Bithumb Shareholder Arrested on Fraud, Embezzlement, and Breach of Trust Charges

RA South Korean businessman named Kang Jong-Hyun, who is reported to have control over the Bithumb cryptocurrency exchange, has been arrested on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and breach of trust, according to CoinDesk Korea. The arrest comes as part of an ongoing investigation into the actions of several Bithumb executives, including Kang's sister, Kang Ji-Yeon, who serves as CEO of two publicly traded Bithumb affiliates, Inbiogen and Bucket Studio. Despite reports linking Kang to Bithumb, the company issued a statement denying any connection to him. "Kang Jong-Hyun is not related to Bithumb Korea. Definitely, he was NOT the former chairman of Bithumb Korea. NEVER," the company's PR team stated in an email. "We deny allegations and suspicions that he is our owner." More here.

University-Educated Filipinos Trapped in Asia's Online Scam Rooms: Whistleblowers Speak Out

The Philippines is witnessing a surge in the number of university-educated young individuals who have fallen prey to Asia's online scam rooms, according to whistleblowers. These individuals, who are fluent in English, are reportedly being waved through Philippine airports by corrupt officials and sent overseas to participate in scams that use their language skills to target victims across the world. Some individuals who were rescued from the scam centers in the Mekong region have shared their stories, revealing that they thought they were going overseas for legitimate call center jobs, but instead, they were forced into fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. Details here.

Charlie Munger Urges US to Follow China in Banning Cryptocurrencies

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) vice chairman and staunch bitcoin skeptic Charlie Munger has called for the United States to follow in the footsteps of China and ban cryptocurrencies. In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Munger attributed the rise of cryptocurrencies to a gap in regulation as crypto assets aren't currencies, commodities, or securities. "Instead, it’s a gambling contract with a nearly 100% edge for the house, entered into in a country where gambling contracts are traditionally regulated only by states that compete in laxity," Munger wrote. "The U.S. should now enact a new federal law that prevents this from happening." More here.

Sen. Tim Scott to Unveil Cryptocurrency Regulation Priorities

Senator Tim Scott, the leading Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, is set to announce his proposals for a comprehensive, bipartisan regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. According to a report by Politico, Scott has become wary of digital currencies following numerous high-profile failures and worries about illicit finance. On the other hand, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Senator Sherrod Brown has expressed his willingness to work towards a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in a letter to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Senator Scott has been relatively quiet on the topic of cryptocurrency regulation until now, but his forthcoming announcement could provide a much-needed push for legislative action in Congress. Full report here.

Reliance Retail Embraces India's Digital Rupee with Nationwide Rollout

Reliance Retail, one of India's largest retail chains, has announced its plans to accept the central bank digital currency (CBDC) at all of its businesses. The rollout has already begun at Freshpik, its gourmet store line, with support from ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and fintech firm Innoviti Technologies. Consumers who choose to pay with the digital rupee will receive a QR code at the store for easy payment. V Subramaniam, an executive at Reliance Retail, stated that accepting the CBDC aligns with the company's mission to provide consumers with the "power of choice." The nationwide rollout of digital rupee support could significantly drive its adoption in India. More here.

Amazon Web Services Gears Up for Web3 Adoption with Hiring Push for GTM Specialist

Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud service unit of Amazon (AMZN), is looking to ramp up its presence in the Web3 space by hiring a Senior GTM Specialist for its Web3 Go-To-Market (GTM) team. The position is aimed at growing the adoption of Web3 workloads on AWS. AWS has already developed purpose-built tools for blockchain companies, offering both centralized ledger databases and fully managed blockchain networks, according to the company's website. Currently, a quarter of all Ethereum nodes run on AWS servers. Rumors are also circulating that Amazon is preparing to launch its own non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, following in the footsteps of tech giants in China like Ant Group and Tencent.  More here.

Kraken Shuts Abu Dhabi Office, Cuts Nearly a Third of Global Workforce

Kraken, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, has closed its Abu Dhabi office just under a year after acquiring a local license. The company has also laid off a significant portion of its workforce, with a majority of the team focused on the Middle East and North Africa region affected. The shutdown has resulted in approximately eight job losses, according to a company spokesperson. Furthermore, the exchange has temporarily suspended support for transactions in the United Arab Emirates currency, but clients in the region can still use the platform and access other fiat currencies that Kraken supports. Customer deposits denominated in dirhams will be automatically converted into dollars and can then be withdrawn. Read More

Bitzlato CEO, Sales Exec, and Marketing Director Arrested for Alleged Money Laundering

Spanish authorities, in collaboration with several other countries, arrested the CEO, sales executive, and marketing director of Bitzlato, a cryptocurrency platform, for their alleged involvement in money laundering. A total of six people were apprehended, all of whom were Russian and Ukrainian nationals, and the technology used for the platform was also deactivated and seized by French police. Bitzlato was known for its anonymous transactions and was reportedly one of the major channels for global money laundering through cryptocurrency. The platform initially started as a Telegram bot for buying and selling cryptocurrencies and eventually expanded and rebranded as Bitzlato, launching a peer-to-peer crypto exchange app in 2020. Full report here.

MicroStrategy Reports Q4 2022 Net Loss Due to Bitcoin Impairment Charges

MicroStrategy, the software company that has recently garnered attention for its investment in bitcoin, has reported a net loss of $249.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. This is a significant increase from its loss of $90 million during the same period the previous year. The company's shares took a 2.9% dip in post-market trading as a result. Despite the loss, the company's revenue came in higher than expected at $132.6 million, compared to the previous year's fourth-quarter revenue of $134.5 million. This exceeded the expectations of analysts, who had forecast a net income of $10.7 million. Read More

Mastercard NFT Product Lead Resigns, Mints Resignation as NFT

Satvik Sethi, a former NFT product lead at Mastercard, stepped down from his role in a unique way by using NFT technology to announce his departure. He shared in a series of tweets that the decision to leave was not easy, but he had been feeling overlooked at the company for some time and wanted to focus on Web3 and pursue a career in art. Sethi mentioned experiencing harassment and emotional distress while working at Mastercard due to poor management, communication breakdowns, and salary issues. He said his exit from the company was a long and challenging process.  More here.

Federal Reserve Announcement Boosts Cryptocurrency Market with Major Tokens, Stocks Up

Following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's unexpected dovish comments in conjunction with the U.S. central bank's modest interest rate hike, the majority of major cryptocurrencies saw a rise, with several tokens from the decentralized finance (DeFi) and smart contract platform sectors showing the most significant gains. On Thursday, the native governance token of decentralized exchange Uniswap, UNI, jumped 4.5% over the past 24 hours to trade above $7.20. The AVAX token of layer 1 blockchain Avalanche saw a 3.4% increase and was recently trading over $22. The overall market rise was a result of the Fed's commitment to a less aggressive monetary tightening, as reflected in its announcement. Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency by market value, was recently trading at over $1,650, with a slight increase from Wednesday. Meanwhile, Bitcoin was hovering around $23,560 and was slightly in the red. The crypto-linked stocks also saw an upward trend with Coinbase surging 24%, MicroStrategy, a software company with large bitcoin holdings, rising 9%, and bitcoin miner Marathon Digital Holdings growing by 6.3%.