CryptoZoo and Logan Paul have been named as defendants in a newly filed class-action lawsuit, which alleges they stole millions of dollars worth of purchaser's cryptocurrency via a "fraudulent venture." In a court filing on Feb. 2 in the District Court of the Western District of Texas, plaintiff Don Holland alleged that Paul and executives at CryptoZoo "executed a 'rug pull'" by promising purchasers of the nonfungible tokens (NFTs) exclusive access to crypto assets among other benefits but ultimately abandoned the project and kept the funds. "As part of Defendants’ NFT scheme, Defendants marketed CZ NFTs to purchasers by falsely …

Lawyers representing a crypto user allegedly behind a $116-million exploit of decentralized exchange Mango Markets have consented to detention in the criminal case involving commodities fraud, commodities market manipulation and wire fraud. According to accounts of social media users present on Feb. 2, Mango Markets user Avraham Eisenberg’s legal team waived his right to bail at a hearing in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Federal Judge Richard Betman, who will be presiding over the criminal case, has reportedly set a followup court date for Feb. 14, suggesting that Eisenberg may remain in detention until at …

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, the Republican ranking member on the United States Senate Banking Committee, reportedly plans to develop “a bipartisan regulatory framework" for cryptocurrencies. According to a Feb. 2 report from Politico, Scott included the crypto framework as one of his priorities for the 118th Congress. He reportedly was skeptical of some aspects of crypto, alluding to the collapse of exchanges like FTX — "high-profile failures resulted in lost consumer assets" — and potential uses for illicit finance. Scott recently took over the ranking member position from former Senator Pat Toomey, who served out his term without seeking …

The idea of lifting the cryptocurrency ban has started floating in China as a former central bank official has called the country to review its stringent crypto restrictions. Huang Yiping, a former member of the monetary policy committee at the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), believes that the Chinese government should think again about whether the ban on cryptocurrency trading is sustainable in the long run. Huang voiced his concerns about the future of fintech in China in a speech in December, according to a transcript published by the local financial website Sina Finance on Jan. 29. The former official …

Recent charges brought against Mango Markets exploiter Avraham Eisenberg will have a positive impact on the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, according to credit rating firm Moody’s. In a Jan. 31 note from Moody’s Investor Service, AVP of decentralized finance Cristiano Ventricelli stated that enforcement actions brought by the two leading U.S. market regulators in January mean that DeFi is moving towards a “safer and more welcoming environment.” “The fact that both the SEC and CFTC took action against market manipulation by an alleged rogue trader is a credit positive for the industry as a whole. Ventricelli stated that these actions …

A federal judge in the United States has reportedly given approval for tech giant Meta to move forward on acquiring a virtual reality company. According to a Feb. 1 report from Bloomberg, Judge Edward Davila in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied an injunction by the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, as part of an effort to block Meta from purchasing VR firm Within. However, he also reportedly issued a temporary restraining order preventing Meta from closing the deal for at least a week. The ruling was part of a lawsuit filed by the FTC against …

A federal judge presiding over the criminal case against former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried has ordered he not have any contact with current or former employees of the exchange as part of his bail conditions. In a Feb. 1 ruling, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York said Bankman-Fried was to be prevented from communicating with current or former employees of FTX or Alameda Research “except in the presence of counsel” in order to remain free on bail through his trial. As part of his ruling, Kaplan added that SBF could not contact anyone with …

Troubled cryptocurrency fintech Yuga Labs is about to face more lawsuits in relation to its nonfungible tokens (NFT) collection, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and other projects. Rosen Law Firm, a global law firm focused on investor rights’ protection, announced on Jan. 30 that it’s planning to file a class action lawsuit against Yuga Labs. Rosen invited purchasers of Yuga securities — including BAYC NFTs and the native token ApeCoin (APE) — to join the class action against Yuga by the lead plaintiff deadline set for Feb. 7. The law firm emphasized that Yuga securities’ investors that bought BAYC and …

Embattled crypto investment firm Alameda Research is suing bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital in an effort to claw back loan repayments FTX made before it collapsed in November. Lawyers managing the FTX and Alameda bankruptcy case sued Voyager for $445.8 million in a Delaware court on Jan. 30. While both companies filed for bankruptcy in 2022, Voyager's chapter 11 filing came four months earlier in July. Following Voyager's Chapter 11, the crypto lender demanded repayment of all outstanding loans to FTX and its affiliate investment firm Alameda Research. According to FTX lawyers filing on behalf of Alameda, these loan repayments …

United States prosecutors in the criminal case against former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried have released text and email messages from SBF to current CEO John Ray. In court documents for the Southern District of New York released on Jan. 30, the Justice Department responded to a motion from Bankman-Fried’s legal team attempting to remove some of the proposed modifications for his bail conditions, which included barring contact with former and current FTX employees. According to prosecutors, SBF attempted to contact both current FTX CEO John Ray and FTX US general counsel Ryne Miller. In an email to Ray …

Should people who purchase nonfungible tokens (NFT) be entitled to refunds if they decide they don’t like their digital pictures? Some Europeans are beginning to make that case under a 25-year-old law. Unhappy buyers have claimed that their right to a refund is protected by a 1997 European Union law that requires any person or business engaged in “distance selling” — that is, buying and selling a product that is not done in person — to allow customers a 14-day grace period to return the product for a refund. But since digital goods are different, the law makes provision for …

The commission in charge of regulating registered charities in England and Wales has announced it had begun investigating Effective Ventures Foundation, an organization tied to bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. In a Jan. 30 announcement, the Charity Commission said it had launched the inquiry due to FTX being a “significant funder” of Effective Ventures. According to the commission, Effective Ventures reported its ties to FTX as a “serious incident” potentially affecting other assets, opening the door for the regulator to investigate its trustees. “There is no indication of wrongdoing by the trustees at this time,” said the commission. “However, there are …