Setting aside the criminal investigations of failed crypto businesses like FTX, Celsius, 3AC, Terra and others, 2022 set the record in illicit on-chain transactions. According to a yearly report published by Chainalysis on Jan. 12, the total cryptocurrency value received by illicit addresses reached $20.1 billion in the last year. The numbers aren’t final, as the measure of illicit transaction volume grows over time as the analysts identify new addresses associated with criminal activity. Moreover, it doesn’t include proceeds from non-crypto native crimes like drug trafficking and the funds on the balance of those failed companies, which are now under …

Troubled cryptocurrency lender Nexo is facing more pressure from regulators as its offices have been reportedly raided as part of an international investigation. A group of prosecutors, investigators and foreign agents started searches of Nexo’s offices in the Bulgarian capital, the local news agency Standart reported on Jan. 12. The operation was reportedly initiated a few months ago, targeting a large-scale financial criminal scheme allegedly involving money laundering and violations of international sanctions against Russia. Citing sources of the Bulgarian National Television, the report alleges Nexo’s involvement in the scheme. The television also highlighted Nexo’s alleged ties with the government …

The blockchain gaming industry is experiencing a "massive shift," with the once-popular play-to-earn (P2E) model falling out of favor and focus directed now at improving gameplay experience, a new survey has found. The survey results were included in a newly released annual report from the Blockchain Game Alliance (BGA) on Jan. 12, which was conducted with 347 professionals, representing 252 different projects or companies in the blockchain sector. Most of the respondents were young adult males working for blockchain gaming companies in middle and top management positions, according to BGA. One of the trends gleaned from the report was an …

Bitcoin (BTC) has clocked eight straight days of increasing prices and has surged back above $18,000 for the first time since mid-December. The cryptocurrency hadn't recorded such a prolonged winning streak since July 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last seven days, the price of BTC has increased nearly 8%, with a 4.1% surge in the last 24 hours at the time of writing. Bitcoin gained 300% in year before last halving — Is 2023 different? BTC's price has fallen nearly 65% over 2022. The wider crypto market also faced headwinds resulting from numerous bankruptcies and …

Long before Bitcoin (BTC), Bernie Madoff sat atop the longest-running, largest fraud in history. The rise and real-time fall of Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, former CEO of crypto exchange FTX, were expedited in comparison. While the similarities are profound, the storyline is not: Create organizations under false pretenses, develop relationships with people in authority positions, defraud clients, survive as long as possible, and try not to get caught. Madoff advisers experienced a “liquidity” problem in 2008, around late November into early December, where the fund was unable to meet client redemption requests. On its surface, the fourth-quarter timing of the Madoff …

Ava Labs, developer of the Avalanche network (AVAX), has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to implement new features intended to make running a node easier, according to a January 11 blog post from Ava Labs. The new features include one-click node deployment through the AWS Marketplace, AWS GovCloud integration for Dapp developers concerned about compliance, and the ability to create Avalanche subnets with just a few clicks. It’s official! @Amazon #ChoseAvalanche to bring scalable blockchain solutions to enterprises and governments #AWS fully supports Avalanche’s infrastructure and dApp ecosystem, including one-click node deployment, offering the best tooling for these high …

Crypto and stock markets are usually forward-looking. Meaning, traders tend to ignore the near-term negatives and focus on the positives down the line. With Bitcoin’s (BTC) next halving in 2024, analysts are shifting their attention to this event. Independent market analyst Rekt Capital highlighted this unique market dynamic in 2015 and 2019, a year before halving, Bitcoin rallied 234% and 316% respectively. If history repeats itself, Bitcoin’s price action may spring a surprise in 2023. However, the near term remains uncertain and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data on Jan. 12 may lead to a sharp uptick in volatility. Some …

Northern Data AG, a German company that specializes in Bitcoin mining and cloud computing, released its December 2022 results for its mining division. According to Northern Data AG, in the fiscal year 2022, it mined a total of 2,798 BTC, a significant increase of 315% compared to the previous year. This led to BTC mining revenues of EUR 77.7 million in the fiscal year 2022. The average sale price of the 3,005 BTC mined and sold in 2022 was EUR 23,849, contributing to a cash revenue of EUR 71.7 million. The data released by Northern Data also indicated that it …

The City of London has teamed up with a variety of trade associations to form the UK Forum for Digital Currencies, an alliance that will advocate for “better policies, practice and regulation around digital currencies,” according to a statement released by the five members. Besides the City of London Corporation, the city’s municipal governing body, members of the forum include the Digital Pound Foundation, the Payments Association, CityUK and UK Finance. The latter three organizations are national financial and professional advocacy groups that have previously been engaged in crypto research and advocacy. The forum members will collaborate on an industry-wide …

Bitcoin (BTC) price jumped to $17,500 on Jan. 11, driving it to its highest level in three weeks. The price move gave bulls control of the $275 million BTC weekly options expiry on Jan. 13 because bears had placed bets at $16,500 and lower. The recent move has perma-bulls and dip buyers calling a market bottom and potential end to the bear market but what does the data actually show? Is the Bitcoin bear market over? It might seem too pessimistic to say right now, but Bitcoin did trade below the $16,500 level on Dec. 30 and those bearish bets …

According to a Jan. 11 announcement, cryptocurrency exchange Huobi said that it would delist 33 tokens consisting of tickers ABT, ATP, APN, AST,DIE, DHT, DFA, EDEN, GEAR, HC, INDI, IOI, INV, IRIS, GCOIN, GOF, KMA, MTA, NAS, OPUL, PEARL, PRIMATE, QASH, SMT, SLC, SKU, SOC, STC, TALK, VALUE, WHALE, WILD and YAM. Effective Jan. 16, the aforementioned tokens will cease trading and be delisted permanently. In explaining the decision, Huobi wrote that most of the tokens violated Section 17, Rule 1, and Section 17, Rule 2, of the Huobi Token Management Rules, which states: "Huobi reserves the right, based on …

Ethereum price (ETH) gained 10.2% from Jan. 4 to Jan. 10, breaching the $1,300 resistance without much effort, but has the Ether price move cast a light on whether the altcoin is ready to begin a new uptrend. Will Ethereum’s former resistance level turn to support? After testing the $1,200 support on Jan. 1, the eight-week ascending channel has displayed strength, but Ether bulls fear that negative newsflow might break the pattern to the downside. Despite the positive price trend, the sentiment around Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies hasn't been very enticing. For example, on Jan. 8, Xiao Yi, the former …