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Topic: cryptocurrency

Michael Novogratz, founder and chief executive officer of Galaxy Digital LP, left, during an interview on an episode of Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein in New York, US, on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. (Bloomberg) News 

Mike Novogratz Shares Insights on Cryptocurrencies BlackRock, Worldcoin, and Ripple

Nitin Misra,

Mike Novogratz remains optimistic about Bitcoin’s resurgence, attributing his bullish stance to the influence of a specific individual amidst a tumultuous year of scandals and financial setbacks in the cryptocurrency industry. “The most important thing that happened this year in Bitcoin is Larry Fink,” Novogratz said, referring to the investment titan who is CEO of BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager. BlackRock got the crypto community excited in June when it applied to set up an exchange-traded fund to track the spot price of Bitcoin — a move that,…

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The story was based on Ellison’s writings in Google Docs and in personal journals. (via REUTERS) News 

Sam Bankman-Fried Accepts Restriction on Speech to Avoid Jail Time

Nitin Misra

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, has consented to a gag order that significantly restricts his ability to publicly address his case. This decision comes in response to prosecutors’ allegations that he attempted to undermine the credibility of their key witness, Caroline Ellison. The order still has to be approved by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who has subpoenaed the former CEO on Wednesday. The judge is addressing the “adequacy and continuance” of Bankman-Fried’s bail, suggesting her current house arrest could be in jeopardy. The order, filed Monday in…

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Decentralized platforms appeal to crypto buffs who dislike the intermediary model of traditional finance. (REUTERS) News 

Decrease in Use of Peer-to-Peer Crypto Exchanges in a Contracting Market

Nitin Misra,

Amid a decrease in market share, crypto exchanges that facilitate direct transactions between buyers and sellers, eliminating the need for intermediaries like those found on Wall Street, are facing mounting pressure to enhance their services. These so-called decentralized platforms facilitate trading using algorithmic, blockchain-based software known as smart contracts, whereby users retain tokens instead of handing them over to an intermediary institution. Crypto diehards predicted a golden period for peer-to-peer trading venues such as Uniswap and dYdX after the collapse of the FTX exchange last November, which undermined confidence in…

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Attorney Sam Enzer, center, sits between Heather Morgan, left, and her husband, Ilya "Dutch" Lichtenstein in New York. (Bloomberg) News 

Couple Agree to Plea Deal in US for Alleged Bitcoin Money Laundering

Nitin Misra,

According to a court filing and an individual familiar with the situation, a rapper active on social media, who referred to herself as the “Crocodile of Wall Street,” and her spouse have come to an agreement with prosecutors in a case related to the laundering of billions of dollars worth of stolen Bitcoin. Heather Morgan and Ilya Lichtenstein are scheduled to appear for an arraignment on Aug. 3, more than a year after they were charged, according to Friday in federal court in Washington. The pair were arrested in February…

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“This was a calculated, planned and ongoing fraud,” Cronan said. “And the reach of the fraud was vast.” (REUTERS) News 

Convicted Crypto Investment Scammer Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for $249 Million Fraud

Adarsh V.K

A man from Long Island, New York, who confessed to defrauding investors of hundreds of millions of dollars through his EminiFX cryptocurrency and foreign-exchange platform, has been given a nine-year prison sentence. Valley Stream resident Eddy Alexandre was sentenced Tuesday in Manhattan by U.S. District Judge John Cronan. Alexandre pleaded guilty in February to commodities fraud and agreed to forfeit $248.8 million he illegally made from his Ponzi scheme, which primarily targeted investors in New York’s Haitian-American community. “This was a calculated, planned and sustained fraud,” Cronan said. “And the…

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Email fraudsters exploiting Bitcoin wallets in growing extortion schemes, reveals Barracuda study. (Pexels) News 

Barracuda Study Uncovers Scammers Targeting Work Email Accounts for Financial Gain

Adarsh V.K,

Barracuda, a cybersecurity company, has revealed a troubling pattern in a new study. It highlights how email scammers are resorting to multiple Bitcoin wallets to extort money from their targets. These fraudsters employ various strategies, such as threatening to expose compromising or illegal content, targeting multiple work email accounts simultaneously, and demanding modest payments of approximately $1,000 USD in Bitcoin. By adopting this method, attackers can evade detection and prevent arousing suspicion among potential victims, security teams, and payment systems. Insights from Columbia University research Barracuda’s findings are based on…

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Bitcoin hit its highest price since June 2022 earlier, touching $31,818, before edging down to trade around $30,935 at 1730 GMT on Friday. (REUTERS) News 

Bitcoin Price Close to 13-Month Peak as Ripple Ruling Boosts Investor Confidence

Febin Mathew,

On Friday, Bitcoin was nearing its peak for the year as crypto investors found optimism in a legal triumph where XRP, a cryptocurrency, was determined to not be a security. A US judge said on Thursday that Ripple Labs Inc did not violate securities laws by selling its XRP token on public exchanges. The case is the cryptocurrency company’s first victory in a lawsuit brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the decision was case-specific, it triggered a wave of optimism among crypto-investors that more cryptocurrencies cannot be…

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Cybersecurity engineer goes rogue, steals $9 million in cryptocurrency, reports the US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York. (Pexels) News 

Hacker Betrays Trust, Steals $9 Million in Cryptocurrency

Jim Hendler,

An individual has been arrested by the US government for allegedly hacking into a cryptocurrency exchange and stealing $9 million worth of cryptocurrency. The accused, Shakeeb Ahmed, who is described as a senior security engineer, used his knowledge and skills to defraud the exchange and its users. Although the news report does not specify his current employer, it was discovered through his LinkedIn page that he was previously employed by Amazon. TechCrunch contacted Amazon, and a spokesperson confirmed that Ahmed is no longer employed by the company. According to a…

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US prosecutors charged a Moroccan man with stealing $450,000 in cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens. (Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg) News 

Charges Filed After Primate Pilfers Products from Imitation OpenSea Site

Adriana Marais, ,

In 2021, a Moroccan man has been charged by US prosecutors for allegedly pilfering $450,000 worth of cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens, which included two Bored Apes. The charges stem from his alleged creation of a counterfeit version of the OpenSea digital marketplace. Soufiane Oulahyane, 25, set up a website to trick victims into revealing a seed phrase — a series of random words that unlock a crypto wallet — to gain access to real accounts on OpenSea, the largest marketplace for NFTs, the Justice Department said Monday. . The practice…

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Beijing clamped down on crypto over concerns about money laundering, the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining, and currency outflows. (REUTERS) News 

China’s Reality Check on Cryptocurrency Adoption

Febin Mathew

Speculation that China may lift its ban on digital-asset trading has been dampened by a recent shakeup at the country’s central bank. Industry leaders, including Jeremy Allaire, chief executive of Circle Internet Financial Ltd, have seized on Beijing’s tacit support for Hong Kong’s bid to become a crypto hub to argue that the mainland may change its policy. They were reminded of the risks of such extrapolations when Pan Gongsheng was named the top Communist Party official at the People’s Bank of China. The move could put Pan in the…

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Yi He is co-founder of Binance, the besieged digital currency empire. (Bloomberg) News 

Binance CEO CZ Shares Insight on Crypto Market Turmoil

Jim Hendler, ,

Yi He, a senior executive at Binance, has successfully avoided global attention for the past six years and continues to do so, despite the increasing efforts of governments worldwide to regulate cryptocurrencies. As the founder of a cryptocurrency empire, he is one of the most powerful players in the $1.2 trillion industry. He also has a lot to lose as the regulatory onslaught deepens and creates an existential crisis for crypto’s largest exchange. After successfully marketing Binance in its early days on various media platforms, Yi He – a former…

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The surge has brought Bitcoin to as high as $31,410 and up by almost 90% since the start of the year. (REUTERS) News 

Cryptocurrency Reaches One-Year High as It Recovers From Controversies

Nitin Misra,

Despite numerous challenges faced by the digital asset industry, Bitcoin has reached its highest level in a year, driven by renewed enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies. The native digital currency surpassed $31,013, its 2023 peak, to its highest level since June 2022, Bloomberg data shows. The rise has taken Bitcoin as high as $31,410 and up nearly 90% since the start of the year. Other cryptocurrencies followed suit with Ether. It’s a significant development — and a sign of resilience — in a market that many had written off as extinct following…

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The compromise would allow the exchange to continue operating in the US for the time being. News 

Binance and SEC Reach Agreement to Prevent US Asset Lockdown

Adarsh V.K, , ,

Binance has reached an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that permits the cryptocurrency exchange to continue its operations in the US until the resolution of a lawsuit filed by the regulator earlier this month. The SEC had accused Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, of inflating trading volumes, mishandling customer assets, and failing to prevent US investors from trading on Binance.com instead of a separate US system. After the charges were announced, the SEC attempted to freeze Binance’s US assets. The regulator said the change was necessary to…

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Binance and Coinbase are both alleged to have violated the law. (REUTERS) News 

Questions Surrounding the Viability of Cryptocurrency Companies Following SEC Lawsuits

Adarsh V.K, , , ,

After the crypto winter and the alleged fraud committed by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, lawsuits have now emerged. The US Securities and Exchange Commission last week filed charges against the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, deepening tensions between the government and a volatile industry that has been marked by scandals and market crashes. Binance and Coinbase allegedly broke the law by operating as securities exchanges without registering their business with the SEC. Along with the CEO, Binance faces additional charges, among other accusations, of diverting customer funds to…

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The move comes just one day after the agency took aim at Binance. News 

SEC Files Lawsuit Against Coinbase for Alleged Breach of Securities Laws

Nitin Misra, ,

The Securities and Exchange Commission has taken regulatory action against Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the US, alleging that it acted as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. The SEC pointed out that traditional securities markets typically separate brokers, exchanges, and clearing agencies, but Coinbase “intertwines” these services. This is just the latest regulatory action against a major cryptocurrency company. The agency argued that because Coinbase did not register as a broker, national exchange or clearinghouse, it prevented investors from receiving protection. These include SEC…

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Crypto projects that are directly developing AI models on blockchain, applying AI to decentralized applications or solving for AI-related issues are still low. (REUTERS) News 

Coinbase Highlights Potential of Artificial Intelligence for Cryptocurrencies

Adarsh V.K, ,

Coinbase Global Inc., the biggest digital asset exchange in the US, has stated that the convergence of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency presents a significant chance for entrepreneurs. This includes the potential to address some of the criticisms aimed at the technology by preventing certain excesses. “As AI and blockchain applications mature, the disruption caused by these technologies could lead to areas of collaboration and the emergence of new use cases for cryptocurrencies that help address the specific societal challenges posed by AI,” said David Duong, director of research at Coinbase.…

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FILE PHOTO: A Visa credit card can be seen on a computer keyboard in this photo taken September 6, 2017. REUTERS / Philippe Wojazer / Illustration / File Photo / File Photo (REUTERS) News 

Visa moves to enable payment settlements using cryptocurrency

Febin Mathew,

Visa Inc said on Monday that it would allow the use of the USD Coin cryptocurrency to settle transactions on its payment network, the latest sign of the growing acceptance of digital currencies by the mainstream financial industry. The company told Reuters that it has launched the pilot program with the payment and encryption platform Crypto.com and plans to offer the option to more partners later this year. Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, hit a one-week high in the news, rising 4.5% to $58,300 and falling back to a record…

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Ether rose 5.3% on Monday and hit its highest level in nearly two weeks. REUTERS / Dado Ruvic / Illustration (REUTERS) News 

Chinese beauty app becomes first major company to buy ether

Nitin Misra, , ,

Meitu, who creates an app that lets you edit user profile photos, said on Sunday that it bought 15,000 units of Ether for $22.1 million and 379.1 Bitcoins for $17.9 million on the open market on March 5. These acquisitions are part of an overall usage plan. as much as $100 million from his cash reserve to fund cryptocurrency purchases, as he believed prices could appreciate and the crypto could diversify its portfolio. No other large company has announced plans to invest significantly in Ether, the world’s largest digital currency…

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Dogecoin dives (Dogecoin) News 

Dogecoin dives after rally, sparking outcry on Reddit

Nitin Misra, , ,

The digital coin fell 46% in 24 hours to $0.02582 as of 4:35 p.m. in New York on Saturday, according to data from CoinMarketCap. It recovered to $0.03 on Sunday, though still less than half its high on Friday, when a seven-fold surge sent the coin over $0.07. Amid the rally, Robinhood temporarily suspended instant deposits for buying crypto on Friday, citing “extraordinary market conditions,” a spokesperson told CNBC. Users can still use funds already deposited on the platform to buy cryptos. Users of the Reddit feed SatoshiStreetBets – which…

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Bitcoin continues to gain (REUTERS) News 

Players Could Use Bitcoin In Slots With New Patent

Febin Mathew,

International Game Technology Plc, the world’s largest slot machine maker, may be considering offering cryptocurrency as a payout option on casino games like Megabucks and Wheel of Fortune. On Tuesday, the company received a patent for a way to transfer cryptocurrency between a player’s gaming establishment account and an external cryptocurrency account. This means that players can move Bitcoin into their virtual wallets on a slot machine using their phones. IGT was granted this patent to bolster its leading patent portfolio in anticipation of any possible future direction in regulated…

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