Bitcoin Price: US$ 64,275.76 (+1.46%)
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Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, was sentenced to two years in prison for her role in the FTX collapse and ordered to forfeit $11 billion. Her sentence reflects her cooperation with prosecutors, while other FTX executives, including Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, are also expected to face jail time. At the same time, BNY Mellon is moving toward offering crypto custody services for ETFs after the SEC eased its stance on accounting rules like SAB 121, signalling a shift in the regulatory environment for financial institutions dealing with cryptocurrency. In a separate development, the DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa, accusing the company of monopolistic practices in the debit payments market, with alternatives like stablecoins posing a potential long-term challenge to its dominance.
Circle has launched a blockchain-based compliance platform called Compliance Engine. It offers transaction screening, monitoring, and KYC tools to support onchain financial applications. This move is part of Circle’s effort to boost USDC adoption in a stablecoin market led by USDT and PayPal’s PYUSD. Meanwhile, Solana Labs and Google Cloud introduced Gameshift, a Web3 API designed to help traditional game developers integrate blockchain technology into their projects. It aims to ease the transition from Web2 to Web3 for game studios. Bybit has also launched a Shariah-compliant crypto account for Muslim investors. This allows them to trade tokens aligned with Islamic law. Additionally, Bybit secured a provisional license in Dubai to strengthen its position in the UAE’s expanding crypto market.
Telegram has updated its privacy policy to share user data such as IP addresses and phone numbers with authorities following legal requests, raising privacy concerns and marking a departure from its earlier focus on user privacy. Critics, including blockchain expert Anndy Lian, warn that this move could weaken privacy standards across similar services, while CEO Pavel Durov explained that the policy aims to reduce criminal activity on the platform by employing AI and human moderators to remove problematic content. In Ireland, the Central Bank is focused on implementing the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), seen as crucial for advancing blockchain innovation and financial inclusivity. The country aims to collaborate with other EU member states to ensure consistent regulation and improve the authorisation process, positioning Europe as a leader in crypto regulation. Meanwhile, Sweden has taken a tougher stance on crypto exchanges, labelling many as “professional money launderers” due to their role in organised crime, and authorities are investigating Bitcoin mining firms for tax violations, finding that most submitted misleading information to avoid paying taxes. Sweden’s Financial Intelligence Unit urged licensed platforms to monitor suspicious activity and help curb illegal practices. Solana-based Mango Markets is facing another regulatory settlement, proposing to pay $500,000 to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for allegations of operating without proper registration and KYC measures, following a previous settlement with the SEC for $670,000 over unregistered token sales. The exchange has faced increased scrutiny since a $110 million exploit in 2022, which led to multiple investigations by US agencies.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com
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