Bagikan artikel ini
DOJ Objects to FTX’s Choice of Lawyers, Citing Conflict of Interest
The US Trustee joins Sam Bankman-Fried and Senators in voicing concern over Sullivan and Cromwell’s previous relations with the crypto exchange
Oleh Jack Schickler
The U.S. Trustee has voiced objections to FTX hiring New York law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, claiming potential conflicts of interest from its previous activity, in a Jan. 13 legal filing.
The complaint echoes those made by a bipartisan grouping of U.S. Senators and by the crypto exchange’s founder Sam Bankman-Fried, and expresses concern the firm might tread on the toes of future work by an independent examiner.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Jangan lewatkan cerita lainnya.Berlangganan Newsletter State of Crypto hari ini. Lihat semua newsletter
“S&C’s disclosures as filed are wholly insufficient to evaluate whether S&C satisfies the Bankruptcy Code’s conflict-free and disinterestedness standards,” said Trustee Andrew Vara, a Department of Justice official responsible for bankruptcy cases. “The incomplete disclosures are a sufficient and independent reason to deny the application.”
“Any investigation led by S&C would be duplicative and wasteful of estate resources if the Court were to grant the U.S. Trustee’s pending motion to appoint an examiner with a comprehensive investigative mandate,” Vara added.
FTX’s General Counsel Ryne Miller previously worked at S&C for eight years, Vara noted, and the law firm might find itself in the “conflicted position” of investigating both itself and its former staffer.
Retaining the law firm is “necessary and in the best interests of the Debtors and their estates and stakeholders,” John Ray, appointed FTX chief executive officer on Nov. 11, said in a Dec. 21 deposition. “S&C is one of the leading law firms in the world in all of the key practice areas.”
In a blog published Thursday, Bankman-Fried said S&C’s relations with FTX prior to its downfall had been more than purely transactional, and that its staff had pressured him into filing for bankruptcy on Nov. 11 – echoing concerns over the law firm’s independent made by Senators in a Jan. 10 letter.
Judge John Dorsey said at a Jan. 11 hearing that the letter, calling for the appointment of an independent examiner into the case, was an inappropriate intervention.
S&C lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lebih untuk Anda
Yang perlu diketahui:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
CFTC Launches Digital Assets Pilot Allowing Bitcoin, Ether and USDC as Collateral
Acting Chair Caroline Pham has unveiled a first-of-its-kind U.S. program to permit tokenized collateral in derivatives markets, citing "clear guardrails" for firms.
What to know:
- The CFTC has launched a pilot program allowing BTC, ETH and USDC to be used as collateral in U.S. derivatives markets.
- The program is aimed at approved futures commission merchants and includes strict custody, reporting and oversight requirements.
- The agency also issued updated guidance for tokenized assets and withdrew outdated restrictions following the GENIUS Act.
Top Stories
