billionaire-crypto-mcdonalds-fast-food-wealth-lifestyle-2022-10">Changpeng Zhao</a>, widely known as CZ, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-07/-the-king-is-back-binance-billionaire-cz-plots-life-after-prison?srnd=homepage-americas">told Bloomberg</a> in his first interview since being released in September. He said he told inquiring inmates and prison guards: "I don't have access to any information. I don't even know what the market looks like."Zhao <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/binance-founder-cz-hinted-stepping-down-crypto-exchange-changpeng-zhao-2023-11">stepped down from the world's biggest crypto exchange</a> and pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering charges <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-binance-ceo-sentenced-to-four-months-in-prison-2024-4">last year</a>.He was released in September after serving a four-month sentence at a minimum-security prison in California — as the wealthiest US inmate ever, Bloomberg reported.Binance also reached a settlement to pay a $4.3 billion fine after federal regulators accused the company of failing to halt illegal trading by groups like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/binance-cz-fine-hamas-islamic-state-treasury-department-2023-11">Hamas and ISIS</a>.Crypto market updates weren't the only thing Zhao couldn't access behind bars. He told Bloomberg he typically was careful with his diet on the outside, but in prison, the food was heavy on starch and sugar and low on protein. (Zhao said he did sometimes get fried fish or a Spam-like meat.)"I usually stick to a paleo diet, just proteins and veggies. That's not possible there," he said.He spent his days working out and writing a book, he said.One of Zhao's closest friends in prison was serving a 25-year sentence for bank robbery and also happened to be knowledgeable about crypto. Zhao said he's now trying to connect the man with pro-bono legal aid to potentially help reduce his sentence.As for the future, Zhao said he's turning the page on Binance. "That chapter is that chapter," he said.He said he was exploring investments in the AI and biotech industries and founded the nonprofit Giggle Academy, a gamified learning app. BI contacted Binance to seek additional comment from the company or Zhao.As one of the wealthiest men on earth, Zhao's fortunes have soared in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump's victory. Given Trump's pro-crypto positions, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/bitcoin-price-btc-record-high-donald-trump-victory-presidential-election-2024-11">prices have surged</a>, increasing Zhao's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/changpeng-zhao-cz-binance-coinbase-armstrong-wealth-trump-election-crypto-2024-11">personal net worth</a> by 30% to roughly $53 billion.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao says prison inmates and guards asked him for crypto tips

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Rapper Sean Combs and crypto fraudster <keyword id="20003002" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sam-Bankman-Fried" source="keywords">Sam Bankman-Fried</keyword> are sleeping in the same jail dormitory.</li><li>Combs, known as <keyword id="20236268" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Diddy" source="keywords">Diddy</keyword>, has been in the <keyword id="23241522" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Brooklyn-jail" source="keywords">Brooklyn jail</keyword> since last week on <keyword id="20069055" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sex-trafficking" source="keywords">sex trafficking</keyword> charges.</li></ul>Crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried just got a new roommate. Sean Combs, the rapper known as Diddy, and Bankman-Fried are bunking in the same dormitory of a Brooklyn jail, said a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the housing arrangement. Their identity is known to Business Insider. Combs has been held at <keyword id="23228804" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Metropolitan-Detention-Center" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Metropolitan Detention Center" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Metropolitan Detention Center">Metropolitan Detention Center</keyword> for almost a week after being denied bail on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges. Bankman-Fried has been imprisoned at the same jail since last year. He is serving a 25-year sentence on fraud charges after stealing $8 billion from customers of his FTX crypto exchange. He funneled money into his crypto-trading fund Alameda Research, venture capital investments, political donations, and used it for personal spending. The pair are among roughly 20 inmates housed in the area, which is reserved for those who need special security, including high-profile defendants, people familiar with the situation told NBC News. Other high-profile inmates, like disgraced pop singer R. Kelly and sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell —who has ties to Jeffrey Epstein— have previously been held in MDC. The jail holds around 1,200 detainees, and has a reputation for tough conditions. Last week, Combs's lawyers called it too "horrific" for a defendant pre-trial, and a lawyer for an inmate who died there after a fight this summer once said it is overcrowded and understaffed, calling it "hell on earth." Combs' lawyers have since changed course, saying he "can't say enough good things about the MDC, which has been responsive to our and his needs," according to comments obtained by the New York Times. Correction: September 25, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misattributed details about the purpose of the part of the jail where Sam Bankman-Fried and Sean Combs were being held and how many people were being held there. Those details were attributed to unnamed sources in a report from NBC News and did not come from a source who spoke with Business Insider or sources who spoke with The New York Times. Jacob Shamsian contributed reporting.

Diddy and crypto fraudster SBF are sharing a dorm-style room in a Brooklyn jail

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Former President Donald Trump wants your vote, and he's reaching out to everyone, including crypto bros.</li><li>The Republican nominee sat for a 30-minute interview on the "state of crypto" on Monday.</li></ul>Former President Donald Trump is taking his courtship of the crypto industry to the next level.In an X Spaces livestream on Monday night, the Republican presidential nominee spoke with internet personality and Web3 influencer Farokh Sarmad for about 30 minutes about the "state of crypto.""If we don't do it, China will do it," Trump told Sarmad, referring to making cryptocurrency mainstream. "We have to be the biggest and the best.Ahead of the Monday livestream, Trump said he would use the event to launch his latest business venture: a new crypto-banking platform called World Liberty Financial.But it was ultimately <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-09-13/behind-the-trump-crypto-project-is-a-self-described-dirtbag-of-the-internet?sref=yaJhKSOh">Chase Herro</a>, the self-described "dirtbag of the internet," and Zach Witkoff, the son of Trump's longtime friend and donor, Steve Witkoff, who discussed World Liberty Financial, more than an hour and a half into the event.In addition to Herro and Witkoff, Trump's sons, Donald Jr., Eric, and Barron, are also involved in the venture, a cryptocurrency business focused on decentralized finance, known as "DeFi."The extent of the former president's involvement in World Liberty Financial is still unclear, though a person familiar with the project told <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/16/trump-crypto-world-liberty-financial.html">CNBC</a> that Trump hasn't been very involved thus far. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/16/technology/trump-crypto-world-liberty-financial.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=twitter">The New York Times reports</a> that the elder Trump holds the title of "Chief Crypto Advocate."Details about the company remain scarce. According to CNBC, a small group of Trump family members and insiders will hold 70% of equity in the startup. The startup would allow users to borrow and lend crypto while paying original investors fees.Trump's sons Eric and Don Jr. have been teasing the launch of World Liberty Financial for weeks, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/EricTrump/status/1828933866662572229">posting about it on X</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1826598601897742600">linking to a Telegram page</a> with info about the project.The venture comes as Trump has been ratcheting up his efforts to get in with the crypto crowd — a courtship that, as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-bitcoin-stance-2024-7">BI's Kenneth Niemeyer wrote in July</a>, has led him to become a bonafide crypto stan.Back in May, while hocking NFTs featuring his mugshot, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-hush-money-trial-crypto-bitcoin-nft-stormy-daniels-2024-5">Trump criticized President Joe Biden and Democrats</a> for being "very much against" crypto while poising himself as the crypto candidate.During the Monday livestream, Trump credited his changing perspective on crypto to his NFTs' positive response. The Republican nominee also cited his three sons for helping him learn about the digital currency.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-bitcoin-stance-2024-7">Trump called cryptocurrency</a> "the steel industry of 100 years ago" at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville in July. He also promised the crowd of crypto industry leaders that he would "ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet and the bitcoin superpower of the world" and even create a "strategic national bitcoin stockpile.""I want to make sure it's good and solid and everything else, but I'm good with it," <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/frankdegods/status/1788359051031761269">the former president said</a> at the time. "If you're in favor of crypto, you'd better vote for Trump."As November draws nearer, Trump is betting that all his crypto wooing will pay off at the ballot box.During the Monday livestream, Trump took a scaremongering approach, encouraging crypto lovers to vote for him lest they court hostility from the US Securities and Exchange Commission."If for some reason bad, bad things happen and we don't win the election, those people that were under investigation…in the crypto world, they'll be living in hell," Trump said.Analysts estimated that if Trump wins, bitcoin could surge to $125,000 by the year's end, while a win for Kamala Harris could cause the currency to surge to just $75,000.But <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-called-crypto-scam-now-owns-million-ethereum-disclosure-bitcoin-2024-8">Trump hasn't always been so into crypto</a>.While in office, Trump said he was "not a fan" of crypto and that its "value is highly volatile and based on thin air." In 2021, Trump told Fox Business on two occasions that it <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6257768965001">"just seems like a scam"</a> and that investing in cryptocurrencies is a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/crypto-potentially-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen-trump">"disaster waiting to happen.</a>"

Donald Trump is going all-in on the crypto bro vote

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Americans lost $5.6 billion to cryptocurrency scams in 2023, a 45% increase from 2022.</li><li>The FBI's 2023 cryptocurrency fraud report highlights the rise in crypto investment scams.</li></ul>Americans are losing more money than ever to cryptocurrency scams, according to the FBI.The FBI's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2023_IC3CryptocurrencyReport.pdf">2023 cryptocurrency fraud report,</a> released earlier this week, found that Americans lost $5.6 billion to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-trader-loses-millions-address-poisoning-scam-crypto-eth-finance-2024-5">crypto scammers last year</a>. The massive figure represents a 45% increase from the previous year.FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-publishes-2023-cryptocurrency-fraud-report">statement</a> that the best way to fight crypto scammers is to report potential crimes to the FBI's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ic3.gov/">Internet Crime Complaint Center</a>, even if no financial loss is involved. The center received more than 69,000 complaints regarding cybercrime and financial fraud related to cryptocurrency last year, the report says.Wray said scams targeting investors using cryptocurrency are "skyrocketing in severity and complexity." Crypto scams related to investment fraud made up most of the complaints submitted to the center, with 32,094 reports. The second-highest reported category was tech support scams, with 8,719, according to the report.The report says investment crypto scams also reported the highest losses, with Americans losing over $3.9 billion in crypto investment fraud in 2023. Personal data breach scams took second place, with more than $490 million in losses.People over 60 reported the most instances of crypto fraud and the highest losses, with more than 16,000 reports totaling more than $1.6 billion in total losses among the age group, according to the FBI.A recent report by the Better Business Bureau found that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-loses-more-money-to-online-scams-than-boomers-2024-8">Gen Z loses the most money</a> to online scams, but people aged 55 to 64 are more susceptible to online investment scams, the report says.The vast majority of people who reported losing money to crypto fraud involving a kiosk — or a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-bitcoin-atm-vape-florida-west-palm-beach-ethereum-2022-5">crypto ATM</a> — were over 60, according to the FBI. People in that age group lost more than $124 million to scams using a crypto ATM, while ages 50 to 59 had the second highest losses with more than $11 million.Some tips the FBI recommends to avoid crypto scams are to make sure calls are coming from a phone number registered to the company reaching out to you and to look for inconsistencies in fake website domain names and emails.The FBI also says no legitimate law enforcement or government agency will ever demand payment through a cryptocurrency kiosk, and if an investment seems too good to be true, it probably is."Investment involves risk," the FBI says. "Individuals should invest based on their financial objectives and financial resources and, if in any doubt, should seek advice from a licensed financial advisor."

Americans are losing more money to crypto scams than ever

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Former president Donald Trump unveiled a new cryptocurrency company earlier this week.</li><li>Two entrepreneurs behind the firm describe themselves as millionaires living large in the Caribbean.</li></ul>Donald Trump is the face of a new cryptocurrency business whose founders have a professional past littered with debts, lawsuits, and some questionable dating advice.In an X space on Monday, Trump formally unveiled World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency business that promises to launch its own crypto token whose value will be pegged to the U.S. dollar, alongside entrepreneurs Zachary Folkman and Chase Herro."Crypto is one of those things we have to do," Trump said during the livestream. "Whether we like it or not, I have to do it."Pundits have characterized the move as an attempt to appeal to cryptocurrency enthusiasts, who <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-going-for-crypto-bro-vote-world-liberty-financial-2024-9">tend to be young, white men</a>, amid scrutiny of Trump's past skepticism towards digital currencies. Trump also made other moves to curry favor with crypto fans, including a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/that-time-donald-trump-walked-into-a-bar-and-bought-a-round-using-bitcoin-92cf6dd0">campaign stop</a> on Wednesday at a bar in Greenwich Village where Trump paid for hamburgers and Diet Cokes with bitcoin.It's unclear what Trump's precise role in the business could be — he's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/16/technology/trump-crypto-world-liberty-financial.html">reportedly</a> identified in some internal documents as a "chief crypto advocate" — but ethics experts say it could present a conflict of interest if Trump wins the presidential election, at which point he would be overseeing cryptocurrency regulations. Three of Trump's children are employees of World Liberty Financial, including his 18-year-old son Barron, who <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-going-for-crypto-bro-vote-world-liberty-financial-2024-9">CoinDesk reported</a> holds the title of "DeFi visionary" at the company.But the key players behind the company appear to be Folkman and Herro, who spoke for nearly an hour on the X livestream and who hold the titles of head of operations and data and strategies lead, respectively.Folkman and Herro, both 39, portray themselves as millionaires many times over. On Facebook, their posts show them racing around the Caribbean on a powerboat and relaxing by the beach with their wives. In 2021, Herro bragged about living in the Ritz Carlton resort in Puerto Rico.Herro describes his life as a rags-to-riches story: As a teen and young adult, he was repeatedly arrested and served jail time on drug charges, but he says he turned his life around and is now a legitimate businessman.Court records tell a more complicated story. Herro and Folkman have incurred debts and sparked lawsuits in nearly every jurisdiction they've lived in, with both appearing in various lawsuits from 2010 to 2020 in places including California, New York, and the US Virgin Islands.Herro and Folkman could not be reached for comment by Business Insider. World Liberty Financial's spokesperson, Jim Redner, told BI he has "no information.""I've been kept in the dark. I've been trying to get information, but I have nothing," Redner continued. "In 25 years, it is the most unusual project I have ever been associated with."In 2010, Herro was sued in Los Angeles by a former business partner who alleged he'd invested $170,000 in what he thought was Herro's medical marijuana dispensary. In fact, Herro had simply taken the money and run, according to the suit. Herro was ordered to pay a $207,366 default judgment.Around the same time, Herro was sued by JPMorgan Chase and by a collections agency in San Diego. Herro also appears to owe more than $280,000 in unpaid California state taxes, according to lien notices.Other court records indicate Herro was running an advertising business using fake Facebook accounts. In 2014, Herro sued a man he alleged had sold him 20 dud Facebook accounts that Herro had wanted to run ads on. The accounts stopped working almost immediately, Herro alleged, putting him out the $100,000 he'd paid. The parties settled out of court.The same year, Herro sued the company behind a "colon cleansing" product Herro had been marketing on Facebook for <a target="_blank" href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.435573/gov.uscourts.nysd.435573.1.0.pdf">nearly $570,000</a> in unpaid invoices, according to court documents previously reported by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-09-13/behind-the-trump-crypto-project-is-a-self-described-dirtbag-of-the-internet">Bloomberg</a>. The owner of the company was later convicted of an unrelated securities fraud and is currently in prison.The landlords of the Virgin Islands home Folkman and Herro rented in 2016 <a target="_blank" href="https://usvipubapi.vicourts.org/api/v1/publicaccessdocuments/41794a9088d6c1e09ac34e86d4373aa997866a72dd702092c9cd46121c0d8837/download">sued</a> the pair and their roommates for $36,000 in unpaid rent and $75,000 in property damage, including damage from six dogs the landlords alleged were living in the home without authorization. (The parties settled out of court.)Herro is also currently being sued by a woman who chartered his speedboat — Herro rents out the boat, christened Clickbait, for $1,250 a day — and suffered a spinal cord injury.Folkman's entré into business came in 2011, when he co-founded the company Date Hotter Girls LLC, where he dispensed pick-up artist advice under the name "Zack Bauer." In <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEhRSm9aXpo&amp;t=59s">a video</a> from a 2011 conference for "alpha males," Folkman boasted about his system "to take girls home and have sex.""That's what she showed up to the bar for," he told attendees. "That's why she's wearing a miniskirt and high heels and put on all that makeup and took an hour and a half to get ready. That's why she changed her shirt five times and she went out wearing a thong."In 2020, while Folkman was selling a nonrefundable $2,000 ecommerce training course promising to "teach you the exact strategies I've used to build multiple 7- and 8-figure businesses with nothing but online advertising and some basic offer creation," he racked up $77,000 in credit card debt. A bank statement included in a lawsuit seeking to recoup the overdue balance filed by American Express showed nearly all of his expenditures were on Facebook ads. (Folkman never responded to the suit, and a judge dismissed the case after AmEx missed a filing deadline.)Business Insider attempted to locate the three people who had contributed positive testimonials to the course's website but could not. The photos next to their names were of other people.Folkman and Herro's previous venture into crypto ended ignominiously. Both were involved in a project called Dough Finance, whose source code appears remarkably similar to that of World Liberty Financial, <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vbbt4ekTRkiQ36b4Lo9fiLwFjyIU6wPz26punK50Mwg/edit">Coindesk reported</a>. Hackers stole $2 million from Dough Finance users in July. The project's website is now inactive, though the company posted on X that it has recovered some of the stolen funds and plans to return money to users.It's still unclear when World Liberty Financial will begin allowing investors to purchase its tokens. But even before its official launch, it's already warning crypto buyers about scams."Attention community: Please be aware of scams and fake tokens," World Liberty Financial posted on Telegram last month. "Do not engage with these tokens!"

Trump's crypto allies boast lavish lifestyles amid trail of debts

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The presidential election has the potential to reshape the investment landscape.</li><li>Detailed below is what Wall Street is saying about investing implications across multiple asset classes.</li></ul>With the presidential election just over a week away, and the candidates in a dead heat in the polls, Americans are in suspense about how their lives will change under a new leader.Business Insider has prepared a five-part refresher for the final stretch that will unpack the potential impact that both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris presidencies will have on US consumers. Today's first installment is focused on the investment landscape.To date, Trump and Harris have outlined specific policy proposals that will impact different parts of the stock market. Their varying platforms will also be crucial in determining the future path of interest rates, which will shape the bond market.But they're not expected to have diametrically opposed impacts on everything, with both candidates seen as positive forces for crypto.Detailed below is the latest research and commentary from top Wall Street strategists, outlining how the market and investing landscape will shift under potential Trump or Harris administrations.The guide covers four specific asset classes, and is divided between the Trump and Harris impact on each.<h2 id="40896f3b-9c3a-42aa-82ae-49a1761381ac">Stocks</h2>From the perspective of equities, it's helpful to look at the potential impact on both the micro (specific sectors set to be impacted) and the macro (how the broader market will respond).<h3 id="24c47698-0ee7-4a48-bb04-abe2a4f630c2">Trump</h3><h4 id="51cc4655-bf14-43bc-b772-b54703215a1c">Sectors</h4>Much of the industry guidance for the stock market under Trump boils down to his proposed tax policies. Bank of America says his plan to cut the corporate tax rate to 15% from 21% will boost corporate earnings by 4%. How much it impacts each sector ultimately depends on sensitivity to changes in the tax rate.To that end, BofA says the consumer discretionary and communication services sectors — the areas most beholden to tax-rate changes — will benefit the most. On the flip side, less exposed areas like utilities, real estate, and energy will get the smallest boost.For energy specifically, Trump's pro-drilling stance — while supportive of industry activity — will likely lead to oversupply and lower oil prices, says BNY Wealth. That, in turn, will hurt corporate profitability in the sector and drag on stock prices.It's also worth noting that energy was the worst-performing sector during Trump's previous presidential tenure.Financials is another area of the stock market seen benefiting from a Trump win. <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/if-trump-wins-he-plans-free-wall-street-burdensome-regulations-2024-04-12/">Allies of the former president have said</a> he aims to unburden banks from many of the regulations that were imposed following the 2008 financial crisis, something that his first administration tried to do with limited success.Those looser regulations could could also ignite a fresh wave of mergers and acquisitions, which would increase advisory revenue for big banks and help drive up profits from dealmaking.<h4 id="08ac2f7c-0094-48df-8910-ca3b12ae746a">Broader market</h4>Zooming out and assessing the full equity-market landscape, views are divided, particularly along partisan lines. Trump's proposed tax and regulatory policies are seen by his supporters as pro-business, which would be good news for corporate profit growth and deal activity.But Trump critics argue that his proposal for universal tariffs and steeper levies on Chinese imports — as well as a crackdown on immigration — will be inflationary, which could hold back stock prices. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation says the tariff plan in particular could <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://taxfoundation.org/blog/trump-mckinley-tariffs-great-depression/">hurt profit margins and put pressure on consumer spending</a>.Bank of America estimates that 60% tariffs on China and 10% on other countries would lower S&amp;P 500 earnings per share by 3.1%. That would be a problem since earnings growth has long been the stock market's primary driver of gains."The conventional wisdom is wrong: Trump is not going to substantially cut taxes once in office; he is going to raise taxes by jacking up tariffs. To the extent that this dampens economic activity, it is bad news for stocks," BCA Research chief strategist Peter Berezin said.<h3 id="fe116c39-7eef-494d-b923-93e68c7490b4">Harris</h3><h4 id="82c14dd6-d54a-4af0-a6d6-b171c6d4ccd1">Sectors</h4>Just like with Trump, much of the guidance around the stock market under Harris involves her tax plan. Her proposal to hike the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% would have an inverse effect on sectors.That means consumer discretionary and communication services — the top beneficiaries under Trump — would be hit the hardest under a Harris regime, BofA says."Consumer discretionary stocks have underperformed the S&amp;P 500 modestly since Harris' presidential candidacy was announced, perhaps reflecting concerns that a Democratic President could result in higher corporate taxes and employee wages," BNY Wealth said.Financial firms will also feel a negative impact of both higher taxes and Harris' proposed regulatory tightening.But there are bright spots too. A Harris victory would likely benefit homebuilder stocks because of her proposal to build 3 million houses. Renewable-energy stocks should also see gains due to the favorable view of wind and solar energy by Democrats.Both sectors have outperformed in recent months during periods when Harris saw positive momentum in election polls.<h4 id="27decf30-ab8c-4ed1-beaf-70dfe2073247">Broader market</h4>The stock market <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-today-sp500-hits-another-record-high-q3-earnings-2024-10">has soared to records</a> during Joe Biden's presidency, up more than 50% since he was inaugurated, and a Kamala Harris win would likely be a continuation of many of the same policies that have been supportive of the market.Those include infrastructure investments and tax incentives to bring manufacturing jobs back to the country, like in the semiconductor industry via the CHIPS and Science Act.But BofA says Harris' proposed tax hike would also put downward pressure on corporate profits, which estimates a 5% earnings hit. Beyond that, a quadrupling of the stock buyback tax to 4% would also take 1% off S&amp;P 500 profits, the firm said.With all of these cross-currents swirling, a neutral market outcome must also be assessed.<h3 id="cefe8193-23a0-4521-8119-4d27dde3396d">A potentially muted impact</h3>Capital Economics believes neither a Trump nor Harris win will mean all that much for stock prices because bigger trends — specifically AI — will shape the market's direction."Our upbeat projections for the stock market in 2024 and 2025 are predicated on a view that hype over AI will continue to fuel a stock market bubble," the research firm said. Capital Economics has a 2025 year-end price target of 7,000 for the S&amp;P 500, regardless of which candidate wins the election.Meanwhile, Bank of America said that as long as corporate profits continue to grow, the stock market will <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-election-impact-outlook-harris-trump-energy-tesla-biden-2024-10">rise regardless of who wins</a> the White House.<h2 id="7a7d474f-4301-46c7-a48c-d475d0abd0a4">Bonds</h2>The performance of the US bond market largely hinges on the direction of interest rates.As interest rates rise, bond prices generally fall, and vice versa. And since presidential actions usually impact rates, the bond market will be shaped by what either Trump or Harris end up doing.<h3 id="aa298578-a5d5-4e0a-ab3b-fcb78a88d8dc">Trump</h3>A Trump win would is seen ushering in higher interest rates, which would push bond prices lower. It ultimately boils down to inflation.Economists see Trump's double-whammy proposals of mass deportation and universal tariffs as inflationary. And since the Federal Reserve's primary tool for fighting inflation is raising interest rates, bond prices would suffer as yields rise."Our assessment is that a Trump win would lead to higher US yields," Capital Economics said.Estimates from the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.crfb.org/papers/fiscal-impact-harris-and-trump-campaign-plans">Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget</a> — a non-profit think tank — say a wider deficit and an increasing pile of debt under a Trump presidency, compared to a Harris presidency, would also put upward pressure on interest rates. That would also hurt the performance of bonds.<h3 id="c267d16e-6b3a-4db4-8316-c599ab723494">Harris</h3>Capital Economics said it expects interest rates to fall under a Harris win, which would be good news for bonds, as she wouldn't pursue certain inflationary policies like tariffs or immigration deportations, which could fuel wage inflation.Harris' policies, considered to be less inflationary than Trump's, would also allow the Federal Reserve to continue on their path of cutting interest rates, which would boost bond prices.A Bloomberg survey of institutional investors last month found that 30% of investors would add to their bond exposure if Harris wins, while just 17% said they would buy more bonds if Trump wins.Additionally, 46% of respondents said they would reduce their bond exposure if Trump wins, compared to just 23% under a Harris win.<h2 id="648d1263-465a-44c9-b50e-97ea3cd444a7">Crypto</h2><h3 id="77a393b0-f8c1-49d8-b73b-e2f0119e53e1">Trump</h3>A Trump win is seen as bullish for bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency industry, as former President Donald Trump has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-bitcoin-stance-2024-7?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">firmly embraced digital assets</a> in recent years.According to Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/bitcoin-price-outlook-90000-target-if-trump-wins-november-election-2024-9">bitcoin could hit $90,000 by December</a> if Trump wins the election, representing potential upside of about 37% from current levels."Elections remain hard to call, but if you are long crypto here, you are likely taking a Trump trade," Chhugani said.<h3 id="58f9bbfb-d544-465f-8607-1b699202db17">Harris</h3>Harris <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-donald-trump-crypto-bitcoin-donors-young-men-2024-9">has also embraced the crypto industry</a> in recent months, though she's seen as slightly less bullish compared to Trump, given his public displays of support, including addressing crypto conferences and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-nfts-digital-cards-mahattan-trial-2024-5">launching his own NFTs</a>.Yet, Wall Street seems to think that a big case for bitcoin will remain intact no matter who wins. The US government debt pile is expected grow regardless of who controls the White House. That scenario is among bitcoin's biggest bull theses."I'm not sure if either President or other candidate would make a difference. I do believe the utilization of digital assets is going to become more and more of a reality worldwide," BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said during the company's third-quarter earnings call.<h2 id="bb5f6b7e-fd9d-459b-a7dd-22eebbb1993b">US dollar</h2><h3 id="0ae89f53-6e41-467c-8f2a-8aa885fcaf18">Trump</h3>Trump's tax plan and protectionist trade policies are expected to strengthen the dollar. It's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-dollar-trump-presidential-election-weaker-usd-policy-intervention-trillions-2024-7">the opposite</a> of what the presidential hopeful has said he wants, since a weaker currency makes a nation's exports more competitive in global trade.These policies are expected to be inflationary, which would push interest rates higher and possibly prompt the Fed to tighten. Those climbing rates would then underpin dollar gains."Should he re-take the White House ... the dollar would probably rally sharply, at least in the near term, on expectations of higher US tariffs and interest rates," Capital Economics said in recent research.<h3 id="e5ae53de-b9c3-4069-a7a1-5fc244dc29c6">Harris</h3>A Harris presidency would continue the trends of a weaker dollar due to "policy continuity" of the Biden administration, Capital Economics said.Since Harris' overall platform is less expansionary, it's expected to drive less inflationary pressure, and therefore keep the coast clear for the Fed to cut rates and stimulate the economy as currently planned.That likelihood of lower interest would, in turn, push the dollar lower.

How a Trump or Harris presidency could impact your investments

Crypto.com is everywhere. Its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cryptocom-how-startup-bought-staples-center-rights-700-million-2021-12">name is plastered on the home</a> of arguably the most famous NBA franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers. It's sponsoring Formula 1 races and UFC matches. Its ads are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-ads-return-tv-prices-rise-meme-stock-bitcoin-2024-5">back on the airwaves</a>, with Eminem declaring during the NBA playoffs that "fortune favors the brave."Crypto.com is also nowhere. It doesn't have a flashy CEO like FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-bankman-fried-sentenced-prison-ftx-alameda-research-2024-3">who is currently in prison</a>) or Binance's CZ (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-binance-ceo-sentenced-to-four-months-in-prison-2024-4">who is headed to prison</a>). Unlike with <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/sec-sues-coinbase-violating-securities-regulation-binance-crypto-regulation-gensler-2023-6">Coinbase</a>, regulators don't seem to be sniffing around. Sure, the company has high-profile marketing efforts, but day to day, Crypto.com doesn't really come up much at all.Crypto.com is one of those things I've long placed in my "I wonder what the deal is" column, along with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jojo-siwa-rebrand-shows-difficulty-child-stars-grow-up-2024-4">Jojo Siwa</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-virus-chickens-cows-human-food-outbreaks-pandemic-2024-5">bird flu</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/f1-nascar-races-motorsports-2022-6">the difference between F1 and NASCAR</a>. It seems impossible to watch a sporting event without seeing its name somewhere, and yet I rarely chat with someone who uses it or come across its name in headlines. Part of the issue is that I live in New York, where its services aren't allowed. (That's not a knock on the company — for a lot of crypto exchanges, the Empire State is a tough nut to crack.) But it's also a rather nebulous entity in the American market. It says it's got 100 million users globally, but it still seems to fly a little under the radar.Often, when I mention Crypto.com to someone who works in the crypto industry, they tell me they know about it, of course. When I ask exactly what they know about it, they come up pretty empty. Maybe it's mainly popular abroad, they speculate, or only for novices. Google data indicates that while a good chunk of the search interest does come from America, more comes from outside the US, notably from Singapore, Nigeria, and Bulgaria."Huh, I guess bigger than I thought," one crypto evangelist remarked after looking up its trading volume."They own the Lakers' arena? I've always been so confused on how they did that," another crypto entrepreneur said. (To be fair, the company doesn't own the arena; it just bought the naming rights.) He'd set up a Crypto.com account during the 2021-2022 market cycle to do a specific maneuver not allowed on Coinbase at the time, but he hasn't really used it since then.When I asked Nic Carter, a general partner at Castle Island Ventures, about the company, he replied in an email, "It's kind of a mystery, yes."He added that, like me, he doesn't know anyone who uses it. "But I think that reflects the user base — it's not necessarily crypto-natives but rather retail that wants a casual and accessible experience (is my understanding)," he said.Crypto.com is positioning itself as the new face of crypto, even as it remains rather faceless itself. It might prove to be a smart move — it's boosting its brand and, in turn, its consumer base while avoiding much of the scrutiny other exchanges have faced. For the time being, Crypto.com is balancing between notability and infamy. It's walking softly but carrying a big ad budget.While Crypto.com only really burst onto the American scene over the past four years or so, it's been around for a while. Originally named Monaco, the exchange was founded in 2016 in Hong Kong by Kris Marszalek, a Polish-born entrepreneur with a colorful past, and a handful of others. Amid the 2017 crypto run, it raised money from the public via an initial coin offering — creating and selling a digital token of its own, similar to a stock-market IPO. In 2018, the company landed the coveted Crypto.com domain name, purchasing it for an undisclosed amount from an academic who had long refused to sell it. (Even more confusingly, Crypto.com is technically operated by Foris DAX Asia, which, according to a scan of Reddit, can befuddle many users when their tax paperwork comes in. It's also the name Crypto.com lobbies under.) Crypto.com's primary business is its cryptocurrency exchange, which works as a middleman for people buying and selling crypto, but it also offers other products, including crypto Visa cards.The 2021-22 market cycle is when Crypto.com, now headquartered in Singapore, made its big splash. In late 2021, it <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/staples-center-la-being-renamed-crypto-com-arena-2021-11">bought the naming rights</a> to what was then the Staples Center in Los Angeles as part of a 20-year, $700 million deal. It signed sponsorship deals with UFC and F1 while also rolling its "fortune favors the brave" ad campaign, which originally featured Matt Damon. Crypto.com was seeking brand awareness, and it was willing to spend millions upon millions for it."This is one brick in a bigger wall of introducing Crypto.com as a brand to the world and communicating what our core values are," Steven Kalifowitz, Crypto.com's chief marketing officer, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cryptocom-how-startup-bought-staples-center-rights-700-million-2021-12">told Business Insider</a> at the time. In the moment, it all sort of made sense. FTX was flying high and had paid $135 million to slap its name on the Miami Heat's stadium. Its founder, SBF, was running around with Bill Clinton and Tony Blair in the Bahamas and suggesting he'd spend $1 billion on the 2024 election. Binance's CZ was <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/binance-ceo-chaopeng-zhang-cz-forbes-investment-crypto-adoption-media-2022-2">talking about investing $200 million in Forbes</a>, saying it would push media companies toward adopting crypto and lead to the decentralization of the industry. But we know how the story ends: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ftx-crypto-exchange-implosion-sam-bankman-fried-what-it-means-2022-11">FTX imploded</a>, along with some <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/ftx-crypto-implosion-vaporized-billions-dollars-sam-bankman-fried-explained-2022-11">other high-profile crypto projects</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-winter-web3-startup-valuations-forge-global-secondary-markets-2023-5">crypto winter set in</a>. A lot of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ftx-crypto-king-sam-bankman-fried-rise-and-fall-2022-11">crypto's mini-emperors</a> turned out to have no clothes.Crypto.com, however, managed to weather the storm, though not perfectly. The company accidentally sent some $400 million to the wrong account in November 2022, prompting some users to pull their money out of the platform. At the start of 2023, <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/crypto-layoffs-job-cuts-ftx-valuation-tech-markets-cro-2023-1">it laid off 20% of its workforce</a>, blaming economic headwinds and FTX's collapse. The Financial Times reported last June that Crypto.com was operating internal proprietary trading teams, which US regulators had dinged Binance for, even though Crypto.com insisted it was fine. The regulatory environment in the US appears to have made the company a little nervous — it shut down its American institutional exchange in the middle of last year.In the US, Crypto.com has managed to avoid much of the blowback its competitors have faced. (This isn't the case in other countries — in the Netherlands, for example, it was fined for operating without registration.) While the S<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sec-binance-coinbase-crypto-digital-currency-2023-6">ecurities and Exchange Commission has gone after</a> Coinbase and Kraken for operating unregistered securities exchanges, it hasn't made a peep about Crypto.com. Crypto.com has so far ducked notice, even though it's running a lot of the same playbook. In April, the company's chief operating officer acknowledged in an interview with Decrypt that its big-budget marketing efforts could put a target on its back but said the trade-off was worth it.Crypto.com's determination to push ahead, both loudly and quietly, has set it up to try to capitalize <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/bitcoin-price-outlook-100000-crypto-winter-bank-crisis-btc-halving-2023-4">on the market's recent run</a>. Bitcoin is once again on the up and up, and so too is Crypto.com. The company is hiring again, it's advertising aggressively again, and it's talking a big game about its business prospects — its CEO, Marszalek, told Bloomberg in April that it was looking to triple its number of registered users.Data from the marketing-intelligence firm Sensor Tower indicates crypto advertisers' digital spending in the US increased by 185% year over year in the first quarter of 2024. Crypto.com spent eight times as much as Coinbase on digital advertising during that period. (It's worth noting that back in the first quarter of 2022, Crypto.com actually outspent FTX on digital ads by a bit.)But the thing about all Crypto.com's advertising dollars is that they seem to be only effective-ish. Data compiled by CCData shows that Crypto.com has a 2.3% market share by trading volumes on the spot market globally, which is about half of Coinbase, which has 4%, and only slightly above Kraken, which has 1.4%. (Globally, Binance is still dominant.) According to Sensor Tower, Crypto.com saw a 140% increase in downloads in March from the prior month, though it fell slightly behind Coinbase, which had a 160% increase. Crypto.com didn't respond to multiple requests for interviews or comments for this story. Most of the people I did speak to gave the verbal equivalent of a shrug when I asked what they thought of the company.One crypto executive said part of the issue was that Crypto.com, being an upstart from Asia, is a little outside Silicon Valley's mainstream crypto circles. Similar to the clubby "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/paypal-mafia-members-elon-musk-peter-thiel-reid-hoffman-companies">PayPal Mafia</a>" that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-paypal-mafia-members-elon-musk-have-been-successful-founders-2022-6">dominated software in the 2010s</a>, a sort of Coinbase crew has its hold on the crypto industry of the 2020s. The exec wasn't too keen on Crypto.com's flashy advertising either, describing it as "decadent" and irresponsible."All that buying of stadiums and renaming stuff, it's just kind of viewed as lame by most people in crypto," they said. "I think the tackiest thing and frankly irresponsible thing to do is to roll out FOMO ads. 'Buy crypto or get left behind' is a really irresponsible message. JPMorgan doesn't do that."And despite the company's ability to dodge serious regulatory scrutiny, it hasn't engendered a lot of goodwill among some crypto evangelists."I'm supportive of bitcoin, but I think Crypto.com is overall a big negative for the American public. It's very confusing. It's a casino," said Alex Gladstein, who as the chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation has argued that bitcoin is important for advancing human rights and freedom. "When you go to the website, they encourage you to try and bet on these coins that go to zero. I don't think it's anything to do with financial empowerment for people or any sort of alternative wealth building."To be sure, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gambling-young-men-sports-betting-crypto-meme-stock-market-addiction-2024-4">the casino thing could be said about most crypto exchanges</a> — and sports-betting apps, and many regular trading apps. Crypto.com seems to be careful about coloring within the regulatory lines. The head of its legal department in the Americas just put out a "crypto legal handbook," which, OK.Crypto.com is embedded in our culture, and it isn't. It's sort of taken on the FTX mantle but with a more anonymous bent. For the company, it's a pretty savvy space in which to operate: ubiquitous but relatively anonymous. For everyone else, mileage may vary on how you feel about the whole thing. It's a good reminder that, whatever the company, it's better to use exchanges only for trading your crypto assets, not for storing them.Maybe Eminem won't come to regret voicing those ads like Matt Damon did. Or maybe in five years we'll be looking back at this moment and saying: "Remember that one crypto company? Is it still where the Lakers play? Or is it now something else?"<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emily-stewart">Emily Stewart</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

The new king of crypto

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sam Bankman-Fried might be in jail, but the NYT reports that he's still got a finger on the pulse with crypto.</li><li>Bankman-Fried has been reportedly sharing crypto investment tips with prison guards, per <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/27/technology/sam-bankman-fried-fraud-ftx.html">NYT</a>.</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ftx-crypto-king-sam-bankman-fried-rise-and-fall-2022-11">Sam Bankman-Fried</a> may no longer be crypto's golden boy, but the 31-year-old is still happy to provide investing tips, per <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/27/technology/sam-bankman-fried-fraud-ftx.html">The New York Times.</a>Bankman-Fried is reportedly giving crypto investment tips and touting investments in the cryptocurrency <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/everything-to-know-about-solana-explainer-2022-1">Solana</a> to prison guards, The Times reported on Tuesday, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.Representatives for Bankman-Fried declined to comment on The Times' report when reached for comment by BI.Since August, Bankman-Fried has been held at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, a prison infamous for its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-bankman-fried-imprisoned-in-inhumane-brooklyn-jail-2023-8">poor living conditions</a>.Poor hygiene probably isn't the only problem Bankman-Fried has to grapple with. Inmates do not have internet access and are only allowed radios or MP3 players. That could be a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-bankman-fried-more-scared-losing-internet-access-than-jail-2023-10">real problem for Bankman-Fried</a>, according to author Michael Lewis."Now, that sounds crazy, but I do think that if he had the internet, he could survive jail forever. Without having a constant stream of information to react to — I think he may go mad," Lewis, who wrote a book on the rise and fall of FTX "Going Infinite," told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ftx-founder-sam-bankman-fried-michael-lewis-book-60-minutes-transcript/">60 Minutes</a> in October.Bankman-Fried's parents, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-bankman-fried-parents-sentencing-submission-danger-2024-2">Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, have written letters</a> to the court to plead leniency for their son. Fried said in her letter that she genuinely fears "for Sam's life in the typical prison environment.""Sam's outward presentation, his inability to read or respond appropriately to many social cues, and his touching but naive belief in the power of facts and reason to resolve disputes, put him in extreme danger," Fried wrote.The FTX founder was found guilty of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jury-sam-bankman-fried-guilty-seven-counts-fraud-manhattan-trial-2023-10">seven counts of fraud and conspiracy</a> in November. Bankman-Fried, whose sentencing is set to take place on March 28, faces up to 110 years in prison. On Tuesday, Bankman-Fried's attorney, Marc Mukasey said in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24445056-sm-bankman-fried-pre-sentencing-report">sentencing memorandum</a> that sentencing his client to a 100-year prison term would be <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-bankman-fried-lawyer-100-year-prison-term-grotesque-barbaric-2024-2">"grotesque" and "barbaric."</a> Bankman-Fried, Mukasey said, should be given a shorter sentence of five to six-and-a-half years."A sentence that returns Sam promptly to a productive role in society would be sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to comply with the purposes of sentencing," Mukasey wrote.

Sam Bankman-Fried is dispensing crypto investment tips to Brooklyn prison guards: NYT

In its first ever raids in the Union Territory of <keyword id="19905190" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ladakh" source="keywords">Ladakh</keyword>, the <keyword id="19895344" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Enforcement-Directorate" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Enforcement Directorate" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Enforcement Directorate">Enforcement Directorate</keyword> on Friday conducted searches as part of its <keyword id="19899231" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="money-laundering" source="keywords">money laundering</keyword> probe linked to a cryptocurrency fraud case in which investors lost more than Rs 7 crore worth of deposits, officials said. The agency's zonal office here raided at least six premises in Leh town of Ladakh, Jammu in J-K and Sonipat in Haryana in the case against A R Mir and others. It is alleged that 2,508 investors deposited more than Rs 7.34 crore in a fake cryptocurrency business in the name of "<keyword id="22638371" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Emollient-Coin-Limited" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Emollient Coin Limited" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Emollient Coin Limited">Emollient Coin Limited</keyword>". They, however, did not get any returns or currency back, and these funds were laundered by the business' promoters to purchase land assets in Jammu. The money laundering case stems from a March 2020 FIR registered in Leh and some other complaints filed in the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J-K) against Mir and Ajay Kumar Choudhary. Police in Leh in their FIR stated that an inquiry was conducted by a committee formed by the local district magistrate against Mir and his agents who were running the "fake" cryptocurrency business (Emollient Coin Limited) from a office located at the Anjuman Moin-Ul-complex, opposite SNM Hospital, in Leh. The committee sealed this office during inquiry on charges of "cheating many innocent individuals by assuring them to double their investment", according to the FIR. The accused lured people of the UT of Ladakh and some other places to purchase "Emollient Coin" using cash or transferring money into bank accounts, according to Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials. The depositors were also duped in the name of "Bitcoins" with the assurance of returns up to 40 per cent with a lock-in period of 10 months, the probe agency said. Investors were dished out a commission of up to seven per cent of the investment made by the people on their reference in the business, thereby forming a multi-level marketing chain, the ED found. A total of 2,508 people invested Rs 7,34,36,267 in the investment plan offered by Mir and the company (Emollient) floated by him that was incorporated in September 2017 and had its registered office in London. A man, Henry Maxwell, living in the UK capital, was its director. The company had two promoters in India -- Naresh Gullia and Channi Singh. The company was "deliberately" dissolved in March 2019, and Mir along with Choudhary launched a real estate business and acquired lands in Jammu from the funds generated by the fake cryptocurrency trade, according to the ED. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/ola-electric-ipo-price-band-to-risk-factors-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/112185870.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/ola-electric-ipo-price-band-to-risk-factors-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/112185870.cms" target="_blank">Ola Electric IPO – Price band to risk factors, all you need to know</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/nothing-phone-2a-plus-with-dimensity-7350-pro-chipset-launched-in-india-starting-at-29999/articleshow/112164963.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/nothing-phone-2a-plus-with-dimensity-7350-pro-chipset-launched-in-india-starting-at-29999/articleshow/112164963.cms" target="_blank">Nothing Phone (2a) Plus with Dimensity 7350 Pro chipset launched in India starting at ₹29,999</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/indian-smartphone-shipments-decline-by-2-in-q2-2024-xiaomi-retakes-the-throne/articleshow/112162312.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/indian-smartphone-shipments-decline-by-2-in-q2-2024-xiaomi-retakes-the-throne/articleshow/112162312.cms" target="_blank">Indian smartphone shipments decline by 2% in Q2 2024, Xiaomi retakes the throne</a>

ED undertakes first-ever searches in Ladakh in crypto fraud case

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The crypto industry has injected $119 million into this year's elections, Public Citizen reported.</li><li>Coinbase and Ripple lead contributions to super PACs supporting pro-crypto candidates.</li></ul>The crypto industry is making its mark on this year's elections to the tune of some $119 million.Crypto companies are one of the biggest political spenders on federal elections by a long shot, accounting for almost half the corporate money contributed to this year's races, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.citizen.org/article/big-crypto-big-spending-2024/">according to data from consumer rights advocacy nonprofit Public Citizen</a>.The funding has largely come from two companies — Coinbase and Ripple — which are funneling money into super PACs like Fairshake PAC, which is dedicated to "elevating pro-crypto candidates and attacking crypto skeptics," according to Public Citizen. Corporations don't have limits on the amount of money they invest in political candidates after the Supreme Court's 2010 ruling on Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission. However, they must contribute those funds to groups not directly involved with a candidate's official campaign.The crypto industry has especially ramped up spending for the 2024 election, following contributions it made to the 2020 election back when <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ftx-crypto-king-sam-bankman-fried-rise-and-fall-2022-11">Sam Bankman Fried was still its poster child</a>.Now, the stakes are higher. "The industry believes this election is existential," Veronica McGregor, chief legal officer at crypto wallet company Exodus, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wired.com/story/crypto-political-donations-super-pacs-campaigns/">told Wired</a>. "No matter who gets into office, changes need to happen for our industry to thrive like it should."The money flowing into the presidential election has urged this year's candidates to see crypto as an issue that will turn voters in their favor. It may also be a turning point for an industry that has been criticized for evading laws, and been the subject of federal investigations.At the 2024 <a target="_blank" href="https://businessinsider.mx/trump-bitcoin-stance-2024-7/?r=US&amp;IR=T">bitcoin conference in Nashville in February</a>, Trump — who called bitcoin "highly volatile and based on thin air" in 2019 — said he'd lay out a plan "to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet and the bitcoin superpower of the world." Trump has already won the backing of several crypto enthusiasts, including his running mate JD Vance, who <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/read-jd-vance-financial-disclosure-net-worth-bitcoin-fec-report-2024-8">owns at least $250,000 in bitcoin</a>.Harris, meanwhile, has been more cautious in her support of the industry. "She's going to support policies that ensure that emerging technologies and that sort of industry can continue to grow," one of her <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-08-21/harris-supports-policies-to-expand-crypto-industry-aide-says">campaign advisers told Bloomberg</a>.Behind the scenes, a new group called Crypto4Harris, spearheaded by PayPal's former head of blockchain strategy, Johnathan Padilla, is working on "developing a nuanced crypto-policy approach for the Harris For President campaign," according to its X page. Padilla hopes the group can bridge the Democratic Party and the crypto industry, which seems to be rallying around Trump. "People are angry. People are concerned," Padilla told Wired. "But I think if you have the reset we are talking about with the Harris campaign, you're in a really good spot to have temperatures simmer down."

Big Crypto is now spending more on US elections than any other industry

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Adam Neumann's climate tech startup is quietly refunding investors, Forbes reported.</li><li>Flowcarbon has reportedly been refunding its Goddess Nature Token after failing to launch it.</li></ul>WeWork cofounder Adam Neumann's climate tech startup has been quietly refunding investors, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahemerson/2024/09/11/adam-neumanns-climate-company-is-issuing-refunds-after-failing-to-launch-crypto-token/">Forbes reported.</a>Flowcarbon, which aimed to enable companies to purchase carbon credits with cryptocurrency, has reportedly been issuing refunds for its Goddess Nature Token after failing to launch for years.Founded in 2021, Flowcarbon <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/exclusive-neumann-backed-climate-tech-venture-flowcarbon-raises-70-mln-2022-05-24/">claimed</a> that tokenizing carbon credits would make them <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-climate-scheme-carbon-credits-offsets-market-flowcarbon-2022-7">easier to trade and help projects</a> access funding more easily. The company said its Goddess Nature Token would shed light on the "opaque and fractured market infrastructure" for carbon credits — but the tokens have yet to emerge.Flowcarbon cited market conditions and resistance from carbon registries as reasons for refunding the money, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke with Forbes. The customers were also asked to sign a release that included a waiver of claims against the company and its affiliates, according to the report.Representatives for Flowcarbon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.However, the company told Forbes: "It's well known that since last year we have been offering refunds to retail GNT buyers due to the industry delays, with standard and customary terms, as we continue to grow Flowcarbon as a leader in carbon finance."Neumann's venture has secured millions of dollars of funding from investors since its debut,<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-climate-scheme-carbon-credits-offsets-market-flowcarbon-2022-7"> including</a><a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.flowcarbon.com/knowcarbon/flowcarbon-raises-70m-to-tokenize-carbon-credits-and-build-an-on-chain-market"> $70 million</a> in a funding round led by the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.However, experts have <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.popsci.com/environment/crypto-carbon-credit-tokens/">raised concerns</a> that simply making credits easier to buy and sell would do little to solve the underlying climate issues.Flowcarbon is not the former WeWork CEO's only new project. In 2022, Neumann announced he was starting a new company named Flow to transform apartment living. Andreessen Horowitz also invested in the project to the tune of $350 million — its single <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/a16zs-investment-adam-neumanns-flow-real-estate-company-2022-8">largest investment ever</a>.The startup has already hit a roadblock with its 358-unit apartment <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/adam-neumanns-startup-flow-faces-trouble-in-nashville-2024-8">complex in Nashville</a>.Neumann has also been trying to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/adam-neumann-buy-wework-more-than-500-million-report-2024-3#:~:text=Neumann%20has%20submitted%20a%20bid,back%20the%20company%20last%20month.">buy back WeWork</a>, his former company, which emerged from bankruptcy in May, for more than $500 million. The former CEO has been trying to regain control of WeWork since he famously parted ways with it five years ago.

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