Caroline Ellison, the former head of Alameda Research and once romantically involved with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, was sentenced in 2024 to two years in prison after admitting guilt to seven criminal counts, including wire fraud and money laundering.
She played a central role in the prosecution’s case during Bankman-Fried’s trial, testifying that he instructed her to carry out illicit financial activities. Bankman-Fried was ultimately handed a 25-year prison sentence.
The downfall of FTX stands as one of the biggest financial fraud scandals in U.S. history, rattling the crypto industry and prompting stricter regulatory oversight.
Although Judge Lewis Kaplan described Ellison’s cooperation as extraordinary, he still imposed a prison term given the magnitude of the wrongdoing, along with an order for her to surrender $11 billion in assets.
The U.S. economy gained notable traction in Q3 2025, with GDP rising at a 4.4% annual pace, outperforming expectations and registering its strongest expansion in almost two years.
The upswing was fueled by steady consumer demand, a pickup in corporate investment, and healthier export activity, indicating that economic demand held up well despite elevated interest rates and persistent global risks.
Official figures pointed to broad-based improvement across key industries, particularly services and manufacturing, while household spending remained a central pillar of growth.
Analysts cautioned that growth could cool in the coming quarters, but the third-quarter results highlight surprising resilience and ease near-term concerns over a hard economic slowdown.
The founder of Alpha Intel joins industry leaders at the MEXC Ventures Demo Trading E-Sports Championship 2026 panel, sharing insights on trading, strategy, and the future of competitive markets.
Silver just crossed a level it has never reached before, breaking past $100 an ounce on January 23, 2026. The move caps a powerful rally driven by tight supply, rapidly rising industrial demand, especially from solar energy, electric vehicles, and AI-related infrastructure, and a surge in safe-haven buying as global risks and economic uncertainty intensify.
The milestone comes after an exceptional run in 2025, when silver posted gains of roughly 150%, climbing from far lower prices into triple-digit territory at the very start of the year.
So far in 2026, silver is already up more than 40%, easily outpacing gold and reinforcing the idea that investors are rotating aggressively into hard assets, potentially ushering in a new phase for precious metals.
AI is changing how we work. Crypto is changing how we build wealth. CZ believes those who bought early, held patiently, and ignored the noise are the ones gaining freedom. Ownership over time beats chasing trends.