📈 Crypto Fundraiser

Good morning! We have a quick crypto crime briefing before we get into our stories, so queue the Law and Order theme song and let’s get to it.

The first case on the docket: BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes and Benjamin Delo pled guilty to one count each of violating the Bank Secrecy Act, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

The Department of Justice alleges the duo “willfully” failed “to establish, implement, and maintain an anti-money laundering program at BitMEX.” They have agreed to pay a US$10 million criminal fine.

*bangs gavel*

On to our second case: Satish Kumbhani, the founder of BitConnect, has been indicted in a cryptocurrency scheme that defrauded investors out of $2.4 billion. The Department of Justice alleges that Kumbhani operated BitConnect “as a Ponzi scheme by paying earlier BitConnect investors with money from later investors.”

Kumbhani is facing several charges ranging from conspiracy to commit wire fraud and international money laundering to the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business. If found guilty of all charges, he could face up to 70 years in prison.

Court dismissed.

In today’s edition:

🇺🇦 Can crypto save Ukraine?

🪙 Coinbase growth slows down

Fundraising to fight Russia

Millions of dollars in cryptocurrency has been raised over the weekend to support Ukraine’s defence after Russia invaded the country late last week.

What happened: On Saturday, Ukraine’s official Twitter account announced it would be accepting Bitcoin and Ether donations to help finance its war effort. “Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting cryptocurrency donations. Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT,” the tweet read, followed by two addresses that have been confirmed legitimate.

Elliptic, a blockchain analytics company, reports that $22.2 million worth of crypto has been raised to support Ukraine so far.
The Ukrainian ministry of digital transformation said the funds will be used “to destroy as much [sic] Russian soldiers as possible.”
The average donation amount is $95.

NFTs and DAOs have also been created to garner more financial support for Ukraine. Nadya Tolokonnikova, Pussy Riot co-founder and former political prisoner, lent her notoriety to the cause and sold 10,000 Ukrainian flag NFTs.

Proceeds from Ukraine DAO will benefit Return Alive Foundation and NGO Proliska.
A humanitarian aid project called Reli3f sold a collection of NFTs on OpenSea and trended #1 on the marketplace during the sale. It raised over $1 million in 30 seconds.

On the flip side: As governments worldwide impose more significant economic sanctions on Russia, Ukraine’s government wants crypto exchanges to freeze Russian accounts.

We mentioned last week that 12% of the world’s cryptocurrency is held in Russia.

The Russian ruble has plummeted in value in the wake of Western sanctions on its banks, and crypto could become a more important of its financial system as a result.

“It’s crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians but also to sabotage ordinary users,” said Mykhailo Fedorov, vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation of Ukraine.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said it would act in accordance with sanctions. However, it will not “unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users’ accounts.”

Fundraising to fight Russia

Coinbase misses the mark

Bits & Blocks

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