FTX and Alameda Research cash out $10.8M to Binance, Coinbase, Wintermute

Wallets linked to defunct crypto trading firms FTX and Alameda Research moved $10.8 million to accounts in Binance, Coinbase and Wintermute using eight cryptocurrencies. Blockchain analysis firm Spot On Chain found $10.8 million worth of cryptocurrencies being moved from FTX and Alameda Research accounts to various crypto exchanges. The firm estimated that the defunct entities transferred $551 million since Oct. 24 using 59 different cryptocurrency tokens. #FTX and #Alameda moved out $10.8M worth of 8 assets to #Wintermute, #Binance, and #Coinbase in the past 11 hrs: 10M $GMT ($2.58M)407K $UNI…

Solomon Islands, Soramitsu team up for Bokolo Cash CBDC proof-of-concept

The Central Bank of Solomon Islands has launched a proof-of-concept for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) called Bokolo Cash, with Japanese blockchain Soramitsu providing support. Bokolo Cash will be worth one Solomon Islands dollar. Project participants can use it in retail settings in the island nation’s capital, Honiara, and for person-to-person transfers. Wholesale transfers between commercial banks and simulated cross-border payments and remittances will also be tested. Users will undergo “two-tier” Know Your Customer verification, according to Soramitsu. Related: Small Islands, big problems: Can Bitcoin fix this? Cointelegraph Cape…

Tornado Cash token falls 57% after Binance announces delisting

The governance token for crypto mixer Tornado Cash (TORN) has fallen by over 50% on Nov. 26-27, according to data from Coingecko. The crash came on the same day that crypto exchange Binance announced it was delisting the token. Tornado Cash 24-hour chart. Source: Coingecko. Tornado Cash is a cryptocurrency mixing protocol. Its token, TORN, is used to vote on proposals for upgrading the protocol. On Nov. 26-27, the token took a nosedive, falling from $3.90 to just $1.66, a decline of 57%. The price decline happened as the world’s…

Mt. Gox set to begin cash repayments to creditors ‘shortly’ in 2023

Creditors of Mt. Gox, a Bitcoin exchange that ceased operations after losing 850,000 BTC in a 2014 hack, have reportedly received an email indicating forthcoming repayments. On Nov. 21, Nobuaki Kobayashi, the trustee in charge of the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange’s estate, began issuing emails to rehabilitation creditors about the initiation of repayments, as reported by numerous sources on social media. The email allegedly sent by Kobayashi indicates plans to begin the first round of cash repayments to creditors in 2023. The trustee is expected to extend these repayments into…

Mt. Gox Finally Set to Begin Creditor Cash Repayments in 2023

Creditors will start receiving cash repayments from the Mt. Gox Trustee this year. These repayments are specified to be cash and may not include crypto. The defunct Japanese crypto exchange Mt. Gox is set to begin creditor repayments this year, about a decade after its collapse. Creditors of the exchange received an email on Wednesday where rehabilitation trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi stated that all persons whose repayment applications were approved would start receiving cash payments. The email notes that payments will begin sometime this year and continue until next year. However, it does…

Blockchain Association Offers Support to Lift Sanctions on Tornado Cash

Blockchain Association slammed the OFAC stating that the regulator should catch hold of individuals engaging in illicit activities instead of imposing the ban. The Blockchain Association has reiterated its support for six plaintiffs challenging the US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over the sanctions imposed on Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer. In a recent amicus curiae brief to a US appellate court, the advocacy group argued that OFAC’s sanction on the privacy protocol was not only unlawful but also exceeded its statutory authority. The Blockchain Association claimed that…

Blockchain Association files support in suit to lift Tornado Cash sanctions

The Blockchain Association has thrown fresh support behind six plaintiffs suing the United States Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over its sanctions on the crypto mixer Tornado Cash. In a Nov. 20 amicus curiae brief to a U.S. appellate court, the crypto advocacy group argued OFAC’s decision to sanction the privacy protocol was not only unlawful but exceeded its statutory authority and was both “arbitrary and capricious” — contrary to the U.S. Constitution. It’s the second amicus brief filed by the Blockchain Association supporting a group of Tornado…

US Feds Arrest Three Men for Allegedly Duping Banks out of $10,000,000 and Funneling Cash to Crypto Exchanges

Federal law enforcement authorities have arrested three men accused of scamming millions from US banks and financial institutions and then moving the stolen money into foreign cryptocurrency exchanges. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says Zhong Shi Gao, Naifeng Xu and Fei Jiang recruited individuals, often foreign nationals from China and Taiwan temporarily living in the US, to open accounts at various banks. The trio would then take control of the bank accounts, initiate fund transfers between these accounts and then file fraudulent reports claiming that the transactions were unauthorized,…

Tornado Cash users file appeal over judgment in favor of US Treasury

A group of Tornado Cash users has filed an appeal in federal court following a ruling upholding the United States Treasury’s decision to add the cryptocurrency mixer to its list of sanctioned entities. In a Nov. 13 filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, lawyers representing plaintiffs Joseph Van Loon, Tyler Almeida, Alexander Fisher, Preston Van Loon, Kevin Vitale and Nate Welch argued that the U.S. Treasury “stretched [its] authority beyond recognition” in sanctioning Tornado Cash transactions. The filing came in response to an August decision…