With more than $221 million paid to scams via crypto assets in 2022, the announcement also outlined an increase in anti-scam efforts by the consumer watchdog and the National Anti-Scams Centre which will facilitate real-time data sharing to prevent and disrupt scams.



Its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, 30, was arrested last month in the Bahamas and extradited to the US to face criminal charges in what US Attorney Damian Williams has called 'one of the biggest frauds in American history.' 




US authorities said Wednesday they had arrested the owner of China-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato for alleged money laundering, hailing the move as a global "blow to the cryptocrime ecosystem."



In their first joint statement on crypto, the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency also said banks issuing or holding crypto tokens that are stored on a public, decentralized network are "highly likely" to be inconsistent with safe and sound banking practices.



NEW YORK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - U.S.
prosecutors on Tuesday asked a judge to postpone civil cases brought against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried by federal regulators until a parallel criminal case against the former billionaire concludes.



Globally, market watchdogs have been concerned people are entrusting their digital assets to a trading platform and mistakenly think they have the same protections as when buying shares online.



"The result submitted to the court amounts to an expected recovery rate of between 80-100% which will be repaid in cash, digital assets, cash and convertible preferred equity notes in DCG," the exchange said.

($1 = 0.9315 euros) (Reporting by Toby Sterling, Editing by Louise Heavens)



Custodia, which is based in Wyoming and is chartered through the state as a special purpose depository institution, lacked a sufficient risk management framework to address the heightened risks associated with crypto, the Fed said, including crypto's potential use in money laundering and terrorist financing activities.



Jan 27 (Reuters) - The U.S.
Federal Reserve has rejected crypto-focused Custodia Bank's application to become a member of the Federal Reserve System, saying the bank's proposed business model and focus on digital assets presented significant safety and soundness risks.



FTX was the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, though it ended up with billions of dollars' worth of losses - estimates range from $8billion to $10bn - before seeking bankruptcy protection after a spectacular crash that took only a few days.



bitcoin card's value plummeted by more than 50 per cent last year, and who could forget the man that lost £107 million worth when he accidentally threw out his hard drive.



Try to avoid it all you like, but 'cryptocurrency', 'Bitcoin' and 'NFTs' will always find you, be it through social media bots, news headlines or quiz show questions.