Russian authorities have reportedly arrested the second co-founder of seized cryptocurrency trade Bitzlato. The person, who not too long ago promised to revive the platform’s operations from Russia, was detained on the request of Interpol and should face extradition to France.
Anton Shkurenko, co-founder of the not too long ago busted digital asset trade Bitzlato, has been arrested in Moscow, the Russian Telegram channel Baza reported. In response to a publish revealed on Tuesday, the crypto entrepreneur was needed by French investigators who suspect him of extortion, knowledge theft, and cash laundering.
Higher recognized to the Russian-speaking market, Bitzlato was taken down in a world legislation enforcement operation in January. The coin buying and selling platform is claimed to have processed over $700 million in illicit funds acquired from prison entities, together with the darknet market Hydra and the Russian crypto pyramid Finiko.
The Hong Kong-registered trade was established in 2017 by Shkurenko and his associate Anatoly Legkodymov, after launching the earlier yr as a buying and selling bot known as BTC Banker which facilitated peer-to-peer transactions.
Legkodymov, a Russian nationwide residing in China, was arrested by U.S. authorities in Miami final month. An earlier report by Baza claims that a few yr in the past he transferred his share in Bitzlato to his associate and left the publish of CEO.
The European Union Company for Legislation Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) detained one other three Bitzlato executives — the corporate’s present CEO, monetary director, and advertising and marketing director — and a system administrator, in Spain and Cyprus. French legislation enforcement authorities took management of its servers and its web site.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is alleging that prison proceeds from ransomware assaults, hacks, scams, and extortions handed by means of Bitzlato. In response to knowledge from blockchain analytics agency Chainalysis, the world’s largest crypto trade, Binance, transferred cryptocurrency value almost $346 million for the platform.
Russian authorities are but resolve whether or not to extradite Anton Shkurenko to France, the report famous. The information of his arrest comes after final week he stated in an interview with a crypto Youtube channel that Bitzlato’s remaining crew intends to relocate the enterprise to Russia and relaunch operations, together with withdrawals.
Do you anticipate different arrests within the Bitzlato case and do you assume Russia will hand over its co-founder to France? Share your ideas within the feedback part beneath.
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As President-elect Donald Trump begins a second term on Monday, he plans to issue an executive order making cryptocurrency a national priority, Bloomberg reports.
The order is meant to guide government agencies to work with the industry and possibly pause crypto-related litigation, according to Bloomberg, which cited unnamed people familiar with the matter. Trump also plans to create a crypto advisory council to advocate for the industry’s policies, per Bloomberg, and has suggested creating a national bitcoin stockpile.
This would mark a new era for crypto, an industry that collapsed two years ago after prices crashed. The period was marked by the fall of FTX, a leading exchange that went bankrupt that year. Its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was convicted of defrauding customers and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The industry resurged in 2024, boosted by Trump, a former skeptic who pledged to turn the U.S. into the crypto capital of the world. Eager for a clear governing framework and a friendlier watchdog, donors poured tens of millions of dollars into pro-crypto candidates’ campaigns.
Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency with a dog mascot and billionaire Elon Musk as a fan, surged in value after Trump won and announced a non-governmental cost-cutting group nicknamed DOGE.
Trump then nominated crypto ally Paul Atkins to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, the federal agency that led a crackdown under the Biden administration. Bitcoin surged to $100,000 for the first time following the announcement. “CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! $100,000!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “YOU’RE WELCOME!!!”
Crypto companies and investing platforms like Coinbase, Robinhood, Kraken and Ondo Finance Inc. have made $1 million donations to his inauguration. Ripple plans to donate $5 million in the form of its own digital token, and the industry is holding an “Inaugural Crypto Ball” to support Trump, Bloomberg reports.
Trump’s business interests include World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform he and his sons launched last year with Steve Witkoff, a friend and inaugural committee co-chair who has been named special Middle East envoy. The Trumps are not employees of the business but promote it, and an entity affiliated with Trump, DT Marks DEFI LLC, is entitled to receive 75% of the revenues.
In mid-November, the Financial Times reported that Trump Media — the parent company of Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social — was in talks to buy Bakkt, a crypto trading firm previously led by Kelly Loeffler, another co-chair of his inaugural committee.
Trump’s 2024 financial disclosures show he owned as much as $5 million worth of the crypto token ethereum, a crypto token that has surged in value since the election, according to The New York Times.
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Donald Trump, who is going to take office as the 47th US President on January 20, is planning to issue an executive order that will elevate cryptocurrency to a national priority in the United States, reported Bloomberg.
The move is expected to signal a policy shift and provide the crypto industry with a more prominent role in shaping government decisions.
According to sources mentioned in the report, the order will designate cryptocurrency as a national imperative, encouraging government agencies to collaborate with the industry. Additionally, it is likely to establish a cryptocurrency advisory council to advocate for the sector’s policy needs.
Bitcoin was trading at $101,021.39, with a market cap of $2 trillion at the time the article was being written.
Donald Trump has received considerable support from the cryptocurrency industry, including donations from prominent companies such as Coinbase and Ripple to his inaugural committee. On Friday, just days before the beginning of his second term at the White House, the industry is set to host an “Inaugural Crypto Ball” in Washington, celebrating its ties with the incoming administration.
This initiative would represent a huge shift for the crypto sector, which has faced numerous regulatory challenges under President Joe Biden’s administration. Federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), have launched more than 100 enforcement actions against crypto companies in recent years.
The proposed executive order may include a directive requiring all government agencies to review their policies on digital assets. There is also discussion about pausing ongoing litigation involving cryptocurrency firms, sources told Bloomberg. This could potentially halt legal actions against major players such as Binance Holdings Ltd. and Ripple Labs Inc., a move seen as a top priority by the industry.
Another key aspect under consideration is the creation of a national Bitcoin stockpile, the report mentioned.
The US government currently holds nearly $20 billion worth of Bitcoin, confiscated during various investigations, according to analytics firm Arkham. Bitcoin’s price has surged by nearly 50% since the November election, reaching over $100,000, partly due to speculation about the potential stockpile.
The proposed stockpile would formalise the government’s holdings of Bitcoin and reflect a strategic shift in how the US approaches cryptocurrency. Bitcoin has seen remarkable growth in 2024, with its value more than doubling over the year.
Kara Calvert, Vice President for US Policy at Coinbase Global Inc., commented on the importance of Trump’s potential move.
“What I think Donald Trump is going to do is signal that the United States is back and we are ready to lead in this industry. What it’s signaling to other countries is be careful, or you won’t keep up,” she told Bloomberg.
Trump has also made bold promises during his campaign, vowing to transform the US into the global capital of cryptocurrency. His administration is expected to issue several executive orders covering various industries within his first few days in office.
Despite facing regulatory hurdles during the Biden administration, the cryptocurrency industry in the US has continued to grow. Prominent financial firms, including BlackRock Inc., have launched spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
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Welcome to another edition of Crypto NFT Today! The past two weeks have been full of must-know events that will define the future of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and NFTs.
With cryptocurrencies jumping ahead of Trump’s inauguration, an inflation report for Bitcoin bringing encouragement, and more, there’s lots of essential news you should know about. So, let’s dive in and see what’s happening!
Cryptocurrencies surged on Thursday as investors shifted their focus to smaller, higher-risk coins ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
XRP and litecoin were among the top performers, rising 13% and 22%, respectively, according to Coin Metrics. The CoinDesk 20 index, a broad crypto market indicator, gained nearly 5%. Meanwhile, bitcoin increased by less than 1%, hovering near $100,000 after a two-day rally of around 7% earlier this week. Ether dropped nearly 3% on Thursday.
Bitcoin continued its rebound on Wednesday, hovering around $100,000 after another positive inflation report boosted investor risk appetite. The price of the leading cryptocurrency was up more than 3%, reaching $99,493.26, marking a 7% gain over the past two days, according to Coin Metrics. It peaked at $100,715.13 during late afternoon trading.
The CoinDesk 20 index, which tracks the broader cryptocurrency market, rose by 7%.Shares of Coinbase climbed 7%, while Bitcoin-related stocks MicroStrategy and Mara Holdings saw gains of 5% and 4%, respectively.
With U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration a few days away and new leadership set to take over at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), other cryptocurrencies beyond bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) may soon be approved for their own spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Litecoin (LTC) is expected to be the first to receive approval, according to Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart, ETF analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence. “Canary Funds just filed an amended S-1 for their litecoin ETF application. While there are no guarantees, this could signal SEC engagement on the filing,” Seyffart shared on X.
The crypto market often follows a cyclical pattern, with past price movements helping analysts predict future trends. Analyst Martinez applied this strategy in his commentary on Thursday, suggesting that Dogecoin could see another significant rise starting next week.
Martinez pointed out that Dogecoin experienced a major uptrend in the week of January 25, 2021, following a 56% drop from its December high. To provide context, the meme token fell from $0.0143 in December 2021 to a low of $0.0067, before rebounding sharply and closing January with a 700% increase.
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