2024-05-28 18:28

“Despite a court order from Justice Emeka Nwite issued on Thursday, May 23, Tigran Gabaryan has still not been moved to hospital from Kuje prison,” a family spokesperson for Gambaryan said. Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan is suspected of having Malaria, a family spokesperson told CoinDesk. The U.S. citizen has been in a Nigerian jail for over two months on charges of money laundering and tax evasion. Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s compliance head, who remains jailed in Nigeria, is suspected of having Malaria, a family spokesperson told CoinDesk. Gambaryan collapsed in a Nigerian court on May 24. He, along with the exchange, is facing charges of both tax evasion and money laundering. “Despite a court order from Justice Emeka Nwite issued on Thursday, May 23, Tigran Gabaryan has still not been moved to hospital from Kuje prison,” a family spokesperson for Gambaryan said. “It has not yet officially been ascertained what he is suffering from given that the medical facilities at Kuje are inadequate. It is suspected that he has a severe throat infection and Malaria.” A U.S. citizen, Gambaryan has been in detention in Nigeria for more than two months. He was invited by the nation’s authorities to resolve a dispute that government has with Binance. Instead, after a meeting with government officials, he and another Binance executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were taken by law enforcement officials. Anjarwalla later escaped but is included in the money laundering charges. Gambaryan’s wife, Yuki Gambaryan told CoinDesk in a statement that she is devastated and shocked that despite a court order the authorities have not acted. “Tigran does not deserve such inhumane treatment," she said. "He has done nothing wrong and is suffering simply because he accepted an invitation to a meeting in Abuja. This has gone too far. I am begging everyone who can help, including our own American government, to recognize that an innocent man’s life is at risk. Please, at least let him go to the hospital so he can recover. But more importantly, let him come home to us." The hearings for the tax violation and money laundering charges are scheduled for June 14 and June 20, respectively, a local news report said. Read More: Binance Money Laundering Trial in Nigeria Pushed to June 20 Due to Executive’s Illness https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/05/28/binance-executive-jailed-in-nigeria-is-suspected-of-having-malaria-family-says/

2024-05-28 16:14

Salame's lawyers had asked for 18 months. A U.S. court sentenced former FTX executive Ryan Salame to 7.5 years in prison In addition, Salame was ordered to pay more than $6 million in the forfeiture and more than $5 million in restitution. Former FTX executive Ryan Salame has been sentenced to 90 months, or 7.5 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, said in a release published Tuesday. “Ryan Salame agreed to advance the interests of FTX, Alameda Research, and his co-conspirators through an unlawful political influence campaign and through an unlicensed money transmitting business, which helped FTX grow faster and larger by operating outside of the law," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. "Salame’s involvement in two serious federal crimes undermined public trust in American elections and the integrity of the financial system. Today’s sentence underscores the substantial consequences for such offenses.” Salame had previously pled guilty to conspiracy for unlawful political contributions, defrauding the Federal Election Commission, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, with the hopes of getting leniency from the court and a shorter prison sentence of 18 months. When asking for leniency and a shorter sentence, his attorneys noted Salame initiated the FTX investigation, cooperated with U.S. authorities, and faces lifelong stigma due to FTX's collapse. In addition, Salame was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay more than $6 million in forfeiture and more than $5 million in restitution. Former Alameda-FTX executives Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang also pled guilty and sought plea deals to avoid jail. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/05/28/former-ftx-executive-ryan-salame-sentenced-to-75-years-in-prison/

2024-05-28 16:02

600 speakers. 300 sessions. Pitchfest. Hackathon. Karate. Hundreds of side events. There's a lot going at this year's festival. Here are some highlights from across the stages and beyond. Consensus 2024 kicks off in Austin, Texas, May 29 and runs through Friday, May 31. We have programming covering the whole of the crypto and Web3 industry, from regulation and finance, to protocol development to creative marketing. And that's before you leave the Convention Center and venture out to the hundreds of side-events happening across the city. Below, gathered into one place, are the previews we've published about everything happening at our marquee event this year. Enjoy! What Consensus Speakers Are Looking Forward to This Year What to Expect at Consensus 2024: Spotlight on Blockchain Tech A Financial Professional's Guide to Consensus 2024 A Crypto Developer’s Guide to Consensus 2024 A Venture Capitalist's Guide to Consensus 2024 Why We're Organizing an AI Summit at Consensus 2024 Startups Gather at Consensus 2024 for Pitchfest Your After Hours Guide to Consensus 2024, Tuesday Night Your After Hours Guide to Consensus 2024, Wednesday Night Your After Hours Guide to Consensus 2024, Thursday Night Your After Hours Guide to Consensus 2024, Friday Night https://www.coindesk.com/consensus-magazine/2024/05/28/consensus-2024-a-guide-to-everything-you-dont-want-to-miss/

2024-05-28 14:26

Riot privately offered its proposal last month, with Bitfarms rejecting it. If the proposal comes to fruition, the combined entity would be the world's largest bitcoin miner, Riot said. Bitfarms' shares were up nearly 6% at $2.13 as of 14:00 UTC following Riot's announcement. Riot Platforms (RIOT) has sought to acquire fellow bitcoin miner Bitfarms (BITF), having acquired a 9.25% in the company to become its large shareholder. The Castle Rock, Colorado-based miner proposed to by all the outstanding BITF shares for $2.30 apiece, representing a 24% premium to their one-month volume weighted average price as of May 24, Riot announced on Tuesday. If the proposal comes to fruition, the combined entity would be the world's largest bitcoin miner, Riot added. Riot privately offered its proposal last month. Riot cited Bitfarms' rejection of the bid along with allegations of a lawsuit by recently fired CEO Geoffrey Morphy as "raising serious questions about whether certain directors are committed to acting in the best interests of all shareholders." Bitfarms' shares were up nearly 6% at $2.13 as of 14:00 UTC following Riot's announcement. Read More: Bitcoin Miner Stronghold Looking at Options, Including Sale of Company https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/05/28/riot-plans-hostile-takeover-of-bitfarms-proposes-230-per-share/

2024-05-28 13:00

Maple’s Syrup promises users yields of 15% by depositing Circle’s USDC stablecoin into the platform. Institutional crypto lending firm Maple Finance unveils its Syrup platform and rewards token. The new permissionless service aimed at DeFi users targets 15% yields sourced from fully collateralized loans to the largest institutions in the crypto space. Cryptocurrency lending firm Maple Finance has unveiled Syrup, a new loans platform and rewards token of the same name, aiming to bridge the gap between institutional-friendly yield-bearing digital assets and the permissionless world of decentralized finance (DeFi). Maple’s Syrup promises users yields of 15% by depositing Circle’s USDC stablecoin into the platform, for which those users receive LP tokens (syrupUSDC), with additional yield in the form of “Drips,” a loyalty payment derived from using the SYRUP rewards token, Maple said in a press release on Tuesday. Holders of MPL, Maple's native token, will be out to migrate to the SYRUP token at a one-for-one basis. Many centralized crypto lending firms took a battering over the last couple of years. Maple has weathered the storms of the bear market thanks to its buttoned-up approach, offering permission-only deposits from accredited investors with full know-your-customer (KYC) checks, which allows the firm to operate in the U.S. serving larger regulation-conscious institutions, said Maple co-founder Joe Flanagan. “We want to maintain that institutional focus, but also ensure we're staying close to our DeFi roots,” Flanagan said in an interview. “The launch of syrup enables us to operate within the broader DeFi ecosystem. So we can bring the same institutional quality yields that are sourced from over collateralized loans to the largest institutions in the space, and bring that into a DeFi audience.” https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/05/28/crypto-lending-firm-maple-finance-unveils-syrup-yield-platform-and-rewards-token/

2024-05-28 12:18

The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for May 28, 2024. Latest Prices Top Stories Bitcoin fell below $68,000 after wallets belonging to Mt. Gox transferred $9 billion worth of BTC to an unknown address early Asian morning. The transaction is possibly part of a plan to repay creditors by Oct. 31. BTC dropped as low as $67,680, a decline of over 1.5% in the last 24 hours, following the transfer having climbed above $70,000 on Monday. Bitcoin subsequently seemed to shrug off the dip to reclaim $68,000 during the European morning. At the time of writing it is just under $68,500, largely unmoved in the last 24 hours. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) meanwhile is up around 0.3%. Solana validators are set to get a little more SOL tokens after a governance proposal to give them 100% of priority fees was passed late Monday with 77% in favor. In the previous model, half of the fees in a priority transaction were erased while the other half went to the validators. This created a situation where validators were said to be making “side deals” with transaction submitters to get more SOL, as per proposal creator tao-stones on the Solana governance forum. Giving all the priority fees to the validators would ensure that validators are more focused on keeping the network safe and running smoothly, tao-stones said. SOL has increased by around 1.15% in the last 24 hours, trading at about $167.70, according to CoinDesk Indices data. Elwood Technologies, the cryptocurrency-focused trade execution and risk management platform backed by billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard, is in talks to sell part of the business, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Elwood is focusing on its existing portfolio management and risk management software-as-a-service business and less on the trading side, one of the people said. Howard’s current reorganization of his portfolio of crypto investments has resulted in changes at Elwood, another person said. Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Howard was looking to sell his stakes in crypto exchange Bitpanda and custody firm Copper to focus on Brevan Howard Digital. Chart of the Day The chart shows shows the realized price and profit/loss margin of short-term bitcoin holders It indicates there should be lower selling pressure from traders now as unrealized profits are only 3% compared to 69% when bitcoin hit $70,000 in March. "Heavy selling has been exhausted according to this indicator," Julio Moreno, head of research for CryptoQuant, said in a post on X on Monday. Source: CryptoQuant - Jamie Crawley Trending Posts Dogecoin, Floki, Dogwifhat Start to Surge as GameStop Jumps 19% in Pre-Market One-Third of U.S. Voters Say They'll Weigh Candidates' Crypto Views Before Voting: Poll Trump Widens Lead Over With Biden (on Polymarket and PredictIt) After Courting Crypto Vote https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/28/first-mover-americas-bitcoin-falls-below-68k-after-9b-mt-gox-transfer/