crypto exchange

Crypto Exchange Bitstamp Lists Shiba Inu as SHIB Adoption Grows

09/12/2021 by Idelto Editor

Another major cryptocurrency exchange, Bitstamp, has listed shiba inu cryptocurrency. Bitstamp users will be able to trade SHIB against the U.S. dollar and the euro. The announcement came as more trading platforms are listing shiba inu and more stores are accepting the meme crypto for payments.

Bitstamp Adds Support for Shiba Inu Crypto

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp announced Wednesday that it has added support for four more cryptocurrencies, including the popular meme coin shiba inu (SHIB).

Besides SHIB, the three other cryptocurrencies added to the Bitstamp platform are dydx (DYDX), gala (GALA), and perpetual protocol (PERP). Users will be able to trade them against the U.S. dollar or the euro.

The London-headquartered exchange opened deposits and withdrawals for shiba inu Wednesday. Users “will be able to place and cancel limit orders” on Thursday, Bitstamp detailed, adding that “Order matching will start and trades will be executed normally” on the same day. The exchange clarified:

Once the order books gather sufficient liquidity, we will enable all order types and card purchases for the new trading pairs as well.

However, Bitstamp noted that “for the time being, these assets will not be available to our U.S. and Singapore customers. ”

Shiba Inu Crypto Adoption Rises

The adoption of the meme cryptocurrency shiba inu has been steadily rising. On Tuesday, the crypto-friendly travel website Travala announced that it has added SHIB as a payment method, allowing users to purchase over 3 million travel products with the meme crypto.

Retail giant Newegg recently announced that it will start accepting SHIB for payments on its platform this month while AMC Theaters said it will start accepting shiba inu in the first quarter. In November, two major crypto exchanges, Kraken and Gemini, added support for SHIB.

Supporters of the meme crypto have been petitioning on Change.org for the popular trading platform Robinhood to list SHIB but the company recently said that it is in no hurry to add another cryptocurrency to its platform.

What do you think about Bitstamp listing the shiba inu crypto? Let us know in the comments section below.

Finiko Fugitives Suspected of Moving 750 BTC From Crypto Pyramid’s Wallet

13/11/2021 by Idelto Editor

A large amount of cryptocurrency has reportedly been withdrawn from a wallet previously controlled by the Finiko Ponzi scheme in Russia. The wallet’s unknown operators have transferred coins worth $48 million this month. The digital currency was split into smaller amounts and deposited to different addresses.

750 BTC Removed From Crypto Pyramid Finiko Wallet

A total of 750 BTC, worth around $48 million at the time of writing, has been withdrawn from one of the wallets used by crypto Ponzi scheme Finiko, Forklog reported. Youtube blogger Andrey Alistarov broke the news about the transfer, revealing that it was made in three separate transactions of 250 BTC each since the beginning of November.

The money was initially moved to a single address and subsequently sent to another wallet at the cryptocurrency exchange Huobi, quoted data from blockchain analysis platform Crystal Blockchain shows. The crypto funds were then divided into smaller amounts and transferred to other addresses, the publication details.

Alistarov alleged that these transactions had been ordered by three of Finiko’s high-ranking members who are still at large. Zygmunt Zygmuntovich, Marat Sabirov, and Edward Sabirov, close associates of the pyramid’s founder Kirill Doronin, managed to leave the Russian Federation as the crypto investment scheme collapsed this summer, avoiding detention. In September, a high court in Tatarstan confirmed their international arrest warrants.

The Russian vlogger commented that the Finiko co-founders transferred the money in multiple transactions on purpose. “Why they haven’t been locked up until now is unclear, because they have long been marked as a scam. One thing is clear – money is being cashed out at the moment,” Andrey Alistarov added.

Authorities in Russia are currently working to establish all the facts in the case with Finiko, a phantom entity that lured hundreds of thousands of investors by advertising itself as an “automatic profit generation system” and promising extraordinarily high returns. Due to the large scale of the fraud, the federal Ministry of Internal Affairs took over the investigation.

In early October, Kirill Doronin, an Instagram influencer associated with other Ponzi schemes in the past, two of Finiko’s vice presidents, Ilgiz Shakirov and Dina Gabdullina, as well as Lilia Nurieva, who rose to the rank of a so-called “10th Star,” were transferred to the capital Moscow.

Finiko is arguably Russia’s largest financial pyramid scheme since the notorious MMM in the 1990s. While the officially registered losses to the scam have reached 1 billion rubles (close to $14 million), independent estimates suggest the total is more likely to exceed $4 billion.

According to a report by blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis, the Ponzi scheme received over $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin in 800,000 separate deposits from investors between December 2019 and August 2021. Among its victims are citizens of Russia, Ukraine and other former-Soviet countries, several EU member states, and the U.S.

Do you think fugitive Finiko members are behind the transfer of 750 BTC from a wallet belonging to the crypto pyramid? Tell us in the comments section below.

Moscow Confirms Arrest of Russian Crypto Entrepreneur in Amsterdam, Report Mentions FBI

06/11/2021 by Idelto Editor

Authorities in the Netherlands have arrested a Russian national with a cryptocurrency business, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow has confirmed. The man involved in the establishment of two crypto exchange platforms was apprehended earlier this month, reportedly on a request from U.S. law enforcement.

Russian Founder of Cryptocurrency Exchangers Detained in Holland

Denis Dubnikov, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange platforms Coyote Crypto and Eggchange, has been arrested in Amsterdam, on Nov. 1. A report by crypto news outlet Forklog quoted the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova, who confirmed the news which spread on social media.

The Russian citizen was initially held and placed in an isolation ward at the airport in Mexico City. He was then boarded on a flight to the Netherlands where he was eventually arrested by Dutch authorities, allegedly on a request submitted by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the publication detailed.

According to a Facebook post published on Nov. 4 by Sergei Mendeleev, CEO of the defi banking platform Indefibank, the United States seeks the extradition of Dubnikov in relation to a cryptocurrency theft dating from 2018. Part of the digital money is believed to have passed through wallets operated by his crypto exchange business.

“So, a few days ago there was an extraordinary situation with the citizen of the Russian Federation Dubnikov Denis Mikhailovich. For a completely indistinct reason, he was detained at the airport in Mexico upon arrival and… was suddenly deported (precisely deported!) to Amsterdam…,” Mendeleev explained, asking how is it possible for this to happen to Russian citizens.

“Friends, I think there is a reason to ask the Russian Foreign Ministry for a reaction, maybe Maria Zakharova will give her weighty comment?” Mendeleev noted. In response to his call on social media, Zakharova confirmed the information about Dubnikov’s detention and added:

Russian diplomats in the Netherlands provide assistance to a detained Russian citizen, [they] are in contact with local law enforcement agencies on the issue of observing his rights.

Dubnikov Arrested Amid Anti-Money Laundering Investigations Against His Crypto Business

The news of Denis Dubnikov’s arrest comes after a Bloomberg report revealed this week that his Eggchange is the target of anti-money laundering investigations in Europe and the U.S. This case follows the blacklisting of another Russia-based crypto business on similar allegations. In September, the U.S. Treasury Department adopted sanctions against the Czech-registered OTC crypto broker Suex which operates out of offices in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

Dubnikov is not the first Russian crypto entrepreneur detained on a U.S. warrant. In the summer of 2017, the Russian IT specialist Alexander Vinnik was arrested in the Greek city of Thessaloniki, where he arrived on a vacation with his family. American prosecutors claim Vinnik, an alleged operator of the infamous BTC-e exchange, has laundered up to $9 billion through the now-defunct coin trading platform. He has since been extradited to France and sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering. In May, the French judiciary rejected a request for his extradition to Russia where he would also face charges.

The sanctioned crypto broker Suex is believed to have laundered digital money related to what was once the largest cryptocurrency exchange on the Russian and regional market. In August, Polish authorities detained Dmitry Vasiliev, former chief executive of BTC-e’s successor, Wex, at the airport in Warsaw. Vasiliev is wanted in Kazakhstan where he is accused of fraud related to the platform and is awaiting a decision on his possible extradition. Poland officially confirmed his arrest in September.

Do you expect other arrests of Russian nationals on crypto-related allegations? Tell us in the comments section below.

Russian Government to Track Crypto Transactions With Help From Anti-Drug Organization

04/11/2021 by Idelto Editor

Russian institutions have responded to a call from а public movement for joint efforts to identify cryptocurrency transfers related to drug trade. The anti-drug organization, Stopnarkotik, recently asked the interior ministry and the central bank to investigate alleged connections between U.S.-sanctioned crypto exchange Suex and a darknet market operating in the region.

Russian Authorities Respond to Stopnarkotik’s Request for Action Against Drug Trade

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (MVD) and Bank of Russia have agreed to cooperate with the All-Russian Public Movement Stopnarkotik on identifying financial flows involving cryptocurrencies obtained as a result of drug sales. The Russian online news portal Lenta.ru reported on the agreement, quoting a letter from a high-ranking MVD official.

The letter signed by Major General Andrei Yanishevsky, head of the Drug Control Department at the Interior Ministry, has been issued after a working meeting with representatives of the anti-drug organization. It comes in response to Stopnarkotik’s call for the two institutions to carry out an investigation focused on Suex, a Russia-based OTC crypto broker, and its links to other companies and banks.

In September, the U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted the Czech-registered entity Suex OTC s.r.o. which operates out of physical offices in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The crypto platform is suspected of processing hundreds of millions of dollars in coin transactions related to scams, ransomware attacks, darknet markets, and the infamous Russian BTC-e exchange.

Since launching in 2018, Suex is believed to have received over $481 million in BTC alone. Close to $13 million came from ransomware operators such as Ryuk, Conti, and Maze, over $24 million was sent by crypto scams like Finiko, $20 million came from mixers, and another $20 million from darknet markets such as the Russia-targeting Hydra, blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis detailed in a report.

In its request to the Russian authorities, following the announcement of the U.S. sanctions, Stopnarkotik noted that Suex had been “involved in money laundering for the largest drug-selling platform.” The organization pointed out that the market’s drug trafficking in the Russian Federation amounts to an estimated $1.5 billion a year or more.

It also mentioned the name of one of Suex’s co-founders and highlighted its alleged connections with other crypto companies and financial institutions such as Exmo, a major digital asset exchange in Eastern Europe, financial services company Qiwi, a leading payment provider in Russia and the CIS countries, as well as the Ukraine-based Concord Bank.

Stopnarkotik asked Bank of Russia to provide its assessment on the matter, check if the operations of Suex and other entities are being conducted in accordance with the law in Russia, and consider blocking Russian payments to a Ukrainian organization.

“We received a response from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Central Bank. We also had a personal meeting with the Ministry of Internal Affairs so that they had an understanding of how we receive information, including about money laundering,” the movement’s chairman, Sergei Polozov, has been quoted as saying. He added that the Russian Interior Ministry is ready to accept Stopnarkotik’s data and work together with the organization.

Do you expect the cooperation between Stopnarkotik and Russian government institutions to develop further? Tell us in the comments section below.

Iran Blockchain Association Offers Help With Crypto Regulations, Says Regulators Are Not Qualified

04/11/2021 by Idelto Editor

The leading crypto industry association in Iran has slammed authorities for their passive stance regarding crypto regulation. The government’s inaction is a source of concern, the organization said, offering its assistance to regulators whom it considers not sufficiently qualified to deal with the complex issue.

Blockchain Association Proposes Public-Private Partnership on Crypto Rules in Iran

Tehran authorities such as the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) are not capable of regulating cryptocurrencies, according to the head of the Iran Blockchain Association (IBA). Тhe country’s main organization representing members of the crypto sector called for the establishment of an “independent counsel” to take on the job. During a press conference this week, the head of the IBA, Abbas Ashtiani, elaborated:

We need a special council of representatives from state bodies and private enterprise to craft regulations for cryptocurrencies. The CBI or the Security and Exchange Organization are not qualified [enough] to set rules for cryptos given the multidimensionality of the issue.

Iran’s crypto space remains largely unregulated. In April, the central bank authorized domestic banks and money exchangers to use locally mined cryptocurrencies to pay for imports to the sanctioned nation, but authorities went after other digital coin trading and crypto payments are banned inside the country.

Cryptocurrency mining is the most regulated sector since Tehran recognized it as a legal industrial activity in 2019. Mining companies are required to obtain a license from the Ministry of Industries in order to operate in the Islamic Republic and around 50 entities have already done so, official data showed earlier this year. The ministry has reportedly stopped accepting new applications following a ban imposed by the Prosecutor General’s office.

Iran Government Has No Plan to Regulate Crypto Space, IBA Says

“The growing interest in mining and crypto trade has prompted authorities to craft a roadmap for the crypto business. But it seems that that does not go far enough,” the English-language business daily Financial Tribune noted in its report on the IBA’s proposal. The publication quotes experts who claim the issue is more complex than other regulatory challenges and that is why institutions have been reluctant to take responsibility for regulation.

Ashtiani criticized the executive power in Tehran, warning that its inaction regarding cryptocurrencies has become a source of concern. He further remarked that the former government had plans to regulate the space but they were never realized and slammed the administration of recently elected President Ebrahim Raisi for having no plan at all. The entire crypto matter is so down below the do-list that “we have still not been able to hold a meeting with the policy and decision-makers,” he revealed.

Commenting on the concerns expressed by officials regarding illegal activities related to the minting and exchange of cryptocurrencies, Ashtiani emphasized that the Iran Blockchain Association understands policymakers and assured that “their reservations can and will be addressed.” The head of the IBA also insisted:

We are ready to help set rules that can help ensure a positive impact of cryptos on the economy while minimizing criminality.

According to industry watchers, lack of sufficient knowledge and awareness is what lies behind the government’s worries about the growing popularity of crypto assets which have been attracting capital from Iran’s traditional markets. However, some officials have already opposed restrictive policies warning that they can push innovative solutions underground.

“This is what has happened in Iran’s cryptocurrency market. Our studies show that 50% of crypto activities are in the informal market. This is while supportive regulations could enhance the contribution of digital currency to the economy,” Gholamreza Marhaba, spokesman of the parliamentary Economic Commission, has been quoted as saying.

Do you think Iranian authorities will eventually adopt crypto-friendly regulations? Share your expectations in the comments section below.