The relationship between cryptocurrencies and the regulatory commission is becoming bitter and harsh day by day; in the past few years, the authorities penalized over 25+ crypto-based companies. 

In a recent verdict, Judge Vince Chhabria in the Northern District of California ordered Koo Ichioka to pay $36 million over cryptocurrency charges and forex fraud. 

The published statement on the website of the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) notes that “ The order requires Ichioka to pay $31 million in restitution to defrauded victims and a $5 million civil monetary penalty in connection with his fraudulent foreign currency and digital asset fraud scheme.”   

On June 22, 2023, the Department of Justice charged Ichioka with one count of wire fraud, two counts of preparing false tax returns, one count of fraud in connection with the purchase and sale of securities, and one count of commodities fraud, all based on the same conduct alleged in the CFTC’s complaint, the information available on CFTC website notes. 

Additionally, Ichioka invested some funds in forex and digital asset commodities; he commingled participant money with his own funds and used participant funds for his own personal expenses, including, among other things, rent for his personal residence, jewellery, watches, and luxury vehicles.

Other Recent News Updates

Earlier on September 20, Todayq reported that Russia plans to introduce a tax on the energy consumption of crypto miners. As per market experts, the move to impose taxes on energy consumption seems to be influenced by the surged revenue of nations termed as hotspots for cryptocurrency miners.  

An on-chain analysis firm noted on September 20, 2024, that the wallets of BingX have been wiped out, resulting in losses of over $40 million. The wallets lost Bitcoin, Ethereum, and some major stablecoins in the hack.  

BingX is constantly in touch with blockchain security firms and enforcement units to identify the mastermind behind the heist. However, some known experts say the Lazarus Group of Korea has operated the hack. 

Hackers, scammers, and fraudsters have been troubling the cryptocurrency market on the verge, resulting in losses of over $1.2 billion YTD (year-to-date). The hackers took control of the YouTube account of the Supreme Court of India on September 20, 2024, and used it to promote cryptocurrency token scam. 

The official YouTube account of the Supreme Court of India is available to the nation’s residents, providing legal information, information related to landmark cases, and other court hearings that are important for the public. 

Crypto Market Price Updates

When writing, the fear and greed index powered by CoinMarketCap was at 50, reflecting neutrality; at the same, the cryptocurrency market capitalization was $2.21 trillion with a surge of 4.50% in the past seven days and grew 2.11% in the past 30 days. 

Until publishing, Bitcoin was trading at $63,059 after registering a surge of 4.88% in the past seven days. However, its intraday trading volume fell 33.55%, reaching $27.41 billion. 

Sui (SUI) price grew by 41.21% weekly, reaching $1.48, followed by Celestia (TIA) at $5.84, with a surge of 34.62%. Although the weekly loser list is ruled by Helium (HNT), it lost 8.65%, reaching $7.03, followed by KuCoin Token (KCS) trading at $7.50 with a fall of 8.56%.