Bitcoin Money Launderer Pleads Guilty After Sting Operation
A Bitcoin money launderer has pled guilty to more than $13 million worth of illegal activities involving the cryptocurrency following a long-running sting operation. Hugo Mejia, 49, from Ontario, admitted operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and money laundering which could land him up to 25 years in prison following a 10-month sting operation.
Whether you’re storing real money or cryptocurrency, the way you are going to do so is extremely important because money, any kind of it, is always susceptible to thievery. Similar to storing real money currencies, cryptocurrencies also have different types of wallets, and you should really handle these with even more care than your regular wallet or credit card. Here are a few things that every bitcoin owner should know when it comes to safety and security.
Read the full article at FullyCrypto: https://fullycrypto.com/why-is-storing-bitcoin-so-important-and-how-to-do-it
Following the resolution of the Bitfinex/Tether case last week, the cryptocurrency world breathed a collective sigh of relief now that the ‘Tether FUD’ was over (despite it not being FUD at all). As part of the settlement, which saw Tether’s parent company iFinex agreeing to pay an $18.5 million penalty in return for concluding the case, Tether must submit quarterly filings to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to show that every one of its USDT tokens is backed. However, the fact that they have been either unable or unwilling to provide such information at any point since the first USDT token was minted in 2014 suggests that this process may not be as easy as the community thinks, and that the threat of a Tether collapse may not be over after all.
Read the full article at FullyCrypto: https://fullycrypto.com/the-tether-battle-is-over-but-the-war-lies-ahead
The Central Bank of the Bahamas has announced that it has launched the world’s first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the Sand Dollar. The Sand Dollar digital currency, plans for which were first revealed in 2018, has been tested on two islands in the region in the past 10 months, with those tests being successful enough to now allow a full rollout. In launching the Sand Dollar, The Bahamas has claimed the crown of operating the world’s first fully functioning CBDC, ahead of superpowers like China.
Read the full article at FullyCrypto: https://fullycrypto.com/bahamas-sand-dollar-is-worlds-first-active-cbdc
The Bitcoin hashrate and mempool have endured more volatility than the price this week, with both experiencing surges and corrections. The mempool, which had been rising since October, was finally cleared, thanks in the main to an adjustment of the Bitcoin mining difficulty which allowed the hashrate to drop. However, the resultant hashrate drop is already being eaten away, suggesting that the reprieve in transactions cost and speed may be short lived.
Read the full article at FullyCrypto: https://fullycrypto.com/bitcoin-hashrate-and-mempool-endure-week-of-volatility
A face-to-face bitcoin sale has ended in robbery in Hong Kong after the buyers, thought to be a gang, took back the money they had just paid the seller once the sale had been conducted. The South China Morning Post reports that the seller, a cryptocurrency trader, arranged to sell ₿15 to someone online, only for the person to turn out to be a gang of five who took back the cash they had paid him once the deal was done. The incident highlights the dangers of face-to-face bitcoin sales and acts as a reminder to take certain precautions if it is your only viable method of transaction.
Read the full article at FullyCrypto: https://fullycrypto.com/face-to-face-bitcoin-sale-ends-in-robbery-in-hong-kong
Tether has officially launched on the OMG Network (OMG), taking its tally of networks to six. Tether announced the move on June 1 but have only launched this week, meaning that USDT tokens can now be transacted on Omni, Ethereum, Liquid, EOS, Tron, Algorand, and now OMG Network. In the post announcing the move, the world’s biggest stablecoin couldn’t resist having a dig at Ethereum and its recent congestion problems.
Read the full article at FullyCrypto: https://fullycrypto.com/tether-launches-usdt-on-omg-network
Pantera Capital has said that the impact of PayPal’s new cryptocurrency platform is “already apparent” as the payments giant has scooped up nearly 70% of all new Bitcoin since announcing the platform three weeks ago. This has in turn put pressure on other institutional buyers of Bitcoin such as Square’s Cash App, who until now were the biggest buyer of newly minted Bitcoin, which has helped push the price further and usher in what Pantera Cappital calls a “more sustainable” rally than we saw in 2017.
Read the full article at FullyCrypto: https://fullycrypto.com/pantera-capital-paypal-impact-already-apparent
A Bulgarian crypto exchange owner has been convicted of running a multi-million-dollar money laundering ring as part of an international auction fraud scam. Rossen Iossifov, one of more than a dozen involved in the scheme which was operated from a Romanian car wash, was found guilty by a jury in Frankfort, Kentucky, of conspiracy to commit money laundering and racketeering. Proceeds from the scam were laundered through two crypto exchanges, Iossifov’s RG Coins and CoinFlux, which was owned by fellow defendant Vlad Nistor.
Read the full article at FullyCrypto: https://fullycrypto.com/bulgarian-crypto-exchange-owner-guilty-of-money-laundering