The Melbourne couple mistakenly sent 10.5 million Australian dollars by Crypto.com in 2021 is arguing in court that they thought the funds were won via a competition. Thevamanogari Manivel and her husband Jatinder Singh are currently facing a trial in the Victoria Supreme Court over theft charges, among others after the duo allegedly went on a spending spree with Crypto.com’s funds last year. Appearing via video link in Melbourne magistrates court on Oct. 11, Manivel and Singh pleaded not guilty to their respective charges, with defense being that Singh had thought he had won a contest from Crypto.com, and had …

French authorities have reportedly utilized research from pseudonymous blockchain sleuth ZachXBT to charge five people on suspicion of stealing $2.5 million worth of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) via phishing scams. According to an Oct. 12 report from the Agence France Presse (AFP) shared by Barron’s, the alleged fraudsters built a website that masqueraded as a service that animates the static artwork from people’s Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFTs. Unfortunately for the victims, they had their credentials swiped and their NFTs stolen via the phishing website instead. The five young suspects are said to be …

A judge has partially denied a motion moved by Aptos Labs CEO Mo Shaikh to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Shari Glazer, who claims to be cheated out of equity as an early investor. According to a court transcript published on Oct.10, fraud and other three legal claims were dismissed by the court, while three others were allowed to proceed, specifically breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and Glazer's alleged entitlement to 50% of Matonee. Aptos was founded by former Meta employees Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching. The founders were also involved in Mark Zuckerberg's failed Diem project. Diem Association and …

United States-based crypto policy advocacy group Coin Center has followed through with its intention to take the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control, or OFAC, to court over sanctioning cryptocurrenc mixer Tornado Cash. In an Oct. 12 filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, lawyers for Coin Center as well as crypto investor David Hoffman, an anonymous human-rights advocate known only as John Doe, and software developer Patrick O’Sullivan filed a complaint against OFAC, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and OFAC director Andrea Gacki. The complaint alleged that sanctioning Tornado Cash was “unprecedented and unlawful” …

Digital asset manager Grayscale has filed its opening brief against the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to challenge its decision denying Grayscale’s application to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to a spot Bitcoin ETF. The world’s largest digital asset management firm filed its opening legal brief on Oct. 11 in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia Circuit, in which it claimed the SEC’s knockback to be “arbitrary, capricious and discriminatory.” Grayscale argued that the SEC treats spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products (ETPs) with “special harshness” and is doing so “in excess of its statutory authority.” Attorneys …

Sources say that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) probe into Yuga Labs is actually part of a wider investigation into the nonfungible token (NFT) market, which already came to light in March. On Oct. 11, a report from Bloomberg citing a source “familiar with the matter” said the SEC is investigating Yuga Labs over whether certain NFTs are “more akin to stocks” and whether the sales of certain digital assets violate federal laws. However, Cointelegraph understands that the investigation is part of the ongoing SEC probe into the wider NFT market, which is looking at whether certain NFTs …

The international monitoring body Financial Stability Board, or FSB, has proposed a comprehensive framework for cryptocurrencies aimed at addressing potential risks while “harnessing potential benefits of the technology.” In an Oct. 11 report, the FSB opened a possible crypto regulatory framework to public comment including proposed policy initiatives, financial stability risks, and the approach the group could use to establish guidelines for digital assets. According to the report, the FSB will submit proposed recommendations “to promote the consistency and comprehensiveness of regulatory, supervisory and oversight approaches to crypto-asset activities and markets” to the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors. …

As the Web3 industry matures, Zero-knowledge Know Your Customer (zkKYC) is becoming more widely discussed as a means to comply with strict financial regulations while maintaining user privacy, according to the partner of a venture capital firm. In an interview with Cointelegraph, John Henderson, partner at Australian-based venture capital firm Airtree Ventures said the successful implementation of a zkKYC system would be “great news for both regulators and consumers” and could increase cryptocurrency adoption: “Institutions and retail users are more likely to participate in DeFi if they can be confident that they are complying with their AML/CTF obligations.” Henderson explained …

Policymakers with the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, or ECON, have approved the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework following a vote from the European Council. In an Oct. 10 tweet, ECON member Stefan Berger confirmed the committee had accepted the MiCA legislation, a result of trialogue negotiations between the EU Council, European Commission and the European Parliament. Members of the parliamentary committee passed the crypto framework policy in a vote of 28 in favor and 1 against, with a final vote expected in a full European Parliament session soon. Wieder einen Schritt weiter…Das Ergebnis der Trilog-Verhandlung zu #MiCA …

In her Expert Take column, Selva Ozelli, an international tax attorney and CPA, covers the intersection between emerging technologies and sustainability, and provides the latest developments around taxes, AML/CFT regulations and legal issues affecting digital assets and blockchain. It’s fair to say that the United States is one of the most crypto-friendly countries in the world. It ranks No. 1 in the quantity of Bitcoin and Ethereum nodes, and regulators have taken a particular interest in the subject. In September, the administration of President Joe Biden released a series of federal reports addressing how crypto might be regulated in the …

Creditors from the defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox have until January 2023 to register and select a repayment method as part of the plan to compensate them for their losses. According to an Oct. 6 announcement from Mt. Gox trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi, creditors have until Jan. 10 to select a repayment method and to register payee information in an online rehabilitation claim filing system in order to be paid through bank remittance, fund transfer service provider, or a cryptocurrency exchange or custodian. Kobayashi’s update is the latest development in a rehabilitation plan that began with a 2018 petition to compensate …

Publicly available court documents related to Celsius’ bankruptcy proceedings has revealed data concerning thousands of its customers in a financial disclosure form filed on Oct 5. The document contains over 14,500 pages and while addresses of customers have been redacted, it includes customer names, amounts, types, description and timing of transactions on the platform, along with the U.S. dollar amounts and cryptocurrency type used among other details. There has been a general unease in the crypto community over the publicly available information included in the court documents. Henry de Valence founder of Web3 startup Penumbra Labs told his 9,000 Twitter …