Crypto

Bitcoin Jumps on Calls to Integrate Crypto Into US Asset Arsenal

Published

1 year ago

July 29, 2024

Bitcoin Jumps on Calls to Integrate Crypto Into US Asset Arsenal

The price of bitcoin hit a six-week high Monday (July 29). The alleged reason? Separate comments made over the weekend by presidential candidates Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at Nashville’s Bitcoin Conference that observers believe could signal, if not herald, greater legitimization of the cryptocurrency sector.

Kennedy, an independent candidate, called for launching a multi-million-dollar U.S. strategic reserve of bitcoin that matched the government’s current stake in gold.

Republican candidate Trump refrained from calling for a full-on strategic reserve, pledging instead to maintain the U.S. government’s current stash of bitcoin rather than selling it off, calling it a national “stockpile” of cryptocurrency.

The U.S. government, through various agencies, has increasingly seized significant amounts of cryptocurrencies in the course of financial crime enforcement. These assets are typically auctioned off, with proceeds going to the Treasury Forfeiture Fund or other government accounts. The current approach treats these digital assets as financial gains rather than strategic reserves.

The notion of potentially integrating digital assets into the U.S. government’s strategic reserves presents a disruptive approach that recognizes the evolving financial landscape and sees a role in it for cryptocurrencies. That’s something that proponents of the sector have been working toward, but skeptics remain wary in the face of crypto scams and other illicit activity in the sector.

Read more: Crypto’s Three Priorities for 2024: Interoperability, Acceptance, Regulation

Crypto and Global Financial Crime

According to a report by Chainalysis, $24.2 billion of illicit cryptocurrency was transferred in 2023, with over 60% of illegal crypto activity being tied to sanctioned groups or terrorist organizations.

Financial crime remains a challenge for financial institutions (FIs) worldwide, evolving in complexity and scale with each passing day. The U.S. government, through agencies such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Treasury Department, has increasingly encountered cryptocurrencies in its enforcement actions against financial crimes. These assets are often seized during investigations related to money laundering, drug trafficking, and other illegal activities. Traditionally, seized cryptocurrencies are auctioned off, with proceeds directed to government funds.

But as digital assets become more integral to the global financial system, the question arises: Should the U.S. government consider stockpiling cryptocurrencies as part of its strategic reserves?

Holding cryptocurrencies could provide the U.S. government with a flexible financial tool. Unlike traditional reserves, which are often physical commodities, cryptocurrencies are highly liquid digital assets. They can be quickly converted into fiat currencies or used directly in transactions that accept digital payments. This flexibility could be invaluable during financial crises or emergencies, providing the government with a readily accessible source of funds.

Establishing a cryptocurrency reserve would signal the U.S. government’s recognition of the growing importance of digital assets. This could encourage further development of blockchain technology and related innovations within the U.S.

But there is considerable public skepticism about the government’s involvement in holding digital currencies, given their association with illicit activities — and the ongoing rise in frequency of those illicit activities, particularly in the financial sector.

Read more: Blockchain’s Benefits for Regulated Industries

Countries around the world, including the U.S., have expressed concern that privately operated, highly volatile digital currencies could undermine government control of the financial and monetary systems, increase systemic risk, promote financial crime and hurt investors.

After all, on Thursday (July 25) cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase was fined $4.5 million by a U.K. regulator for serving “high-risk” customers. And this past April, U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo testified that cryptocurrency is increasingly becoming a safe haven for “malign actors” such as terror groups.

As a result, FIs have needed to step up their financial crime defenses. Seven in 10 FIs are now using AI and machine learning (ML) to fend off fraudsters, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence and Hawk collaboration, “Financial Institutions Revamping Technologies to Fight Financial Crimes.”

In an interview with PYMNTS, Wolfgang Berner, co-founder and CPO of Hawk, discussed the opportunities that large transaction models (LTMs) — generative artificial intelligence (AI) models adapted to financial crime — represent in establishing more robust, accurate and comprehensive detection and prevention mechanisms.

“The core idea is we treat transactions as sentences, teaching the transformer model the language and grammar of transactions, similar to how large language models like GPT-4 are trained on the text of the web,” Berner said. “And by doing that, it develops a very good understanding of the transactions, how transactions relate to each other, and what is genuine or possibly suspicious with them.”

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Crypto

Peter Schiff: Silver Is Running Out — Buy Now Before There’s Nothing Left

Published

14 minutes ago

January 15, 2026

Press Room

Peter Schiff: Silver Is Running Out — Buy Now Before There’s Nothing Left

Silver’s surge to record highs is flashing urgent warnings about collapsing supply, mispriced mining stocks, and eroding currency confidence, with mounting volatility risks as prices race toward triple digits, economist Peter Schiff says.

Crypto

Judge Issues Arrest Warrant for Quebec Cryptocurrency Business Owner in FACTOR Canada Cybertheft Case

Published

12 hours ago

January 14, 2026

Press Room

Judge Issues Arrest Warrant for Quebec Cryptocurrency Business Owner in FACTOR Canada Cybertheft Case

There has been a major development in the FACTOR Canada cybertheft case.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has issued an arrest warrant for Quebec man James Campagna, found in contempt of court after nearly $10 million in music grant funds went missing.

In July 2024, it was reported that $9.8 million was allegedly stolen from the Canadian music non-profit and granting body’s Scotiabank account. In court last Friday (Jan. 9), where Billboard Canada was present, Justice W.D. Black of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that he will endorse a warrant for business owner James Campagna, sentencing him to 30 days in jail.

“I find that Mr. Campagna is a liar, a fraud, and a scofflaw, deliberately and knowingly breaching this court’s orders,” wrote Justice Black in a bombshell Commercial List endorsement dated Jan. 9.

According to court documents, Campagna is the sole shareholder of Vipera, a Quebec-based tech company. The document claims that money was transferred in the form of a counterfeit invoice from FACTOR to Vipera’s Scotiabank account by Campagna, who moved the money into an account owned by cryptocurrency platform VirgoCX Direct.

The funds were transferred out mere days after the Department of Canadian Heritage deposited $14.3-million to distribute to the music industry.

After the case became public, FACTOR released a public statement, claiming that Campagna gained access to the bank account from an IP address that had never previously accessed their banking info. Additionally, the organization noted that it was never flagged about the “highly unusual, suspicious, and illegal activity” by Scotiabank.

The case is one of — if not the biggest — theft cases in the history of the Canadian music industry. Nearly two years into the legal battle, FACTOR’s lawyers have consistently requested that Campagna be held in contempt of court — now it’s finally happening, a rarity in the Commercial List court.

In Friday’s filing, Justice Black writes that “Mr. Campagna has knowingly and intentionally disregarded and/or failed to comply with various orders of this court” including producing documents, correspondence, corporate financial statements and banking information.” Justice Black writes that Campagna has made various excuses to avoid participating, in what he calls “a frustrating ‘the dog ate my homework’ approach to his obligations.”

“Mr. Campagna has lied about various aspects of his conduct and activities in relation to the fraudulent transfer,” he writes. “It is highly likely that he was a knowing and active participant in the fraud, and that he has benefitted and continues to benefit from the proceeds of that fraud.”

According to “FACTOR’s investigations and surveillance,” Campagna has now “fled jurisdiction,” Justice Black reports, and moved to Qatar. That’s according to evidence including social media posts indicating he plans to “stay and work in Qatar for a year” and documents that show his four children have been enrolled in school in the country.

In his endorsement, Justice Black recognizes that Campagna “has taken active steps with a view to putting himself beyond the reach of the court.” Still, “there should therefore be plenty of time, once my order comes to his attention, within which Mr. Campagna can take steps to purge his contempt.”

In a statement to Billboard Canada, FACTOR Canada CEO Meg Symsyk says the ruling is an important development as the organization pursues the repayment of the missing money.

“FACTOR welcomed Justice Black’s ruling this past Friday, which reaffirms what we maintained since the outset: the perpetrators of this theft have not been held to account,’ she says. “The finding of contempt against Mr. James Campagna clearly illustrates the challenges that FACTOR has encountered in working to recover the stolen funds. FACTOR will continue to pursue all available legal avenues to recover these public monies and clear the organization and its staff.”

Scotiabank tells Billboard Canada that they cannot comment, given that the matter is before the courts.

As the legal proceedings continue, the question of penalty and remedy remains open-ended. FACTOR has made its stance clear, as they hope to recoup the almost $10 million in lost funds. In addition to seeking contempt from Campagna, the non-profit is putting legal pressure on Scotiabank, which they said in 2024 has “participated reluctantly, and in the most limited fashion” during the initial investigations.

FACTOR has said that Scotiabank “has acknowledged it has never reported this financial crime to law enforcement” and that despite an issued money transfer of $9,772,875.33, over 300 times larger than any previously made from the account, there were “no alerts to FACTOR of this highly unusual, suspicious, and illegal activity.”

FACTOR is one of the country’s most significant investors in the development, financing and support of Canadian music. Many in the music industry have been watching this case carefully.

Crypto

Strategist Warns Crypto Oversupply Could Force $10K Bitcoin Reset

Published

1 day ago

January 14, 2026

Press Room

Strategist Warns Crypto Oversupply Could Force K Bitcoin Reset

Bitcoin’s explosive rally may have gone too far, with oversupply, rising volatility risk, and shifting macro forces setting the stage for a major reset that could redefine crypto’s next cycle, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence outlook.