U.S. authorities, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), have charged Gotbit and four other crypto firms with widespread market manipulation. The charges also roped in several individuals who worked for the offending organizations. Market Makers Accused of Running Wash Trading Scheme According...Read More
Bitnomial has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its five commissioners, accusing the agency of overextending its jurisdiction. The company’s case disputes the SEC’s classification of XRP as a security, which the agency claims qualifies as an investment contract under the Securities Exchange Act. The Case Details The Chicago-based...Read More
A new survey by ConsenSys and HarrisX reveals that nearly half of U.S. voters (49%) consider a pro-crypto stance important when choosing political candidates. Additionally, 62% are willing to cross party lines for a candidate who supports pro-cryptocurrency policies. Crypto Regulation and Voter Sentiment The study also found that 85% of respondents want presidential candidates...Read More
Polymarket, the blockchain-based prediction platform, recorded a trading volume of $533.51 million in September, driven largely by interest in the 2024 U.S. presidential election and geopolitical developments in the Middle East. According to Dune Analytics, this marks a $61.51 million increase from August’s $472 million. The platform also saw a 41% rise in active users,...Read More
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has reopened a case against AT&T, an American multinational telecommunications company whose employees enabled a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) swap that led to the theft of cryptocurrencies worth $24 million in 2018. According to a filing published by the court panel, almost all charges brought...Read More
A 21-year-old man from Lebanon, Indiana, has admitted to organizing a major cryptocurrency theft, stealing over $37 million from nearly 600 victims worldwide. Evan Frederick Light appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica Duffy on September 30, 2024, where he pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments. The Cyber...Read More
Crypto asset manager Bitwise has officially filed for an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Delaware. It marks a major step in the push toward institutional-level investment in Ripple’s native cryptocurrency. Bitwise CIO Says Filing is Genuine Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett took to X on October 1 to break the news that Bitwise had registered...Read More
At the 2024 Tsinghua PBC Chief Economist Forum, former Chinese Vice Minister of Finance Zhu Guangyao urged China to re-evaluate its approach to the crypto industry. He cited the evolving international stance on digital currencies, particularly in the United States, where the asset class has gained political support from key figures like U.S. presidential candidate...Read More
U.S. authorities have charged Russian citizens Sergey Sergeevich Ivanov and Timur Shakhmametov for allegedly operating a cryptocurrency money laundering service tied to Russian cybercrime. The U.S. Department of State has issued a $10 million bounty for information leading to the arrest or conviction of each. International Crackdown on Russian Cybercrime The United States Treasury, in...Read More
A digital asset lobby group backed by Coinbase, Stand With Crypto, has been forced to change its crypto-friendly ranking of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The group, which runs a website that ranks the level of support U.S. politicians have shown for crypto, had characterized Harris as “Supports Crypto,” giving her a “B” grade. Group...Read More
Four people have sued the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), demanding that it direct more funds from a $4.3 billion settlement it won against Binance into the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (USVSST). The complainants argued in their lawsuit that the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act, enacted in 2015, requires all...Read More
Bitcoin’s correlation with Wall Street has been climbing for the past several months and, earlier this week, hit a multi-year peak. This comes at an intriguing time since a few of the largest and most prominent US stock market indexes charted new all-time highs this week. BTC-Wall Street Correction Rises The Fed’s interest rate cut...Read More
Gary Gensler, the chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), believes there have been significant changes in the financial market requiring upgraded definitions of exchanges and alternative trading platforms. During the 10th Annual U.S. Treasury Market Conference on September 26, Gensler highlighted the shifts in the capital markets since the SEC first...Read More
Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, will face trial on money laundering charges on December 2 in New York. This is after U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla rejected his motion to dismiss three charges brought against him by the U.S. Department of Justice. (DOJ) Judge Rejects Roman Storm’s Defense During a remote hearing on...Read More
Federal prosecutors have indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams following corruption investigations that have triggered the retirements and resignations of several members of his administration. Adams, a former police captain, made the headlines in 2021 when he pledged to take his first three paychecks in Bitcoin (BTC) when he became mayor. Charges Remain Unclear...Read More
PayPal Holdings, Inc. has announced a major new feature for U.S. merchants, enabling them to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency directly from their business accounts. This new feature aims to enhance crypto usage for businesses across the United States, except New York State, at launch. New Capabilities for Business Account Holders According to a September...Read More
Sources familiar with the living arrangements of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn have revealed interesting facts about two popular inmates. The recently arrested American rapper and celebrity Sean Combs, popularly known as Diddy, is in the same cell with Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the convicted founder of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. According to...Read More
A group of Republican lawmakers, headed by Rep. Patrick McHenry and Sen. Cynthia Lummis, have raised concerns over the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approach to regulating crypto custody. In a letter addressed to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the lawmakers demanded the agency “rescind” its Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 121). Critique of SAB...Read More
Terraform Labs, the company behind TerraUSD (UST) and Luna, has secured court approval to wind down operations in bankruptcy after settling with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to a Reuters report, the wind-down plan was approved by US Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon, who called it a “welcome alternative” to further litigation...Read More
Anthony Scaramucci, founder of the New York-based investment firm SkyBridge Capital, has revealed that he is working with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris to draft crypto policies for her campaign. According to a CNBC report, Scaramucci made the revelation at the annual TOKEN2049 crypto conference on Thursday. He told a panel during the conference that...Read More
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has reiterated his stance on the incoming interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve, terming it a “bad idea.” In an exclusive interview with CoinDesk on the sidelines of the Token2049 event, Hayes echoed his concern that risk assets like cryptocurrencies could crash shortly after the Fed rate cut. Rate Cut...Read More
Just one day after surviving a second assassination attempt, Donald Trump officially launched his long-anticipated cryptocurrency project, World Liberty Financial (WLF), through a live X Space event. However, the launch has gotten criticism from the crypto community for its lack of substantive information about the project. Community Backlash In a recent video posted on X,...Read More
Steven Lubka, head of private clients and family offices at Swan Bitcoin said in recent remarks to CNBC, “Do I think we’ll be in the six figures by 2025? Almost certainly. Do I think we’ll be in the six figures regardless of who wins? Almost certainly.” That may be assuring to fast-moving crypto markets that...Read More
The U.S. government is quietly pressuring Nigeria to release Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance executive detained in the country since February. Gambaryan has reportedly faced serious health issues while in custody, prompting calls for his release on humanitarian grounds. Humanitarian Concerns According to a New York Times report, two anonymous senior State Department officials revealed that...Read More
As the United States presidential election inches nearer, the two contenders continue making several moves to capture citizens’ attention. Republican candidate Donald Trump has doubled down on his efforts to win crypto investors’ votes. Following a Friday announcement of a crypto-centric platform dubbed World Liberty Financial, 84% of bettors on the biggest prediction market, Polymarket,...Read More
Donald Trump has set the launch date for World Liberty Financial, which will debut on September 16. This announcement follows hints from his family earlier this summer, as well as Trump’s previous vague descriptions of the project as a DeFi platform for borrowing and lending. Details of the Project In a video posted on X,...Read More
Within the next six months, the United States arm of the financial services company, eToro, would cease trading almost all crypto assets on its platform due to a new order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to a press release from the SEC, eToro has violated federal securities laws since at least 2020....Read More
North Carolina legislators have approved a bill that prevents the U.S. state from accepting central bank digital currencies (CBDC) as a form of payment or participating in any related tests conducted by any branch of the Federal Reserve. According to the roll call transcript for the voting session, the North Carolina General Assembly passed the...Read More
Sections of the crypto community are accusing Democratic leaders of paying lip service to the sector while failing to deliver any actual support. This follows Kamala Harris’s policy priorities, which omitted cryptocurrency, and Chuck Schumer’s letter to senators outlining key bipartisan legislation that also excluded it. Harris’s Policy Fails to Mention Crypto This morning, Vice...Read More
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a paper alerting the public of “aggressive” attacks from North Korean hackers against the crypto industry and companies associated with digital asset investment products. According to the report, these attacks consist primarily of sophisticated social engineering tactics that even crypto employees and market participants well-versed...Read More
