SBF Escapes One Prison Into Another, Avatar Visuals Crashed Japanese Cinemas

As we have seen in the past, global events and the crypto world are often intertwined. This week has been no different, with a number of major developments affecting the crypto community.

SBF Makes a Break for It

Looks like the feds have finally caught up with Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of the infamous FTX crypto exchange. On Wednesday, he'll be extradited to the US to face some serious criminal charges related to the exchange's collapse. But don't worry, SBF is taking it all in stride. He signed the surrender documents with a smile and even waived his right to fight extradition (wink).

He'll be escorted by some friendly FBI agents back to the US on a fancy non-commercial aircraft. The only question is, which airport will he choose for his grand arrival? The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has already unsealed an eight-count indictment against him. Looks like SBF's time on the run has finally come to an end. Better luck next time, buddy.

Avatar's Too Much For Japan's Cinemas

Well, it seems the Japanese are just not ready for the futuristic world of Pandora. The latest Avatar movie, produced by Walt Disney Co., caused some serious technical difficulties during its opening weekend in Japan. Audience members reported abrupt cancellations and theater staff issuing apologies and refunds due to equipment crashing. In fact, one theater had to lower the film's frame rate to half just to screen it.

We can only assume that Japan's cinemas just aren't advanced enough to handle the high-tech visual effects and high frame rate 3D format of Avatar: The Way of Water. But hey, at least Disney and the theater chain operators (United Cinemas, Toho, and Tokyu) didn't comment on the technical difficulties. Better to just sweep it under the rug, right?

Musk Loses Top Billionaire Spot

Looks like Elon Musk's net worth took a hit this week, losing a whopping $7.7 billion after Tesla shares experienced their biggest one-day drop since October. Ouch! This loss adds to Musk's total losses for the year, which now add up to a whopping $122.6 billion. Talk about a rough year. To make matters worse, Musk's net worth is now at a low of $147.7 billion, the lowest it's been in over a year.

But it's not just the financial losses that have been weighing on Musk. He's also faced criticism for his recent social media behavior, including a tweet where he called one of the Thai soccer team cave rescuers a "pedo guy." This tweet led to a defamation lawsuit being filed against Musk by the rescuer, Vern Unsworth. Looks like it's not just the stock market that's giving Musk a hard time.

Yen Takes Off, Fuel Costs Go Bye Bye

In a shocking move, the Bank of Japan has caused the biggest one-day jump in the yen in over two decades by adjusting the trading band on 10-year bond yields. This has brought some much needed relief to Japan's energy crisis, as it's expected to lower the cost of procuring fuel from abroad. Previously, the weak yen had caused Japan's energy import bill to skyrocket and LNG prices in yen to more than quadruple in the last two years.

But energy importers may want to hold off on any extra purchases if they think the yen is just going to keep getting stronger. And let's not forget about inflation in Japan, which has hit a four-decade high due to rising electricity rates caused by climbing fuel costs. Looks like it's time to break out the energy-efficient light bulbs and start carpooling.

Russia's Crude Shipments Sink in G7 Sanction Face-Off

Looks like Russia's seaborne crude exports took a dive in the first full week of G7 sanctions targeting Moscow's oil revenues. This has governments around the world worried about disruptions to the nation's giant export program. The European Union (EU) started the sanctions on December 5th to curb Russia's oil revenue. The EU stopped buying Russian oil and also barred key services needed to move the oil. The US tried to soften the measures with a price cap, keeping services like insurance available for buyers outside the US when traders paid $60 or less per barrel for Russian oil.

But in the first full week after the EU ban on seaborne Russian crude imports, total volumes shipped from Russia dropped by 1.86 million barrels per day, or 54%, to 1.6 million. The four-week average also plummeted, setting a new low for the year. In the Pacific, flows of ESPO crude from the port of Kozmino seemed to plummet, with just two tankers loading in the week ending December 16th, down from an average of eight per week over the past three months. However, the flow from Kozmino is expected to partially recover in the week ending December 23rd.

The EU's ban closed off Russia's closest oil market, which took about half the country's supplies at the start of the year. The ban and the associated price cap caused difficulties for shippers moving crude from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, with Turkey demanding confirmation of insurance before allowing ships to transit the Bosphorus and Dardanelles. There were also complications between how Russian oil trades in the real world and the practicalities of the price cap, making some traders wary. The volume of crude on vessels heading to China, India, and Turkey, the three countries that have emerged as the main buyers of displaced Russian supplies, plus Russia's Far East, fell by about 1.4 million barrels per day.