The United States Department of Justice is planning to sell $56 million worth of cryptocurrency seized in connection with its case against Ponzi scheme BitConnect. In a Nov. 16 announcement, the Justice Department said it would sell the seized crypto and hold the proceeds in U.S. dollars until it could use the funds to provide restitution to BitConnect victims. The U.S. government is currently holding the $56 million in crypto in wallets, and said the amount of compensation to those affected by BitConnect’s fraud would depend on a “future restitution order by the court at sentencing.” “This liquidation is the …

China is pressuring its own state-owned businesses to cease mining cryptocurrencies, and the government is considering harsh penalties on firms that continue, including higher energy expenses. According to reports, Meng Wei, a spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said at a press conference that as China's top economic planner, the NDRC intends to regulate industrial-scale bitcoin mining and any involvement by state businesses in the activity. The NDRC, which is in charge of mining policymaking, has reportedly recently organized a special session on the subject. It also has increased the pressure on provinces and municipalities to investigate …

The controversial U.S. infrastructure bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden this morning, with the legislation passing without amendments made to the broad provisions that could impose stringent reporting requirements on crypto network validators and software developers. However, DeFi strategist-turned Democratic congressional candidate, Matt West, believes there is still time to push back. Speaking to Cointelegraph, West said: “My understanding of this bill is that it has been signed, but it hasn't taken effect yet.” The crypto community has taken particular issue with section 6050II of the bipartisan legislation, which makes failing to report digital assets transactions a …

After months of scrutiny from both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the infrastructure bill — criticized by many crypto advocates — is now officially the law of the land. In a ceremony in front of the White House on Nov. 15, President Joe Biden signed the $1 trillion infrastructure bill before an audience of reporters, lawmakers, and union workers. While the bipartisan legislation is aimed at providing funding for roads, bridges, internet access, solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations, and other major infrastructure projects, lawmakers included language applying to cryptocurrencies prior to its passage in both chambers of …

The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) expels a top provincial official after investigations suggest unlawful emgagement with crypto mining activities among other abuse of power. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) alleged that Xiao Yi, former vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference from Jiangxi province abused his state-backed administrative powers to undermine the political principle of “two maintenance,” which relates to CCP’s notion of firmly maintaining the authority of the party: “[Xiao Yi] violated the new development concept, abused power to introduce and support enterprises to engage in virtual currency "mining" activities that do …

The Russian State Hermitage Museum continues diving in the nonfungible tokens (NFTs) industry by debuting its first fully-virtual exhibition of digital art. Shortly after raising over $400,000 via its first NFT auction on Binance in September, the Hermitage is now hosting a free exhibition of NFT artworks existing exclusively in the virtual space, the so-called “celestial hermitage,” or the museum’s digital avatar. Launched on Nov. 10, the Hermitage’s exhibition is called the “Invisible Aether” and is based on the concept of metaverse, allowing users to create digital avatars and surf across the virtual site using PCs, smartphones, virtual reality glasses …

The Joint Economic Committee, which includes Republican and Democratic members of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, will be holding a hearing on the role of government concerning crypto. According to the Joint Economic Committee’s, or JEC’s schedule for next week, congressional members will be listening to industry experts speak at a hearing called “Demystifying Crypto: Digital Assets and the Role of Government” on Nov. 17. Representative Don Beyer — who has previously proposed legislation expanding the regulatory and legal framework for digital assets in the U.S. — will be chairing the hearing. Industry experts scheduled to speak …

The Russian State Duma has created a working group that will tackle the complicated issue of forming regulations for the cryptocurrency mining industry. According to an official announcement on Nov. 11, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin instructed the legislature to create a group that will address regulatory gaps in the industry. The group was formed following a statement by Andrei Lugovoy, the First Deputy of the Representative Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption. Lugovoy — a member of the right-wing Liberal Democratic People's Party — said Thursday that deputies have already written a draft bill which they will introduce in the …

The National Ulema Council (MUI), Indonesia’s top Islamic scholarly body, has reportedly found cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) to be haram, or forbidden, by the tenets of Islam. Asrorun Niam Sholeh, chairman of MUI’s Fatwa Commission, confirmed the religious authority’s rejection of cryptocurrencies due to alleged elements of “uncertainty, wagering and harm.” In order for the MIU to endorse crypto trading, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin need to abide by Shariah guidelines as a commodity or a digital asset and show a “clear benefit,” Sholeh reportedly said following an expert MIU hearing. The MIU discussed Bitcoin as part of the Ulama Fatwa Commission, …

City of Philadelphia Chief Innovation Officer Mark Wheeler announced an initiative to bring blockchain technology to city government on Monday. The project has invited people working in the blockchain and smart contracts space to contact staff working on the project to see how crypto technology could be useful within municipal government. Wheeler tweeted that he was inspired by the blockchain forward efforts of Miami, where Mayor Francis Suarez has touted city specific crypto tokens as a potential replacement for taxes and has opted to receive his next paycheck in bitcoin. Satoshi white paper gets notice on another big city's website. …

The United States Department of the Treasury has announced it will impose sanctions on the cryptocurrency exchange Chatex and its support network for allegedly facilitating transactions for ransomware actors. In an advisory update issued on Nov. 8, the Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, added Chatex as well as IZIBITS OU, Chatextech SIA, and Hightrade Finance to its list of entities sanctioned by the U.S. government. The department claimed Chatex has “direct ties” with Czech Republic and Russia-based business Suex OTC, which it sanctioned in September. According to OFAC, Chatex has helped facilitate transactions for ransomware groups, …

Huobi Group, a Bitcoin (BTC) technology firm established in 2013, is relocating its spot-trading business to Gibraltar as a precautionary measure following China’s cryptocurrency clampdown. According to a report by Bloomberg, the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission has authorized Huobi to begin moving its spot-trading operations to affiliate Huobi Technology (Gibraltar) Co. As a result, Huobi Group may provide spot trading services through Huobi Gibraltar, a centralized digital asset exchange that has been authoritatively regulated by the GFSC. Jun Du, CEO of Huobi Group, stated: “The worldwide cryptocurrency sector is moving toward regulated growth. [...] The business must recognize the significance …