š MARKET MOVING NEWS! (16/01/25)
1ļøā£ XRP Re-Enters Top 3 Cryptocurrencies, Overtakes Blackrock In Market Cap š¼
Ripple-linked XRPās recent price surge has helped it reclaim its position as the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Notably, the price surge has pushed its market capitalisation past that of the asset manager BlackRock. At its current market cap of almost $160 million, it is now valued more than Tetherās USDT which slipped to fourth place with a market value of $137 billion.
2ļøā£ DOJ Says $9 Billion in Bitcoin Stolen in 2016 Hack Should Be Returned to Bitfinex 'In-Kind' š¤
In court documents filed Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice stated the $9 billion worth of BTC recovered from the 2016 hack of Bitfinex exchange by Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan should be returned to the platform as there are no "victims" in the case.
For context, Bitfinex had "generalised" the losses from the hack across all its customers and launched a repayment program that included reimbursing users with tokens that could be redeemed for U.S. dollars or for shares in the company. The platform states that it believes customers have been made whole in the process. The court filing states that this is the reason there is āno 'victim' for the specific offences of conviction in this proceeding."
3ļøā£ Judge Orders BitMEX To Pay $100M Fine Over US Banking Law Violations š°
Manhattan federal judge Judge John G. Koeltl has reportedly sentenced the parent company of crypto exchange BitMEX - HDR Global Trading Limited, to two years of unsupervised probation and a $100 million fine. Notably, the sentencing comes roughly six months after the crypto exchange pleaded guilty to violating the US Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) by operating without āany meaningfulā Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program.
In a statement to its users after the judgment, BitMEX reiterated its claim that the BSA charge was āold news,ā adding:
Whilst we are disappointed to learn of the imposition of an additional financial penalty, the amount is substantially less than what the Department of Justice have been pursuing us for over 3 years.
4ļøā£ VanEck Files Prospectus For 'Onchain Economy' ETF ā”ļø
Asset manager VanEck has reportedly submitted an application to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a new exchange-traded fund called the Onchain Economy ETF. According to the prospectus filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the fund will prioritise investments in digital asset-focused companies such as exchanges, crypto payment platforms and mining firms, in addition to virtual asset-focused investment vehicles like commodity futures contracts. Notably, it does not itself invest in digital assets or commodities.
5ļøā£ Oklahoma Becomes Latest State to Consider Bitcoin Reserve Bill šø
Oklahoma has reportedly become the latest state to formally consider establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve. A new bill to establish the same was introduced to the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Jan. 15 by state Representative Cody Maynard. If approved in this upcoming session, the bill would allow state savings accounts and pension funds to invest in digital assets like BTC beginning in November. Specifically, the bill allows Oklahomaās state treasurer to invest public funds in any digital asset that has averaged greater than a $500 billion market capitalization over the previous calendar year. Currently, only Bitcoin meets that requirement.
6ļøā£ US Law Firm Seeks Legal Action Against Pump.Fun For Investors With Losses ā¼ļø
New York-based law firm Burwick has revealed plans to take legal action against Solana-based meme coin launchpad Pump.fun on behalf of investors that experienced losses on the platform. The law firm claimed that Pump.fun pocketed āhundreds of millionsā in fees while illegal drug use, acts of self-harm, racism, antisemitism and other antisocial acts appeared on the platform.
Burwick wrote in its Wednesday X post,
