#cryptocurrency

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) "deciphered" the seed phrase of a cryptocurrency account as part of Operation Kraken. Authorities seized approximately $9.3 million from Jay Jay Je Yoon Jung, a suspected developer of the encrypted messaging app Ghost.

Ethereum mastermind Vitalik Buterin is back with a bold vision to keep Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, united. He’s talking about something he calls “alignment” — a way to make sure everyone involved with Ethereum is on the same page. Why? To avoid chaos, and keep the network decentralized, fair, and, well, uniquely "Ethereum."

Grayscale released a new research paper focusing on various cryptocurrency sectors. The company updated its list of the top 20 cryptocurrencies that Grayscale Research believes have high potential for Q4 2024.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is expected to be released from jail two days earlier than scheduled, following a four-month sentence for failing to enforce anti-money laundering measures on the cryptocurrency platform. CZ served half of his sentence at a halfway house in Long Beach, where he could go to movies and make supervised excursions.

WhiteBIT, Europe’s leading crypto exchange and the official sponsor of the Ukrainian national football team, started a pre-sale of tickets for the upcoming Ukraine vs Georgia home match in the UEFA Nations League, accepting payments in cryptocurrency. The game will be held on October 11 at the City Stadium in Poznań, Poland.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached a settlement with eToro, a trading platform, resolving allegations that the company failed to register as a broker. eToro has agreed to pay $1.5 million in fines and limit cryptocurrency trading for U.S. users to only BTC, BCH, and ETH.

Tether, TRON, and TRM Labs established the T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU)—a collaborative initiative aimed at fighting financial crimes within the cryptocurrency sector. This is a pioneering move where private companies united to assist law enforcement agencies.

After a year-long legal battle, 21-year-old Evan Frederick Light has pled guilty to stealing over $37 million in cryptocurrency. The final hearing was held on September 30 in South Dakota, with the official report published by the U.S. government on October 1.

The non-profit Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA), in collaboration with Unified Patents, launched the Blockchain Zone initiative to combat patent trolls — non-practicing entities (NPEs) that acquire patents to profit from legal actions rather than to innovate.

From September 23 to 29, cryptocurrency startups and projects raised $236 million in investments. Which sectors are driving the success of these crypto startups, and where did venture capitalists invest a quarter of a billion dollars?

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler reiterated that the cryptocurrency industry is governed by clear regulations, reaffirming that Bitcoin is not a security. He highlighted that this regulatory clarity was a key factor in the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs.

BlackRock’s Head of Digital Assets Robbie Mitchnick argues that Bitcoin is unfairly labeled as a high-risk asset. He believes the first cryptocurrency should be seen as a risk-free investment, suggesting that its reputation as a risk-on asset is a narrative pushed by certain voices in the crypto community.

Germany’s DZ BANK Group, the nation’s second-largest banking group, is preparing to offer cryptocurrency trading and custody services to over 700 of its cooperative banks via the Boerse Stuttgart platform. The launch is expected by the year's end, with technical preparations nearing completion.

Chase Herro, a figure with a contentious reputation, took on a leadership role at the new cryptocurrency platform World Liberty Financial, backed by the Trump family. Herro is notorious for aggressively promoting marijuana products, fake weight-loss supplements, and launching a get-rich-quick subscription course priced at $149 per month.

Chainalysis released its latest Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index for the first half of 2024. The report is calculated using several parameters, including the usage of DeFi and CeFi protocols, to evaluate the level of cryptocurrency adoption across more than 150 countries.