NFTs
Crypto NFT Today: Week March 4
Welcome to another edition of NFT Crypto Today! The last two weeks have been full of unmissable events that will define points for the future of blockchain, cryptocurrency and NFTs.
With FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison, Giga Energy’s bitcoin mining in Argentina and more, there’s a lot of essential news you should know. So let’s dive in and see what’s going on!
FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years
On March 28, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried received a 25-year prison sentence sentencing for his involvement in a massive fraud and conspiracy that led to the downfall of his cryptocurrency exchange and affiliated hedge fund, Alameda Research.
The verdict, handed down in Manhattan federal court, fell short of the 40 to 50 years sought by federal prosecutors, but exceeded the five to six and a half years proposed by Bankman-Fried’s defense team. Expressing concern about potential future wrongdoing, Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced the 32-year-old and ordered the forfeiture of $11 billion from the US government.
Giga Energy mines Bitcoin in Argentina
Brent Whitehead and Matt Lohstroh, graduates of Texas A&M University, have been involved in bitcoin mining in the East Texas oil fields since 2019. Their company, Giga Energy, intends to use flared natural gas to generate electricity for bitcoin mining operations, known for their significant energy consumption.
Giga Energy recently announced its expansion into Argentina, marking its first venture outside of the US and Shanghai. Collaborating with Phoenix Global Resources, an oil and gas company operating in Mendoza, and IT services provider Exa Tech, Giga plans to establish a two-megawatt bitcoin mining facility atop Vaca Muerta.
Bitcoin surges during the last week of March
At the beginning of the last week of March, Bitcoin rose, recovering the limit of US$70,000. According to Coin Metrics, the price of the leading cryptocurrency rose 7.8% to reach $70,995.48, briefly reaching $71,239.31 in late afternoon trading, coinciding with the stock market close. Ether also experienced a 7.4% increase, reaching $3,634.80, with most other cryptocurrencies following suit.
MicroStrategy, often thought of as a proxy for Bitcoin Price, saw a notable 21% increase, while Coinbase saw a 9% increase. The mining sector also benefited from Bitcoin’s recovery, with Riot Platforms rising 9%, CleanSpark experiencing a 19% increase, and Cipher Mining gaining 13%.
KuCoin accused of violating anti-money laundering laws
On March 26, the U.S. federal government prosecutors filed charges against cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin and two of its founders for allegedly violating anti-money laundering laws. Prosecutors alleged that the US-based exchange misled at least one investor about its US operations and neglected to register with US government authorities or establish an anti-money laundering program.
According to the US Department of Justice indictment, KuCoin and its founders, Chun Gan and Ke Tang, ran the exchange as a money transmission company, serving more than 30 million customers. However, they allegedly did not implement a know your customer (KYC) or anti-money laundering (AML) program until 2023. Even after its implementation, the KYC program allegedly did not extend to existing customers. Neither Gan nor Tang were arrested, as stated in a DOJ press release.