A Brazilian citizen accused of orchestrating a $290 million cryptocurrency fraud scheme has been extradited from Switzerland to the United States, where he faces a 13-count indictment for wire fraud and conspiracy.  Douver T. Braga, 48, appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle on February 21 and pleaded not guilty to all charges. His trial…

Bybit, a major cryptocurrency exchange, is moving to shore up approximately $1.5 billion worth of Ether (ETH) through loans after funds were stolen by North Korea-linked Lazarus Group, according to industry analyst Eric Wall.  Per Wall’s analysis in a February 21 X post, the exchange’s decision to take out loans instead of liquidating its assets…

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has linked the recent $1.46 billion Bybit hack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, according to a submission made to Arkham Intelligence at 19:09 UTC.  Notably, the finding, which includes an extensive forensic analysis of wallet movements and test transactions, has been shared with Bybit’s security team to support its ongoing investigation. BREAKING:…

Societe Generale-FORGE (SG-FORGE), a subsidiary of Societe Generale [a top commercial bank in France], has announced the expansion of its euro-backed stablecoin (EURCV) to the Stellar blockchain.  Notably, the move aims to enhance accessibility, speed, and efficiency for financial institutions and businesses leveraging digital assets. The decision aligns with the company’s multichain strategy, integrating the…

Coinbase is advancing its presence in the crypto derivatives market by introducing new futures contracts for Solana (SOL) and Hedera (HBAR), securing regulatory approvals, and expanding institutional access.  Notably, these initiatives announced on February 18 aim at bridging traditional finance and the cryptocurrency sector, offering more options for traders and investors. https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1891888476490006796 Coinbase’s New CFTC-Regulated Solana…

Brazil is set to host the world’s first spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) following approval from the country’s securities regulator according to local media.  Hashdex, a leading crypto asset manager, has received authorization from the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) to launch the fund [the HASHDEX NASDAQ XRP INDEX FUND], which is currently pre-operational.…

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has announced a new regulatory roadmap, ASPIRe, outlining 12 key measures to bolster Hong Kong’s position as a global virtual asset hub. Notably, the initiative focuses on enhancing security, fostering innovation, and expanding market growth. Key Pillars of  the SFC’s ASPIRe The ASPIRe roadmap consists of five pillars: Access,…

El Salvador has increased its daily bitcoin purchases from 1 BTC to 1.6 BTC, adding 93.417 BTC to its holdings over the past two months.  Notably, the Central American nation, which became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, now holds approximately 6,081 BTC, valued at around $579.9 million. No longer…

In recent developments, the Rosseti group [the company, which manages electricity distribution in Russia] reported significant losses due to illegal connections by "black" miners, totaling over 1.3 billion rubles in 2024.  Per Tass media local coverage, the most substantial losses were incurred by Rosseti North Caucasus, which faced damages exceeding 600 million rubles, followed by…

Adecoagro S.A. (NYSE: AGRO), a prominent sustainable production company in South America, announced on February 18, that its Board of Directors received an unsolicited non-binding acquisition proposal from Tether Investments S.A. de C.V.  The proposal, dated February 14, 2025, offers to acquire all outstanding common shares of Adecoagro at a price of $12.41 per share,…