As investors eye the Fed rate meeting, Bitcoin drops below $17,000

On Monday, Bitcoin fell back under the $17,000 level as traders anticipated this week's conclusion of the US Federal Reserve's 2022 policy-making cycle. As traders exercised prudence ahead of the release of the most recent US consumer price index (CPI) report on Tuesday and the end of the Federal Reserve's rate meeting on Wednesday, the cryptocurrency ecosystem turned a sea of red on Monday, moving in lockstep with declining equity markets On Monday, Bitcoin dropped to $16,933, a 1.4% loss in a day. To reach $1,246 over the past week, Ethereum fell 2.8%. Cardano dropped 6% to $0.30 over the previous week, while Dogecoin fell 16% to $0.087. Other cryptocurrencies fared even worse. The CoinDesk Market Index (CDI), which gauges the performance of cryptocurrencies, fell 850.92 points, or 1.89%, over the previous day. Read more here.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in Bahamas, US to unveil charges

Sam Bankman-Fried, who founded and led FTX until a liquidity crunch forced the Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange to declare bankruptcy, was arrested on Monday in The Bahamas after being criminally charged by U.S. prosecutors. The attorney general's office for The Bahamas said it proceeded with the arrest after receiving formal confirmation of charges against Bankman-Fried, adding that it expects he will be extradited to the United States. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan confirmed Bankman-Fried had been arrested in The Bahamas but declined to comment on what the charges were. Read details here.

Terraform Labs’ Do Kwon is hiding in Siberia: Report

Terraform Labs co-founder and CEO Do Kwon, wanted internationally in relation to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, has travelled from Dubai to Serbia, where he is currently hiding, according to a report. Terraform Labs was the company behind the creation of the stablecoin TerraUSD, which was de-pegged from the dollar in May. The de-pegging led to a collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin LUNA, the first major collapse which accelerated the crypto winter earlier this year. South Korea has already issued an arrest warrant for Kwon. More here.

US Justice Department considering filing criminal charges against Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao

Prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice are considering slapping criminal charges against cryptocurrency exchange Binance and specific individuals related to the firm, including its CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao. Prosecutors are split on whether to pursue the trade vigorously or wait to review further evidence, according to a Reuters story citing four persons familiar with the situation. The alleged offences stem from a 2018 inquiry into Binance's compliance with AML regulations and fines. According to reports, prosecutors from the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, the Western District of Washington U.S. Attorney's Office, and the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) of the Justice Department are all participating in the probe. Full story here.

Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest adds Coinbase stock as Crypto Exchange’s price plummets

Cathie Wood's Ark Investment Management on Monday announced that it had purchased 78,982 shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), marking its first purchase on the platform in a month. The transaction would have cost nearly $3 million at Friday's closing price of $40.24. The stock has been in a slump lately and has dropped roughly 60% from its early August high of $98. With this acquisition, 5.7 million COIN shares are now held by the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK). With a 1.4% increase in exposure, the purchase is on the small side. Details here.

Justin Sun of Tron is "deploying more capital" to halt the decline of the USDD stablecoin

Tron founder Justin Sun has announced that he had traded USDD, the native stablecoin of Tron, for almost $773,000 worth of USD. The founder of Tron imitated a tweet from Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon just before Terra's bankruptcy in May by writing, "Deploying more capital—steady boys." For the USDD stablecoin, Sun submitted transaction data that showed him exchanging more than $203,000 in USDC and $570,000 in USDT. The stablecoin, which is typically indexed to the value of the dollar, has been trading below $1 since the end of October. But today, the token did reach its all-time low of $0.97. More here.

CEO of SushiSwap discloses DEX wasted $30 million on LP incentives this year

SushiSwap CEO Jared Grey recently stated on Twitter that the decentralised exchange, or DEX, lost $30 million in the previous year on incentives for liquidity providers, or LPs.  According to Grey, SushiSwap now rewards LPs through a token-based emission approach, but the pace is "unsustainable." Grey intends to overhaul the entire bootstrapping liquidity methodology for the exchange as well as SushiSwap's tokenomics in order to stop subsidising LPs with emissions." We will innovate in Q1 2023 to scale swap volume and prioritise TVL. Others should switch to sushi as LPs have a more profitable swap experience, "The DEX executive wrote. Full story here.

Jewel, a digital bank in Bermuda, releases "Fully-Backed" stablecoin

Jewel USD (JUSD), a fully backed stablecoin that is accessible over the Polygon network, has been released by Bermuda-based Jewel Bank on Monday. JUSD will always have enough money in its reserves to support each JUSD in circulation, according to Jewel, who stated in a news release that JUSD will maintain a reserve ratio with the U.S. dollar that is at least 1:1. As well as performing routine audits of its stablecoin reserves, the bank stated it will also submit monthly and quarterly reports on its progress. Bank-issued stablecoins, which are often pegged to a fiat currency, could provide some market stability for individuals who are wary of the volatility of cryptocurrencies given the recent upheaval surrounding the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. More here.

German Bank Bankhaus von der Heydt will be acquired by Bitcoin group for more than $15 million

A holding company focused on the blockchain and cryptocurrency sectors, Bitcoin Group (ADE), said that it had reached an agreement to acquire Bankhaus von der Heydt in Germany in its entirety for 14 million euros (about $15 million) in cash and 150,000 shares. The corporation will gain ownership of one of the oldest banks in the world and a holder of a complete banking licence in Germany as a result of the transaction. The deal is anticipated to close by the third quarter of 2023. Munich-based Bankhaus von der Heydt, or BVDH, was first formed in 1754. In October, Bitcoin Group said that it was in takeover negotiations with a number of prospective targets, including Bankhaus von der Heydt. Continue reading.

Even after Beijing's crackdown, police in China capture a gang that used cryptocurrency to launder $1.7 billion

Even as Beijing has intensified its crackdown on the trading of digital coinage, police in China detained 63 people on suspicion of using cryptocurrency to launder up to 12 billion Chinese yuan ($1.7 billion). The Public Security Bureau of Inner Mongolia's Tongliao city in northern China said in a statement over the weekend that the criminal gang allegedly used the proceeds from illegal sources, such as pyramid schemes, fraud, and gambling, starting in May 2021 and converted them into the cryptocurrency tether, a stablecoin that is pegged one-to-one with the U.S. dollar. Full report here.