Author: NBTC
Thomas John Sfraga, known as “TJ Stone,” entered a guilty plea to wire fraud charges in a Brooklyn federal court on Thursday. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Sfraga was accused of deceiving investors with the promise of up to 60% returns within three months through a non-existent cryptocurrency digital wallet. Instead of fulfilling these promises, he allegedly diverted these funds for personal use and to placate previous victims of his fraudulent activities. “For years, Sfraga brazenly lied to friends, neighbors, and investors to swindle over $1.3 million of their hard-earned life savings,” commented Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney…
There are approximately 21,800 Bitcoin options contracts due to expire on Friday, April 19. These derivatives have a notional value of around $1.33 billion, which is marginally lower than last week’s expiry event. Moreover, crypto markets have been tanking hard all week, with Bitcoin poised to lose its psychological price level of $60,000. Bitcoin Options Expiry Today’s expiring batch of BTC contracts has a put/call ratio of 0.63, which means there are almost twice as many call (long) contracts expiring as puts (shorts). The bulls still appear to be dominating derivatives markets with the most open interest at the $80,000…
According to data shared by the cryptocurrency analysis platform Santiment, two altcoins have become an extra trend among users today. According to analysts, the first of these altcoins stands out as Worldcoin (WLD). WLD, which is actually an AI-themed token, experienced a 44% increase in market value in May. WLD hit a bottom in April. Interestingly, billionaire Warren Buffett played a big role in WLD’s recent rise to the agenda and its positive impact. According to analysts, the token rose after Buffett recently made a controversial statement that potentially illegal financial activities are becoming more common with artificial intelligence. Worldcoin…
As crypto emerges as an increasingly partisan issue in the 2024 presidential election—what with Donald Trump making overtures to the industry, and President Joe Biden threatening to kill legislation intended to protect it—American crypto companies have begun feverishly spending to aid the campaigns of pro-crypto candidates across the country. Industry mainstays like Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz, and Ripple Labs have already dedicated tens of millions of dollars to influencing key Senate and House races this year. Meanwhile, crypto leaders have begun openly embracing Trump in a manner unthinkable four years ago. But amid the crypto industry’s rise as a force in…
Crypto custody firm Bakkt expects a significant increase in the involvement of institutional investors in the cryptocurrency trading market. The driving force behind this mainstream adoption, according to Bakkt, is the recent approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm made the prediction on Wednesday when announcing its latest quarterly results, according to a report from PYMNTS. Bakkt Sees Surge in Crypto Trading Volume In the first quarter ending on March 31, Bakkt witnessed a remarkable 324% surge in crypto trading volume compared to the previous quarter, primarily fueled by robust client trading…
As the next Bitcoin halving event approaches, the infamous volatility of the Bitcoin price is intensifying, making it increasingly difficult to predict what comes next. According to the latest information, the Bitcoin halving event will take place on Saturday around 04:11 Turkey time (UTC+3). CryptoQuant Research Manager Julio Moreno stated that the selling pressure from traders has actually decreased because these traders have realized all their profits. According to CryptoQuant’s measurements, the “realized price of short-term wallets” is almost equal to the BTC market price. This suggests that short-term traders are no longer collectively making significant profits that would motivate…
Despite a shaky 2022 and a challenging 2023, Shiba Inu remains dedicated to its vision of building a comprehensive crypto ecosystem. Following the development of its metaverse and layer 2 chain, Shiba Inu is now ramping up efforts for its new privacy-centric layer 3 blockchain. Last month, the project team announced that it successfully raised $12 million through the sale of its not-yet-released token, TREAT, the utility and governance token for its layer 3 chain. Bill Qian, Chairman of Cypher Capital, one of the initiative’s major backers, recently joined Crypto Briefing to discuss the future of memecoins, layer 3, and…
Heather Slavkin Corzo, the policy director at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is leaving the agency, according to a Friday press release. SEC Chair Gary Gensler has described Corzo as one of his “most trusted advisers.” He praised her for bolstering investor protections and enhancing events for capital formation. Some of Corzo’s achievements include passing the market fund reform, shortening the settlement cycle, and enhancing corporate disclosure about material cyber events. Corzo was one of Gensler’s first staff appointments after the latter took the reins of the SEC. She joined the agency back in April 2021 in order to…
The cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has experienced significant growth over the past year and, after five years of operation, has surpassed 20 million users. However, its expansion is not as dynamic in some regions due to local regulatory challenges. One such example is France, where the local financial commission, AMF, blacklisted Bybit two years ago. Now, the national regulator issued a new warning to retail investors about the exchange, reminding of its lack of authorization in this part of Europe. Under French law, digital asset service providers (DASPs) must register with the AMF before offering services connected to digital assets, including…
Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ: CAN) reported its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2024, ending March 31. The company announced revenues of $35.1 million, exceeding its previous guidance of $33 million by 6%. Mining revenue saw a significant sequential increase of 182.1%, reaching $10.5 million. The company also achieved a milestone by surpassing 1,000 Bitcoins (BTC) held, ending the quarter with 1,057 Bitcoins. Net loss for the quarter was $39.4 million, narrowed by 71.7% sequentially and 53.3% year-over-year. Canaan’s CEO, Mr. Nangeng Zhang, attributed the strong performance to strategic foresight and resilience, especially as the company navigated through the…