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<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>Away from that. This week, blockchain platform, Solana has entered the AI space. In a tweet on the 26 of April, the company&#8217;s Foundation announced a $1 million fund for small-scale grants exploring the intersection of the Solana blockchain and AI.</p>



<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">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:</pre>



<h4 id="bahamian-authorities-strengthen-crypto-asset-regulations">Bahamian Authorities strengthen crypto asset regulations</h4>



<p>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. </p>



<p>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, &#8220;could be one of the most advanced digital asset legislations in the world.&#8221;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img src="https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/sbf.jpeg" alt="Sam Bankman-Fried lands in the US for trials" class="wp-image-173033" width="657" height="437"/><figcaption>FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrives at court in Nassau, Bahamas on December 21, 2022. Photo: Kris INGRAHAM / AFP Source: AFP </figcaption></figure></div>


<p>&#8220;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,&#8221; the new law states in a document. </p>



<p>It also introduced a &#8220;New Comprehensive Regulatory Framework for Stablecoins&#8221; 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.</p>



<p>Read Also:<a href="https://technext24.com/2023/04/21/roqqu-secures-license-south-africa/">  <strong>Nigerian crypto exchange, Roqqu secures license to operate in South Africa</strong></a></p>



<h4 id="microstrategy-founder-michael-saylor-says-argentines-need-bitcoin-more-than-before">Microstrategy Founder Michael Saylor says Argentines need Bitcoin more than before</h4>



<p>Michael Saylor, the creator of Microstrategy, has stated that people in Argentina, which is experiencing high inflation, now &#8220;need Bitcoin.&#8221; While many <a href="https://news.bitcoin.com/microstrategy-founder-michael-saylor-to-argentines-you-need-bitcoin-critics-insist-btc-is-too-volatile/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bitcoiners</a> applauded Saylor&#8217;s suggestion, some critics argue that the top crypto asset&#8217;s volatility makes it an unsuitable substitute for the country&#8217;s faltering currency.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img src="https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Argentina-and-cryptocurrency-e1638546185317.png" alt="" class="wp-image-142916" width="646" height="369"/></figure></div>


<p>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 &#8220;need bitcoin.&#8221;</p>



<p>However, some of Saylor&#8217;s Twitter followers, such as Manu Ferrari B, a self-proclaimed &#8220;liberty maximalist,&#8221; have stated that the BTC is too unpredictable to be a viable alternative to the sinking peso just yet.</p>



<p><strong>Read Also:</strong> <a href="https://technext24.com/2023/04/20/thodex-farul-fatih-ozer-jailed-turkey/">Thodex’s Farul Fatih Ozer jailed in Turkey two years after allegedly fleeing with $2b</a></p>



<h4 id="south-african-mirror-tradings-ceo-fined-3-4b-by-the-u-s-court">South African Mirror Trading’s CEO fined $3.4B by the U.S Court</h4>



<p>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&#8217;s top commodities watchdog on Thursday.</p>



<p><a href="https://mybroadband.co.za/news/cryptocurrency/429318-mirror-trading-international-ceo-johann-steynberg-arrested-reports.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steynberg was arrested in Brazil</a> on 29 December 2021 — almost exactly a year after he first went missing. </p>



<p>In June 2022, the CFTC charged Cornelius Johannes Steynberg with fraud, stating that the &#8220;controlling person&#8221; 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. </p>



<p>The amount is the biggest civil monetary penalty ever imposed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), according to the regulator.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img width="1604" height="1700" src="https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Screenshot-2023-04-28-at-10.41.26.png" alt="A screenshot of the front page of the court order" class="wp-image-191250"/><figcaption>A screenshot of the front page of the court order&#8230;</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>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.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>The order finds MTI &#8220;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.&#8221;</p></blockquote>



<p>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.</p>



<h4 id="solana-enters-the-ai-space">Solana Enters the AI Space</h4>



<p>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.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">1/ Today, the Solana Foundation announces a $1m fund for small-scale grants exploring the intersection of the <a href="https://twitter.com/solana?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@Solana</a> blockchain and AI.<br><br>The grants range from $5k to $25k, and both new and existing projects are eligible.<br><br>Learn more <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f447.png" alt="👇" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>&mdash; Solana Foundation (@SolanaFndn) <a href="https://twitter.com/SolanaFndn/status/1650982737946222594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">April 25, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<p>According to the company, funding opportunities are available for both new and ongoing projects with funds ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.</p>



<p>The program will drive new AI technology developments, which will boost Solana Blockchain&#8217;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.</p>



<p>Read Also: <a href="https://technext24.com/2023/04/19/chekkit-funding-scale-its-technology/"><strong>Nigeria’s blockchain-powered anti-counterfeiting startup, Chekkit, secures funding from Adaverse to scale its technology</strong></a></p>



<h4 id="solana-launches-chatgpt-plugin">Solana Launches ChatGPT Plugin</h4>



<p>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.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed alignfull is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">(1/2) Solana Labs has created an open-source reference implementation for a ChatGPT plugin that lets users interact with the <a href="https://twitter.com/solana?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@solana</a> network directly from ChatGPT.<br><br>Users will be able to check wallet balances, transfer tokens, and purchase NFTs once ChatGPT plugins are available. <a href="https://t.co/08z1IX76zJ" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/08z1IX76zJ</a></p>&mdash; Solana Labs (@solanalabs) <a href="https://twitter.com/solanalabs/status/1650955017585606656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">April 25, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<p>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.</p>



<p><em>That is all from us this week. See you same time next week!</em></p>

US court fines South African CEO, Cornelius Steynberg $3.4bn for Bitcoin fraud

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