The chairperson of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Rostin Behnam is warning that the crypto industry is likely to face more headwinds from regulators over the coming months. Speaking at the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference, the CFTC chair says that the crypto industry will “probably see in the next six to 18 […]
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U.S. Bank and Oppenheimer & Co will pay a total of $7 million to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in a federal crackdown on off-channel communications and improper record keeping. The CFTC has jointly ordered both U.S. Bank and Oppenheimer & Co, an introducing broker, to pay $6 million and $1 million in civil […]
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Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has been ordered to pay $150 million, while Binance will pay $2.7 billion to conclude the CFTC enforcement action.
A United States court has entered an order against crypto exchange Binance and its former CEO Changpeng "CZ” Zhao, which will see Binance pay $2.7 billion and CZ pay $150 million to the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC).
In a Dec. 18 statement, the CFTC announced that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois had approved the previously announced settlement and concluded the enforcement action first issued by the CFTC in November.
"The court finds Zhao and Binance violated the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations, imposes a $150 million civil monetary penalty personally against Zhao, and requires Binance to disgorge $1.35 billion of ill-gotten transaction fees and pay a $1.35 billion penalty to the CFTC," wrote the CFTC in a statement.
Several Taiwanese residents were reportedly using the decentralized betting platform Polymarket, the same platform that saw record-breaking trading volumes during the 2020 United States election.
With the Taiwan presidential election looming within a month, residents of Taiwan have been reportedly warned against using cryptocurrency betting platforms to wager on the presidential outcome. This advice comes amid an ongoing investigation, with several individuals already called for questioning.
According to a recent local report, a number of Taiwanese citizens have utilized the decentralized betting platform Polymarket to place bets on the upcoming presidential election scheduled for January 13, 2024.
“The community reported that several individuals have been summoned for investigation by prosecutors and investigators for participating in Polymarket bets," the report stated.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) says that most of the tips called into its Whistleblower Program in 2023 involved crypto. In a statement, CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero says the agency received a record-breaking 1,530 tips through the Whistleblower Program this year. “As a former Inspector General who knows firsthand how important whistleblowers are, […]
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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) is reportedly contemplating taking enforcement action against the co-founder of a bankrupt crypto lender. According to a new report by Bloomberg, the CTFC is considering charging Stephen Ehrlich, the ex-chief executive of Voyager, of misleading customers about the safety of their assets after launching an investigation into the troubled […]
The post US Commodities Regulator Mulling Enforcement Action Against Co-Founder of Bankrupt Crypto Lender Voyager: Report appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
A commissioner with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) disagrees with the agency’s decision to file enforcement action against three decentralized finance (DeFi) companies. Last week, the CFTC announced that it charged DeFi protocols ZeroEx, Opyn and Deridex for offering illegal derivatives trading. The regulator says it also ordered the three firms to pay monetary […]
The post CFTC Commissioner Dissents Against Regulator’s Anti-DeFi Agenda After Trio of Enforcement Actions appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
American crypto exchange Coinbase has acquired approval from the government to offer Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) futures in the US. In a new company blog post, Coinbase says it has been given the green light by the National Futures Association (NFA) to manage a futures commission merchant (FCM) and offer eligible US traders BTC […]
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Despite having no trading experience a Tennessee couple convinced 100 people to hand over their money for a uniquely named crypto investment pool.
A Tennessee husband and wife are facing charges over “Blessings of God Thru Crypto” — an allegedly fraudulent investment scheme that swindled at least $6 million from over 100 victims in just six months.
A July 24 complaint from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Michael and Amanda Griffis used the connections they made in their real estate business to convince people to fork their savings over to a multi-million dollar investment pool between July 2022 and January 2023.
These included mortgage brokers and former customers of their real estate business, it said.
The CFTC charged husband and wife realtors of Tennessee for operating a $6M digital assets commodity pool scheme. Learn more: https://t.co/pPq9hV8qeU
— CFTC (@CFTC) July 25, 2023
“Despite having no trading or other relevant experience, the defendants successfully convinced over 100 people to send them over $6 million to participate in a commodity pool called ‘Blessings of God Thru Crypto,’” the CFTC said.
As part of the scheme pool participants were told their funds would be used to trade crypto futures contracts, however, not a single trade was ever conducted, said the CFTC.
“The defendants falsely represented that pool funds would be safe and under their control, that pool participants could expect high gains, and that the defendants would use pool funds to trade ‘crypto futures.’”
Instead, around $4 million of the pooled funds were transferred to digital wallets outside of the Griffis’ control and more than $1 million were misappropriated to pay off personal debt and expensive items over a number of months, the CFTC alleged.
This included $10,000 in college tuition for family members, $20,000 for an all-terrain vehicle and $335,000 to pay off credit card debt.
Related: CFTC issues $54M default judgment against trader in crypto fraud scheme
The couple has been charged with defrauding over 100 victims and failing to register with the CFTC.
In its complaint, it requested a permanent injunction against the Griifis and any potential collaborators, preventing them from participating in any future transactions involving commodity interests, along with full restitution to anyone that sustained losses from the scheme, and requested the court impose civil penalties against the Griffis.
The CFTC warned full restitution will likely be difficult given that the alleged wrongdoers will likely have insufficient funds or assets.
According to their respective LinkedIn profiles, Michael and Amanda Griffis are affiliated with Exit Realty Screamin’ Eagle, based in Clarksville, Tennessee. Amanda is listed as a “Broker/Co-Owner,” while Michael is listed as a “Realtor.”
Cointelegraph contacted the Griffis for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Magazine: How smart people invest in dumb memecoins — 3-point plan for success
Binance, Changpeng Zhao and former compliance chief Samuel Lim intend to file two motions to dismiss a March lawsuit from the CFTC.
Crypto exchange Binance and its CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao are planning to file a motion to dismiss a March-filed lawsuit from the United States commodities regulator.
In a July 24 filing to an Illinois District Court, multiple Binance entities, Zhao and former chief compliance officer Samuel Lim said they plan to file two separate motions to dismiss the complaint before July 27.
"The Foreign Binance Entities and Zhao intend to file a joint Motion to Dismiss the Complaint. Lim intends to file a separate Motion to Dismiss the Complaint, and join parts of the motion filed by the Foreign Binance Entities and Zhao," the filing read.
Binance is also seeking permission to exceed a 15-page limit on the brief which would be used to support its motion and requested for it to go up to 50 pages citing the complexity of the lawsuit brought against it.
"Given the complexity of the CFTC’s Complaint and the number of arguments Defendants anticipate making in support of their Motions to Dismiss, Defendants anticipate that their Memoranda of Law in support of the two motions will exceed the fifteen-page limits."
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance and Zhao in March alleging the crypto exchange did not properly register with the regulator.
The CFTC claimed despite Binance blocking U.S. residents from transacting on its platform, since at least 2019 it knowingly conducted transactions in multiple cryptocurrencies for people based in the U.S. and intentionally violated U.S. laws.
The regulator also called Binance's compliance process a "sham" and alleged it willingly conducted its activities outside of the U.S. and obscured the location of its headquarters with the aim of evading U.S. regulations.
Related: What criminal charges for Celsius ex-CEO mean for crypto industry
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also sued Binance and Zhao on June 5 alleging it sold unregistered securities, allowed U.S. customers to use its global platform and claimed Zhao misused customer funds.
The SEC's complaint claimed Binance's compliance chief in 2018 — believed to be Lim — said in a message to another compliance officer that “we are operating as a fking unlicensed securities exchange in the USA bro”
Binance is also reportedly under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for allowing Russians to use its platform in violation of U.S. sanctions.
Magazine: $3.4B of Bitcoin in a popcorn tin — The Silk Road hacker’s story
