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[ad_1] Changpeng Zhao had long cultivated the image of the rugged pugilist of the cryptocurrencies world. When his rival Sam Bankman-Fried ’s crypto empire collapsed a year ago, Zhao, or “CZ” as his fans call him, was in the middle of it all, yanking his money in a very public way and helping trigger the ultimately fatal run on the firms. Years earlier he claimed the company’s headquarters was wherever he happened to be, a thinly veiled salvo against regulators trying to nail down jurisdiction.And this March, when US regulators charged Zhao and his firm, Binance Holdings, with violating US securities laws, his on-line response was “4,” which is Zhao code for dismissing something as unworthy of his attention. On Tuesday, though, Zhao cut a very different image in a Seattle courtroom. Dressed in dark suit and pale blue tie before a federal judge, he pleaded guilty to criminal charges for anti-money laundering and US sanctions violations, including allowing transactions with Hamas

[ad_1] Although the cryptocurrency industry remains shadowed by recent blowups and controversy, the world's most important token — bitcoin — is making a comeback.  The value of bitcoin soared to nearly $42,000 on Monday, marking the first time the digital currency cracked $40,000 in 18 months, price tracker CoinDesk Indices  shows .  The resurgence stands in contrast to the questions that have dogged the sector since last year's spectacular flameout of crypto exchange FTX, leading to the November conviction of founder Sam Bankman-Fried on seven counts of fraud. Also last month,  Binance  — the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange platform — agreed to pay $4.3 billion after admitting that it violated U.S. laws to prevent money laundering and sanctions violations, with CEO Changpeng Zhao pleading guilty to one federal charge. Despite such scandals, bitcoin's priced has soared 150% this year, although it remains down from a hig

[ad_1] Binance , the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange platform — where users from across the globe buy and sell electronic forms of money — admitted to violating U.S. laws to prevent money laundering and sanctions violations and agreed to pay the government $4.3 billion in fines and fees, the Justice Department announced Tuesday. CEO Changpeng Zhao has also pleaded guilty to one federal charge. Binance has been under investigation by numerous regulators and law enforcement agencies, including the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. The company acknowledged Tuesday that it did not take proper steps to prevent money laundering on its platform and operated illegally in the U.S., permitting traders in nations currently sanctioned by the federal government — like Iran — to engage in business deals with Americans.  Zhao Changpeng, chief executive officer of Binance, poses for a photograph following a Bloomberg Television interview in Tokyo, Japan, on Th

[ad_1] Win Mcnamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images Elon Musk asked a U.S. judge on Friday to throw out a $258 billion racketeering lawsuit accusing him of running a pyramid scheme to support the cryptocurrency Dogecoin. In an evening filing in Manhattan federal court, lawyers for Musk and his electric car company Tesla Inc called the lawsuit by Dogecoin investors a "fanciful work of fiction" over Musk's "innocuous and often silly tweets" about Dogecoin. The lawyers said the investors never explained how Musk intended to defraud anyone or what risks he concealed, and that his statements such as "Dogecoin Rulz" and "no highs, no lows, only Doge" were too vague to support a fraud claim. "There is nothing unlawful about tweeting words of support for, or funny pictures about, a legitimate cryptocurrency that continues to hold a market cap of nearly $10 billion," Musk's lawyers said. "This court should put a stop to plain

[ad_1] Federal Reserve Bank Governor Michelle Bowman gives her first public remarks as a Federal policymaker at an American Bankers Association conference In San Diego, California, February 11 2019. Ann Saphir | Reuters Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman expressed skepticism over the possibility of a digital U.S. dollar, noting Tuesday the multiple risks such a system could impose. A central bank digital currency (CBDC) could intrude on the privacy of users and harm the banking system while providing few benefits that aren't otherwise available for banked and unbanked consumers alike, Bowman said in a speech. related investing news "We must ensure that consumer data privacy protections embedded in today's payment systems continue and are extended into future systems," she said in prepared remarks at Georgetown University. Bowman further noted "the risk that a CBDC would provide not only a window into, but potentially an impediment to, the freedom Ameri

[ad_1] Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to charges that he defrauded customers out of millions of dollars worth of digital assets. Wearing a backpack, Bankman-Fried made his way through a sea of cameras as he entered the Manhattan courthouse on a rainy day to stand before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan. Bankman-Fried sat silent in the court room while attorney Mark Cohen announced his client's plea. "He pleads not guilty to all counts," Cohen said.  Judge Kaplan set a tentative trial date of Oct. 2. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has  charged Bankman-Fried  with eight counts of fraud, money laundering and other financial crimes. Bankman-Fried, who stepped down as FTX's CEO in November, also violated political contribution laws by donating to candidates and committees in New York under another person's name,

[ad_1] FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried faced new fraud charges Thursday, as prosecutors accused him of cheating thousands of investors out of billions of dollars while casting himself as a trustworthy "savior of the cryptocurrency industry" — an image boosted by celebrity-studded Super Bowl advertising and big donations to political figures. Four new charges, including securities fraud and conspiracy fraud counts, were unveiled with the unsealing of the refreshed indictment in Manhattan federal court that was returned a day earlier. In a statement, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams hinted, as he has several times previously, that prosecutors were not finished building their case. "We are hard at work and will remain so until justice is done," he said. A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried declined to comment. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to fraud

[ad_1] Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius , has been arrested and charged with fraud, federal prosecutors said on Thursday. Mashinsky was charged with seven criminal counts, including securities, commodities and wire fraud, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan. He is also accused of misleading Celsius customers about the company's business, including how it would use their money, while depicting the lender as a bank when in fact it operated as a risky investment fund, according to the indictment. Celsius was a platform that allowed its customers to earn returns on their crypto assets in the form of weekly payments, take out loans secured by their crypto assets and custody their crypto assets, according to the DOJ.  Mashinsky aggressively promoted Celsius through the media and Celsius's website, including a weekly "Ask Mashinsky Anything" broadcast,

[ad_1] A visual representation of the digital cryptocurrency, XRP. S3studio | Getty Images Ripple's XRP token surged on Thursday after a judge in the Southern District of New York ruled that it's "not necessarily a security on its face." The price of XRP was last higher by 70% at about 80 cents a coin, according to Coin Metrics. The news gave hope to crypto investors, who breathed a sigh of relief that other altcoins may not be considered securities after all. Polygon's matic token gained 11%. Litecoin and the token tied to Solana jumped 8%, and Cardano's token advanced 7%. Bitcoin and ether got a boost too, of 3% and 7%, respectively. "The judgments today are a huge step forward for the industry," Chris Martin, head of research at Amberdata, told CNBC. "By judging that XRP is not a security we're starting to get clarity on what constitutes a security and what constitutes a commodity — the SEC will have to revise their tactics on

[ad_1] A visual representation of the digital cryptocurrency, XRP. S3studio | Getty Images Ripple's XRP token surged on Thursday after a judge in the Southern District of New York ruled that it's "not necessarily a security on its face." The price of XRP was last higher by 70% at about 80 cents a coin, according to Coin Metrics. The news gave hope to crypto investors, who breathed a sigh of relief that other altcoins may not be considered securities after all. Polygon's matic token gained 11%. Litecoin and the token tied to Solana jumped 8%, and Cardano's token advanced 7%. Bitcoin and ether got a boost too, of 3% and 7%, respectively. "The judgments today are a huge step forward for the industry," Chris Martin, head of research at Amberdata, told CNBC. "By judging that XRP is not a security we're starting to get clarity on what constitutes a security and what constitutes a commodity — the SEC will have to revise their tactics on