Bitfinex Hacker Freed, Treasury Shifts, and Global Policy Moves

On this week’s version of the weekly recap, the Bitfinex alternate hacker secured early jail launch via prison justice reform laws, BitMine Immersion’s chairman requested shareholder approval for large approved share growth, and South Korean merchants transferred over $110 billion to international platforms amid home regulatory constraints.

Bitfinex hacker credit Trump laws for early launch

• Ilya Lichtenstein introduced Thursday by way of X that he has been launched from jail early beneath President Donald Trump’s 2018 First Step Act.
• Lichtenstein, who confessed to orchestrating the cryptocurrency alternate hack, said he “stays dedicated to creating a optimistic influence in cybersecurity as quickly as I can” following his launch.

BitMine chairman addresses share authorization proposal

• Tom Lee, chairman of Ethereum treasury agency BitMine Immersion, urged shareholders to approve a board proposal growing the corporate’s approved share depend from 500 million to 50 billion.
• In a start-of-year message, Lee clarified that the proposed improve will not be meant to “dilute” present shareholders.

Iran accepts cryptocurrency for weapons purchases

• Mindex, the export heart of Iran’s Ministry of Protection, started accepting cryptocurrency funds for superior weapons techniques as a technique to bypass worldwide sanctions.
• Potential clients can buy missiles, tanks, and drones utilizing cryptocurrency alongside different accepted fee strategies together with Iranian rials or bartering in line with the middle’s web site.

Turkmenistan legalizes cryptocurrency operations

• The nation formally applied the Legislation on Digital Belongings legalizing cryptocurrency mining and exchanges to spice up financial growth and entice international funding.
• President Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed the rules November 28, offering a framework for digital asset use, creation, and alternate inside the nation.

Cuban and Mavericks defeat Voyager fraud lawsuit

• A cryptocurrency class motion alleging Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks defrauded buyers by selling now-bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital has been dismissed in its entirety.
• U.S. District Court docket Choose Roy Okay. Altman dismissed the matter December 30, ending claims beneath numerous state securities legal guidelines and client fraud statutes in line with Cuban’s authorized crew at Brown Rudnick.

Trump Media broadcasts shareholder token distribution

• The corporate behind Reality Social revealed Wednesday plans to distribute a brand new digital token to shareholders via a partnership with Crypto.com.
• The token can be issued on Crypto.com’s Cronos blockchain, with every shareholder receiving one token for each complete share of DJT inventory held as soon as this system launches.

Cypherpunk expands privateness coin holdings

• The Winklevoss twins-backed digital asset treasury agency bought $28 million price of privateness coin zcash, bringing complete holdings to 290,062 ZEC valued at $152 million.
• Nasdaq-listed Cypherpunk Applied sciences acquired 56,418 tokens at a median value of $514.02 per token, now holding roughly 1.76% of zcash’s circulating provide.

Prenetics abandons Bitcoin treasury technique

• The health-sciences firm that raised $48 million earlier this 12 months partially to construct a Bitcoin treasury introduced it’s going to stop BTC purchases amid extended cryptocurrency market weak spot.
• Prenetics launched its accumulation technique in June following the mannequin championed by Michael Saylor’s Technique Inc., however enthusiasm light after October’s steep market downturn.

China introduces interest-bearing digital yuan

• The Individuals’s Financial institution of China introduced Monday a serious framework overhaul revealing that industrial banks will start paying curiosity on digital yuan holdings.
• This coverage change goals to advertise adoption of the state-backed digital foreign money by offering monetary incentives for customers to carry balances.