US Justice Department Says Will Unleash Full Force On Illicit Actors In The Crypto Ecosystem

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on Wednesday said the United States Justice Department (DOJ) will not only target hackers, fraudsters, and criminals that mask their profits in cryptocurrency but also unleash its full force on illicit actors and entities that support cyber criminals. Monaco was addressing reporters as she announced that the DOJ in partnership with the Treasury Department and French law enforcement authorities disrupted Bitzlato, a China-based cryptocurrency exchange that allegedly laundered criminal proceeds from the darknet. Last night, agents of the FBI arrested Bitzlato’s founder, Anatoly Legkodymov. She further said that Legkodymov, a Russian national and founder and majority owner of Bitzlato, a Hong Kong-registered cryptocurrency exchange was arrested last night in Miami by FBI agents. Read More 

Coinbase Announces Suspension of Services in Japan

Prominent cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase has announced that it will be suspending its services in Japan in the coming weeks. The company cited the current market conditions as the reason for the decision. In a blog post, Coinbase stated that the company has made the difficult decision to halt operations in Japan and conduct a comprehensive review of its business in the country. However, the company is committed to making this transition as smooth as possible for its customers. The company will stop accepting fiat deposits on Friday, January 20, and will allow customers to withdraw their cash and crypto holdings until February 16th. After this date, any remaining funds will be converted into Japanese Yen and sent to a Guaranty Account at the Legal Affairs Bureau, where customers will need to retrieve it themselves. More here.

Crypto Exchange FTX US Suffers $90M In Unauthorized Transfers After Bankruptcy Declaration

Over half of the assets of FTX US amounting to $90 million were subject to unauthorized third-party transfers after the embattled exchange filed for bankruptcy, according to a presentation made to the FTX creditor committee. With respect to the FTX US exchange, the FTX Debtors have identified approximately $181 million of digital assets. "We are making important progress in our efforts to maximize recoveries, and it has taken a Herculean investigative effort from our team to uncover this preliminary information," said John J. Ray III, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Restructuring Officer of the FTX Debtors. More here.

Four individuals were sentenced by the Lancashire county following an investigation into a £20 million Bitcoin fraud

The fraud began in 2017 when James Parker from Blackpool discovered a glitch in an Australian cryptocurrency trading website that allowed him to steal money.He and his accomplices then siphoned off more than £20 million worth of credits over a three-month period. Parker's corrupt financial advisor, Stephen Boys, who earned the nickname ‘Rodney’ from ‘Only Fools and Horses’, helped launder the stolen funds. The scam generated so much money that £5,000 gift cards were handed out to people on the street and cars were bought for people Parker met in the pub. Full story here.

James Gwertzman, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Steps Down to Return to Full-time Building in the Web3 Space

James Gwertzman, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most prominent venture capital firms known for investing in web3 technologies, has announced that he will be stepping down from his role at the end of the month. In a LinkedIn post, he stated that he has made the decision to step back from his role as a general partner at a16z in order to return to being a full-time builder. He said that he is proud of having helped launch Games Fund One and enjoyed learning the venture capital ropes but he misses being an entrepreneur. Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z, has established itself as one of the biggest investors in web3 developers and platforms, including blockchain-powered gaming projects such as Sky Mavis and Mythical Games.  Read here.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Optimistic for Resolution of SEC Dispute in 2023

Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, a cryptocurrency and blockchain company, has expressed hope that the ongoing legal dispute with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will be resolved within the first half of 2023. He stated that, as a defendant in the legal drama, he understands that the process is subject to the discretion of the judges and that he is optimistic that the case will be resolved next year. He also said that he feels confident about Ripple's position in the case based on the legal and factual aspects of the case.  More here 

Genesis Global Capital Preparing for Bankruptcy Filing Following FTX Implosion

Genesis Global Capital, a company that specializes in institutional crypto brokerage, is reportedly preparing to file for bankruptcy. This comes after the failure of another crypto exchange, FTX, which caused Genesis's lending unit to halt customer withdrawals. Genesis is currently in confidential negotiations with various creditor groups and has warned that it may seek bankruptcy protection if it is unable to raise enough capital. Genesis is in talks with creditors about a prepackaged bankruptcy plan, which would mean that the company and its creditors would come to a restructuring agreement before any filing and that the deal would be made final in court. The company has been struggling to secure new capital or reach an agreement with creditors since the collapse of FTX in November Read More

Peter Thiel's Founders Fund Cashes Out $1.8 Billion in Crypto Before Publicly Endorsing Bitcoin

Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel's firm, Founders Fund, had already sold off a significant portion of their cryptocurrency investments before he publicly praised the benefits of Bitcoin during a speech at a Miami conference. According to a source close to the fund, by March 2022, the firm had generated $1.8 billion from selling off the majority of its crypto holdings. The bulk of the investment was in Bitcoin, making up two-thirds of their portfolio. This timely move protected the firm from the significant drop in Bitcoin's value later that year, which saw its price reach its lowest point in two years at $15,599 in November. More here 

Cryptocurrency Market Sees Decline Alongside Traditional Markets Following US Economic Data

The cryptocurrency market saw a decline in value along with traditional markets following the release of economic data in the United States that indicated a slowing economy. Retail sales fell more than predicted, causing a negative impact on the market. Bitcoin was trading at around $20,800, Ether saw a 1.4% decrease, and Binance Coin (BNB) dropped 1.3%. Binance also experienced a decrease in value, due to an incorrect market reaction to an announcement of a pending enforcement action from the U.S. Department of Justice, which was actually directed toward a different company. Coinbase, which is closing its operations in Japan, saw a 7.3% decrease according to Nasdaq data. Silvergate, a crypto-friendly bank, disclosed a $1 billion loss and saw an 8.4% decrease in shares. MicroStrategy's shares also decreased by 6.2% as the company's Brazilian unit is being investigated for anti-competitive conduct dating back to 2018, but the firm has secured a leniency agreement with the country's General Superintendence of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense.