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The cryptocurrency industry was full of news last week, with several major stories making headlines. In this report, we will take a closer look at the top five stories, including:
- A former FTX executive pleaded guilty to charges related to the exchange's collapse.
- Texas paid bitcoin miners not to mine during peak demand periods.
- The assets and property of former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky were ordered frozen.
- Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposed a privacy protocol to comply with regulations.
- An Ethereum user lost $24 million in a phishing attack.
Former FTX executive pleads guilty to charges related to the exchange's collapse
Ryan Salame, a former executive at the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Salame admitted to making $10 million in political contributions under the guise of loans. He also agreed to surrender $1.6 billion in assets and forfeit two properties and a Porsche. Salame is the fourth individual to plead guilty in relation to the crypto exchange FTX's collapse.
Texas pays bitcoin miners not to mine during peak demand periods
Two prominent Bitcoin mining companies, Riot Platforms and Iris Energy, received substantial energy credits from the state of Texas for voluntarily reducing their power consumption during peak demand periods. Riot Platforms, which operates North America's largest bitcoin mining facility in Rockdale, Texas, curtailed its power usage by over 95% and was compensated with a record monthly sum of $31.7 million. Iris Energy was awarded $2.3 million in credits for the voluntary curtailment at its Childress site. These actions by both companies are in response to a Texas state program incentivizing bitcoin miners to lower energy consumption during grid congestion periods.
Former Celsius CEO's assets ordered frozen
The assets and property of former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky have been frozen following an order from The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. This order encompasses funds at Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and SoFi Bank, as well as a residence in Austin, Texas. Mashinsky's arrest in July stemmed from allegations that he defrauded customers and misrepresented the profitability of Celsius. The company, which declared bankruptcy last year, is under scrutiny from various regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposes privacy protocol to comply with regulations
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, alongside Ameen Soleimani, Jacob Illum, Matthias Nadler, and Fabian Schar, recently co-authored a research paper introducing a privacy protocol named Privacy Pools. This protocol, which might serve as an alternative to Tornado Cash, is designed to ensure transactional privacy on blockchains while complying with regulations. It uses zero-knowledge proofs to confirm the legality of user funds without disclosing their full transaction history. The goal is to maintain a balance between privacy and regulatory requirements.
Ethereum user loses $24 million in phishing attack
An Ethereum user lost $24 million, apparently due to a phishing attack, making it one of the most significant individual crypto phishing events recorded. Security firms believe the individual was deceived into authorizing malicious transactions through a phishing link.
