NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden Was Paid $35k to Discuss Bitcoin

The notorious NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden, was paid to discuss bitcoin and other digital assets at virtual conferences, according to a new court filing called “Edward Snowden Speaking Engagements 2015-2020.” Snowden has always been a supporter of digital currencies and during the mid-March crypto market carnage, the infamous whistleblower said he “felt like buying bitcoin.” … Read more

US Takes Down $25 Million Bitcoin ATM Operation, Seizes 17 Machines

The U.S. government has taken down a $25 million bitcoin ATM operation and seized 17 machines along with some cryptocurrencies. The Department of Justice says the man behind this unlicensed bitcoin ATM operation has agreed to plead guilty and is facing up to 30 years in prison. US Dismantles Bitcoin ATM Operation The U.S. Department … Read more

Investor Charged in US After Obtaining Covid-19 Relief Loan to Trade Cryptocurrency

The U.S. has charged an investor after he obtained two loans worth over $1.1 million from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) intended for covid-19 relief and used some of the money to invest in cryptocurrency. He was taken into custody on allegations he fraudulently obtained the loans. Crypto Investor Charged The U.S. Department of Justice … Read more

The DoJ Shows an Interest in CoinGather Exchange Victims

Throughout the course of cryptocurrency history, many exchanges and trading platforms have come and gone. The demise of CoinGather has been largely undocumented, but affected users may have some recourse after all. The CoinGather exchange has never generated a lot of attention in the competitive cryptocurrency exchange space. The CoinGather Story Continues When the company … Read more

US Charges North Korea-Linked Chinese Nationals for Laundering Over $100 Million in Stolen Cryptocurrency

The U.S. government has charged two Chinese nationals involved in laundering stolen cryptocurrency worth $100 million from an exchange allegedly for the benefit of North Korea. They are linked to the U.S.-designated North Korean state-sponsored Lazarus Group. A total of 113 cryptocurrency accounts and addresses used to launder funds have been identified. Also read: SEC … Read more

Wells Fargo Fined $3 Billion for 15 Years of Illegal Practices Affecting Millions of Customers

Wells Fargo, one of the largest U.S. financial services companies, has agreed to pay $3 billion to resolve the U.S. government’s investigations into fraudulent sales practices spanning over 15 years. The Wells Fargo fraud case involved the company forging customer signatures, moving money from millions of customer accounts to unauthorized accounts, and misusing customers’ sensitive … Read more

Ireland Seizes Bitcoin Stash Worth $56M But Can’t Sell for 7 Years

Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) seized 6,000 BTC from a Dublin resident who was accused of growing cannabis on property located in the Wicklow Mountain region. The police found around €450,000 of marijuana plants but the €52 million ($56.1M) of BTC was the biggest single-value asset seizure by the CAB since 1996. A new era … Read more

Regulatory Roundup: Trump’s Cryptocurrency Proposals, IRS Changes Rule, China Quarantines Cash

In this roundup, we cover numerous cryptocurrency regulatory developments in the U.S., including President Trump’s crypto proposals, testimonies by the Federal Reserve chairman and the Treasury secretary, a crypto-friendly SEC proposal, and the IRS changing a crypto tax rule. We also cover China quarantining yuan bills, its central bank filing 84 digital currency patents, 40 … Read more

US Government Auctioning off Bitcoins Worth $37 Million in 2 Weeks

The U.S. government has opened registration for the bidding of over 4,040 bitcoins, currently worth more than $37 million, which will be auctioned off on Feb. 18. The winning bidder will be notified on the same day. These bitcoins were forfeited in various federal criminal, civil and administrative cases, the U.S. Marshals Service explained. Also … Read more

US Politicians Want to Ban End-to-End Encryption on Messaging Services like Telegram and Whatsapp

Under the guise of fighting against online child pornography, American politicians are trying to effectively ban end-to-end encryption on all communication technology platforms for everyone. Newly proposed legislation could force companies like Apple, Google and Facebook to create back doors on their services to make sure law enforcement can easily monitor everything they want or … Read more