Tag Archives: cryptocurrency

The New York Times reports: President-elect Donald J. Trump picked Paul Atkins to serve as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, turning to a pro-business conservative and former regulator to run the agency that is in charge of protecting investors from fraud and malfeasance on Wall Street. Mr. Atkins, a lawyer, has been playing an active role in helping …

The Washington Post reports: Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun invested $30 million in President-elect Donald Trump’s crypto project three weeks after the election, helping Trump make a potentially hefty profit. Sun, who recently made headlines for buying, then eating, a $6 million banana art piece, is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission on charges of fraud, market manipulation …

The Washington Post reports: President-elect Donald Trump is preparing the U.S. government to adopt a more permissive stance toward cryptocurrency, eyeing a roster of industry-friendly candidates for key posts while his top advisers consult crypto executives on potential changes to federal policy. By pursuing a more lenient regulatory environment, Trump aims to fulfill his campaign promise to transform the United …

Axios reports: The Trumps are putting their names behind a new crypto project, one promoted Monday night in a meandering two-hour livestream on the social media site X that was remarkably light on detail. Trump seems to be leveraging attention from his White House run to promote a new business venture — one that by its nature could spark calls …

The Associated Press reports: Americans were duped out of more than $5.6 billion last year through fraud schemes involving cryptocurrency, the FBI said in a report released Monday that shows a 45% jump in losses from 2022. The FBI received nearly 70,000 complaints in 2023 by victims of financial fraud involving bitcoin, ether and other cryptocurrencies, according to the FBI. …

The Hill reports: Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the billionaire twin brothers who co-founded the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, said they each donated $1 million in bitcoin to former President Trump. “Over the past few years, the Biden Administration has openly declared war against crypto,” Tyler Winklevoss posted on the social platform X. “It has weaponized multiple government agencies to bully, harass, …

From the Justice Department: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that RYAN SALAME was sentenced today to 90 months in prison. SALAME previously pled guilty to conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and defraud the Federal Election Commission and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business before U.S. District Judge Lewis …

The New York Times reports: Sam Bankman-Fried, the former cryptocurrency mogul who was convicted of fraud, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday, capping an extraordinary saga that upended the multi-trillion-dollar crypto industry and became a cautionary tale of greed and hubris. Mr. Bankman-Fried’s sentence was shorter than the 40 to 50 years that federal prosecutors had recommended, …

Law & Crime reports: Prosecutors said they want fallen ‘crypto king’ Sam Bankman-Fried sent to prison for up to half a century, less than the probation department’s recommended 110 years and a lot more than what his defense attorney wants — 6 1/2 years max. In the government’s 116-page sentencing memo, prosecutors said a sentence of between 40 and 50 …

The Washington Post reports: Vast swaths of the United States are at risk of running short of power as electricity-hungry data centers and clean-technology factories proliferate around the country, leaving utilities and regulators grasping for credible plans to expand the nation’s creaking power grid. A major factor behind the skyrocketing demand is the rapid innovation in artificial intelligence, which is …

Florida Politics reports: A plan to grant a two-month sales tax holiday on select items purchased with “virtual currency” would save consumers boatloads of cash, but it’s not because Floridians would flock to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. State economists analyzing SB 352, sponsored by Sen. Jason Brodeur, a Sanford Republican, determined the measure would cost state coffers nearly $1.4 billion. …

From the Energy Department: Electricity demand associated with U.S. cryptocurrency mining operations in the United States has grown very rapidly over the last several years. Our preliminary estimates suggest that annual electricity use from cryptocurrency mining probably represents from 0.6% to 2.3% of U.S. electricity consumption. This additional electricity use has drawn the attention of policymakers and grid planners concerned …

The Denver Post reports: Speaking to online followers Aug. 22, 2022, Rev. Eli Regalado had a divine message. “It was last October that the Lord brought this cryptocurrency to me. He said, ‘Take this to my people for a wealth transfer.’ It has been confirmed a hundred times since,” the pastor said, according to a lawsuit filed in Denver this …

Ars Technica reports: An actor who was hired to pretend to be the highly qualified CEO of a shady, collapsed cryptocurrency hedge fund called HyperVerse has apologized after a YouTuber unmasked his real identity last week. An Englishman currently living in Thailand, Stephen Harrison confirmed that HyperVerse hired him to pose as CEO Steven Reece Lewis. Harrison told The Guardian …

Politico reports: A trio of super PACs backed by cryptocurrency executives and investors said Monday that they’ve raised $78 million as part of a major new push to influence the 2024 elections. The campaign, which has support from venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, marks of a revival of the digital asset …

Bloomberg News reports: In February 2019, Binance Holdings Ltd.’s then-Chief Compliance Officer Samuel Lim acknowledged that the cryptocurrency exchange was being used to funnel money to Hamas, explaining to a colleague that terrorists normally sent “small sums.” That apparently nonchalant attitude caught up with Binance and its chief executive officer, Changpeng Zhao [photo], on Tuesday. In announcing $4.3 billion in …

Bloomberg News reports: Binance Holdings Ltd.’s Chief Executive Officer Changpeng Zhao arrived in Seattle federal court Tuesday to plead guilty to anti-money laundering charges under a sweeping deal worked out with the Justice Department designed to keep the company operating. Zhao agreed to step down as part of the settlement, which included the Treasury Department and the Commodity Futures Trading …

The Hill reports: Tech scholars and scam victims told lawmakers artificial intelligence (AI) is driving more sophisticated scams during a Senate hearing Thursday morning. Witness Gary Schildhorn testified about his experience being scammed. The scammer used AI to mimic his son’s voice. The scammer, posing as an attorney, told Schildhorn his son had been driving while drunk, caused a car …

Reuters reports: FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty on Thursday of stealing from customers of his now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange in one of the biggest financial frauds on record, a verdict that cemented the 31-year-old former billionaire’s fall from grace. A 12-member jury in Manhattan federal court convicted Bankman-Fried on all seven counts he faced after a monthlong trial in …

Via press release from New York AG Letitia James: New York Attorney General Letitia James today filed a sweeping lawsuit against cryptocurrency companies Gemini Trust Company (Gemini), Genesis Global Capital, LLC and its affiliates (Genesis), and Digital Currency Group, Inc. (DCG) for defrauding more than 230,000 investors, including at least 29,000 New Yorkers, of more than $1 billion. An investigation …