Tag: cryptocurrency

Crypto Casino Founder Richard Kim Arrested After Gambling Away Investor Funds

Richard Kim, the founder of crypto casino Zero Edge, was arrested on Tuesday following allegations that he had gambled away investors’ funds.

According to an FBI complaint filed on Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, Kim “fraudulently induced investors to invest in Zero Edge, a cryptocurrency technology company he founded, and then misappropriated millions of dollars in those investors’ funds.”

The FBI said Kim lost “nearly all” of the $7 million he raised from investors and charged him with securities fraud and wire fraud. According to court records, Kim posted a secured bond of $250,000 and put up $100,000 in “cash or real property” to secure it.

CoinDesk was first to report on the Zero Edge incident in July of last year. In an interview at the time, Kim revealed to CoinDesk that he had gambled away more than $3.67 million of his investors’ funds through a series of high-risk leveraged crypto trades.

“The downfall began with a careless mistake — a phishing site that cost $80k,” Kim said in his own recollection of what went wrong, which he shared with CoinDesk in a written statement that he later published as a public apology. “This triggered my old demons, the need to ‘make it back’ to preserve my reputation.”

According to Kim, he “started down a negative spiral of leverage trading, raising more capital, and hiding the truth.”

After losing most of the $7 million he had raised for Zero Edge, Kim told CoinDesk he reported himself to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s public tip line.

“Part of my rationale in reaching out proactively to the SEC was to say, OK guys, I really f—d up. I lost this money. It was grossly negligent. But I didn’t intend to go run away with this money,” he told CoinDesk in an interview.

According to the FBI complaint, Kim’s previous accounts “misleadingly described where investors’ funds had gone, and why, and omitted to inform investors that certain funds had been transferred to Shuffle.com, the gambling website.”

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Rhode Island Bill Would Allow State Residents To Spend $10,000 Monthly In Bitcoin Tax Free

A bill introduced to the Rhode Island Senate would enable the state’s residents to spend or sell just under $1,000 in bitcoin 10 times per month without incurring state capital gains taxes.

Bill S. 0451, which was introduced to the Rhode Island Senate last month, permits the state’s residents and businesses to make up to 10 payments in bitcoin valued at less than $1,000 per month (or sell the equivalent amount) without being subject to state capital gains taxes.

The bill is an amendment to existing state income tax laws, and the exact language in the proposed legislation is as follows:

“Any sale of [b]itcoin by an individual or business in Rhode Island shall be exempt from state taxation if the total value of sales is less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) per diem. The limit of the state tax exempt [b]itcoin transaction shall not exceed ten (10) sales per a thirty (30) day cycle.”

And the bill defines a “sale of [b]itcoin” as “any transaction in which [b]itcoin is sold or exchanged for another form of value, such as fiat currency or other physical or digital assets.”

The bill also clarifies that this exemption only applies at the state level and that it doesn’t affect federal tax obligations.

Under the bill, individuals and businesses who engage with these types of tax-exempt bitcoin transactions are responsible for keeping records of these transactions, including the total value of sales per day, and should be prepared to provide these records to the Rhode Island’s department of revenue for audit or compliance purposes.

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The Stablecoin Trap: The Backdoor To Total Financial Control

The walls are closing in on your financial freedom—but not in the way most Americans believe.

While the debate rages over the future threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), a far more insidious reality has already taken hold: our existing financial system already functions as a digital control grid, monitoring transactions, restricting choices, and enforcing compliance through programmable money.

For over two years, my wife and I have traveled across 22 states warning about the rapid expansion of financial surveillance. What began as research into cryptocurrency crackdowns revealed something far more alarming: the United States already operates under what amounts to a CBDC.

  • 92% of all US dollars exist only as entries in databases.
  • Your transactions are monitored by government agencies—without warrants.
  • Your access to money can be revoked at any time with a keystroke.

The Federal Reserve processes over $4 trillion daily through its Oracle database system, while commercial banks impose programmable restrictions on what you can buy and how you can spend your own money. The IRS, NSA, and Treasury Department collect and analyze financial data without meaningful oversight, weaponizing money as a tool of control. This isn’t speculation—it’s documented reality.

Now, as President Trump’s Executive Order 14178 ostensibly “bans” CBDCs, his administration is quietly advancing stablecoin legislation that would hand digital currency control to the same banking cartel that owns the Federal Reserve. The STABLE Act and GENIUS Act don’t protect financial privacy—they enshrine financial surveillance into law, requiring strict KYC tracking on every transaction.

This isn’t defeating digital tyranny—it’s rebranding it.

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Congressional Hearing Reveals Stablecoins And CBDCs Share The Same Financial Control Risks

A congressional hearing on digital currencies rarely makes headlines. Yet, this week’s debate over stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) revealed more than technical disagreements; it exposed deeper anxiety about financial power, privacy, and control in an increasingly digital world.

The conversation unfolded along predictable lines. Those skeptical of CBDCs warned of creeping surveillance and government overreach. Advocates, meanwhile, framed it as a necessity, a matter of American competitiveness in a world where China and Europe are already moving ahead. Yet what emerged, almost inadvertently, was a realization that the supposedly safer alternative, privately issued stablecoins, carries many of the same risks.

While CBDC opponents championed stablecoins as the free-market alternative, testimony from industry leaders revealed that stablecoins — despite their branding as decentralized, private-sector solutions — already carry many of the same risks. The ability to freeze assets, enforce government mandates, and track transactions is a present reality, especially when combined with Know Your Customer (KYC) laws which eradicate privacy.

The core argument against CBDCs is simple: they give the federal government unprecedented control over personal finances. Randall Guynn, Chairman of the Financial Institutions Group at Davis Polk & Wardwell, issued a stark warning.

“A CBDC would give the Federal Reserve staff a direct window into virtually every transaction every person in America makes,” he said. “And at least one of them won’t be able to resist the temptation to use that information to promote what they consider to be worthy political goals.”

His comments echoed a broader concern: a US CBDC could function as a financial surveillance tool, much like China’s digital yuan. In China, authorities can track purchases in real-time and even restrict how certain funds are spent. Many fear the US government could use a CBDC to implement similar controls — whether to enforce political objectives, regulate behavior, or even deplatform individuals from the financial system.

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App Allows You To Report Illegals In Real Time, Earn Cryptocurrency

ICERAID.US, a new interactive app operating on the blockchain, now lets everyday American citizens to report illegal immigrants and illegal activity in real-time. According to their website…

“ICERAID is a GovFi protocol that delegates intelligence gathering tasks to citizens that would otherwise be undertaken by law enforcement agencies. ICERAID rewards citizens for capturing and uploading images of criminal illegal alien activity as well as 6 other categories of criminal activity to the ICERAID Explorer.

The more images and locations you upload, the more ICERAID you earn.”

ICERAID Founder Jason Meyers, who has a long history in the cryptocurrency space, told this GP journalist that his app can help take the strain off law enforcement, by letting citizens provide initial data in real-time. He’s currently talking to officials in the DHS, federal, local, and state agencies.

Jason is the Founder of Auditchain Labs AG which developed Pacioli.ai and ICERAID, the world’s first GovFi and  RegFI applications that leverage blockchain to delegate tasks to citizens that would otherwise be undertaken by government and regulatory agencies supported by borrowing and taxation.

It seems that GovFi has the potential to balance budgets, pay down debt and put the millions of people back to work who were abandoned by the Biden Administration in 2021.

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Trump To Host First White House Crypto Summit On March 7

US President Donald Trump will host the first White House Crypto Summit on March 7, bringing together industry leaders to discuss regulatory policies, stablecoin oversight, and the potential role of Bitcoin in the US financial system.

The attendees will include “prominent founders, CEOs, and investors from the crypto industry,” along with members of the President’s Working Group on Digital Assets, according to an announcement shared by the White House “AI and crypto czar,” David Sacks, in a March 1 X post.

The summit will be chaired by Sacks and administered by Bo Hines, the executive director of the Working Group.

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Argentina’s Milei faces impeachment for promoting crypto scam

The Argentinean president branded himself as an edgy economic genius to ride a wave of financial discontent to power. Now he’s implicated in one of the biggest scams in history, wiping out over $4 billion in a few hours, leaving Argentineans wondering if they’ve also been rugged.

Argentina’s President Javier Milei has been accused of fraud, and is likely to face impeachment charges, after he promoted a sham cryptocurrency token which allowed a handful of con artists to dupe crypto owners out of hundreds of millions of dollars in a single day. The scam is believed to be the first cryptocurrency “rug-pull” to have been orchestrated with the help of a sitting president. While the exact number of victims is unknown, around 75,000 people are suspected to have been swindled, and a judge has been appointed to investigate after at least 100 criminal complaints were filed against Milei in Argentina in the days since.

Crypto token $LIBRA jumped massively in value after Milei endorsed it on social media on Feb. 14, posting a link to purchase the coin and lauding the “private project” for “encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy, funding small business and Argentine ventures.” Milei went as far as framing the coin as a legitimate investment, writing, “the world wants to invest in Argentina.”

The URL for the $LIBRA token’s official website, vivalalibertadproject.com, was a clear nod to Milei’s campaign slogan, “¡Viva la libertad, carajo!” The page, which remains online, says the coin was being launched “in honor of Javier Milei’s libertarian ideas” and was “designed to strengthen the Argentine economy from the ground up by supporting entrepreneurship and innovation.”

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Roger Ver’s Pardon Plea: ‘Lawfare’-Victim Or Tax-Evader?

Early Bitcoin adopter Roger Ver has launched a social media campaign pleading with US President Donald Trump to pardon his tax evasion and mail fraud charges, claiming he is the victim of “lawfare” — just like recently pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and Trump himself.

Currently awaiting extradition to the US, Ver says he faces “109 years” behind bars for crimes he did not commit. In his view, US authorities unjustly pursued him.

However, crypto proponents appear divided over whether Ver deserves a pardon.

Some argue he did commit these crimes and that his character is what makes him worthy of the sheer size of the punishment.

“No one deserves to spend life in prison for tax evasion,” one X user wrote. “But Roger has definitely earned it.”

Tesla founder Elon Musk feels that Ver’s denouncement of his US citizenship makes him unworthy of a pardon.

“Roger Ver gave up his US citizenship. No pardon for Ver,” he posted on Jan. 26.

In the moments that followed, the Bitcoin Cash founder’s odds of a pardon plummeted on prediction market Polymarket.

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Donald Trump Signs Executive Order for US Digital Asset Stockpile

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to establish a digital asset stockpile, according to a White House release. Indeed, the “crypto president” is delivering on his promise to Americans and crypto fans to prioritize the industry.

“The digital asset industry plays a crucial role in innovation and economic development in the United States, as well as our Nation’s international leadership,” the release quoting Trump states. “It is therefore the policy of my Administration to support the responsible growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology, and related technologies across all sectors of the economy…”

During his campaign, Donald Trump spoke highly of cryptocurrency, even speaking at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference. He has already spoken with multiple crypto industry experts since he was elected last November. Additionally, multiple lawmakers and state officials introduced bills to launch strategic state Bitcoin reserves, in a move preparing for a national reserve. Furthermore, the 47th US President appointed Mark Uyeda as acting US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair.

With anti-crypto head Gary Gensler resigning, Uyeda has already made progress amid Trump’s emerging agenda. In his first days, he also announced the arrival of the agency’s inaugural Crypto Task Force. Now, a digital asset stockpile is being formed.

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Treasure Hunt Fail: Judge Ends Man’s Decade-Long Quest for $750 Million Bitcoin Fortune

A decade-long legal battle over a lost Bitcoin fortune has ended in disappointment for James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, Wales, after a court dismissed his lawsuit against the Newport City Council. The man hoped to search a landfill for a hard drive he accidentally threw away more than a decade ago holding Bitcoin now worth $750 million.

Crypto News reports that James Howells, an early Bitcoin adopter from Newport, Wales, in the UK has faced a major setback in his quest to retrieve a discarded hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoins, now valued at about $750 million. The IT engineer accidentally threw away the hard drive in 2013 when Bitcoin had negligible value. However, as the cryptocurrency rapidly increased in value, Howells sought the right to excavate the landfill to recover the hard drive, offering to share the treasure with the local community. Now that Bitcoin has achieved the astronomical value of $94,000, Howells demanded £495 million in compensation from the Newport City Council if it continued to block his search.

Despite Howells’ offer to share a portion of the recovered Bitcoin with the council and the local community, Judge Keyser KC ruled that there were no “reasonable grounds” for the claim. The decision was based on environmental concerns and the council’s ownership of the landfill contents. The landfill reportedly holds 1.4 million tons of waste, although Howells claims to have pinpointed the hard drive’s location to a 100,000-ton section.

Reacting to the ruling, Howells expressed his frustration, calling it a “kick in the teeth.” He had assembled a team of experts for the recovery effort and engaged in repeated negotiations with the council, but the local authority maintained that excavation was impossible due to environmental regulations.

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