China News Official TheBitTimes.com

SafeMoon founders arrested; Kyle Nagy at large. The charges include wire fraud and money laundering. There are also accusations of misappropriation and investor deception. In a significant development, the founders of SafeMoon, a decentralized finance digital asset, are facing criminal charges in the United States. Braden John Karony and Thomas Smith have been arrested, while Kyle Nagy remains at large. The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York has charged them with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. The arrests and allegations Braden John Karony and Thomas Smith, two of the individuals behind SafeMoon LLC, were apprehended in Provo, Utah, and Bethlehem, New Hampshire, respectively. They are accused of participating in a scheme to de fraud investors in SafeMoon. This cryptocurrency, issued by SafeMoon LLC, gained immense popularity, with its market capitalization exceeding $8 billion. The charges revolve aro...

The stablecoin issuer freezes addresses containing $873,000 USDT linked to illicit activity in Israel and Ukraine. Stablecoin issuer Tether has moved to freeze 32 addresses linked to terrorist activity in Israel and Ukraine in collaboration with local law enforcement agencies. $873,118 worth of USDT linked to illicit activity in Israel and Ukraine have been frozen, according to announcement from the company. The action was taken in a collaboration with Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing. Paolo Ardoino, who was appointed as Tether CEO in Oct. 2023, highlighted the fact that cryptocurrency transactions are easily traced on blockchain platforms which has enabled Tether to assist in blocking the use of USDT linked to terror ist funding. “Contrary to popular belief, cryptocurrency transactions are not anonymous; they are the most traceable and trackable assets." The CEO added that the stablecoin issuer is actively working with global law enforcement agencies to ...

The transparency of blockchain technology and the active involvement of crypto exchanges help law enforcement agencies combat criminal activity. Cryptocurrency is often associated with criminal activity, but this is mostly a myth, especially today. Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies don’t provide complete anonymity due to the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) policies implemented by most crypto exchanges. Even without KYC scanning, law enforcement agencies can easily track crypto transactions to identify criminal activity, as the blockchain is transparent and immutable. In 2019, United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that Bitcoin was a national security issue, since it had been used for illicit activities. To him, cryptocurrencies were dominated by illegal activities and speculation. But the facts say otherwise. Though illicit crypto volumes reached an all-time high at $20.6 billion in 2022 (primarily due to sanctioned entities), the share of all crypto activity linked wit...

Unsuspecting users looking to claim Blur token airdrops have had funds stolen by a number of fake websites. Scammers continue to prey on nonfungible token (NFT) users looking to claim Blur token airdrops through the use of numerous scam websites. According to data from TrustCheck, over $300,000 has been stolen from unsuspecting users that have linked wallets to malicious websites. The legitimate Blur platform is a newcomer to the NFT marketplace space and has made waves in the industry, with booming user numbers and trading volume a direct result of the platform’s three-phase airdrop incentive scheme. 10% of Blur’s total token supply was distributed to users based on their trading activity in its second token airdrop scheme from Feb. 15. The first airdrop was retroactive, awarding tokens to anybody who traded an NFT on Ethereum in the six months leading up to the platform’s launch in October 2022. The second airdrop awarded tokens to users who listed NFTs before Dec. 6, while the thi...