The United Kingdom remains committed to becoming a world crypto industry hub in spite of the recent negative events that have occurred on the market. It is “the sector I have dedicated the most time to,” Member of Parliament and HM Treasury Economic Secretary Andrew Griffith told a meeting of the UK Parliament Treasury Committee
Regulation
A group of four United States senators have criticized one of the law firms involved in the bankruptcy case of crypto exchange FTX for conflicts of interest. In a Jan. 9 letter to Judge John Dorsey of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Senators John Hickenlooper, Thom Tillis, Elizabeth Warren, and Cynthia
The South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb is under a “special tax investigation” by the country’s National Tax Service (NTS), according to local reports. On Jan. 10, tax agents raided the exchange’s headquarters in the country’s capital city Seoul as a part of a compliance investigation. Authorities are verifying the possibility of tax evasion by examining
As one of the world’s pioneers in adopting its own central bank digital currency (CBDC), Nigeria declares its readiness to accept the existence of private stablecoins as well. The necessity to create a legal framework for stablecoins is marked in the latest central bank strategy paper. Published under the headline “Nigeria Payments System Vision 2025”,
Terraform Labs (TFL), the firm behind the defunct algorithmic stablecoin TerraUST (USTC), and its co-founder Do Kwon is back in the limelight again for allegedly running a smear campaign and issuing threats against one of their own community members. It all started in the month of May with the genesis airdrop that was planned after
As the investigation into FTX continues, the crypto exchange’s former engineering chief Nishad Singh followed former FTX and Alameda Research executives Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison by reportedly meeting with federal prosecutors to cut a deal. Singh attended a proffer session sometime last week at the United States Attorney’s office for the Southern District of
Nepal’s telecommunications regulator has ordered the country’s internet service providers (ISPs) to block all cryptocurrency trading websites, threatening legal action against those that fail to comply. In a Jan. 8 notice, the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) ordered ISPs and email service providers to prevent access to “websites, apps or online networks” related to crypto. It
Sanctions aimed at decentralized crypto mixer Tornado Cash weren’t able to completely cut off its usage, though it has hamstrung the service, a blockchain analytics firm has shared. On Aug. 8, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against the crypto mixer for its role in the laundering of crime proceeds. In a
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed suit against self-described digital artist Avraham Eisenberg on Jan. 9, charging him with two counts of market manipulation in connection with an exploit of decentralized finance platform Mango Markets. Eisenberg was arrested on related charges on Dec. 27 and is currently in custody. The CFTC claimed
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has pled not guilty to all criminal charges he’s facing, including wire fraud, securities fraud and violations of campaign finance laws. In total, the entrepreneur faces eight criminal counts, which could result in 115 years in prison should he be convicted. Meanwhile, Daniel Friedberg, the controversial lawyer who served as
Xiao Yi, the former Chinese Communist Party secretary of Fuzhou, has confessed to “acting recklessly” in support of crypto mining during a state-run television broadcast. In an interview released by state-run media on Jan. 8, Xiao seemed to speak with a very subdued voice from what appeared to be prison, apologizing for being a “sinner”
At the end of January 2022, member of the Belgian parliament Christophe De Beukelaer became the first European politician to convert his salary to Bitcoin (BTC). Celebrating the anniversary of this experiment, Cointelegraph reached out to a lawmaker to know more about his experience. Back in 2022, Beukelaer, who represents Humanist Democratic Centre (CDH) party,
The United States Department of Justice has officially notified the court handling the bankruptcy of BlockFi that it has seized assets as part of the criminal cases against crypto exchange FTX and its executives. In a Jan. 6 court filing, the Justice Department said it had seized 55,273,469 shares of Robinhood to which former FTX
Financial authorities in Germany are raising the alarm amid the rapid spread of a new financial malware affecting banking and cryptocurrency applications. Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) released an official statement on Jan. 9, warning consumers of “Godfather,” a malware collecting user data in banking and crypto apps. BaFin emphasized that the new virus
The last year proved to be another turbulent year for the crypto industry. From a lasting market downturn and exploits in decentralized finance (DeFi) to the FTX scandal, no area was left unscathed. For some, the happenings in the space proved unsustainable for business. The Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp, the holding company for New York-based
Australian crypto exchange Swyftx is set to shutter its crypto-interest product this week, citing a “constantly changing regulatory landscape” for crypto products in the country. From Jan. 10 local time, the crypto exchange will cease to operate the “Earn” program, while users will have their entire Earn balances returned to their trade wallets. Swyftx said the decision
United States prosecutors are investigating hedge funds’ relationships with cryptocurrency exchange Binance for money-laundering violations. According to anonymous sources cited by the Washington Post, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of Washington in Seattle subpoenaed investment firms to provide records of communications with Binance in the past months. The allegedly subpoenas do not
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has launched a page on its website appealing to Sam Bankman-Fried’s alleged victims of fraud at FTX to come forward and informing them about court proceedings. In a Jan. 6 filing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon requested the federal court allow her office
The legal team for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has filed a motion in an effort to stop the exchange’s debtors from controlling more than $450 million worth of shares of Robinhood. In a Jan. 5 court filing regarding FTX’s bankruptcy case, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers said FTX debtors had “failed to carry their heavy burden” establishing
A crypto lobbying group based in Singapore has voiced its opposition to the proposal from the central bank to prohibit crypto firms from lending crypto tokens. On Oct. 26, Singapore’s central bank issued consultation papers and proposed to ban digital payment token service providers from offering “any credit facility” to consumers. This includes either lending