Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Norwegian authorities, in collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), have allegedly seized about $6 million that was stolen in last year’s Axie Infinity heist. “It is the biggest crypto seizure Norwegian police have ever made,” said Norway’s Økokrim. Norway and FBI Recoup Some Stolen Funds From Axie Infinity Attack Økokrim, Norway’s National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime, announced Thursday that it has seized 60 million kroner (approximately $5.8 million) in crypto in connection with the attack against Axie Infinity and Sky Mavis, the company that developed the non-fungible token (NFT)-based online video game. The Norwegian authority explained that in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): Økokrim has seized close to NOK 60 million in cryptocurrency. It is the biggest crypto seizure Norwegian police have ever...

Crypto exchange Binance expects to pay fines to U.S. authorities to settle regulatory and law-enforcement investigations over its past conduct, the company’s chief strategy officer reportedly said. When Binance began its business, the company was unfamiliar with the rules it needed to comply with in the U.S., the executive explained. Binance Plans to Settle With US Regulators Binance’s chief strategy officer, Patrick Hillmann, revealed Wednesday that the cryptocurrency exchange expects to pay fines to settle existing U.S. regulatory and law-enforcement investigations, the Wall Street Journal reported. He explained that in its early days, Binance was unfamiliar with the legal framework and regulations in the U.S. to mitigate the risk of bribery and corruption, money laundering, and economic sanctions. The Binance executive stated that the crypto exchange is currently working with regulators to identify potential “remediations” the company has to go through “to make amends” for its ...

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has called on Congress to pass clear crypto legislation, warning that the U.S. risks losing its status as a financial hub. “Crypto is open to everyone in the world and others are leading,” the executive stressed. Coinbase’s CEO on Cryptocurrency Regulation The CEO of the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN), Brian Armstrong, has called on Congress to pass clear crypto legislation. He tweeted Wednesday: America risks losing its status as a financial hub long term, with no clear regs on crypto, and a hostile environment from regulators. Congress should act soon to pass clear legislation. “Crypto is open to everyone in the world and others are leading,” he added, mentioning the EU, the U.K., and Hong Kong. Besides Armstrong, many people have complained that crypto regulation in the U.S. is not clear, making it difficult for companies to comply. However, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Ge...

Another member of Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle allegedly plans to plead guilty to criminal charges for his role in the alleged fraud that occurred at the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. According to unnamed sources familiar with the matter, Nishad Singh, FTX’s former director of engineering, is attempting to negotiate a deal with New York prosecutors. Sources Say Former FTX Director of Engineering Nears Plea Deal, Singh Could Provide Critical Testimony On Friday, Bloomberg reporter Allyson Versprille reported that Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering at FTX, is negotiating a deal with federal prosecutors in Manhattan. Two other individuals from Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle, ex-Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, have already pleaded guilty to charges related to the multiyear fraud that allegedly took place at FTX since 2019. Unnamed sources who are familiar with the matter told Versprille about the agreement, and the reporter noted...

A draft law filed in the Russian parliament permits operators of platforms providing financial services to also run blockchain platforms. The legislation will allow them to combine their regular activities in the traditional financial market with issuing digital assets. New Law Opens Door to Blockchain Space for Russian Financial Service Providers The State Duma, the lower house of parliament in Russia, has adopted on first reading a bill allowing financial marketplaces, as defined by another Russian law, to also function as blockchain platforms facilitating the issuance and exchange of digital financial assets (DFAs). The legislative initiative comes from a group of lawmakers headed by the chairman of the parliamentary Financial Market Committee, Anatoly Aksakov, crypto news outlets Bits.media and RBC Crypto reported. Its main purposes is to help the development of tokenized cashless payments, the digital ruble , and DFAs. The latter are regulated by the law “On Digital Financia...

Japanese gaming company Square Enix has announced that it will be using Polygon, an Ethereum sidechain, as a base for Symbiogenesis, its upcoming Web3 experience. Naoyuki Tamate, producer of the game, cited the high transaction speeds and low transaction gas costs as the reasons for making this change in the game’s design. Square Enix to Harness Polygon for Symbiogenesis’ Blockchain Operations Square Enix, a Japanese game-developing company, has given an update regarding the development of Symbiogenesis, its upcoming Web3-based experience announced in November. The company revealed it would use Polygon, an EVM-compatible sidechain, to support part of the blockchain component of the game. The game, which will feature several art non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as part of its story, revolves around the realization of missions and collecting resources in a land called the floating continent. Regarding the utilization of Polygon’s network in the game, Symbiogenesis producer Naoyuki Tamate...

PWC, one of the ‘Big Four’ auditors and among the largest professional services networks globally, recently published a report on FTX Digital Markets, the bankrupt crypto exchange’s Bahamian subsidiary. The report indicates that the entity’s accounting records have been limited, and it also noted that there is “little distinction between what represents potentially client monies and corporate funds.” FTX Joint Provisional Liquidators Continue Investigations Into Bahamian Subsidiary In mid-November 2022, following the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the exchange FTX and its large number of subsidiaries, The Bahamas’ regulator appointed Kevin Cambridge and Peter Greaves from PWC as the joint provisional FTX liquidators in the proceedings. PWC has recently published a report that shows the crypto exchange’s Bahamian entity FTX Digital Markets reportedly commingled client funds. FTX Digital Markets essentially held “limited accounting records,” and the PWC auditors noted that there “...