It’s no secret that over the last few years, many physical events have now digital iterations or have even been completely digitized into virtual reality. Recently, in Colombia, a local judge decided to bring a court hearing into the metaverse as an experiment with the technology. It was a civil case involving a traffic incident, which will progress further “partially” in the metaverse. While many believe that the metaverse will reshape our social lives, it begs the question if digital reality can best serve important societal moments such as court cases where an individual’s future may be at stake. Cointelegraph …

Some Celsius customers have reported being able to withdraw funds from the bankrupt crypto firm for the first time, some 263 days after the lender froze withdrawals in the lead-up to its bankruptcy filing. According to numerous social media posts, as of Mar. 2, certain customers who held funds in Celsius’ Custody accounts have been overjoyed that they were finally able to withdraw their funds from the lender. Glad to be one of the few to get their money back in almost one piece. Hoping everyone else will receive theirs in due time — richieroyce.eth (@Richie_Royce) March 2, 2023 Customers …

The bankruptcy judge on Voyager Digital’s case has reportedly scolded the United States securities regulator over ambiguous reasoning for objecting to the crypto lending firm’s proposed sale to Binance.US. At a Mar. 2 hearing in a New York court, U.S. bankruptcy judge Michael Wiles said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had basically asked to “stop everybody in their tracks” without explaining how to address concerns it had over the deal according to a Reuters report. The court was considering a restructuring plan announced on Dec. 19 last year to bring Voyager out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy that would see …

An investor with nearly $2 million worth of funds frozen in bankrupt cryptocurrency lender BlockFi has filed a class action complaint against its founders, two directors and crypto exchange Gemini. In a Feb. 28 complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, investor Trey Greene accused the defendants of numerous wrongdoings, including violating the consumer fraud and exchange acts, breaching its fiduciary duties, as well as offering and selling unregistered securities. “The unregistered securities sold by the BFI [BlockFi] Defendants on behalf of BlockFi were marketed and sold via a steady stream of misrepresentations and …

A move by Binance US to acquire assets belonging to the bankrupt crypto lending firm Voyager Digital has been favored by 97% of Voyager’s customers. A Feb. 28 court filing shows an overwhelming majority of Voyager Digital account holders are in favor of the buyout from the United States-based arm of the crypto exchange Binance. Bankruptcy management firm Stretto conducted the balloting of Voyager customers which polled 61,300 account holders with claims against the embattled crypto lender. Of that total, 59,183 voted in favor of the Binance US restructuring plan with just 3%, or 2,117 voters rejecting it. The voters …

Crypto exchange Coinbase has been named as a defendant in a legal complaint brought by NanoLabs — the company behind the digital currency Nano (NANO) — over alleged trademark infringement. In the Feb. 24 filing with the California Northern District Court, NanoLabs alleged Coinbase's Nano Bitcoin futures contract and Nano Ether futures contract products infringe on trademark rights owned by them. It’s also alleged the infringement has caused NanoLabs economic detriment and weakened its brand identity, resulting in “actual damage and irreparable harm." Colin LeMahieu founded the Nano digital currency in 2014; which was originally named RaiBlocks. It was rebranded …

A Colombian court recently hosted its first legal trial in the Metaverse, with the court magistrate saying it felt “more real than a video call,” according to a recent report. According to a Reuters report published on Feb. 24, Colombia’s Magdalena Administrative Court held a court case in the Metaverse on Feb. 15, involving participants in a traffic dispute. The case, which went on for two-hours, was brought by a regional transport union against the police, which will progress “partly” in the metaverse, with a potential for the verdict to also be given in the metaverse. The participants appeared as …

Lawyers representing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in federal court have requested an extension to file a proposal related to his bail conditions. In a Feb. 24 filing with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Mark Cohen of Cohen & Gressler said the legal team wanted until March 3 to file a proposal for additional bail conditions for Bankman-Fried as well as find a suitable candidate to act as a technical expert in the case. The lawyers agreed to hire an expert following a Feb. 16 hearing discussing the former FTX CEO’s use of …

A former facilities worker who allegedly set up a secret cryptocurrency mining operation inside a Massachusetts school’s crawl space is due for arrest after missing a scheduled court hearing to answer to charges. Nadeam Nahas was scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 23 facing charges of vandalizing a school and fraudulent use of electricity, according to media reports. JUST IN: an ex-town employee is accused of running a "Cryptocurrency mining operation" out of Cohasset High School. pic.twitter.com/cdBlMIxnnH — whalechart (@WhaleChart) February 24, 2023 A default warrant is a type if warrant issued by courts when a person fails to appear …

In a superseding indictment filed with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on Feb. 22, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams alleged Bankman-Fried’s actions in the matter involving FTX and Alameda warranted 12 charges. According to the indictment, these included: Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud on Customers of FTX Wire Fraud on Customers of FTX Conspiracy to Commit Fraud on Customers of FTX in Connection with Purchase and Sales of Derivatives Fraud on Customers of FTX in Connection with Purchase and Sales of Derivatives Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud on Investors in FTX Securities Fraud on …

Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather and other celebrities are looking to convince a judge to dismiss another revised attempt to hold them liable for allegedly promoting EthereumMax (EMAX) without proper disclosure. The celebrities asked a California federal judge to dismiss a second amended complaint from EthereumMax investors filed in December. According to the defendants, the renewed allegations pushes the “same basic theory” forward that the court had already previously dismissed. Looks like Floyd is rockin with the $eMax waveeee #EMAX #Ethereummax #Ethereum pic.twitter.com/TB9wNLwCcb — Breezy Gambinø (@BreezyGambino1) June 4, 2021 The investors' class action lawsuit runs on the premise that the …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has again been accused of overstepping its authority and unfairly labeling crypto assets as securities, this time in its insider trading case against ex-Coinbase employees. In an amicus brief filing on Feb. 22, the U.S.-based Chamber of Digital Commerce argued the case should be dismissed as it represented an expansion of the SEC’s “regulation by enforcement” campaign and seeks to characterize secondary market transactions as securities transactions. We have serious concerns about the SEC’s attempt to label these tokens as securities in the context of an enforcement action against third parties who …