Cryptocurrency execution, Ripple hacking, FTX plan

This week, there has been a surge in cryptocurrency crackdowns around the world, with the United States, Germany, and Hong Kong taking center stage. Chris Larsen, Ripple’s co-founder and chairman, suffered a massive hack. Meanwhile, FTX has revealed plans to reimburse customers in full.

enforcement action

• Several enforcement actions rocked the cryptocurrency scene this week, with the United States accounting for a significant amount. The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has charged Belarusian national Aliaksandr Klimenka in a case related to Russian cryptocurrency exchange platform BTC-e.
• In a subsequent enforcement action, the DoJ charged two New Jersey school employees, Jeffrey Menge and Eric Drabert, with operating an illegal cryptocurrency mining farm in the United States.
• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) joined the party on February 3 and indicted Brian Sewell, founder of the U.S. Bitcoin Academy. He allegedly ran a scheme to steal $1.2 million from unsuspecting students.

regulatory climate

• Even amidst these enforcement actions, the U.S. regulatory environment remains fraught with uncertainty. On January 30, Coinbase appealed the SEC’s rejection of the exchange’s petition for clarification rulemaking, saying the grounds for denying it were inadequate.
• The SEC’s legal challenges continued this week. Securities regulators withdrew their case against Debt Box to avoid potential punishment. This development comes shortly after the court asked for justification for the agency’s proposed penalties against Debt Box.
• According to a report dated January 29, up to 18 U.S. senators, including Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Ted Cruz of Texas, are confirmed to be supporting the cryptocurrency industry.

Germany, UK seize billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency

• This week’s enforcement actions were not limited to the United States. Amid an ongoing investigation into the illegal file-sharing protocol, German police have seized up to 50,000 Bitcoin (BTC) tokens, worth more than $2 billion at the time of reporting.
• A day after this incident, reports emerged that British police had taken similar action in a 2018 investment fraud case involving Chinese nationals. Police announced that they confiscated 61,000 BTC worth $1.7 billion at the time.

Chinese Cryptocurrency Regulations

• China and Hong Kong also made headlines this week amid global regulatory efforts and enforcement. China plans to review its AML policies for the first time in 17 years to accommodate the cryptocurrency industry, according to a January 31 report.
• Hong Kong also expressed its intention to properly regulate the cryptocurrency industry through a press release on February 2nd. The special administrative region reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening regulations related to cryptocurrency.
• In an effort to regulate the cryptocurrency industry, Hong Kong authorities raided six offices associated with OpenAI’s Worldcoin project amid an ongoing investigation into potential data privacy breaches.
• Meanwhile, the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission, together with 11 departments, announced a plan to strengthen energy conservation related to cryptocurrency mining activities.

Ripple Chair Hacked

• Hacking occurred again this week. Ripple co-founder and chairman Chris Larsen was one of the latest victims. On January 31, renowned detective ZachXBT called attention to a hack involving 213 million XRP worth $112.5 million, which he said was linked to Ripple wallets.
• Chris Larsen confirmed the hack, but emphasized that the affected wallets were personal accounts and not Ripple addresses. He and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse emphasized that Ripple’s wallets are not affected.
• ZachXBT said malicious actors used multiple exchanges, including Binance, Gate.io, and Kraken, to siphon funds. Shortly after the development, Binance CEO Richard Teng mentioned on X that the exchange had frozen $4.2 million in stolen funds transferred to Binance.
• In addition to Ripple, the SSX project also saw a security breach this week. The project team reported the theft of $10.2 million worth of SSX tokens to Upbit, which led the exchange to temporarily suspend SSX deposits and withdrawals.

FTX plans to reimburse customers in full.

• Meanwhile, FTX has been in the spotlight this week amid the latest updates regarding its bankruptcy proceedings. The company abandoned previous plans to restart the exchange and revealed plans to liquidate assets to repay customers in full.
• Amid customer repayment plans, the FTX Bankruptcy Foundation secured $26.8 million from a UK-based charity this week. The organization received these funds from FTX during the company’s heyday.
• FTX is seeking permission to sell its stake in public utility Anthropic with the goal of raising $1.4 billion, according to court filings this week.
• This week’s expose shares more insight into some of the reasons for FTX’s losses. In a February 2 report, the DoJ said FTX suffered $400 million in losses due to a simswap attack orchestrated by three individuals over a two-year period.

Spot Bitcoin ​​ETF Market Update

• With the Bitcoin price showing signs of recovery, U.S. spot Bitcoin ​ETF products recorded net inflows on the second day of this week, recording net inflows for the first time in a week. These products recorded total inflows of $247 million on January 30.
• Additionally, the inflow trend extended through February 1, with spot Bitcoin ETF products seeing net positive flows amounting to $38.4 million.
• This week Galaxy Digital and Invesco decided to lower spot Bitcoin ETF fees from 0.39% to 0.25% in response to increased competition. And Valkyrie chose Bitgo as the custodian for its ETF, making it the first issuer to have two custodians.
• The wider cryptocurrency community was delighted when BlackRock and VanEck’s spot Bitcoin ETF product secured advertising space on Google. This follows Google’s new advertising policy changes that allow cryptocurrency-related ads.
• As Hong Kong reviews its view on a spot Bitcoin ETF, the Hong Kong branch of asset manager Harvest Fund has applied to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF.

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