US Secret Service Asks Congress for Help to Prevent Illicit Use of Privacy Coins

The US Secret Service is worried about the illicit use of cryptocurrencies. A high-ranking official of the agency has urged Congress to consider additional legislation to address anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrencies and services intended to obscure transactions on blockchains such as tumblers or mixers. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Undermining US Laws Deputy … Read more

Alleged BTC-e Mastermind Confesses to Russian Money Laundering Charges

According to regional publications in Russia, the alleged BTC-e mastermind and prisoner in Greece, Alexander Vinnik, has allegedly confessed to charges of fraud and money laundering on May 24, 2018. Reports reveal a signed document details that Vinnik admits to committing financial fraud between 2011-2017 through the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange. Also read: This Week in … Read more

Bitcoin in Brief Monday: Belgium Expands List of Fraudulent Crypto Platforms, Plot to Kill Vinnik Uncovered in Greece

In Monday’s Bitcoin in Brief, Belgium’s financial watchdog, which earlier this year published a warning about potentially fraudulent platforms promising fast and easy profits to crypto investors, has just expanded its blacklist. In Russia, reports have surfaced of a plot to assassinate Alexander Vinnik in Greece, where he fights an extradition request from US authorities … Read more

Mt Gox CEO Mark Karpeles Lands New Job — CTO for Cryptocurrency Firm

The infamous former CEO of the now defunct bitcoin exchange Mt Gox, Mark Karpeles, is trying to start over with a clean slate in life. Karpeles has revealed to the media that he’s started a new C-level position as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for a firm called London Trust Media. The technology company invests … Read more

The Mt. Gox Plot Thickens, Courtesy of Always Efficient LLP

It has been a while since we last saw any interesting developments involving the Mt. Gox exchange. New research shows an unknown London-based firm was involved in laundering the stolen 650,000 BTC from this now-defunct exchange. That is a pretty intriguing discovery, although it remains to be seen how the situation will evolve. The Mt. Gox … Read more

Mt. Gox Soap Opera Continues: Karpeles Released on Bail, Shadow Companies, and Whale Dumps

Mt. Gox Mark Karpeles’ release on bail has produced a new radio program examining the historic hack and heist, but is also raising questions about sister exchanges such as BTC-e and their role in laundering stolen bitcoin. If all that wasn’t enough, a Gox trustee decided to dump over 400 million USD in bitcoin core … Read more

Justice Dept Looks to Develop ‘Cryptocurrency Strategy’

Over the past few months, the U.S. government and its special agencies have been ramping up their efforts to try to regulate bitcoin and digital currencies. This week the Justice Department’s Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein spoke about cryptocurrencies at the Financial Services Roundtable this Monday in Washington, DC. Also read: Sixth Grader Writes a 57-Page … Read more

Russian Reports say Crypto Entrepreneur Pavel Lerner Kidnapped in Kiev

Russian programmer and cryptocurrency investor Pavel Lerner has been kidnapped in Kiev, according to Ukrainian and Russian media reports. He is the managing director of Exmo, a major UK-based exchange popular with Russians for accepting ruble payments. Lerner is also well known in Ukraine where he has startups dealing with mining operations and blockchain technology … Read more