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Developer Tornado Cash sentenced to more than 5 years in prison

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Developer Tornado Cash sentenced to more than 5 years in prison

Key Takeaways

  • Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev has been convicted of money laundering by a Dutch judge, in a case that could have implications for others.
  • Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein, who played a key role in launching spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, is stepping down, with Goldman Sachs’ Peter Mintzberg set to take over the role.
  • The crypto industry is reportedly stepping up its lobbying efforts in Washington, with the aim of influencing the upcoming US elections.
  • US lawmakers are expected to soon vote on a bill that leading crypto firms, including Coinbase, say could be crucial to the future of the crypto industry in the US.

Last week saw a major conviction in a cryptographic technology case when a developer of privacy-preserving software was convicted of money laundering in the Netherlands. The CEO of digital asset manager Grayscale also resigned, and a report suggested that the crypto industry could have a greater political impact than ever before through lobbying efforts.

Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev sentenced to more than 5 years in prison

Tornado Money developer Alexey Pertsev was reportedly convicted of money laundering by a Dutch judge on Tuesday and received a 64-month prison sentence.

An indictment revealed that between July 9, 2019 and August 10, 2022, Pertsev consistently engaged in money laundryand ignored suspected sources of illicit transactions on Tornado Cash.

After the verdict, the 31-year-old Russian was taken into custody. Pertsev can appeal his sentence, but the time he has already spent in detention since his arrest in August 2022 will not be deducted from his prison sentence.

The case could influence the upcoming trials of other Tornado Cash developers, including Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, who also face charges of money laundering and U.S. sanctions violations.

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein steps down

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein is stepping down from his role, according to a statement Monday. The company said that Sonnenshein, who played a key role in launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs)is leaving the company to “pursue other interests”.

Goldman Sachs’ head of strategy for asset and wealth management, Peter Mintzberg, will take up the role on August 15. Mintzberg brings more than 20 years of experience from roles at BlackRock, OppenheimerFunds and Invesco. Until Mintzberg steps in, Grayscale CFO Edward McGee will serve as interim CEO.

Barry Silbert, CEO of Grayscale’s parent Digital Currency Group, praised Sonnenshein’s leadership in transforming the Bitcoin Trust into an ETF. Earlier this year, Grayscale was among the companies that successfully listed a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US, after defying repeated denials of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Crypto Industry Steps Up Lobbying Efforts

The crypto industry is stepping up its lobbying efforts in Washington, aiming to influence the upcoming US elections, CoinDesk reported.

By investing heavily in pro-crypto candidates, the industry hopes to make progress in establishing a more favorable regulatory framework. Notably, with a focus on cryptography political action committees (PACs) like Fairshake have raised substantial funds to support crypto-friendly candidates. These efforts have already impacted key races, reportedly helping to prevent the re-election of Congresswoman Katie Porter, who has been critical of crypto.

Fairshake also contributes to party-affiliated PACs such as Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress and supports Republican and Democratic candidates who support crypto-friendly policies.

What to expect from the markets this week

US lawmakers are preparing for a vote on the Financial Technology and Innovation for the 21st Century (Fit21) Act, considered crucial by leading crypto firms for the future of the US crypto industry.

Fit21 aims to establish safeguards against risky behavior and ensure consumer protection in cryptocurrency custody and bankruptcy by providing clearer guidelines for the industry. The next vote could also determine whether the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will become a major crypto regulator and delineate its jurisdiction from that of the SEC.

The Crypto Council for Innovation, which includes industry giants like Coinbase (COIN), Kraken and Andreessen Horowitz wrote a letter last week defending the bill, emphasizing the importance of the legislation to support the growth of digital assets and maintain the U.S. leadership in financial innovation.

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Bitcoin

RIOT, MARA and CLSK shares at risk

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Bitcoin price nears key support: RIOT, MARA, and CLSK stocks at risk

Bitcoin (BTC) Mining stocks like Riot Platforms (RIOT), Marathon Digital (MARA) and CleanSpark (CLSK) retreated in pre-market trading as BTC retreated.

RIOT, MARA and CLSK all fell more than 2%, while other crypto-related stocks such as MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Coinbase (COIN) fell 1.5%.

Bitcoin sell-off continues

Crypto-linked stocks retreated as Bitcoin resumed its downtrend on Wednesday. After rising to $63,750 on Monday, BTC is hovering at $60,0000 and it is unclear whether it will recover.

More importantly, Bitcoin is dangerously close to the crucial support at $58,273, which is the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). The next support level for Bitcoin is $56,426, representing its lowest level in May.

Bitcoin Price Chart

If Bitcoin drops below this price, it will be a sign that the bears have prevailed, which could take it to the $50,000 level, if not below.

This decline happened after a whale deposited nearly 2,000 Bitcoins to Binance in two separate transactions. While this isn’t always the case, deposits to exchanges often happen when holders are exiting their positions.

The whales’ action coincided with a period in which the German government continues to sell off its Bitcoin holdings. It transferred $52 million worth of coins to exchanges on Tuesday.

As a result, data from CoinGlass shows that the volume of Bitcoin balances on exchanges has started to increase. The volume rose to 2.49 million on Tuesday, from last month’s low of 2.47 million.

Bitcoin Balances

Bitcoin balances on exchanges

Bitcoin Mining Companies at Risk

If the Bitcoin sell-off continues, it will put Bitcoin mining companies like Marathon, CleanSpark, and Riot Platforms at risk. These companies have tended to have a close correlation with Bitcoin in the past.

This drop is happening a few months after the halving event, reducing the amount of Bitcoins that miners receive.

To compensate for this drop, most of these companies have added their mining equipment. CleanSpark has reached a hash rate of 20 EH/swhich helped her mine 445 coins in June after mining 417 coins the previous month. She did this after purchasing 5 mining sites in Georgia.

Digital Marathon mined 590 coins in June, down 40% from the same month in 2023 and flat from May.

Riot Platforms, on the other hand, focused on acquiring Bitfarms, a company that mined 189 coins in June.

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Michael Saylor Issues Statement on Bitcoin Amid Crypto Market Sell-Off by U.Today

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Michael Saylor issues statement on Bitcoin amid crypto market sell-off

U.Today – Amid an ongoing sell-off in the cryptocurrency market, Michael Saylor, a prominent advocate and president of MicroStrategy, made a statement on X (Twitter) that reverberated across the crypto space: “Just Bitcoin.”

This two-word tweet comes as the cryptocurrency market faces significant sell-offs as the price of Bitcoin plummets.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, began its decline in Tuesday’s trading session, hitting $63,223 at one point before falling further.

Losses deepened on Wednesday as investors considered remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, with Bitcoin hitting intraday lows of $59,509. At the time of writing, BTC is down 2.85% over the past 24 hours to $60,274.

According to data from CoinGlass, the sell-off has resulted in a significant amount of cryptocurrencies being liquidated in the past 24 hours, totaling over $166 million. However, this has not deterred Saylor’s confidence in Bitcoin, as he reiterates his longing for the crypto asset in his tweet.

Cryptocurrency market crashes

Cryptocurrencies fell on Tuesday after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank needs to see more progress on inflation before cutting interest rates, which are now at 5.25%-5.50%. Powell revealed at a monetary symposium in Sintra, Portugal, that the United States is moving closer to a disinflationary path.

“We want to be more confident that inflation is moving sustainably downward toward 2% before we begin the process of tapering or easing policy,” Powell said.

Market losses deepened after Wednesday’s economic releases that indicated the labor market is cooling. Recent data showed weaker-than-expected private payroll growth in June, but weekly jobless claims were higher than economists had forecast. The latest figures come ahead of the highly anticipated June nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.

As the cryptocurrency market goes through a period of uncertainty, the coming days and weeks will be crucial in determining the direction of BTC’s price.

This article was originally published on U.Today



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Bitcoin and Ethereum in GTA 6? Still rumors — for now

TokenTrends Staff

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Bitcoin and Ethereum in GTA 6? Still rumors — for now

Rumors that the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto 6 will use cryptocurrency that has been circulating for more than a year now—and they’re spinning again.

On Wednesday, a pseudonymous Crypto Twitter influencer named Gordon — apparently named after Gordon Gekko from the iconic 1987 film “Wall Street” —shared to his nearly 500,000 followers that “GTA 6 will allow cryptocurrency payments” and that “so far only Bitcoin, EthereumIt is USDT [are] confirmed.”

But in reality, no cryptocurrency has been confirmed for Grand Theft Auto 6, despite ongoing chatter about the rumors. Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two have made no such announcements this week on the subject, nor have they made any prior announcements, and official trailers and announcements have made no mention of cryptocurrency being included.

However, the tweet — which also included a fake trailer for the game — quickly went viral, with over 500,000 views as of this writing in a matter of hours. When Twitter users asked Gordon for his sources, he would jokingly respond that his “uncle works there” or say that previous reports on the matter were “old” at this point.

But really, nothing has changed since then. DecipherGG’s reported in previous rumors in May 2023, not even since the first official trailer — which initially leaked with “BUY BTC” stamped on itApparently by the leaker in question—premiered last December.

DecipherGG reached out to Rockstar Games for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Could Grand Theft Auto 6 implement a crypto element when it releases in 2025? It’s certainly possible, and if so, it would be a transformative moment for cryptocurrency adoption by the traditional gaming industry.

Take-Two Interactive has explored the space before, acquiring casual gaming giant Zynga in early 2022, when Take-Two founder and CEO Strauss Zelnick suggested there were “Web3 opportunities” that they could explore better as a team. Zynga has launched its first blockchain game on Ethereum, called Sugartownbut Take-Two has yet to get involved with other brands.

Rockstar Games, on the other hand, prohibited the use of cryptocurrency or NFTs on player-run Grand Theft Auto 5 servers in late 2022, following a rise in the use of NFTs to represent unique player-owned assets on modded game servers.

And given Grand Theft Auto’s satirical tone, the game may be more likely to criticize cryptocurrency and poke fun at caricatures of crypto fans and NFTs, for example, rather than trying to launch its own on-chain currency. But that’s all speculation at this point, as there are relatively few official details about GTA 6.

For now, at least, don’t believe the hype. While Rockstar Games hasn’t officially closed the door on cryptocurrency usage in Grand Theft Auto 6, it hasn’t confirmed anything about it either. However, it’s sure to remain a hot topic in the long run leading up to release, which is currently scheduled for fall 2025.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.

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Crypto President Trump’s ‘Lesser’ Regulation Will Bless Coinbase’s Bitcoin Leverage, Expert Says – Coinbase Glb (NASDAQ:COIN)

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Crypto President Trump's 'Lesser' Regulation Will Bless Coinbase's Bitcoin Leverage, Expert Says - Coinbase Glb (NASDAQ:COIN)

Chris SenyekChief Investment Strategist at Wolfe Researchrecently expressed his opinion on the potential impact of a Donald Trump win the 2024 elections in the cryptocurrency market.

What happened: Senyek suggested that a Trump presidency could ease cryptocurrency regulations, benefiting companies like Coinbase Global Inc. COIN due to its importance Bitcoin BTC/USD Leverage.

“Trump would be less harsh on crypto regulation, and Coinbase would be a big beneficiary of that given its influence on bitcoin,” Senyek said during CNBC’s “Last Call” on Tuesday.

See too: Enhance Your Retirement Portfolio: The Benefits of Adding Cryptocurrency

Why does this matter?:Senyek’s comments come in the context of the former president Donald Trump‘s reported plans to participate at the Bitcoin 2024 convention, which could reinforce his image as a “Crypto President”.

Trump’s potential participation in the Bitcoin 2024 convention, a major event on the cryptocurrency calendar, could have significant implications for the industry.

Pratik KalaHead of Research in DigitalX Limitedhe has predicted a Trump victory in the upcoming elections, but warns that immediate cryptocurrency-friendly regulations may not be a priority.

A recent report by 10x Search explore the recent rise in Bitcoin price and its potential connection to Trump’s strong position in the 2024 election race. The report, titled “Is the Bitcoin Trump Pump Sustainable?”, highlights a 4% spike in Bitcoin’s price following the news that the president Joe Biden will remain in the race despite a poor performance in the presidential debate.

Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading 2.10% lower at $60,860.66, according to Benzinga Pro.

Read next:

Image created using photos from Shutterstock

This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari

News and market data brought to you by Benzinga’s APIs

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