- cypherpunks@lists.ogf.org

Putin rumoured to be planning South America escape
by professor rat 16 Dec '22

16 Dec '22

Vladimir Putin's absence fuels rumours of 'Juan's Ark' escape plot to Nazbol favorite, Argentina. "The Internet first appeared as a special CIA project, and this is how it's developing," - Russian KGB agent. Vladimir Putin "[Bitcoins] are backed by nothing. This money [is backed by nothing], that's the point, this is the major problem. They are not really linked to anything and backed by nothing", Putin has said “#PanamaPapers Putin attack was produced by OCCRP which targets Russia & former USSR and was funded by USAID and [George] Soros,” WikiLeaks tweeted. Putin said: “WikiLeaks has showed us that official people and official organs of the US are behind this.” The “customers” who ordered the Panama Papers’ leak were clear, he said. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/07/putin-dismisses-panama-papers-… Reposts not Nazi's on the run

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Larson FOIL 3rd Extension (letter (Richard Weber - General Counsel, NY-DFS)
by Gunnar Larson 16 Dec '22

16 Dec '22

December 16, 2022 VIA EMAIL Gunnar Larson xNY.io - Bank.org G(a)xny.io Dear Mr. Larson: This is in further response to your Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request, received by the Division on September 13, 2022, in which you requested the following: Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement (Advisory Board) On May 18, 2022, xNY.io - Bank.org received a copy of a financial disclosure form for Mr. Richard Weber (General Counsel, NY-DFS) noting an advisory council role at the Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement. No address was provided: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CCIh9CQiwxVILSv86B54kEcipV Rnx1YQ/view?usp=drivesdk We would like to receive any and all records NY-DFS and Human Rights hold for this appointment approval for a state associated representative. The Division intends to produce records responsive to your request to the extent such disclosure is consistent with the provisions of the Human Rights Law and FOIL. However, the Division needs additional time to respond to your request. Therefore, pursuant to Public Officers Law § 89(3)(a), the Division will provide any responsive documents on or before January 11, 2023. Very truly yours, Siaka Paasewe FOIL Office ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Garvin, Sheila Y (DHR) <Sheila.Garvin(a)dhr.ny.gov> Date: Fri, Dec 16, 2022, 10:10 AM Subject: Larson FOIL 3rd Extension (letter (Richard Weber - General Counsel, NY-DFS) To: G(a)xny.io <G(a)xny.io> Cc: Paasewe, Siaka (DHR) <Siaka.Paasewe(a)dhr.ny.gov> Dear Mr. Larson: Pursuant to your request, please see the attached. *Best,* *Sheila Garvin* *DHR Records Access Clerk* *Legal Management Records Unit* One Fordham Plaza, 4th Floor, Bronx, NY 10458 Tele: (718) 741-8423/ e-Fax: (718) 741-8256 *foil(a)dhr.ny.gov <foil(a)dhr.ny.gov>* *Sheila.Garvin(a)dhr.ny.gov <Sheila.Garvin(a)dhr.ny.gov>* *www.dhr.ny.gov <http://www.dhr.ny.gov/>* *This transmission and its attachments may contain confidential or privileged information, which is intended for use by the individual or entity to which the transmission is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, dissemination, copying, or distribution of this transmission or its attachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately at the above address and delete the transmission and its attachments**.*

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please ban the fucking asshole gmkarl@gmail.com
by punk 16 Dec '22

16 Dec '22

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FOIL Request Confirmation from Open FOIL NY
by Gunnar Larson 16 Dec '22

16 Dec '22

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: <noreply(a)its.ny.gov> Date: Wed, Jan 26, 2022, 10:55 AM Subject: FOIL Request Confirmation from Open FOIL NY To: <g(a)xny.io> Thank you for submitting your FOIL request through Open FOIL NY. Here is your Open FOIL NY confirmation information for future reference: LARSON_NYSP_20220126105517996 LARSON_DOB_20220126105517996 LARSON_DHSES_20220126105517996 *INFORMATION SUBMITTED:* *Records Requested From* New York State Police Division of the Budget Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services *Short Title* New York City Police Department MoneyGram Relationship *Description* Dear Sir or Madam: xNY.io research: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10htpAEAcydm9NTgUQZVU4aEfJq999UwRlGvOJZs… The New York City Police Department has a relationship with MoneyGram. We would like to receive any and all information related to the NYPD's relationship with MoneyGram ticket payment options. For example, we would like to receive a copy of the Terms and Conditions the NYPD has with MoneyGram. Furthermore, how does NY-DFS manage discretion with MoneyGram and the New York State BitLicense. For example, Ripple, a New York State BitLicense awardee has a long history with MoneyGram. Are MoneyGram and the NYPD in bed together, via the New York State Department of Financial Services? Thank you, Gunnar Larson *Uploaded Files* *FOIL Response Format* Email *If fees apply, please contact me if costs will be greater than* $1000000 Your FOIL request has been forwarded to the organization(s) you selected, and the respective Records Access Officer will contact you directly for further processing of your request. Please allow up to five business days for such communication(s). For your convenience, here is additional contact information: New York State Police 1220 Washington Avenue Bldg 22 Albany, NY 12226-2252 Division of the Budget State Capitol Room 128 Albany, NY 12224 Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services 1220 Washington Ave Building 7A Albany, NY 12226

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Fwd: Palantir &
by Gunnar Larson 16 Dec '22

16 Dec '22

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Nadia Yousufzai <nyousufzai(a)palantir.com> Date: Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 6:03 PM Subject: Palantir & To: g(a)xny.io <g(a)xny.io> Hi Gunnar, Following up to see if you’re interested in discussing Foundry for Builders? You can watch one of our customer testimonials from the program here <https://groove.grvlnk2.com/url/U61d8615rGQhIGOJpBpHYp16AFI/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cu…>. If you think that Foundry could help your business, let me know a time that works and I will send over an invite. Thank you, Nadia Yousufzai Palantir Technologies 240-810-3808 Unsubscribe <https://app.grooveapp.com/unsubscribe/U61d8615rGQhIGOJpBpHYp16AFI>

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xNY.io - Bank.org | DOJ Memo #4 - Goldman Sachs Deferred Prosecution Agreement
by Gunnar Larson 16 Dec '22

16 Dec '22

Dear Mr. Marzulli: The Department of Justice has yet to respond to Memo #1, Memo #2 and Memo #3 with our recent inquiry to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad Deferred Agreement. Goldman Sachs' Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the United States of America is in potential breach, with ethical enforcement being concerned. Memo #4 <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ajVVx6NGB9wd2GDXfLRftf0RVFpqjl8WWITvdNV…> aims to associate the malfeasance in Malaysia with war crimes of aggression (in the planning, initiation, or execution of a large-scale and serious act of aggression), leveraging the world’s only military divided capital city Nicosia, Cyprus. Please find a copy of Memo #4 <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ajVVx6NGB9wd2GDXfLRftf0RVFpqjl8WWITvdNV…> attached to this email addressed to your attention. A hyperlink to Memo #4 <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ajVVx6NGB9wd2GDXfLRftf0RVFpqjl8WWITvdNV…> can be found here: https://bit.ly/3tGOf5s. Very Respectfully, Gunnar Larson -- *Gunnar Larson - xNY.io <http://www.xNY.io> | Bank.org <http://Bank.org>* MSc <https://www.unic.ac.cy/blockchain/msc-digital-currency/?utm_source=Google&u…> - Digital Currency MBA <https://www.unic.ac.cy/business-administration-entrepreneurship-and-innovat…> - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-646-454-9107 New York, New York 10001

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Cryptocurrency: Govts Don't Tax On Fiat Losses, Steal Near Half Of Crypto Gains
by grarpamp 16 Dec '22

16 Dec '22

Govt steals from you by both Inflation and Tax, forces Corps to rat you out for further extortion... https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/12/08/eu-to-make-crypto-companies-repo… https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/11/30/eu-crypto-nft-providers-must-rep… https://www.iflr.com/article/2a647jipe3beilngwqlmo/primer-markets-in-crypto… The European Union indicated Thursday that it will make cryptocurrency companies report their European users’ holdings to tax authorities. The proposed eighth Directive on Administrative Cooperation was previously reported on by CoinDesk, and could have wide-reaching implications including forcing non-EU based companies to have to register with tax entities there. In a statement, the EU Commissioner for tax, Paolo Gentiloni said, “Anonymity means that many crypto-asset users making significant profits fall under the radar of national tax authorities. This is not acceptable.” The enforcement of the measures was not made entirely clear, as the cryptocurrency industry has various entities and actors residing in various jurisdictions, including some who claim no base of operations. Beyond that, there should be concern for the honeypot of user data that registering user holdings creates. Often, holdings on centralized exchanges (which are dangerous in their own right) are paired with sensitive identifying information which could potentially be used by criminals to attach people to their holdings. There have been various cases of documented data leaks in and outside of the cryptocurrency industry: and these are simply the ones that surface. Forcing companies to provide European tax authorities — including companies based outside of the EU — once again forces firms to collect copious amounts of data exposing user holdings, and then transmit them to tax authorities in Europe whom they must trust to keep them safe. Concerns have also been voiced that this could have ramifications for the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) which is the “first all-encompassing effort to tackle cryptoassets and brings rules contained in Mifid, Market Abuse and the Prospectus Regulation to the cryptoasset industry,” according to the International Financial Law Review (IFLR). The European Crypto Initiative made a statement indicating it was “concerned that it would apply to a far wider range of obliged entities and individuals” than MiCA. The EU has said it believes the move could generate as much as $2.5 billion (2.4 billion euros) through the introduction of the directive.

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Cryptocurrency: Your Enslavement Becomes Real at 0.20% per Annum
by grarpamp 16 Dec '22

16 Dec '22

The USA was already running 90x that, still sits at 15x that, and is laughably targeting a 10x that it will obviously never reach again, and hasn't hit except for a week in crash of 1986 (SGS-CPI-Alt1980), lol... Wake Up You SLAVES ! No Surprise: Wall Street Wants To Raise The Target Inflation Rate Above 2 Percent https://mises.org/wire/no-surprise-wall-street-wants-raise-target-inflation… https://mises.org/wire/after-years-stimulus-come-surging-debt-and-falling-w… Price inflation in the United States remains stubbornly high, with October's print at 7.7 percent. The Fed's preferred measure, so-called core inflation is only two-tenths of a percent below 40-year highs, at 6.3 percent. Yet, it was just last year that the Federal reserve and other "experts" were concerned that inflation wasn't high enough. In January 2021, for example, Jerome Powell stated that the Fed wanted price inflation to run above the "2-percent goal" because it had run below 2 percent for too long. The 2-percent inflation target, of course, is the arbitrary target picked by the Federal Reserve (and many other central banks) as the "correct" inflation rate. Now with inflation running near 40-year highs, many are wondering what will be necessary to bring price inflation back down to the target level. More specifically, how many hikes in the target interest rate will be necessary, and how severe of a recession will be required? Wall Street is especially interested in the answer to this question because Wall Street is no longer about fundamentals. Rather, the "market" depends overwhelmingly on how much easy money the central bank pumps out. Naturally, the banker class wants a return to "normal"—i.e., quantitative easing and ultralow interest rates—as soon as possible. Moreover, Washington wants the same thing since the political class wants low interest rates to help ease the path to ever more government debt and higher deficits. It's not the least bit surprising that we're already hearing calls for the Federal Reserve to abandon the 2-percent inflation target and instead embrace even higher perpetual inflation rates. For example, last week Bank of America economist Ethan Harris suggested that the 2-percent target CPI inflation rate be raised. We've seen similar urgings from both the Wall Street Journal and from think tank economists in recent months. The push for higher inflation rates is just the latest reminder that wealthy bankers and other members of the ruling class aren't harmed by price inflation the way that ordinary people are. Billionaires and technocrats often benefit—either financially or politically—from high price inflation. We should expect to see growing pressure from Wall Street and Washington insiders if the Fed actually attempts to keep any modicum of monetary tightening going into next year. Wall Street Wants More "Flexibility" for the Central Bank Harris's comments for Bank of America help reveal how comfortable Wall Street is with high price inflation. Harris began by stating that "there is nothing special about 2% other than the fact that it is the official target in many countries." Harris is right, but his intentions in doing so are unfortunate. Harris merely points to the arbitrary nature of the 2-percent standard in order to call for a more activist Federal Reserve. Harris claims "The evidence is that steady 4% inflation imposes very small additional costs compared to steady 2% inflation. Either way the economy adapts. ...Perhaps the inflation target should be 3 or 4%?" The part about the market adapting is especially capricious. It seems that for banker economists detached from real people and the real economy, the "economy" is an abstract thing that "adapts" and there's really no need to worry about it. The "economy" however is not some mere idea, but is composed of actual people. For ordinary people, it's a little more difficult to "adapt" when one's wages are negative in real terms—as has now been the case for months—or when the boom-bust cycle brought on by inflationary monetary policy leads to unemployment. Middle-class pensioners whose fixed incomes don't keep up also don't find it so easy to "adapt." Investment bankers and billionaires with hedge funds, on the other hand, can indeed "adapt" because they can simply take on higher and higher levels of risk in the process of searching for yield above the inflation rate. Sure, if things go badly, they may have to sell a vacation home or take a hit on their stock options, but they'll hardly have to switch to the generic mac and cheese to feed their children. Harris isn't alone in pleading for more price inflation. Earlier this month, Wall Street Journal writer Jon Sindreu was already on the same bandwagon when he asked “Why must inflation be around 2%?” He went on to claim that what really matters is not low inflation but stable inflation. Thus, the real problems with inflation "stem from inflation accelerating, not its being high." Thus, he asks what if inflation stabilizes at a higher rate—say between 4% and 6%? In this plausible case, central banks may be compelled to start needlessly raising rates again. ... Inflation of 4% is perfectly compatible with a healthy economy that isn’t overheating. This came only a few weeks after the Roosevelt Institute—where New Keynesian economist Joseph Stiglitz is head economist—called for a higher inflation target. Specifically, the Institute wants an inflation "range" from 2 to 3.5 percent using the PCE deflator. This would lead in practical terms to real shift upward in target inflation. After all, according to the PCE measure, price inflation barely exceeded the 3.5 target even at the height of the housing bubble in 2008. In other words, even in a red-hot bubble economy, price inflation could still come in within the preferred range, meaning monetary tightening would almost never be seen as necessary or urgent. Clearly, the trial balloons for higher target inflation are already being floated, and once CPI inflation returns to anywhere near 4 percent, we should expect to hear howls from Wall Street and Washington about the "need" for the Fed to once again drive down interest rates while propping up asset prices. How Target Inflation Keeps Moving Up We've been down this road before. 26 years ago, the debate was over whether or not the target inflation rate should be raised to 2 percent. Before that, Congress had put into legislation a target of zero percent. In the "Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978" Congress explicitly added a "stable prices" mandate to the Federal Reserve Act, and stated that CPI inflation should be reduced to 3 percent or less. Moreover, by 1988, the Act imagined that the official inflation rate should be reduced to zero: Upon achievement of the 3 per centum goal ... each succeeding Economic Report shall have the goal of achieving by 1988 a rate of inflation of zero per centum." The drive for zero-percent inflation had advocates among some monetarists and other "hard money"—"hard" in the relative sense—advocates who opposed the Keynesian consensus that had produced the runaway inflation of the 1970s. The triumph of these hawks was short lived, however, and by the end of the 1980s, the more dovish forces had come to the fore in the form of Alan Greenspan and up-and-coming economists like Janet Yellen. Even Volcker had again moved back toward easy money as can be seen in his support for the Plaza Accord. In his book The Case Against 2 Per Cent Inflation, economist Brendan Brown writes: The Volcker Fed's abandonment of "hard money" policies and the monetarist experiment led directly to the global monetary inflation of the late 1980s featuring virulent asset inflation, most spectacularly the bubble and bust in Japan. Germany was the last to abandon monetarism formally with the launch of the euro. Within a few years there was the start of anew stabilization experiment-the targeting of perpetual inflation at 2% p.a. A key milestone was the FOMC meeting of July 1996 which considered the issue of whether with inflation now down to below 3% the Fed should go easy on its drive to ever-lower inflation and accept a continuing stable low inflation around 2%. Janet Yellen presented the paper in favour. There followed no firm resolution. Nevertheless then Chief Greenspan agreed to a pause. A stronger commitment to a target of perpetual "low inflation" emerged in subsequent years, both under the late Greenspan years and more especially under Chief Bernanke. The European Central Bank's formal embrace of a 2-percent standard was followed informally by the Fed at first, and then formally adopted in 2012. Even that was short lived. In August 2020, the Fed announced a switch to "average" inflation targeting of 2 percent, which meant the Fed would sometimes target inflation above 2 percent with the goal of 2 percent over time. Now in 2022, we're talking about hiking the target inflation rate yet again, perhaps to "between 4% and 6%" as The Wall Street Journal suggests. Not mentioned is the fact that the upward creep in inflation targets enabled the Fed to ignore inflation as it relentlessly rose throughout 2021. The Fed at that point wanted inflation well above 2-percent in order to achieve that new "average" of 2 percent. The result was a complacent Fed that let inflation rise to a 40-year high. The allure of easy money never fades, especially for those who benefit from easy money most. This latter group includes a growing army of zombie corporations, governments mired in debt, and a financialized Wall Street where valuations disregard fundamentals but are based on the ability to borrow at cheap rates and capitalize on rising stock prices. The easy-money chorus couldn't care less about small entrepreneurs squeezed by high prices, or by old ladies on fixed incomes. All that matters is a return to easy money, and if that means ever higher inflation targets, so be it.

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Cryptocurrency: Must Regulate Itself, Else It's Corrupt, And Its Mission Will Fail
by grarpamp 16 Dec '22

16 Dec '22

Human Freedom depends on cryptocurrency regulating itself. Not so much for regulation per se, as the free market is free to compete via proofs open transparency and reject shady operators, but as part of the need to recognize realign and rally its volunteer forces in regimentation against the fiat enemy that must be starved out, which can only happen via offering a sound alternative to adopt... crypto. Losing sight of the fiat enemy, of soundness, by becoming drunk in your own corruption towards users, the space, and the fight... will lose. Crypto has wasted years worth of advantage and resources, it must sober up, end the pointless shitcoin nonsense, rejoin its forces, clean up its act, take the high road, and start winning the war. It's much easier and sooner than you think.

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Cryptocurrency: Bogus "Audits", Corrupt Exchequers... Drive Adoption of Old School P2P Tx and DEX
by grarpamp 16 Dec '22

16 Dec '22

Binance's Alleged Crypto Audit Failed, Not Even Its Auditor Would Vouch For It Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com, Binance says an audit shows proof of reserves of customer funds. But its auditor will not vouch for the reserves nor the methodology demanded by Binance... "CZ" Image likeness courtesy of Coin Telegraph article below Binance's Proof of Reserves Statement When we say Proof of Reserves, we are specifically referring to those assets that we hold in custody for users. This means that we are showing evidence and proof that Binance has funds that cover all of our users assets 1:1, as well as some reserves. When a user deposits one Bitcoin, Binance's reserves increase by at least one Bitcoin to ensure client funds are fully backed. It is important to note that this does not include Binance’s corporate holdings, which are kept on a completely separate ledger. What this means in actual terms is that Binance holds all user assets 1:1 (as well as some reserves), we have zero debt in our capital structure and we have made sure that we have an emergency fund (SAFU fund) for extreme cases. The above Proof of Reserves Claim is interesting. If you have assets 1:1 then you should not need an emergency fund for extreme cases. Audit by Whom? The pseudo audit was by Mazars, a mid-tier global accounting firm according to the Wall Street Journal. Its U.S. arm Mazars USA previously worked for former President Donald Trump’s company. Earlier this year Mazars USA said it would withdraw from its work for Mr. Trump’s company and could no longer stand by financial statements it had previously prepared. Binance didn’t specify which of Mazar’s offices would be doing the verification of the reserves. A Mazars spokesman declined comment. Mystery Finances After the collapse of Crypto exchange FTX, Binance Is Trying to Calm Investors, but Its Finances Remain a Mystery. Mazars said it performed its work using “agreed-upon procedures” requested by Binance and that “we make no representation regarding the appropriateness” of the procedures. The report didn’t show total assets or total liabilities. Rather, its scope was limited only to bitcoin assets and bitcoin liabilities. Binance said it would begin releasing information about other crypto tokens in the coming weeks. “It’s important for us to show users that the coffers are not bare, like at FTX,” said Binance’s chief strategy officer, Patrick Hillmann. In an interview, Binance’s Mr. Hillmann said the Mazars letter covered all the bitcoin assets and bitcoin liabilities for the company’s Binance.com exchange—although the Mazars letter itself didn’t say this. During the interview, Mr. Hillmann also at times referred to the work performed by Mazars as an “audit.” Asked about the appropriateness of Binance’s use of the term “audit” in the news release and elsewhere, Mr. Hillmann said: “We’re talking about a review of our assets in custody.” He also said: “I would just say we’re parroting others’ descriptions of this as an independent audit.” Other basic information about Binance is lacking. Mr. Hillmann said he couldn’t provide the name of Binance’s ultimate parent company because Binance over the past year and a half has been in the process of a broad corporate reorganization. First Rule in Truth Telling The first rule in telling the truth is "Don't lie". The second rule in truth telling is to not sound like you are hiding something. This is especially important when overall trust is in the gutter anyway. This was not an independent audit. Mazars did not describe it that way and the company would not certify the methodology it used. Heck, neither Mazars nor Binance disclosed the precise methodology. Who was Hillmann parroting in describing the procedure as a audit? Sadly no one asked, but my bet is Hillman was parroting himself or someone else at Binance. Nor would Binance disclose its parent company due to a 1.5 year reorganization. WTF? Potential Kiting @cz_binance talk is the cheapest and not so sweet. His word is mud Binance in Hot Water After Moving $2.7B Out of Proof of Reserves Wallethttps://t.co/fv1RamYiSY https://t.co/NfGf3QPzBB — Nouriel Roubini (@Nouriel) November 18, 2022 Binance is receiving flak from the crypto community after moving $2.7 billion out of its proof-of-reserves wallet. The exchange responded, saying the move was to a TRX cold wallet. The procedure was even more bizarre because it comes on the heels contradictory statements by Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. If an exchange have to move large amounts of crypto before or after they demonstrate their wallet addresses, it is a clear sign of problems. Stay away. Stay #SAFU. 🙏 — CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) November 13, 2022 "If an exchange have to move large amounts of crypto before or after they demonstrate their wallet addresses, it is a clear sign of problems. Stay away. Stay #SAFU." Binance CEO Explains 127K BTC Transfer Please consider the Coin Telegraph Binance CEO Explains 127K BTC Transfer. A few weeks ago, CZ declared that it’s bad news when exchanges move large amounts of crypto to prove their wallet address. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is moving large amounts of cryptocurrency as part of its proof-of-reserve (PoR) audits, according to its CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. “The auditor requires us to send a specific amount to ourselves to show we control the wallet. And the rest goes to a change address, which is a new address. In this case, the input tx is big, and so is the change." Wait! What? CZ says it’s bad news when exchanges move large amounts of crypto to prove their wallet address. CZ Moves 127,000 Bitcoins CZ says the auditor demanded this but Mazars, the alleged auditor, does not call it an audit. Mazars would make no representation regarding the "appropriateness” of the procedures. Mazars said the “agreed-upon procedures” were requested by Binance not by Mazars. Not to worry 1 BTC = 1 BTC 127,000 BTC = 127,000 BTC (unless they have been counted multiple times) Meanwhile please note Global Squabbles Erupt Around the World Over the Remaining Crypto Assets of FTX

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