BitMEX executives face jail time, China threatens crypto users with jail, and an NFT owner is suing OpenSea for lost art. These stories and more this week in crypto.
Russian Invasion Shakes Crypto Markets
As Russia declared a military operation against Ukraine, global stock markets and cryptos fell sharply while gold and oil traded higher. The bitcoin price briefly dipped below $35,000 mid-week, but despite the events, the crypto market rebounded strongly and bitcoin fell back to just below $40,000 by the end of the week.
BitMEX executives plead guilty
BitMEX executives Arthur Hayes and Benjamin Delo have pleaded guilty to flouting the anti-money laundering provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act. The US Department of Justice has revealed that the Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange is “effectively a money laundering platform” due to its willful failure to implement AML and KYC programs. The co-founders risk up to five years in prison.
China Threatens Crypto Users With Jail
China’s Supreme Court has ruled that virtual asset transactions constitute illegal fundraising, giving authorities additional firepower against the crypto industry. While the People’s Bank of China had already declared crypto transactions illegal last year, the court’s decision officially designates them as a crime and determines the corresponding penalties, which can be up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to up to $79,000.
Deutsche Bank: Crypto investors are optimistic
A Deutsche Bank report, titled “The Future of Cryptocurrencies,” found evidence of “bullish depth” for the crypto market. A survey in the report suggests that even in an extremely bearish crypto market in which values ​​were expected to fall by 80%, less than half of investors say they would reduce their investments or exit the market.
Coinbase wallet supports ledger
Coinbase users can now secure coins and NFTs with Ledger, as the Coinbase Wallet browser extension has added support for Ledger hardware wallets. This means you now have an extra layer of security for your crypto and NFTs, as connecting the wallet to hardware wallet devices keeps your private keys offline.
FTX Launches Blockchain-Focused Gaming Unit
Crypto Exchange FTX is launching a new team focused on driving the adoption of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (or NFTs) in the gaming world. The initial offering of the new gaming unit would be a platform of “crypto as a service” through which game publishers can launch tokens and provide support for in-game NFTs.
Tesla’s Theater Will Accept Dogecoin
Elon Musk has revealed that Tesla’s next futuristic restaurant and drive-in cinema in Hollywood will accept dogecoins. Musk, a longtime supporter of dogecoin, has described it as the people’s crypto and has previously said that many people at Tesla and Spacex hold it. Tesla already accepts DOGE for goods on its website.
Bored Ape owner sues OpenSea
A Texas man is suing the OpenSea NFT platform for $1 million over an exploit that saw high-value NFTs sell for a fraction of their cost. The man who unwittingly sold his NFT claims that the platform was aware of a bug that allowed hackers to buy NFTs well below market price and that his Bored Ape worth over $250,000 was actually stolen.
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