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A Ukrainian man accused of using the Conti ransomware for cryptocurrency extortion was extradited from Ireland to the US yesterday to begin legal proceedings in Tennessee, according to the US Justice Department. Oleksii Oleksiyovych Lytvynenko was arrested and charged in 2023 for conspiring to infect people’s computers, encrypt their data, and hold it for ransom.  The 43-year-old and his co-conspirators allegedly extorted over $500,000 worth of crypto from two victims in Tennessee and shared a third victim’s stolen data online.  Lytvynenko’s alleged role involved managing the stolen data and helping out with the ransom notes given to Conti victims.  Europol bounty for Russian crypto ransomware gang wasn’t real Read more: LockBit ransomware gang sends ‘friendly advice’ to new FBI Director Kash Patel Conti is a ransomware-as-a-service tool created by Russian hacking collective “Wizard Spider” in 2019. The FBI claims that, as of January 2022, Conti ha...

Investment manager VanEck has filed to establish a trust entity for the first BNB ETF (exchange-traded fund) in the US. Public records from the official Delaware state website show the firm registered the VanEck BNB ETF on March 31 under the filing number 10148820. Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, aka CZ, shared the news in an X post earlier today.  VanEck BNB ETF First Of Its Kind In The US The formation of a trust is one of the first steps a company takes when in the process of launching an ETF. VanEck’s proposed BNB ETF now heads to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for review. Should VanEck’s proposed BNB ETF receive the regulatory nod from the SEC, it will mark the first fund of its kind that tracks Binance Coin, which is the 5th largest crypto by market cap, in the US.  It is, however, not the first BNB-related product. 21Shares has already launched its Binance BNB ETP outside of the US.  BNB’s price underwent a 24-hour ret...

Liberland has delayed the bridge that will allow traders to move the Liberland LLD token onto Justin Sun’s TRON blockchain for a second time, citing “reasons” for the delay.  According to the micronation’s X account, “For reasons, the TRON bridge will be delayed for a few more days.” It was already delayed last Friday, with Liberland saying, “The developers were complaining about the dangers of deploying on Friday.”  For reasons, the TRON bridge will be delayed for a few more days. Hey, what did you expect? We are the most efficient government of a country, but still a government, so our project delays are measured in days instead of years pic.twitter.com/HTyzCWMTce — Liberland (@Liberland_org) March 3, 2025 Read more: Justin Sun elected prime minister of Liberland for a second time “‘Move fast and break things’ is no longer in fashion, huh?” it said before moving the launch to Monday. The TRON bridge may also represent a conflict of interest...

A report shared by the US Treasury Department has linked Hamas to 300 instances of financing terrorism with crypto and roughly $165 million in transactions, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports.  The report, seen by the WSJ and written by the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, was sent by the Treasury’s deputy secretary Wally Adeyemo to Congress on Tuesday.  It claimed that 12 dozen financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, have found over 300 instances of crypto potentially being used for terrorist financing purposes which suggests that Hamas is moving funds between its operatives.  The report also linked Hamas to almost $165 million in transactions and digital assets over the past three years. It is reportedly the first formal assessment of crypto use related to Hamas as the US looks to increase its oversight of crypto and curtail Hamas’s ability to work around sanctions.  Hamas victims from the US sue Iran, Syria, Binance, and CZ Read more: Hama...

In a joint committee hearing in the Unites States House of Representatives on Wednesday, members of the Financial Services Committee and the Agriculture Committee discussed what regulatory framework is needed to manage the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies in the US. President Joe Biden has often emphasized the need for greater cryptocurrency regulation, including in the recently published plan to reduce cryptocurrency risks. The joint committee hearing on Wednesday debated this sentiment, but several concrete problems and proposals were raised — suggesting general consensus for new regulation is growing. The witnesses for this hearing included several cryptocurrency executives, such as Andrew Durgee, head of advisory firm Republic Crypto. Also in attendance was Marco Santori, crypto exchange Kraken’s legal chief, and Daniel Schoenberger, legal chief of the Web3 Foundation, which runs Polkadot. We’re live tweeting today’s US House joint committee hearing. Starting...