russiacrypto

🔔 MARKET MOVING NEWS! (25/12/24)

1️⃣ Russia Imposes 6-Year Ban on Crypto Mining in 10 Regions, Citing Energy Use ⛏
#RussiaCrypto
According to local media reports, the Russian government has imposed a six-year ban on crypto mining in 10 regions due to the industry's high power consumption. The ban takes effect on Jan. 1 2025 and ends on March 15, 2031. It includes seasonal restrictions in key cryptocurrency mining regions to prevent energy blackouts. The restrictions align with Russia’s cryptocurrency mining laws signed by the president in August and October 2024.

2️⃣ Hacker Breaches 15 X Accounts, Nets $500K Boosting Bogus Memecoins: ZachXBT ❓
#HackerAlert
According to the onchain sleuth ZachXBT, over $500,000 in funds stolen via memecoin phishing scams were connected to one threat actor. He reported that the perpetrator tricked X users into handing them control over their accounts by impersonating the X team and issuing fake copyright infringement notices. ZachXBT claims that over 15 X accounts were compromised this way, including those belonging to Kick, Cursor, The Arena, Brett and Alex Blania. Many of these X accounts have large audiences, with well over 200,000 followers who are mainly memecoin enthusiasts looking to catch the next hot tip.

3️⃣ Montenegro Court Rejects Do Kwon’s Extradition Appeal ▶️
#Montenegro
Montenegro’s Constitutional Court has reportedly dismissed Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon’s extradition appeal. The court cited legal inconsistencies in Kwon’s appeal, effectively upholding an earlier ruling favouring his extradition. This decision is significant as the international extradition case will potentially set a precedent for cross-border accountability in crypto.

4️⃣ Over 30% Of South Koreans Invest In Crypto Assets 🔍
#SouthKoreaCrypto
According to the South Korean media outlet Yonhap News, the number of crypto users in the country increased by 610,000 in November after Donald Trump won the United States presidential election. Representative Lim Kwang-Hyun of the Democratic Party of Korea shared data showing that digital asset investors in the country at the end of November totalled 15.6 million. Notably, with a population of 51.7 million, this means that over 30% of its citizens are crypto holders. Yonhap said the data was collected and released following the country’s new regulations on crypto exchanges. This is also the first time statistical data related to crypto has been released in the country.

5️⃣ Little-Known Canadian Crypto Firm Matador Adds Bitcoin To Its Books 💸
#MatadorTechnologies
Canadian real-world asset tokenisation firm Matador Technologies has reportedly become the latest company to incorporate BTC in its treasury. The firm's board of directors unanimously approved adding Bitcoin and “USD-denominated assets” to its balance sheet as part of its “long-term capital preservation strategy.” The firm is also planning to convert the majority of its cash balance sheet from Canadian dollars to US dollars.

Sunny Ray, president of Matador, stated,

Matador’s Board and management believe in using Bitcoin to future-proof our treasury. This step also supports our mission to explore using Bitcoin as a platform for our gold-based products.

🔔 MARKET MOVING NEWS! (13/03/25)

1️⃣ OKX Europe Acquires MiFID II-Licensed Company in Malta ⚡️

Crypto exchange OKX’s European arm has reportedly acquired a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) license - a key European Union license that will allow the company to offer derivatives products throughout the region. The license was secured by acquiring an unnamed Malta-licensed firm with a MiFID II license. The entity is expected to become operational later this year, once the exchange gets approval from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA).

2️⃣ Video Platform Rumble Discloses $17 Million In Bitcoin Treasury Holdings 💸

According to a recent announcement, Nasdaq-listed video-sharing platform Rumble purchased 188 BTC at an average price of $91,000 per coin, i.e., it invested roughly $17.1 million in BTC. The move is part of Rumble’s previously disclosed plan to adopt a bitcoin treasury strategy and allocate up to $20 million of its cash reserves to bitcoin. Rumble’s CEO Chris Pavlovski views this move as part of a strategic expansion into crypto and a hedge against inflation.

Pavlovski states,

These holdings have the potential to serve as a valuable hedge against inflation and will not be subject to dilution like so many overprinted government-issued currencies. [We] are proud to officially hold Bitcoin as we continue to grow and engrain crypto into our company’s DNA.

3️⃣ Bank Of Russia Proposes To Allow Crypto Purchases By Select Investors 👀
#RussiaCrypto
Russia’s central bank has unveiled a new proposal that seeks to allow a “limited circle of Russian investors” to buy and sell cryptocurrencies during a three-year testing period. Specifically, the proposal would allow “‘particularly qualified’ investors,” those with investments in stocks and deposits exceeding 100 million rubles (about $11.5 million) or with income in the past year of more than 50 million rubles (approximately $5.7 million), to invest in crypto. The central bank also proposed to allow qualified companies to become participants in the experiment.

The bank stated,

The introduction of the EPR is aimed at increasing the transparency of the cryptocurrency market, forming standards for the provision of services, expanding investment opportunities for experienced investors who are ready to take on increased risks.

4️⃣ Garantex Administrator Arrested In India At Request Of US Authorities 🔒
#GarantexArrest #USGovernment
According to a TechCrunch report, law enforcement authorities in India have arrested Aleksej Besciokov - one of the two alleged operators of Garantex, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange sanctioned by the European Union and the U.S. government. The arrest was reportedly made in the coastal municipality of Varkala, where Besciokov was vacationing with his family.

According an official statement released by the Indian government, Besciokov’s arrest was made at the request of the U.S. government, who claimed Besciokov was planning to flee India. The arrest was based on US charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

5️⃣ Binance Secures $2 Billion Investment From Abu Dhabi Firm MGX 💰#MGXBinanceInvestment
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Crypto exchange Binance has reportedly secured a $2 billion investment from MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund that invests in AI and tech. Notably, the investment marks the first institutional placement in the exchange and the first digital asset-focused investment for MGX. According to Binance, the transaction was fully paid in stablecoins and represents the largest single investment in a crypto firm to date.

MGX CEO and Managing Director Ahmed Yahia stated,