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Weekly Crypto News Wrap-Up: Prices Fall As Regulation Efforts Ramp Up; Warren Buffett’s Indirect Crypto Investments; and more

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Weekly Crypto News Wrap-Up: Prices Fall As Regulation Efforts Ramp Up; Warren Buffett’s Indirect Crypto Investments; and more

Cryptocurrency costs have been down Friday, falling over a really busy week that included an rate of interest hike and regulation efforts. The White Home introduced its regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, the SEC claimed jurisdiction over Ethereum, and the IRS goes after crypto tax evaders. In the meantime, JPMorgan (JPM) says elevated rates of interest ought to profit Coinbase (COIN), which denied experiences of market manipulation on Friday.

From Warren Buffett’s oblique crypto investments to the newest $160 million DeFi hack, listed here are this week’s high cryptocurrency information tales.




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Make sure to additionally examine this week’s protection of cryptocurrency ETFs like BITQ, BLOK and BITS.

Click on right here for the newest Cryptocurrency Costs and Information. And when you’re new to the world of Bitcoin, Ethereum, blockchain and extra, cease by our What Is Cryptocurrency web page.

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Cryptocurrency Value Motion

Bitcoin tumbled to round $18,800 by market shut Friday after recovering above $19,400 Thursday night. And Ethereum fell below $1,300, now down about 12% within the final seven days. Ethereum’s value has slipped after merging to a proof-of-stake community that ought to make the system quicker and vastly extra power environment friendly. Cryptocurrency costs tumbled in the course of the week on the newest inflation information.

Cryptocurrency Costs Warmth Map:

Digital asset investments are extraordinarily risky. Whereas cryptocurrency’s fundamentals and technical indicators could differ, buyers ought to concentrate on the identical key targets. First, keep protected by studying when it is time to promote, reduce losses or seize earnings. Second, put together to revenue if the cryptocurrency begins to rebound.

Regardless of their unique promise, cryptocurrencies have not acted as hedges in opposition to inflation. As an alternative, they’ve trended with the broader indexes. Learn The Huge Image and Market Pulse to trace day by day market traits.

View IBD’s Finest Cryptocurrencies And Crypto Shares To Purchase And Watch web page to assist navigate the world of digital asset investments.

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Desire a deeper dive into crypto? Try the What Is Cryptocurrency? explainer web page.

The IRS Comes After Crypto Tax Evaders

An lawyer for the Southern District of New York has licensed the Inner Income Service to subject a “John Doe Summons” to gather unpaid cryptocurrency taxes. The summons requires M.Y. Safra Financial institution to provide details about U.S. taxpayers that will have didn’t report or pay taxes on crypto transactions. Particularly, the IRS seeks details about customers of crypto dealer SFOX, who utilized providers supplied by M.Y. Safra Financial institution to clients engaged in cryptocurrency transactions. “The federal government is dedicated to utilizing all the instruments at its disposal, together with John Doe summonses, to determine taxpayers who’ve understated their tax liabilities by not reporting cryptocurrency transactions, and to guarantee that everybody pays their fair proportion,” mentioned Damian Williams, lawyer for the Southern District of New York.

Coinbase Denies Proprietary Buying and selling

Coinbase (COIN) denied experiences from the Wall Avenue Journal saying the crypto alternate participates in proprietary buying and selling to behave as a market maker. The WSJ report claimed the crypto alternate employed Wall Avenue veterans to commerce and “stake,” or lock up, cryptocurrencies utilizing the corporate’s money to generate revenue. Earlier this 12 months, the workforce accomplished a $100 million transaction to check the hassle. Coinbase says from time-to-time it purchases cryptocurrency as principal, for treasury and operational functions. However it would not think about these proprietary trades as a result of the aim is not short-term positive aspects.

China’s Blockchain Patent Purposes

China makes up 84% of blockchain purposes worldwide, in keeping with state officers from the Ministry of Business and Info Know-how. Nonetheless, regardless of probably the most patent purposes, solely 19% of these filed are authorized, the South China Morning Put up experiences. Whereas China is desirous about blockchain expertise and NFTs, it banned cryptocurrency mining and buying and selling earlier this 12 months.

Jamie Dimon Calls Cryptocurrencies Ponzi Schemes

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon referred to as crypto tokens “decentralized Ponzi schemes” in testimony to the Home Monetary Providers Committee on Wednesday. Dimon, who has been crucial of Bitcoin prior to now, referred to as cryptocurrencies harmful, pointing to cash laundering points and billions misplaced in hacks and fraud. Nonetheless, “correctly regulated” stablecoins would not be problematic, Dimon mentioned. JPMorgan launched an in-house stablecoin in 2020, in addition to opening a digital lounge in Decentraland earlier this 12 months.

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Home Drafts Crypto Rules

The U.S. Home of Representatives has drafted a invoice to control stablecoins, in keeping with Bloomberg. The laws would place a two-year ban on algorithmic stablecoins which are backed by one other digital asset from the identical creator, which is how TerraUSD collapsed earlier this 12 months. The invoice states it could be unlawful to subject or create new “endogenously collateralized stablecoins,” and mandates a number of companies collaborate on a research of Terra-esque tokens.

CEO Of Kraken Change Steps Down

Jesse Powell, CEO of the crypto alternate Kraken, is stepping down from his place. Chief Working Officer Dave Ripley will take the reins of the fourth-largest cryptocurrency alternate, primarily based on spot-trading quantity, in keeping with CoinMarketCap information. Powell, the corporate’s largest shareholder, will keep on as board chairman.

The SEC Claims Jurisdiction Over Ethereum

The Securities and Change Fee claimed jurisdiction over Ethereum transactions, arguing they happen in America as a result of Ethereum nodes are “clustered extra densely in the USA than another nation.” The declare was made in a lawsuit in opposition to Ian Balina, cryptocurrency promoter and CEO of crypto funding analysis platform Token Metrics. Balina is accused of conducting an unlawful sale of Sparkster tokens for its unregistered Preliminary Coin Providing in 2018, elevating $30 million from 4,000 buyers. As a result of the sale occurred utilizing the Ethereum blockchain and transactions have been validated by Ethereum nodes, it occurred within the U.S., the SEC says.

Bitcoin’s Electrical energy Consumption

Bitcoin accounts for as much as 77% of electrical energy consumed on cryptocurrencies, latest information from BanklessTimes exhibits. As of mid-August 2022, the U.S. share of world Bitcoin electrical energy utilization is estimated between 33 billion and 55 billion kWH per 12 months, which is similar to the complete annual consumption of nations equivalent to Portugal, Switzerland, Algeria and Peru. Estimates say the American crypto business presently emits between 25 and 50 million metric tons of CO2 yearly.

Warren Buffett Not directly Invests In Crypto

Warren Buffett has been crucial of cryptocurrencies, contending that they don’t have any intrinsic worth. That criticism has stored Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) away from digital banking, crypto corporations and NFTs. However Buffett’s latest SEC filings present he could also be opening as much as a few of these extra speculative belongings – at the least not directly.

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Nasdaq Launches Digital Asset Enterprise

Nasdaq (NDAQ) is establishing a brand new enterprise to drive institutional adoption of digital belongings. The brand new Nasdaq Digital Property agency will present custody options, liquidity and execution providers for monetary establishments. Nasdaq additionally plans to increase its anti-financial crime expertise capabilities to cowl the house. “The expertise that underpins the digital asset ecosystem has the potential to remodel markets over the long-term,” Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman mentioned. “To ship on that chance, our focus will likely be to supply institutional-grade options that deliver larger liquidity, integrity and transparency to assist the evolution.”

Newest $160 Million DeFi Hack

United Kingdom-based crypto market maker Wintermute had $160 million stolen from its decentralized finance operations on Tuesday. CEO Evgeny Gaevoy says issues will get again to regular after providers disruptions at present and over the subsequent few days. Wintermute gives liquidity to greater than 50 exchanges and buying and selling platforms together with FTX, CoinbaseCOIN, Binance, Kraken and Uniswap.

The place Does Bitcoin Stand After Ethereum’s Merge?

Greater than $20 billion of ETH is successfully collateralized to run the Ethereum community following its merge to proof-of-stake. The place does that go away proof-of-work Bitcoin because the crypto winter drags on?

Coinbase Might Profit From Increased Charges, JPMorgan says

Coinbase may see $1.2 billion in curiosity revenue income in 2023, JP MorganJPM estimates. JP Morgan analyst Kenneth Worthington mentioned Coinbase may have a “substantial income alternative” from increased rates of interest and the one-month Treasury yield hitting 3.75% by the top of the 12 months. He expects $700 million of that income to return from the Centre Consortium, Coinbase’s 50/50 three way partnership with Circle, which oversees the USDC stablecoin. Worthington raised his value goal for COIN inventory to $78 from $64 however retains a Impartial score.

FTX Has $1 Billion To Spend On Acquisitions

Crypto alternate FTX has greater than $1 billion to spend on acquisitions and bailouts, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried instructed CNBC’s Squawk Field. Bankman-Fried mentioned it relies upon how a lot they’re snug deploying, however there’s one other “ballpark billion that’s fully unencumbered.” FTX has stepped up as a last-resort lender and bailed out a number of crypto corporations over the previous 12 months — or at the least publicly supplied to — as cryptocurrency costs nosedived.

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Binance Launches NFT Reward Playing cards

Binance is launching the primary NFT present playing cards. The crypto alternate is releasing present playing cards and digital present playing cards that alternate non-fungible tokens as an alternative of fiat cash. Binance intends for numerous crypto tasks to make use of them as a approach to unfold model consciousness, interact with their communities and supply a user-friendly level of entry to the NFT house.

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Scammers steal $2 million in cryptocurrency from remote work seekers in New York, Florida 

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Scammers steal  million in cryptocurrency from remote work seekers in New York, Florida 

Scammers stole millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from remote job seekers in an elaborate scheme. New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit to recover over $2 million that she said was stolen from New Yorkers and others nationwide.

Scammers used unsolicited text messages to lure victims with promises of flexible, well-paying remote work opportunities. They claimed the job involved reviewing products online to generate market data. However, victims were told to open cryptocurrency accounts and maintain balances matching the price of products they were reviewing.

While victims believed they would receive their investments plus commissions, the funds were instead transferred into the scammers’ crypto wallets. The fake product reviews took place on a fraudulent website created as part of the scheme.

The lawsuit details seven people who were scammed. One victim, a New Yorker, lost over $100,000 while another victim from Florida lost over $300,000. These cases show the significant financial and emotional impact on the victims.

James’ office, working with Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and her cryptocurrency unit, traced the stolen funds to specific digital wallets. Over $2 million in cryptocurrency has been frozen, ensuring it can be returned to victims.

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“Deceiving individuals seeking remote work is cruel and unacceptable,” said James. “We’re committed to holding scammers accountable and recovering stolen funds.”

Published By:

indiatodayglobal

Published On:

Jan 12, 2025

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Illegal Cryptocurrency Mixers Targeted: Operators Charged with Money Laundering – Regtechtimes

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Illegal Cryptocurrency Mixers Targeted: Operators Charged with Money Laundering – Regtechtimes

A federal grand jury in Georgia recently indicted three Russian nationals for their involvement in running illegal cryptocurrency mixer services that helped criminals launder money. The indictment, announced on January 7, 2025, involves Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, and Anton Vyachslavovich Tarasov. These individuals are accused of operating two online services called Blender.io and Sinbad.io, which helped criminals hide the source of their illegal funds.

A cryptocurrency mixer is a tool used to mix cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, making it harder for authorities to trace the origin of digital money. These services are attractive to criminals involved in activities such as ransomware attacks and fraud, as they allow them to send funds anonymously.

Ostapenko and Oleynik were arrested in December 2024, while Tarasov is still on the run. The three men face serious charges related to money laundering and operating unlicensed financial businesses. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in prison for laundering money and up to five years for running an unlicensed business. The indictment follows the earlier shutdown of the Sinbad.io service after it was seized by law enforcement in 2023.

The Role of Blender.io and Sinbad.io

Blender.io and Sinbad.io were both cryptocurrency mixers, meaning they offered a way to send digital money anonymously. For a fee, these services allowed criminals to send their funds without revealing where the money came from. This feature made these mixers attractive to those who wanted to hide stolen funds or profits from illegal activities, such as ransomware attacks, fraud, and even theft of virtual currencies.

Extradited for Fraud: Do Kwon Faces Justice After $40B Crypto Crash

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Blender.io operated from 2018 to 2022 and was known for its promise of anonymity. It advertised a “No Logs Policy,” meaning it claimed to have no records of transactions. The site also reassured users that no personal details were needed to use the service. This allowed criminals to send and receive Bitcoin without leaving a trace of their identity.

After Blender.io was shut down in 2022, the defendants launched Sinbad.io, which offered similar services. This service continued until law enforcement authorities took it down in November 2023, marking a significant victory in the fight against cybercrime. The shutdowns of both services were the result of coordinated efforts by authorities from several countries, including the U.S., the Netherlands, Finland, and Australia.

Both Blender.io and Sinbad.io were not only used by ordinary criminals but were also linked to state-sponsored hacking groups. For instance, Blender.io was used by North Korean hackers to launder funds stolen through cyberattacks. Similarly, Sinbad.io had connections to cybercriminals who targeted businesses and individuals. These cryptocurrency mixers served as a vital tool in helping these criminals profit from their illegal activities, making it harder for authorities to trace the stolen money back to its original source.

Crypto-currency Scam Wipes Out $425,000 from Ohio Man’s Retirement Fund

International Cooperation in Combating Cybercrime

The investigation into Blender.io and Sinbad.io showcases the power of international cooperation in tackling cybercrime. The indictment was made possible by the joint efforts of law enforcement agencies from different countries, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, the Netherlands’ Financial Intelligence Service, and Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation. Their collaboration helped track down the operators of these illegal services and ultimately led to their takedown.

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In addition to the U.S. authorities, international agencies like the Australian Federal Police and Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation played key roles in the investigation. Their contributions were essential in identifying the people responsible for running these cryptocurrency mixers and disrupting their illegal activities.

The importance of international cooperation cannot be overstated. Cybercrime often crosses national borders, and without the efforts of multiple countries working together, it would be much harder to stop these crimes. The arrests of Ostapenko and Oleynik, along with the ongoing search for Tarasov, send a strong message to cybercriminals around the world: law enforcement agencies are committed to identifying and holding accountable those who operate illicit financial networks.

This case highlights how dangerous these cryptocurrency mixers can be in enabling serious criminal activities. By breaking down these networks, authorities are making it harder for criminals to profit from their wrongdoing, while also protecting public safety and national security.

To read the original order please visit DOJ website

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US Rep. Bryan Steil to chair House cryptocurrency subcommittee

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US Rep. Bryan Steil to chair House cryptocurrency subcommittee

A Wisconsin congressman will head the House Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence.

Bryan Steil, a Republican representing the 1st Congressional District in southeast Wisconsin, was appointed to the role Thursday.

His subcommittee’s jurisdiction includes things like mobile banking and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. It’ll also be the first stop for legislation on cryptocurrency.

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Digital currencies have a murky federal regulatory status. That allowed President Joe Biden’s Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler to go after the crypto industry.

The industry responded by spending over $130 million in 2024’s election cycle through its PAC, Fairshake.

It spent $764,206 to independently help re-elect Steil, according to campaign finance database OpenSecrets.

In a statement, Steil said “technologies like financial apps, digital assets, and machine learning revolutionize our economy,” adding that he looks forward to continuing “to provide the rules of the road to move our economy into the future.”

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Steil was appointed to his new role by House Financial Services Chair French Hill, R-Arkansas. Hill’s top campaign contributors include the CEOs of the crypto exchange platform Coinbase and the Charles Schwab Corporation.

One of his legislative priorities has been a bill that would set up clearer, crypto-friendly federal financial regulations, which passed the House with bipartisan support in May. He called Steil “instrumental” in passing that bill, and in overturning an SEC rule requiring crypto exchanges to list their digital assets as liabilities on their balance sheets.

Now, the Janesville native will oversee hearings and votes on new crypto-related legislation.

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