In June 2022, the CFTC charged Cornelius Johannes Steynberg for taking 29,421 BTC (worth more than $1.7 billion at the time...
A Court in Texas has ordered the chief executive of a South African firm to pay a whopping $3.4 billion for what the U.S. commodities regulator identified as the largest-ever fraud case involving Bitcoin.
The CEO in question, Cornelius Johannes Steynberg, has been ordered to pay $1.7 billion in restitution to victims of the fraud scheme and pay another $1.7 billion as a civil penalty, a record for any Commodity Futures Trading Commission case, the regulator said in a statement on Thursday.
Away from that. This week, blockchain platform, Solana has entered the AI space. In a tweet on the 26 of April, the company’s Foundation announced a $1 million fund for small-scale grants exploring the intersection of the Solana blockchain and AI.
In this write-up, we provide a roundup of the major crypto stories from around the world this week that you will find useful. Lets go to it:Join us in showcasing the cryptocurrency revolution, one newsletter at a time. Subscribe now to get daily news and market updates right to your inbox, along with our millions of other subscribers (that’s right, millions love us!) — what are you waiting for?
Bahamian Authorities strengthen crypto asset regulations
On April 26, Bahama released a set of documents seeking to improve crypto-related laws in the wake of the collapse of the Caribbean-based cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Bahamas Securities Commission (SCB) executive director Christina Rolle said in a statement that the new bill, which includes measures for stablecoins, proof-of-work mining, and crypto-asset staking, “could be one of the most advanced digital asset legislations in the world.”
“Operators of cryptocurrency exchanges must ensure that the systems and controls used in their activities are adequate and appropriate for the size and nature of their business,” the new law states in a document.
It also introduced a “New Comprehensive Regulatory Framework for Stablecoins” that seeks to lock value in other assets such as fiat currencies following the collapse of Terra USD (UST) in 2022. Services such as derivatives, staking crypto assets, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are classified as financial assets, will also be subject to regulation.
Microstrategy Founder Michael Saylor says Argentines need Bitcoin more than before
Michael Saylor, the creator of Microstrategy, has stated that people in Argentina, which is experiencing high inflation, now “need Bitcoin.” While many Bitcoiners applauded Saylor’s suggestion, some critics argue that the top crypto asset’s volatility makes it an unsuitable substitute for the country’s faltering currency.
As the Argentine peso continues its decline, which has seen it fall by more than 40% in the last year, Michael Saylor, the founder of Microstrategy, joined in, tweeting that citizens in the South American country now “need bitcoin.”
However, some of Saylor’s Twitter followers, such as Manu Ferrari B, a self-proclaimed “liberty maximalist,” have stated that the BTC is too unpredictable to be a viable alternative to the sinking peso just yet.
South African Mirror Trading’s CEO fined $3.4B by the U.S Court
A US court has ordered the CEO of bitcoin pool operator Mirror Trading International (MTI) to pay $3.4 billion in reparations and penalties, according to a statement issued by the country’s top commodities watchdog on Thursday.
Steynberg was arrested in Brazil on 29 December 2021 — almost exactly a year after he first went missing.
In June 2022, the CFTC charged Cornelius Johannes Steynberg with fraud, stating that the “controlling person” at MTI took 29,421 BTC (worth more than $1.7 billion at the time of acceptance) from 23,000 Americans for running an unlawful commodity pool operation.
The amount is the biggest civil monetary penalty ever imposed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), according to the regulator.
MTI is undergoing liquidation in South Africa, according to the CFTC announcement, while Steynberg himself is a fugitive from South African law enforcement and has been detained in Brazil since December 2021.
The order finds MTI “liable for fraud in connection with retail foreign currency (forex) transactions, fraud by an associated person of a commodity pool operator (CPO), registration violations, and failure to comply with CPO regulations.”
It is unclear how the CFTC hopes to extract the money out of Steynberg, as he still appears to be detained in a Brazilian prison.
Solana Enters the AI Space
In an April 26 tweet, the Solana Foundation announced a $1 million fund for small-scale grants to investigate the interface between the Solana blockchain and AI.
According to the company, funding opportunities are available for both new and ongoing projects with funds ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.
The program will drive new AI technology developments, which will boost Solana Blockchain’s capabilities and offerings. To be eligible for a grant, the tool or software must be freely accessible to the public, open-source, and have the source code available to the Foundation.
Solana Launches ChatGPT Plugin
Solana Labs developed an open-source reference implementation for the ChatGPT plugin as part of the AI effort. The newly built plugin will add a unique feature to the Solana blockchain, allowing users to search the blockchain using an AI chatbot.
Users will be able to do a variety of functions through the ChatGPT user interface, including checking wallet balances, moving tokens, and purchasing NFTs, according to the official tweet.
That is all from us this week. See you same time next week!