Tag Archives: United States

The State of Michigan Retirement System (SMRS) has significantly increased its Ethereum (ETH) holdings, raising its investment to $10 million and surpassing its Bitcoin (BTC) allocation. This move makes Michigan the first U.S. state pension fund to invest in an Ethereum-based exchange-traded fund (ETF). Michigan Pension Fund’s Crypto Portfolio SMRS, which boasts more than $13 billion in assets, began exploring cryptocurrency earlier this year as part of a broader...

The US presidential elections are just around the corner, with the world’s largest economic force anticipated to choose between continuing with a similar path as the past four years or changing its course completely if they go with Republican candidate Donald Trump. While the economic consequences will impact millions and millions of people, the crypto community is anticipating how it will affect bitcoin and altcoins. Never Below $70K Again? The popular crypto trader...

TL;DR Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen endorsed Kamala Harris, citing her pro-innovation stance and connections to the Bay Area tech scene. The US presidential candidate recently voiced support for a crypto regulatory framework aimed at protecting vulnerable groups but has yet to provide specific policy details. ‘Excited About Harris’ Economic Message’ The US presidential elections are less than a week away (scheduled for November 5), with Republican Donald Trump facing...

Maximiliano Pilipis, a 53-year-old former resident of Noblesville, Indiana, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on five counts of money laundering and two counts of failing to file a tax return. The indictment alleges that Pilipis laundered substantial funds, including proceeds from Silk Road, through his operation of an unlicensed virtual currency exchange called AurumXchange. Laundering Silk Road Proceeds Court documents revealed that Pilipis launched AurumXchange in...

Bitcoin and the altcoins went through massive volatility on Friday night after a controversial report from the Wall Street Journal, which was denied by Tether’s CEO immediately. However, the damage was done, which harmed over-leveraged traders, as the liquidations skyrocketed to over $400 million on a daily scale. CryptoPotato reported WSJ’s claims that the US federal government had launched an investigation into the company behind the world’s largest stablecoin for possible...

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari has found himself on the wrong end of a backlash after stating that most cryptocurrency transactions involve drugs or illegal activities. The comment from the official, a known crypto skeptic, did not go unchallenged, with several members of the community calling him out for it. Fed Official Says Crypto Mostly Used for Illegal Activity Kashkari was at a town hall meeting in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, when a member of the...

Fintech giant Stripe has finalized a deal to acquire stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion. This purchase marks the largest acquisition in the crypto industry to date. Record $1.1 Billion Deal TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington revealed the news in a post on X, stating, “This deal is done. $1.1b.” Bridge, co-founded by Sean Yu and Zach Abrams, provides software tools enabling businesses to accept payments in stablecoins. The platform allows companies to create, store,...

A new “State of Crypto” report by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) shows that the blockchain space achieved all-time highs for usage and activity. According to the paper, 220 million addresses interacted with a blockchain at least once in September 2024, a figure three times higher than that recorded at the end of 2023. Solana Has Largest Number of Active Users Most of the activity came from Solana, which logged 100 million active users, followed by NEAR, which...

On October 15, 2024, Juan Tacuri, a senior promoter of the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme Forcount, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and one year of supervised release. The Florida resident was also ordered to forfeit a home bought with scam proceeds, $3.6 million in assets, and pay an equivalent amount in restitution to victims. Details of the Scam Court documents revealed that Forcount operated globally, defrauding thousands of victims with a particular focus on...

Chirag Tomar, a 31-year-old Indian citizen, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for orchestrating a cryptocurrency fraud scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims out of more than $20 million. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell handed down the sentence, which also included two years of supervised release. Scammers Imitate Coinbase to Steal Millions According to court documents, Tomar and his co-conspirators executed the fraud by “spoofing” a website designed to...