Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

According to web portal darkdot.com and anonymous journalist Darkdotfail, the popular darknet forum Dread has been down for a month. The well-known forum, which was a place for darknet market (DNM) patrons to discuss operations security, rate specific vendors, and talk about stealth delivery ideas, has been absent for 30 days. However, the forum’s founder, “Hugbunter,” has stated that it will relaunch in the near future. Dread Forum Founder Announces Plans to Relaunch In the underground world of darknet markets (DNMs), the forum Dread was known for being a go-to source of information. According to a Jan. 1, 2023 update hosted on darkdot.com, the forum has been down for a month. “Dread is a critical source of truth in an anonymous community proliferated with scams,” the update notes. “The popular Tor freedom of speech forum went offline on Nov. 30, 2022, and has yet to return.” The update adds that while the Dread admin team typically posts status updates on Reddit at /r/dreadalert, ...

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is in the process of seizing Robinhood shares, worth about $460 million, that are linked to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). “We believe that these assets are not property of the bankruptcy estate or that they fall within the exceptions … of bankruptcy code,” a DOJ attorney told the judge overseeing the FTX bankruptcy case. DOJ Seizing Robinhood Shares Linked to FTX The U.S. government is in the process of seizing 56 million shares of Robinhood Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOD), worth about $460 million, that are linked to the disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), said Seth Shapiro, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) at an FTX bankruptcy court hearing in Delaware Wednesday. Shapiro told Judge John Dorsey, who oversees the FTX bankruptcy case: We believe that these assets are not property of the bankruptcy estate or that they fall within the exceptions … of bankruptcy code. According to Robinhood’s filing with the...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has intervened in the asset purchase agreement between Binance US and bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital. The securities regulator explained that it is “formally investigating whether the debtors and others violated the anti-fraud and other provisions of the federal securities laws.” SEC Intervenes in Binance-Voyager Asset Purchase Deal The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a “limited objection” to the asset purchase agreement between bankrupt crypto firm Voyager Digital and the U.S. arm of crypto exchange Binance on Wednesday. The court filing details: The SEC is formally investigating whether the debtors [Voyager Digital] and others violated the anti-fraud and other provisions of the federal securities laws. The securities regulator explained that Voyager Digital is seeking “conditional approval of the Disclosure Statement in support of their Chapter 11 plan … and approval of an asset purchase agreement (A...

Fanatics, the retailer specializing in licensed sports merchandise, is divesting 60% of its stake in the non-fungible token (NFT) company Candy Digital, according to reports. The company is selling its Candy Digital stake to an investor group associated with billionaire Mike Novogratz and his firm, Galaxy Digital. Report Says Sports Retail Giant Fanatics to Sell Majority of Candy Digital Stake After a rough 2022 in the non-fungible token (NFT) industry, licensed sports merchandise firm Fanatics has decided to sell 60% of its Candy Digital shares, according to a CNBC report published on Jan. 4, 2023. CNBC obtained an internal email citing Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin. “Divesting our ownership stake at this time allowed us to ensure investors were able to recoup most of their investment via cash or additional shares in Fanatics – a favorable outcome for investors, especially in an imploding NFT market that has seen precipitous drops in both transaction volumes and prices for standalo...

In a year that was characterized by surging energy and food prices, Germany’s average inflation rate in 2022 rose to 7.9% up from the 3.1% seen in 2021. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as the supply bottlenecks resulting from the war, are said to be among the factors that helped to drive up prices. Impact of the Ukraine-Russia War In 2022, Germany’s average inflation rate topped 7.9%, its highest since the 1990 reunification, the country’s statistical office has said. As per the German press agency’s Jan. 3 report, the 2022 rate is more than double the 3.1% seen in 2021. According to the report , rising energy and food prices were among the main drivers of inflation for several months. As expected, the German Federal Statistical Office (FSO) reportedly identified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as the ensuing supply bottlenecks, as two key factors that led to the record inflation rate. “Consumers in Germany had to pay 24.4% more for energy in December than a year earli...

A New York bankruptcy court has ruled the deposits on high-interest-earning accounts belong to Celsius, the embattled former cryptocurrency lending firm, that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections in July. The decision establishes a precedent that might affect the status of other, similar cases involving crypto companies like Blockfi and FTX. Celsius Obtains Ownership of User Deposits A U.S. bankruptcy court has made a key ruling in the conflict that Celsius, a former cryptocurrency lending firm, and its customers, maintain over the ownership of deposits. Judge Martin Glenn, of a New York-based bankruptcy court, ruled in favor of the company, stating that it has the right over these funds, allowing it to harness the assets in any way, including lending, selling, and pledging these assets for investment purposes. The company had filed a motion to get approval for selling $23 million from its stablecoin stash on Sept. 15, and this ruling frees the path for the company to comp...