In the aftermath of criminal charges against BitMEX, the crypto community is debating whether the decentralized finance sector is also set to face the wrath of regulators. On Oct 1, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced charges against three BitMEX executives for violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) due to the exchange’s allegedly weak anti-money laundering and know-your-customer (KYC) policies. DeFi protocols, including Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs) have made a virtue of having minimal AML and KYC procedurs. However many now wonder if DEXs are also obliged to comply with the BSA, even though most projects seek to decentralize ownership …

A large goup of accomplaces allegedly financing a jihadist network in Syria have been arrested after a sting operation by French police — despite choosing cryptocurrency coupons in an attempt to cover their tracks. In a statement, police said that "constant surveillance of these networks prompted terrorist organisations to seek more opacity by using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin," as reported on Sept. 30. Since 2019, the 29 accomplices have allegedly been supporting the operations of an Al-Qaeda affiliate terror organization, called “Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham.” The network’s architects are reportedly two French jihadists in their mid-20s, who are both thought to …

According to news agency Yonhap, Bithumb will not have to repay a crypto investor who allegedly lost $401,000 as a result of a 2017 data breach suffered by the firm. A High Court judge determined that the man (identified as “Mr. A” for privacy purposes) had failed to successfully prove that his data was compromised during the incident. As a result, the exchange will not be held liable for Mr. A’s lost funds. Mr. A stated that he was holding Korean won (KRW) funds on the exchange and that the data breach had compromised access to his personal information. The …

While the precise origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown, it has infected more than 30 million people, with almost 1 million confirmed to have died from it as it continues to spread across the world. The highly contagious virus has the ability to survive up to three weeks in frozen food supplies of meat and fish, according to a study. Related: Illicit crypto transactions are getting more attention from the government The United States — the worst-hit country by sheer numbers — is now facing two intersecting health crises: The ongoing opioid overdose epidemic and the coronavirus pandemic with …

Back in April of 2020, Cointelegraph took a close look at the KuCoin cryptocurrency exchange. Investigating the apparent lock of the primary domain name, which was a result of a legal case under the jurisdiction of the High Court of Singapore, we concluded that: In the absence of clarity from any of the individuals mentioned in this article, or from the company itself, users of the KuCoin cryptocurrency exchange will likely want answers on whether they are sending their money to Singapore, the Seychelles, China — or anywhere else in the world. Now $150 million is missing from KuCoin in …

The modern world has become too small for comfort. The truth is that technological advancement is a double-edged sword, which has the potential to enhance human lives drastically at many levels and disrupt them in the blink of an eye, shaping things on a global level to an extent yet not seen. Even though we enjoy fast progress in crypto services and digital asset fields, constant security breaches and hacks pose a severe threat to market participants. The very essence of safety in the modern world is questioned. Therefore, it’s about time we clarify the complex topic of fungibility in …

Russia’s Ministry of Finance is continuing to push regulations for the cryptocurrency industry by proposing new tax requirements. The ministry now reportedly wants to introduce criminal liability for failure to declare taxes on crypto, including prison terms of up to three years. According to a Sept. 24 report by Kommersant, the ministry proposes that individuals who fail to report an amount of over 1 million Russian rubles ($13,000) in annual crypto operations should serve a three-year prison term or hard labor. The ministry also proposed major fines for smaller unreported amounts. As such, any physical or legal entity in Russia …

A former government contractor in Australia who mined crypto using state-owned supercomputers has avoided jail time. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Jonathan Khoo was ordered to complete 300 hours of community service for installing code on two supercomputers run by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, or CSIRO, to mine cryptocurrency. Khoo was able to mine AU$9,420 worth of cryptocurrencies and deposited these to his Ethereum and Monero wallets in 2018. CSIRO, which conducts scientific and technological research for the Australian government, said Khoo’s actions diverted needed computing power and cost the agency AU$76,668. Australian federal cybercrime authorities …

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments worldwide to focus on bringing blockchain technology to their financial services, along with the needed regulatory upgrades to keep the burgeoning fintech industry clean. Related: Not like before: Digital currencies debut amid COVID-19 For example, on Sep. 10, Switzerland — a global center for the wealth management industry, housing around $2 trillion or 27% of global offshore wealth — passed a reformed Blockchain Act that includes a new set of laws and regulations to support the growth of blockchain and decentralized finance companies in the country. Related: Why Switzerland is becoming a “crypto nation” …

The drama over alleged fraud involving Bithumb’s senior executives continues as the company’s chairman has reportedly been summoned for interrogation. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is purportedly seeking to question Lee Jung-hoon, chairman of board at Bithumb Korea and Bithumb Holdings, according to a Sept. 18 report by South Korea’s state-run news agency Yonhap. As reported, Lee is allegedly accused of multiple fraud and embezzlement offenses regarding the failed listing of the BXA token. The purported fraud caused investor damages of up to 30 billion won ($25 million), the report notes. The police are also reportedly looking to question Lee …

Eterbase, a Slovakia-based crypto exchange, was recently the victim of a $5M hack. According to an update from Eterbase, some of these funds appear to have ended up on a number of popular exchanges, including Binance, Huobi Global, and HitBTC. Binance CEO's Changpeng Zhao, or CZ, seemed to support efforts to stop the circulation of these stolen funds, replying: “Our security team was on this quite early. Will do what we can to assist.” Through Telegram, Eterbase also published a list of the hot wallets compromised by the hack. These included Bitcoin (BTC), Ehereum (ETH), Tron (TRX), Tezos (XTZ), Algorand …

A major suspect in a high-profile theft case related to Bitcoin (BTC) trading has pleaded guilty in a Singaporean court. Syed Mokhtar Syed Yusope, an accomplice in a $360,000 robbery, pleaded guilty in a district court to a robbery charge on Sept. 9, Singeporean news agency The Straits Times reports. Mokhtar, alongside his two accomplices, Jaromel Gee Ming Li and Mohd Abdul Rahman Mohamad, stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from a Malaysian man in Singapore. Pretending to represent a Bitcoin broker, the group duped the victim into believing that they wanted to sell him Bitcoin for cash. …