Dan Sunghan – Director of the Financial Crime Investigation Bureau at the Seoul Southern District Prosecution Service – claimed that the former crypto mogul Do Kwon had moved nearly $30 million in digital currencies to an unknown wallet shortly after his arrest in Montenegro. The 31-year-old South Korean has faced huge criticism and was blamed...Read More
Following Monday’s announcement of lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance, firms both inside and outside of the crypto industry have started polarizing. The civil lawsuit filed against Binance – which the SEC claims is the real beneficiary of Binance.US – has not yet begun. However, companies with exposure to the situation have started taking steps to...Read More
Bittrex’s attempt to return customer funds has met with a significant roadblock from the United States, sparking concerns about the proposed resolution for the crypto exchange’s bankruptcy case. The firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware in May, less than a month after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged it with...Read More
The American boutique investment bank Cowen Inc. is closing its crypto asset unit. It has become the latest financial institution to shy away from digital assets amid a darkening regulatory environment. “Today will be the last day for the team here at Cowen Digital,” the bank stated, according to a May 31 report by Bloomberg....Read More
Watch that little blue line on Google Trends for “bitcoin” hit the ceiling if the U.S. defaults on its debt. BTC might suffer at first as markets go risk-off, but could easily shine in another global financial crisis. House Republicans reached a tentative deal with President Joe Biden’s White House over the Memorial Day Weekend....Read More
Crypto markets are in the green during the Monday morning Asian trading session. The momentum has been driven by a debt ceiling deal between U.S. President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy. However, the tentative agreement to suspend the federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling has yet to clear Congress. Nevertheless, it has...Read More
The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has sued five individuals for falsely promoting bitcoin and crypto trading services, thereby swindling unsuspecting investors. The defendants in the case, according to the CFTC, mainly targeted Spanish-speaking users. Majority of Victims Were From Spanish-speaking Communities The CFTC alleged that five people — David Carmona, Juan Arellano Para, Moses...Read More
Florida Governor Ron De Santis has officially announced that he’s entering the United States 2024 Presidential race, poised to be former President Donald Trump’s greatest opponent within the Republican primary. Unlike Trump, De Santis has pushed pro-crypto policy multiple times in the past and is staunchly opposed to Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). De Santis...Read More
Months after the Securities and Exchange Commission charged eight people allegedly involved with orchestrating the $45 million CoinDeal scam, the Department of Justice has gone after another party. A 57-year-old resident of Las Vegas, Bryan Lee, was charged with conspiring with the main culprit believed to be behind the scam that defrauded over 10,000 investors....Read More
With the US debt ceiling talks leading to no results, economists are wondering whether this situation could turn out to be a massive global financial crash, despite politicians still claiming that there will be a soft landing. Robert Kiyosaki, however, doesn’t believe this assertion and urged investors to turn to gold, silver, and bitcoin to...Read More
Brooklyn-based crypto firm Coin Cafe has been ordered by the office of the Attorney General to refund over $4 million to cryptocurrency investors. The restitution comes after investigations revealed that the company charged users exorbitant fees without their consent. “Free” but not Free In a press release on May 18, the New York Attorney General’s...Read More
Brad Garlinghouse, the chief executive officer of blockchain company Ripple, believes more crypto firms and businesses will leave the United States due to confusing regulations in the country. During an interview with CNBC, the CEO said the confusion in the country would push crypto entrepreneurs and investments into other friendly regions like Europe, the United...Read More
The legendary hedge fund manager – Paul Tudor Jones III – said he will always keep a “small” exposure to bitcoin since it is “the only thing that humans can’t adjust the supply in.” The American billionaire also suggested that the US Federal Reserve will cease its aggressive interest rate hike policy. Many experts previously...Read More
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to direct crackdowns against rogue crypto trading platforms and such investment scams, a top official said. Recently, an FBI report revealed that American citizens lost $2.5 billion to crypto scams in 2022. DОJ to Target Rogue Exchanges Eun Young Choi, director of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team...Read More
According to an undisclosed White House official, North Korea has funded approximately half of its missile tests through crypto theft and cyberattacks. A recent Chainalysis report suggested that North Korean hackers embezzled $1.7 billion of digital assets in 2022. Arguably the most notorious local hacking collective – the Lazarus Group – stood behind numerous exploits...Read More
The US IRS has reportedly provided advanced training to Ukrainian law enforcement agencies in an attempt to detect illegal cryptocurrency transactions carried out by Russian oligarchs and companies. Numerous entities and experts have argued that Russia could employ digital assets to evade restrictions (imposed by the Western World after the start of the military conflict...Read More
Stablecoin issuer Circle no longer has Treasury holdings that mature beyond early June as it does not want to get tangled in a potential US debt default. The development follows US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s warning that the government could be unable to pay its bills by June 1st and could default on its debt...Read More
The authorities of New York state proposed certain amendments to the law that could allow residents to settle bail bonds in stablecoins instead of fiat currency. The bill could become official six months after the relevant regulators greenlight it. Domestic lawmakers have previously introduced legislation that aims to make certain cryptocurrencies an official means of...Read More
Brian Armstrong, the co-founder and CEO of leading American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, believes the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is on a lone crusade in the push for regulatory clarity in the country, as the agency’s stance on the matter is different from that of Congress and other federal regulators. During a Monday interview...Read More
According to CoinGecko research, the residents of the United States seem the most interested in memecoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Floki Inu (FLOKI), and Pepe Coin (PEPE). India and the United Kingdom rank respectively second and third. Despite being the first memecoin, DOGE has lost its leading position in numerous countries. Morocco...Read More
Brian Armstrong, the co-founder and chief executive officer of major American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, revealed that the company is still 100% committed to the US market, despite the lack of regulatory clarity in the country. The CEO’s disclosure came as a response to a question from shareholders, who were curious about Coinbase’s plans to move...Read More
Amidst regulatory headwinds back home, the Winklevoss twins have doubled down their efforts to expand Gemini’s offerings to non-US residents. The new service aims to target both retail and institutional traders but will exclude users from UK and EU. Gemini Foundation – the highly anticipated non-US derivatives platform – went live on May 1st for...Read More
The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) ordered the cryptocurrency exchange BitFlyer USA to pay a $1.2 million fine for not abiding by the state’s cybersecurity regulations. However, the watchdog endorsed the company’s efforts to upgrade itself in that field by the end of 2023. The NYDFS Strikes Again New York’s regulator enforced...Read More
First Republic became another American bank to fail this year as all attempts to resuscitate the ailing platform fell short. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has now taken possession of the First Republic Bank. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was appointed as the receiver by the Californian financial regulator and...Read More
The shares of First Republic Bank have declined to a record low after the lender announced that depositors withdrew over $100 billion in the first quarter. It has been under massive pressure since a series of bank failures in the United States sparked fears of a wider crisis. The private-sector initiatives are being led by...Read More
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reportedly searched the home of Ryan Salame – the former CEO of FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary. The raid comes several months after the gigantic collapse of the once-prominent crypto giant. Numerous agencies, prosecutors, and failed investors have claimed the exchange committed fraud against its customers, calling upon severe punishment...Read More
A South African fugitive who ran an unregistered commodity pool to defraud unsuspecting victims of foreign exchange and bitcoin has been ordered to pay over $3 billion in restitution and civil monetary penalty. The judgment marks the largest monetary penalty ever recorded in a CFTC fraud case involving bitcoin. CFTC’s Biggest Bitcoin Fraudulent Case A...Read More
Despite intensive scrutiny by US regulators, FTX continues to receive offers from companies that could help it bounce back from bankruptcy – or at least pay its creditors. On April 25, the former crypto giant announced the closure of a deal with a subsidiary of Miami International Holdings (MIAX Technologies), a US company operating global...Read More
The United States Department of Treasury sanctioned three individuals who helped the notorious hackers Lazarus Group to process the conversion of stolen cryptocurrency to fiat, allegedly for the funding of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) illicit weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs. An earlier report by Chainalysis claimed that Lazarus...Read More
Major crypto exchange Coinbase has filed a lawsuit against the US SEC and Exchange Commission (SEC) that would compel the regulator to provide an answer to a previous petition by the company. The SEC has adopted a more stringent approach towards the crypto industry in recent times, believing most firms are breaking securities laws without...Read More
