BTC-e Operator Alexander Vinnik Terminates His Hunger Strike

The alleged operator of the infamous BTC-e exchange, Alexander Vinnik, has terminated his hunger strike more than 80 days after he started the protest against his detention in Greece. Vinnik’s condition is serious and he needs specialized medical attention to recuperate. Also read: Cryptocurrency Exchange Exmo Opens Branch in Turkey Russia’s Ombudsman Visits Vinnik in … Read more

Big Banks Money Laundering: UBS Fined $4.2 Billion, Danske Shuts Down in 4 Countries

Money laundering scandals involving some of the world’s largest banks have grown this week. Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, has been fined 3.7 billion euros (~$4.2 billion) for money laundering. Amid a $226 billion scandal, Estonian authorities have ordered Denmark’s largest bank to terminate its operations in the country. Danske Bank is also shutting down in … Read more

Australia’s Financial Intelligence Agency Registers 246 Bitcoin Exchanges

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) has now officially registered 246 cryptocurrency exchanges. Pro-regulation industry participants have described the move as a key step towards legitimizing crypto assets. The registration process includes performing background checks and other anti-money laundering procedures on the entities involved. Also read: Coincheck Registers 1.7M New Users Since Resuming Operations … Read more

Florida Appeals Court Defines Bitcoin as Money as Espinoza Ruling Reversed

In 2016, Judge Teresa Mary Pooler of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida made headlines for a ruling she made during the Michell Espinoza trial. Judge Pooler ruled Espinoza could not be charged with illegal money transmission offenses because bitcoin was not considered legal tender. However, a motion filed with the Florida appeals court has … Read more

Cryptocurrency Is Providing a Lucrative New Revenue Stream for Governments

Cryptocurrency’s resistance to government control is countered by the fact that a number of governments, including Chile, Romania, Spain and South Africa, are looking to cash in by taxing crypto assets. These countries are crafting laws that bind citizens to annually disclose cryptocurrency investments that, in some cases, are held at home and abroad, and … Read more

Owner of Romanian Exchange Coinflux to Be Extradited to the US

The Romanian judiciary has decided to hand over to U.S. authorities the founder and CEO of Coinflux, one of the country’s cryptocurrency exchanges. Vlad Nistor has been accused of a number of crimes including the laundering of illicitly obtained funds through his digital asset trading platform. Also read: Russians See Growing Number of Options to … Read more