News linked to both this project and an event.
According to a report by Caixin, the Hong Kong High Court of Appeal rejected the sentence reduction application of Ma Zhihao, the ringleader of an online fraud and human trafficking syndicate, yesterday, upholding the original 56-month imprisonment term. During the investigation, Hong Kong police traced the criminal funds through blockchain and cryptocurrency transaction records, pinpointing key transactions involving his receipt of ransoms and illicit proceeds. It is reported that the family members of a victim paid approximately 9,527 Tether (USDT) to a cryptocurrency wallet designated by the perpetrators. Blockchain tracking records conclusively proved that 8,127 USDT flowed into an exchange account registered under Ma Zhihao’s real name and Hong Kong identity card. The assets were subsequently converted into approximately HK$63,000 and transferred to his personal HSBC bank account, serving as crucial evidence of his participation in the crimes and his financial gains. The Court of Appeal noted that, were it not constrained by the seven-year maximum sentencing limit prescribed for the District Court, the penalties faced by the defendant would have been significantly more severe.
Odaily News – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has entered supplemental consent orders against Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX.Under the court orders, Ellison and Wang are required to continue cooperating with the CFTC's investigation, while also facing trading and registration restrictions. Specifically, Ellison received a 5-year trading ban and a 10-year registration ban; Wang received a 5-year trading ban and an 8-year registration ban. The relevant restriction periods begin from the date of the initial consent order, which was signed on December 23, 2022.Previously, on December 23, 2022, the court found Ellison liable for two counts of fraud alleged by the CFTC, and found Wang liable for one count of fraud. Their initial consent orders permanently prohibited them from violating the Commodity Exchange Act and the CFTC's related anti-fraud regulations.The head of the CFTC's Division of Enforcement, David I. Miller, stated that this ruling reflects the regulator's emphasis on "effective cooperation." Although Ellison and Wang, as executives of Alameda and FTX, were involved in the relevant fraudulent conduct and were held liable, the regulator granted leniency in light of their significant assistance in the FTX-related investigations.The CFTC stated that it will not currently require Ellison and Wang to pay restitution, disgorgement, or civil monetary penalties, primarily considering the extent of their cooperation in the investigations and related criminal cases, as well as the $11.02 billion asset forfeiture order involved in the U.S. criminal case. Both individuals have previously pleaded guilty in their criminal cases, including admitting to conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and multiple other charges.
Odaily News: Connecticut Federal District Court Judge Vernon D. Oliver denied Kalshi's motion for a preliminary injunction, ruling that its sports event contracts do not constitute swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act. The CFTC therefore does not hold exclusive jurisdiction. The ruling noted that sports event contracts account for 80% to 90% of Kalshi's listed contracts and revenue, and the CFTC has never reviewed any of these contracts under relevant special rules. Oliver held that event outcomes fall under the category of event results, not separate events. Coinbase Financial Markets suffered a similar defeat on the same grounds, having offered Kalshi contracts through its platform since January as a futures commission merchant rather than a designated contract market, and Connecticut had not previously issued a cease-and-desist order against it. Kalshi was valued at approximately $11 billion at the time of its February hearing, with around 24,000 users in the state. (Bitcoin.com News)
Odaily News, Bybit announced today that it has officially filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against North Korea (DPRK), its Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), and the Lazarus Group, holding the organization legally accountable for the大规模 cyberattack launched against Bybit in February 2025.It is reported that Bybit has successfully obtained a preliminary injunction from the court, freezing identified stolen digital assets held or transferred by unidentified individuals and entities (i.e., "John Doe" defendants). In approving the preliminary temporary restraining order, the court described the incident as "one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in history" and determined that Bybit has a "likelihood of success on the merits" of the case. This civil lawsuit is independent of criminal investigations by U.S. law enforcement and aims to provide an additional legal avenue for asset recovery.In terms of asset recovery and global collaboration, Bybit has achieved notable results in partnership with blockchain analytics firms, multiple exchanges, custodial institutions, and international law enforcement agencies. To date:Approximately $48.4 million in stolen assets have been successfully recovered;Approximately $30.5 million in involved assets have been successfully frozen (distributed across more than 28 exchanges and custodial institutions).These efforts have also supported broader law enforcement actions targeting key infrastructure allegedly used to launder stolen funds: German authorities have dismantled cryptocurrency exchange eXch; German and Swiss authorities subsequently jointly shut down mixing platform Cryptomixer.io, cutting off critical channels for transferring illicit proceeds. These actions collectively demonstrate the effectiveness of collaboration between the private sector and law enforcement agencies in combating transnational cybercrime.Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit, stated: "Our core goal has never changed: prioritizing user protection, making every effort to recover assets, and ensuring those behind this are held accountable under the law. The Lazarus attack was not only directed at Bybit, but also a challenge to the trust foundation of the entire crypto industry. We will continue to deepen cooperation with law enforcement agencies, regulatory authorities, and courts to make the crypto world a place where criminals find it difficult to hide."Bybit emphasized that it will continue to invest in advanced blockchain tracking technology, utilize all available legal means to combat state-sponsored hacker groups, and drive the establishment of a more resilient digital asset ecosystem. The civil lawsuit is currently ongoing.
Odaily News A U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan, Shalina Kumar, on Thursday denied Coinbase's preliminary injunction request to block the state government from enforcing regulations on sports event contracts. The ruling stated that Coinbase failed to demonstrate that its claim of federal law preempting Michigan's jurisdiction was likely to succeed on the merits of the case. Coinbase sued Michigan in December 2025, arguing that prediction markets fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) under the federal Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), rather than state-level regulators. Coinbase sought to provide its platform customers, including those in Michigan, with access to event contracts issued by Kalshi, and stated in its complaint that Michigan law constitutes "conflict preemption" because it obstructs Congress's establishment of a unified federal regulatory framework.
: U.S. Federal District Judge Robert J. Shelby ruled that the Commodity Exchange Act does not prevent Utah from applying its anti-gambling laws to Kalshi's sports event contracts, granting Utah's motion for summary judgment and denying Kalshi's motion for a preliminary injunction. Shelby stated that the jurisdictional provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act are subject to multiple reasonable interpretations, and in such cases, courts generally do not support federal law preemption. He also rejected Kalshi's argument that amendments under the Dodd-Frank Act established federal preemption for derivatives trading. Kalshi spokesperson Jacki McGavick said the company disagrees with the ruling and will appeal to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Currently, Utah users can still use sports event contracts, and the state has not yet initiated enforcement action. The New York Attorney General has already cited the ruling as supplementary grounds in opposing the CFTC's motion for a preliminary injunction against New York state. Earlier, New York sued Kalshi last week, alleging that it operates as an unlicensed gambling operator.
Odaily News: Michigan State Representative Donavan McKinney defeated incumbent U.S. Representative Shri Thanedar in the Democratic primary for Michigan's 13th Congressional District. As of Wednesday, McKinney held 51.9% of the vote, compared to Thanedar's 48.1%. In this primary, Protect Progress, a crypto-backed political action committee, spent over $2 million on media expenditures to support Thanedar's re-election and oppose McKinney. Protect Progress is affiliated with Fairshake, which is primarily backed by crypto companies Coinbase and Ripple. Thanedar previously voted in the House in favor of bills such as the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act. McKinney will face Republican candidate Taras Nykoriak in the November election.
According to CoinDesk, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Minnesota Katherine Menendez ruled on July 28 local time that the Minnesota state law criminalizing the operation of prediction markets likely violates the federal Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), and granted a preliminary injunction to Kalshi, Polymarket, and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to suspend the enforcement of the state law. The judge held that prediction market contracts structurally fall under 'swap' products within the CFTC's regulatory scope, federal law takes precedence over state law, and the three plaintiffs are 'likely to prevail in the formal trial'. Additionally, the judge noted that failing to suspend the enforcement of the law would cause 'irreparable harm' to Kalshi and Polymarket. The preliminary injunction will remain in effect until the final judgment of the case is issued.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez for the District of Minnesota ruled on Monday that a recently enacted Minnesota state law banning prediction markets may conflict with the Commodity Exchange Act. She granted a preliminary injunction in favor of Kalshi, Polymarket, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Kalshi, Polymarket, and the CFTC had sued the state of Minnesota earlier this year after the state passed a law classifying the operation of prediction markets within the state as a criminal offense. The three parties argued that prediction market contracts are structured as "swaps" and that the state law infringes upon the CFTC's regulatory authority over such products. In her ruling, Judge Menendez stated that the parties are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that the federal Commodity Exchange Act preempts the state law.
Odaily Odaily News Crypto derivatives platform BitMEX is facing a proposed class action lawsuit, with BKX Services Inc. and David Namdar filing a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs allege they incurred combined losses of 622.66 BTC from forced liquidations on BitMEX, with BKX claiming losses of at least 305.81 BTC and Namdar claiming losses exceeding 316.85 BTC. The complaint alleges that BitMEX's internal trading desk had access to customers' private information and could continue trading during periods when the server was frozen and regular users were unable to access or close positions. The plaintiffs further claim that BitMEX allowed customers to use leverage of up to 100x and would automatically liquidate positions when the collateral value was still twice the loss amount, with the remaining BTC entering the platform's insurance fund. The plaintiffs are seeking the return of the allegedly withheld Bitcoin, as well as compensatory and punitive damages. They intend to represent U.S. customers who purchased BTC swap products since July 23, 2018. On the same day the lawsuit was filed, BitMEX announced that following a strategic review by its owner, HDR Global Trading, it will cease providing services on September 23, has already stopped accepting new registrations, and plans to prohibit users from opening new positions starting August 26.
Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has donated approximately $10 million worth of Bitcoin to MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting former US President Donald Trump. According to a report filed with the US Federal Election Commission (FEC), Gemini co-founders Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss completed the donations in two installments on June 19, each worth over $5 million. This donation occurred about three weeks after the CFTC and Gemini jointly filed a motion with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeking to vacate the $5 million settlement agreement reached in January 2025. The settlement stemmed from the CFTC's earlier allegations that Gemini had made false or misleading statements. MAGA Inc. can use these funds to support independent political expenditures for Donald Trump. Previously, the Winklevoss brothers each donated $1 million to Donald Trump's 2024 campaign and contributed $21 million worth of Bitcoin to the Digital Freedom Fund PAC to support the crypto policy direction of the Trump administration. Currently, the court has not yet ruled on the motion to vacate the settlement between the CFTC and Gemini. Meanwhile, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig remains the sole commissioner of the agency. As of June 30, MAGA Inc. has reported receiving over $397 million in funds.
Odaily news The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has agreed to pay $150,000 to resolve a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit concerning its records on the Ethereum investigation. According to a joint case status report filed on July 22, the SEC and the plaintiff, History Associates Inc., have reached a settlement and have requested the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to dismiss the case.Under the agreement, the SEC will continue to provide the remaining relevant documents and pay a fixed amount to cover the plaintiff's legal fees. The lawsuit was filed by History Associates in June 2024. This agency, commissioned by Coinbase, demanded the SEC disclose materials related to its regulatory investigation of Ethereum, including investigation files on Zachary Coburn and Enigma MPC, as well as records of regulatory discussions regarding Ethereum's transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS).Previously, this lawsuit prompted the SEC to deliver thousands of documents. The court also ordered the SEC to prioritize providing internal communications sent, received, or reviewed by then-Chairman Gary Gensler regarding Ethereum's migration from PoW to PoS.During the case, the SEC sparked controversy for deleting some of Gensler's text message records. The SEC's Office of Inspector General previously disclosed that the agency accidentally deleted Gensler's text messages from October 2022 to September 2023. Subsequent documents revealed that the SEC also wiped data from 21 senior officials' phones.Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated that the incident highlights transparency issues within government agencies during the crypto regulatory process and noted that the relevant lawsuits aim to promote public access to the basis for regulatory decisions. With the SEC completing the submission of the remaining documents, this lawsuit, which has lasted for over two years, will officially come to an end. (CoinDesk)
the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, in coordination with the U.S. Secret Service's Washington Field Office, announced that investigations into multiple international cyber fraud cases have led to the seizure of over $25 million in cryptocurrency. The funds were allegedly linked to crypto investment scams targeting residents of the United States and Canada.This action is part of the "Scam Center Strike Force," an initiative launched in 2025 by District of Columbia Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. To date, the task force has recovered assets totaling over $800 million. U.S. prosecutors stated that on July 21, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia filed five civil forfeiture complaints in the U.S. District Court, seeking the forfeiture of over $25 million in crypto assets recovered from various fraud investigations.Investigators indicated that these cases involve multiple money laundering networks with victims worldwide. Criminal groups lured victims into investing through fake crypto investment platforms and online romance scams, then laundered the funds through multi-layered wallet addresses and mixing operations to conceal the source of funds. The seized funds are associated with five major investigations:In one case, Canadian law enforcement provided the U.S. Secret Service with wallet addresses suspected of being used to transfer illicit proceeds. Investigators froze the relevant addresses and traced over 270 suspected victim transactions, involving approximately $10.4 million;The second case involved an online romance scam that defrauded over 200 victims. Illicit funds were transferred through hundreds of intermediate wallet addresses and commingled with funds from other victims, involving approximately $12.08 million;The third case involved a victim from the U.S. capital region who participated in a fraudulent crypto investment project. After failing to withdraw funds, the victim lost contact with the scammers, with the involved amount being approximately $1.23 million;In the fourth case, a victim transferred millions of dollars in cryptocurrency to a fake investment account. Investigators traced some of the funds to six wallet addresses and froze approximately $2.39 million;In the fifth case, scammers impersonated an agency that "recovers stolen funds" to trick victims into paying fees, with the involved amount being approximately $285,000.The U.S. Secret Service stated that these cases remain under active investigation. Law enforcement officials are tracking down the suspects behind the fraud network and will cooperate with international law enforcement agencies to hold them accountable.
Odaily Planet Daily reported that the District Court of Rotterdam, Netherlands, has declared the cryptocurrency trading platform Knaken Cryptohandel BV and its affiliated foundation bankrupt. Earlier, the public prosecutor's office stated that approximately 7 million euros (around 8 million US dollars) in client assets from the platform are unrecoverable. The court ruled on Thursday that since Knaken has suspended its platform services and restricted user access to accounts, initiating bankruptcy proceedings will facilitate an orderly liquidation of the company's assets. The court noted that the company's current assets are insufficient to fully repay user funds, and users also lack sufficient information to assess their own legal rights.The Dutch Public Prosecution Service filed the bankruptcy petition on June 30, having already launched a criminal investigation into the missing funds. The Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) also raided Knaken's offices in late June, seizing related equipment and assets.Knaken was founded in 2017, headquartered in Rotterdam, and ceased operations in early June this year. According to Dutch media NL Times, the company was not listed on the register of authorized crypto asset service providers maintained by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM).The AFM previously stated that after the Netherlands concluded the transition period for the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) on June 30, 2025, it has begun taking regulatory and enforcement actions against unauthorized crypto asset service providers. (Cointelegraph)
Argentine Federal Judge Marcelo Martinez ordered the identification and freezing of a group of wallets linked to Libra, after the Federal Police Cybercrime Technical Department tracked the flow of related funds across multiple crypto networks since May. The investigation involves 8 wallets labeled "Libra team," which are directly connected to the token issuance.The report shows that 4 of these wallets had funneled nearly $57 million to an address, which was previously frozen and then unfrozen by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. On May 10, related funds were transferred to a Tron address via an interoperability protocol, with the amount close to $500,000. At least 10 out of 17 transactions passed through Binance, while another 8 wallets are associated with Bybit, 2 with OKX, and 2 with Bitfinex. Some users involved in the $8.2 million in funds could potentially be identified through the KYC rules of centralized exchanges. The remaining funds are currently managed by Libra Trust, which plans to distribute them as grants to Argentine companies by November. There are already 71 applications pending approval.
According to reports from Lianhe Zaobao, Taiwan's largest virtual currency merchant, Bixiang Technology, colluded with fraud groups to launder 2.3 billion New Taiwan Dollars (approximately 92.13 million Singapore Dollars). The Shilin District Court issued a first-instance verdict on July 16. The mastermind, company head Shi Qiren, who had a background in the Tiandao Alliance gang, was sentenced to 22 years in prison, and criminal proceeds exceeding 43.71 million New Taiwan Dollars were confiscated. It is reported that Shi Qiren was the head of the Taiwan region of the offshore virtual asset exchange CoinW (CoinWin). Since CoinW had not completed the anti-money laundering compliance registration with the Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission, he acquired Bixiang Technology, which had passed the compliance declaration, as a shell company for 19.2 million New Taiwan Dollars in October 2023. Subsequently, 45 physical stores were opened across Taiwan to illegally sell Tether (USDT), collaborating with fraud groups to deceive the public through methods such as fake investments, fake friendships, and fake recruitment. Between January 2024 and April 2025, a total of 1,539 victims suffered losses, with the defrauded amount reaching 1.275 billion New Taiwan Dollars, and the overall money laundering amount exceeding 2.3 billion New Taiwan Dollars.
According to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of New York Office of the United States Attorney, two Chinese citizens, Zhuoying Chen (aka "Jolene", 27, Brooklyn) and Haojie Zhang (aka "Kevin", 38, Queens), were formally indicted on July 16 at the Brooklyn Federal Court on charges of conspiracy to launder money. According to the allegations, between 2020 and 2022, the two managed a money laundering network of more than ten people in Queens and Brooklyn, New York, using approximately 45 shell companies and 140 corporate bank accounts to transfer at least $43 million in proceeds from "pig butchering" investment fraud to accounts within China. "Pig butchering" scams contact victims through social media or instant messaging software, gaining trust with false high-return investment opportunities before absconding with the funds. This case was jointly investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI, IRS-CI, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. If convicted, the two defendants each face up to 20 years in prison.
According to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, former Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) deputy Scott Allen Simpkins (34 years old) was sentenced by a federal court on July 13 to 18 months imprisonment and fined $10,000 for obstructing a judicial investigation. Simpkins was previously employed by a private security company under businessman Adam Iza, who claims to be the "godfather" of cryptocurrency. In August 2021, he witnessed Iza threaten party planner R.C. with bullets at his Bel Air mansion, forcing him to transfer $25,000. During the federal investigation in November 2024, Simpkins lied multiple times to the FBI and federal prosecutors, falsely claiming he did not witness the ammunition and financial transactions, thereby interfering with the criminal investigation into Iza. Iza has currently pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges, including conspiracy to violate rights, wire fraud, tax evasion, and suspected kidnapping and robbery involving Bitcoin, among others, and is awaiting sentencing. This case was jointly investigated by the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division.
According to Bloomberg Law, the U.S. Department of Justice plans to drop all criminal charges against Matthew Goettsche, the alleged mastermind of BitClub Network, overturning the indictment decision from 2019. Goettsche was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and selling unregistered securities; the BitClub Network he operated attracted investors under the guise of "mining pool dividends," but actually fabricated returns and is suspected of defrauding investors of over $722 million. The case was originally scheduled for trial in October this year, but the Office of the Deputy Attorney General recently ordered the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey to terminate the prosecution via "dismissal with prejudice," while still seeking to recover some investor losses. Analysts point out that this move is the latest case of the Trump administration significantly scaling back cryptocurrency enforcement actions—both Trump himself and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche hold crypto assets, sparking external questions about conflicts of interest. Previously, three co-defendants had pleaded guilty one after another, while Goettsche's case was delayed for nearly 7 years due to evidence review of approximately 2 million electronic records and multiple breakdowns in plea negotiations.
U.S. prosecutors have recently filed criminal charges against a man currently serving a prison sentence, accusing him of transferring and laundering approximately $290,000 in crypto assets that had been ordered confiscated by a court.According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Bulgarian national Rossen Iossifov is charged with, in January 2024, conspiring with others to withdraw and transfer a batch of cryptocurrency assets from his Kraken-registered account that had previously been ordered forfeited by a federal court. Prosecutors allege that these funds were subsequently funneled through cryptocurrency mixing services and trading platforms in an attempt to conceal the source and destination of the funds before the U.S. government could complete the seizure.The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky stated that these crypto assets were held in a Kraken account under Iossifov's name and had been restricted by judicial authorities during the related investigation. The DOJ has not yet disclosed how the account was accessed or whether the involved funds have been recovered.Iossifov was previously convicted of conspiracy to commit extortion and conspiracy to commit money laundering for his involvement in an online auction fraud ring. Prosecutors allege that his cryptocurrency exchange platform, RG Coins, helped the criminal network convert illicit proceeds into cryptocurrencies and cash, with the network defrauding at least 900 U.S. victims. Previous investigations showed that Iossifov processed nearly $5 million in crypto asset money laundering transactions in less than three years.A court had previously ordered Iossifov to pay over $2.6 million in restitution and to forfeit the related crypto assets. The new charges include obstruction of property seizure, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 25 years in prison.The U.S. Department of Justice emphasized that the indictment represents only charges and that Iossifov is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. (Cointelegraph)