Tag Archives: Cryptocurrency News

U.S. President Donald Trump has previously spoken out against Bitcoin but he probably would never have imagined that his own justice department would unwittingly get involved in promoting the cryptocurrency. But they are, according to the American whistleblower hiding in Russia, Edward Snowden. Trump wants to seize Snowden’s money Specifically, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Department of Justice’s Civil Division has filed a lawsuit...

Governments around the world went on high alert after American social media giant Facebook announced a permissioned blockchain digital currency, named Libra. Unsurprisingly, the prospect of a privately-backed alternative digital currency didn't exactly excite financial regulators in North America, Europe, and Asia. Here are the four countries that really don't like Facebook's Libra. France Is Not a Fan of Libra France has, perhaps, been the most vocal opponent of Facebook's...

Blackstone head honcho Stephen Schwarzman is rich. Really rich. Almost twice the market cap of bitcoin-level rich, in fact. The man who was, once upon a time, lauded as the “Master of the Alternative Universe” built his empire by taking risks. Over the years, the billionaire CEO has traded in a wide variety of businesses including a casino, a marine theme park, and even a German camping outfit. Schwarzman is the world’s 100th richest man, according to Forbes, with a “real-time net worth” of...

The daughter of a Nigerian politician has been released after her father paid the kidnappers a $15,000 bitcoin ransom. On Saturday, Ai’sha Ardo, the daughter of Umar Ardo, a chieftain of the major Nigerian political party the People’s Democratic Party, endured a harrowing kidnapping in the country’s capital city of Abuja. The chieftain was contacted by one of the kidnappers the next day. The assailant told the politician that his daughter would be returned safely, but only if he paid the...

Almost a year since American businessman William Sean Creighton was kidnapped in Costa Rica, and a $1 million ransom subsequently paid in Bitcoin, he has been confirmed dead. Creighton’s body was found in a cemetery on Costa Rica’s central pacific coast last week, nearly 12 months after the Bitcoin ransom was paid. According to ESPN, the death of the American entrepreneur who founded the 5Dimes sportsbook was confirmed by the officials of Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department on...

It seems Facebook’s woes are starting to mount as the European Central Bank (ECB) revives plans to create its own digital currency in direct competition to Libra and bitcoin. Yet another Libra challenger steps up to the plate. This time, it isn’t China’s incipient central bank digital currency (CBDC) but instead a newly proposed CBDC from the ECB. According to Reuters, speaking at a news conference after a meeting of EU finance ministers in Helsinki, ECB board member Benoit Coeure noted that...

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has announced that a 21-year-old mother has been arrested following an investigation into an online syndicate accused of stealing and laundering millions of dollars worth of funds from superannuation and share-trading accounts through the use of cryptocurrency. ASIC alleges that the suspect, Jasmine Vella-Arpaci, comprised a key member of a criminal syndicate self-identified as ‘Team Awesome’. The group is accused of purchasing...

Russia’s second most popular sport, ice hockey, has been stained by one of its former stars in a fraudulent cryptocurrency deal. According to Russian information agency TASS, ice hockey player Igor Musatov was arrested on Sunday over his alleged involvement in a Bitcoin fraud scheme in which the victim lost approximately $700,000. He has been detained for 30 days. How an IT pro fell for a Bitcoin fraud Per court documents, the victim of the $700,000 cryptocurrency fraud was identified as...

Transferring more than $1,000 in bitcoin or any other crypto from one exchange to another could land your private details on the desk of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). That is possible ever since the intergovernmental agency in June imposed new anti-money laundering standards on the cryptocurrency firms. The so-called ‘travel rule’ treats crypto exchanges, wallet providers, and similar firms no lesser than it acts towards a bank. Therefore, like traditional financial institutions...

David Marcus, CEO of Facebook's Calibra digital wallet service would rather have the Libra Association take the lead, if only to avoid Congressional hearings. | Source: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik An attempt by the co-creator of Facebook’s cryptocurrency to “debunk” the notion that Libra will not threaten the sovereignty of nations has been greeted with skepticism on...