FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested by Bahamian authorities after the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York shared a sealed indictment with the Bahamian government. The nation expects the U.S. to request The Bahamas to extradite him.

According to new research from JPMorgan Chase, around 13% of the American population, or roughly 43 million people, have now held cryptocurrency at some point in their lives. The figure is up from around 3% in 2020.

Tron-backed algorithmic stablecoin Decentralized USD (USDD) has slipped from its peg to the U.S. dollar and is now trading at $0.98, making the second time the stablecoin lost its peg since it was first launched earlier this year.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Arrested in the Bahamas
• 13% of Americans Have Held Crypto, JPMorgan Found
• Tron-backed USDD Stablecoin Loses Peg
• Chart of the Week: BTC Trading Dominance, 2020-2022

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Arrested in the Bahamas

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested by Bahamian authorities after the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York shared a sealed indictment with the Bahamian government. The nation expects the U.S. to request The Bahamas to extradite him.

A statement, attributed to Attorney General Ryan Pinder, reads:

"As a result of the notification received and the material provided therewith, it was deemed appropriate for the Attorney General to seek SBF’s arrest and hold him in custody pursuant to our nation’s Extradition Act.”

Charges against Sam Bankman-Fried could include wire fraud, securities fraud, money laundering and related conspiracy charges. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also plans to bring charges.

In a separate release, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said its Financial Crimes Investigation United officers arrested Bankman-Fried. The former CEO of FTX is set to appear in court on Tuesday in the Bahamas.

Bankman-Fried was set to testify virtually before the House Financial Services Committee about the exchange’s collapse.

13% of Americans Have Held Crypto, JPMorgan Found

According to new research from JPMorgan Chase, around 13% of the American population, or roughly 43 million, people have now held cryptocurrency at some point in their lives. The figure is up from around 3% in 2020.

JPMorgan’s report, titled “The Dynamics and Demographics of U.S. Household Crypto-Asset Use,” analyzed checking account transfers from a sample of over 5 million customers. The bank found that 600,000 transferred cash to crypto accounts at some point between 2020 and 2022.

The report noted that cryptocurrency investors typically made their first purchases during price rises During this time, the amount of cash being sent into crypto exchange accounts far outweighed the amount of cash being removed. In recent months, cash deposits have only slightly exceeded cash withdrawals.

JPMorgan also found that men of all ages buy significantly more crypto than women, and that younger people buy significantly more than older people. Crypto holdings were relatively minor for most investors.

Tron-backed USDD Stablecoin Loses Peg

Tron-backed algorithmic stablecoin Decentralized USD (USDD) has slipped from its peg to the U.S. dollar and is now trading at $0.98, making the second time the stablecoin lost its peg since it was first launched earlier this year.

In June, the stablecoin saw its value dip to $0.96 before it recovered. USDD’s price drop comes as liquidity for the stablecoin plunged on the Ethereum-based decentralized platform Curve, where USDD is traded against three other stablecoins within a liquidity pool.

Currently, more than 80% of the pool’s funds are held in USDD alone, indicating traders are selling it for the other stablecoins, which are USDT, USDC, and DAI. USDD is a cryptocurrency-backed stablecoin that can be issued by the Tron DAO reserve with TRX and other assets as collateral.

The Tron DAO Reserve claims USDD is collateralized up to 200%, meaning that for each stablecoin, there is $2 worth of collateral, which can be in TRX, BTC, or other centralized stablecoins.

Chart of the Week: BTC Trading Dominance, 2020-2022

In the current bear market, investors are increasingly looking for safe havens for their capital, including Bitcoin and stablecoins. As a result, the trading dominance of Bitcoin has risen from 19.5% in January to 47.0% in December.

Bitcoin’s rising dominance suggests that traders are increasingly turning to the flagship cryptocurrency, which is considered to have relatively low volatility, as a safe haven in uncertain market conditions.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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