Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked victims of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF)’s fraud to come forward. The former FTX executive has been charged with “defrauding customers of FTX.com, investors in FTX.com, and lenders to Alameda Research,” the Justice Department noted. DOJ Urges Victims of SBF Fraud to Come Forward The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reached out to victims of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF)’s fraud via its website Friday, explaining their rights and asking them to come forward. Bankman-Fried co-founded FTX and served as its CEO when the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy in November last year. The DOJ wrote: If you believe that you may have been a victim of fraud by Samuel Bankman-Fried, a/k/a ‘SBF,’ please contact the victim/witness coordinator at the United States Attorney’s Office … for assistance in verifying whether you are a victim in this case. The Justice Department explained that on Dec. 13, 2022, “an eight-count indictment was unsealed

Mark Cuban, a Shark Tank star and the owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, has warned that the next crypto implosion could come from “the discovery and removal of wash trades” on centralized exchanges. The billionaire’s comments followed the collapse of crypto exchange FTX which wiped out billions of dollars of customer funds. Mark Cuban on the Next Crypto Implosion Shark Tank star and the owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, shared his thoughts on the next crypto implosion with The Street, published Friday. The billionaire said: I think the next possible implosion is the discovery and removal of wash trades on central exchanges. “There are supposedly tens of millions of dollars in trades and liquidity for tokens that have very little utilization,” Cuban emphasized. “I don’t see how they can be that liquid.” However, the Shark Tank star admitted: “I don’t have any specifics to offer to support my guess.” Wash trading has long been a concern with cryptocurrenc

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says crypto is “too dependent on the ‘greater fool theory’ to be a desirable investment.” However, he noted that the collapse of crypto exchange FTX was “purely fraud,” rather than the result of a feature inherent to crypto. He does not expect the FTX contagion to spread far beyond the crypto space. Alan Greenspan on Crypto, FTX, and US Economy Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan shared his views on cryptocurrency, the collapsed crypto exchange FTX, and the U.S. economy in a year-end Q&A published by Advisors Capital Management this week. Greenspan served five terms as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 1987 to 2006. He was appointed chairman by four different U.S. presidents. He joined Advisors Capital Management in September 2016 as Economic Advisor to the asset management firm. The former Fed chair was asked to comment on the FTX meltdown and whether he expects contagion from it. “I

The host of Mad Money, Jim Cramer, says he expects the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to do a roundup of crypto firms that are not compliant with regulation. Expecting the SEC “to sweep everything,” Cramer urges investors to “get out” of crypto now. Jim Cramer’s Latest Crypto Warnings The host of CNBC’s Mad Money show, Jim Cramer, is back with more warnings for crypto investors. Cramer is a former hedge fund manager who co-founded Thestreet.com, a financial news and literacy website. Following a joint statement about crypto risks by the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Cramer said on CNBC Wednesday: I think these statements are the beginning of what I have been calling for, which is that the SEC is going to do a roundup of all of the ones [crypto firms] who are not compliant. Citing John Stark, who served as an attorney for over 18 years in the SEC’s Enforcement Division,

Since the beginning of 2023, cryptocurrency miners operating in Kazakhstan are obliged to pay new fees for the power they need to mint digital coins. A surcharge introduced in 2021 now depends on the price of electricity consumed by bitcoin farms and can be much higher than the original levy. New Year Brings Higher Costs for Companies Mining Crypto in Kazakhstan Starting from Jan. 1, an electricity fee imposed on crypto miners in Kazakhstan is being calculated according to a progressive scale. The initial universal surcharge of 1 Kazakhstani tenge ($0.002) per kilowatt-hour ( kWh ), first adopted in the summer of 2021, can now reach 25 tenge (over $0.05). The rate in each case depends on the source and price of electrical energy used to extract digital currencies. The new mechanism to determine the tariff was introduced with a bill amending the country’s Tax Code which President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed into law in July 2022. The base for the levy is the average price of ele

As of November 2022, Kenyan fintechs accounted for 30.2% or 93 out of the 308 tracked tech startups, a Disrupt Africa study recently found. In addition, the study findings show that the fintech sub-sector alone accounted for 3,100 or 27% of the 11,462 people that were employed by tech startups during the same period. Fintechs Solving Fundamental Problems According to the findings of a study on Kenya’s startup space, fintech ventures alone accounted for just over 30% or 93 out of the 308 tracked startups. This figure is almost three times more than that of the nearest challengers, namely agri-tech and e-health, which both accounted for 10.1% of Kenya’s tech startups that were tracked between January and November 2022. However, as explained in Disrupt Africa’s study report on the Kenyan startup ecosystem, the dominance of fintechs is not unusual. “Fintech takes the top spot in most African countries as it solves fundamental problems for the populace, is an area in which novel tech

Animoca Brands, a Web3 gaming-focused company, has announced it is now targeting a raise of $1 billion for a fund directed to inject help for already established blockchain projects. The number is significantly lower than the $2 billion the company announced back in November as an upper limit for this same fund. Animoca Brands Announces Lower Numbers for Web3 and Metaverse Fund Animoca Brands, one of the most popular Web3 gaming and blockchain companies, has made a new announcement regarding its fundraising goals for Q1 2023. Yat Siu, a co-founder of the company, recently stated in a Twitter Spaces chat it was looking to raise $1 billion from various parties for a fund provisionally called Animoca Capital, which would focus its activities on supporting already established Web3 projects. This number is significantly lower than the goal Siu established back in November when he first revealed plans to launch this fund, declaring that Animoca Brands expected to raise up to $2 billion

The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched a crypto academy where investors can learn about digital assets free of charge before investing. “The more you know your investments, the less risk you will have,” the Thai regulator emphasized. Thai SEC’s Crypto Academy Launched The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Wednesday that it has launched “Crypto Academy” to provide free online resources and courses on digital assets. The initiative aims to equip the public with in-depth knowledge of digital assets and blockchain technology before they invest, the regulator described, adding: The more you know your investments, the less risk you will have. The SEC Crypto Academy currently offers four courses. The first aims to provide new investors with a basic understanding of the crypto market, including the definition of cryptocurrency and the principles of blockchain technology. The second course focuses on the key features of cryptocurrencies and

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged the team behind Coindeal, a $45 million fraudulent crypto investment scheme. The regulator explained that the defendants falsely claimed that Coindeal “would generate investment returns of more than 500,000 times for investors.” SEC Takes Action Against Coindeal Crypto Fraud The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Wednesday that it has charged the creator of crypto investment scheme Coindeal and seven others in connection with the $45 million fraud. Describing Coindeal as “a brazen and far-reaching unregistered offering fraud conducted between at least 2018 and 2022,” the securities regulator detailed: Coindeal … raised more than $45 million from sales of unregistered securities to tens of thousands of investors worldwide. The SEC explained that creator Neil Chandran and promoters Garry Davidson, Michael Glaspie, Amy Mossel, and Linda Knott “falsely claimed that investors could generate extravaga

A top Internal Revenue Service (IRS) official says, “Cryptocurrency is here to stay,” and “it’s becoming more legitimate.” The official added that the U.S. tax authority is looking to partner with crypto companies, noting: “I don’t see how we can operate in this space without it.” Top IRS Official Says Crypto Is Here to Stay Thomas Fattorusso, acting special agent-in-charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)’s New York office, talked about cryptocurrency in an interview with The Wall Street Journal earlier this week. “We can’t be hostile to the technology. We have to embrace it,” the IRS official emphasized, elaborating: Cryptocurrency is here to stay. As far as I’m concerned, it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and it’s becoming more legitimate. As the years roll on, it becomes more sophisticated. Fattorusso explained that the IRS is looking to partner with crypto companies. “My thought is that those relationships will develop as the years go on a

Fabio Panetta, part of the Executive Committee of the European Central Bank (ECB), believes that unbacked cryptocurrency assets are vehicles for gambling without intrinsic value, which need to be regulated. In an opinion piece, Panetta states that while cryptocurrency regulation is a good answer to the problem, it must also touch on decentralized finance structures. ECB Executive Member Fabio Panetta Believes Crypto Should Face Gambling-Like Regulation The subject of cryptocurrency regulation and how it should be applied continues to be an essential issue across regulators worldwide. Fabio Panetta, a member of the executive committee of the European Central Bank (ECB), believes that cryptocurrencies, posing as investment assets, are more like gambling vehicles. As part of an opinion piece published on Jan. 4, Panetta argues that unbacked cryptos should be regulated more like gambling instruments than as currencies. About crypto, he stated: They are speculative assets. Investors

The body overseeing the securities market in Israel is taking steps to incorporate rules for digital assets into the existing legislation. The regulator released a draft proposal to introduce the changes that would define the legal status of cryptocurrencies in the country. Amendments to Israel’s Securities Laws Aimed at Expanding Supervision Over Crypto Arguing that as crypto assets are often used for investment, the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) has insisted they need to be covered by the regulatory framework and placed under its oversight. To achieve that, the watchdog is suggesting amendments to the country’s legislation in the field. The proposal seeks to change the existing securities laws so that they apply to digital assets. The new provisions define them as virtual representations of value that fall under the category of financial instruments, the latter being overseen by the ISA. The logic behind the move stems from the authority’s view that in most cases cryptocurre

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

According to several reports, Wyre, a cryptocurrency payments firm, is allegedly sunsetting its business. Wyre’s purported wind down follows Bolt, another payments company, canceling its plan to acquire Wyre in September. Wyre CEO Ioannis Giannaros, however, told Axios that the company is “still operating” and is simply “scaling back.” Wyre Cryptocurrency Payments Firm Allegedly Shutting Down, CEO Denies Reports of Winding Down Operations On Jan. 4, 2023, Axios published a report that said Wyre, the digital currency payments platform, was winding down the company’s operations. Furthermore, several other reports about the situation stemmed from former employees and known associates. JD Ross, the founder of the music investment platform Royal.io said : Looks like Wyre just shut down their business. Everyone in our shared Slack channel disabled except the GC. Hearing no severance. “We’ll continue to do everything we can, but I want everyone to brace themselves for the fact that we

A major Ukrainian chain of pharmacies has started accepting cryptocurrency through Binance Pay. The new payment method will be available online, according to the company, which operates hundreds of drugstores across the war-torn Eastern European nation. Pharmacy Offers Ukrainians Option to Pay With Crypto Using Binance Pay Customers of the Ukrainian pharmacy chain ANC can now buy medicines and other items using a number of cryptocurrencies. The new payment option is accessible since Tuesday, the company announced , claiming it has become the first pharmacy chain in Europe to offer it. From Jan. 3, you will be able to enjoy instant payments when purchasing pharmacy products. It will be possible to pay for orders with cryptocurrency on Anc.ua! The coin transactions will be processed through Binance Pay, the payment system developed by the world’s largest digital asset exchange by trading volume. It allows users and businesses around the world to spend, send, and receive over 70 di

The Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) have jointly issued warnings about crypto risks to banking organizations. “The agencies have significant safety and soundness concerns with business models that are concentrated in crypto-asset-related activities or have concentrated exposures to the crypto-asset sector,” the regulators detailed. U.S. Regulators Warn About Crypto Risks The Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a joint statement on crypto risks to banking organizations Tuesday. They explained that events in the past year showed “significant volatility and the exposure of vulnerabilities in the crypto-asset sector.” The regulators named many risks, including fraud and scams, legal uncertainties, inaccurate or misleading representations by crypto companies, significant volatility in crypto markets, run

The Securities Commission of the Bahamas has disputed FTX’s claim that the value of the cryptocurrencies it seized from the bankrupt crypto exchange was not $3.5 billion. The new FTX chief’s “continued lack of diligence when making public statements concerning the Commission is disappointing,” the Bahamian regulator stressed. Bahamas Regulator and FTX Disagree on the Value of Seized Crypto Assets The Securities Commission of the Bahamas issued a statement Monday to “correct material misstatements” made by the new FTX CEO, John J. Ray III, regarding the value of the cryptocurrencies it seized from FTX. Ray represents U.S. FTX debtors in the crypto exchange’s bankruptcy filing (Chapter 11 Debtors). The Bahamian regulator explained that on Dec. 30, 2022, FTX and Ray “publicly challenged the Commission’s calculations” of the value of the crypto assets transferred to its digital wallets on Nov. 12. According to the Commission, over $3.5 billion in cryptocurrencies were seized from FTX.

The Nigerian crypto exchange Roqqu recently announced that it obtained a virtual currency license that allows it to offer its services in 28 European countries. According to Israel Ololade, the head of product at Roqqu, the European Union license “aligns with the brand’s drive to become the number one blockchain and crypto company globally.” Crypto Adoption Lags Behind in Europe The Nigeria-based cryptocurrency exchange Roqqu was recently granted a European Union (EU) virtual currency license, enabling it to offer its services to users in 28 European countries, a statement released by the firm has said. The license allows Roqqu users, including non-Nigerians, to trade digital currencies as well as to participate in the non-fungible token (NFT) market. According to the statement, the crypto exchange’s EU license means Roqqu is one of the first digital asset exchange platforms from Africa to expand into Europe. In a statement, the Nigerian crypto exchange also shared a few reasons wh

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has reviewed what happened in 2022 in crypto, making several predictions about the future of the ecosystem. Dante Disparte, CSO of Circle, in an article published for the WEF, states that while 2022 has been a terrible year, the building blocks of the industry will continue to be “integral parts” of the modern economic toolkit. WEF Believes in Crypto’s Resilience The World Economic Forum (WEF) believes that the disastrous year that 2022 represented for the cryptocurrency industry can lead to growth and recovery of the ecosystem. An article written by Dante Disparte , published on WEF’s weforum.org, explains that while the recent downfall of FTX and the demise of the Terra blockchain affected millions of consumers in 2022 — with the market losing $2 trillion in that period — this has not changed the core of these technologies, which are currently being tested by financial institutions all over the world. On this subject, Disparte explains: While the

Square Enix, the Japanese gaming giant, is preparing to announce more blockchain-based titles in 2023. As part of a now traditional new year’s letter issued by Yosuke Matsuda, CEO of the company, the executive announced some of the moves Square Enix will make regarding blockchain tech, and also pondered several situations which surrounded blockchain in 2022. Square Enix Reflects on 2022 Blockchain-Related Shortcomings Blockchain tech is becoming an important part of several entertainment-based companies all over the world. Square Enix, the Japanese gaming company responsible for franchises like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, revealed it has some games using this tech prepared to be announced during 2023. The statements come from a new year’s letter published by Square Enix’s CEO Yosuke Matsuda, who considers 2022 a year in which blockchain tech acquired a bigger significance. Matsuda explains that last year might have been the year of consolidation for decentralized tech in gamin