Anatoly Legkodymov, co-founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, pleaded guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money services business on Dec. 6. Legkodymov appeared in New York Eastern District Court in Brooklyn before Judge Eric Vitaliano.
In court, Legkodymov agreed to dissolve Bitzlato and forfeit $23 million in cryptocurrency. He had filed a criminal cause for pleading, which is understood to indicate the intention of entering a guilty plea. Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said:
“Legkodymov’s guilty plea today confirms that he was well aware that Bitzlato, his cryptocurrency exchange, was being used like an open turnstile by criminals eager to take advantage of his lax controls over illicit money transactions.”
Legkodymov was arrested in Miami on Jan. 17, 2023 during a coordinated international effort to take the exchange down. Its website was blocked by France the same day. According to the United States Department of Justice, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus, along with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), also took part in the operation against it.
Hong Kong-based noncustodial peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato allegedly had “deficient” Know Your Customer/Anti-Money Laundering safeguards and was a major “financial resource” for the Russian darknet marketplace Hydra. The Justice Department imposed sanctions on Hydra in April 2022.
Related: Bitzlato kept a low profile, but did not go entirely unnoticed before DOJ action
The enforcement actions shook the crypto markets temporarily. Europol later claimed that around 46% of the assets handled by Bitzlato, worth 1 billion euros ($1.09 billion at the time), were connected to criminal activities. Europol seized Bitzlato wallets worth 18 million euros and froze 100 accounts on other exchanges worth 50 million euros.
Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao could get dragged into this.
The Anatoly Legkodymov case is as much about Binance as it is Bitzlato.
Keep an eye on this one…@TheDigitalComJB @TheDigitalCom_X #Bitzlato #Binance #crypto https://t.co/uwQCdLJLYF— Darren Parkin (@EditorParkin) December 6, 2023
Binance was a major Bitzlato counterparty. It blocked funds in 20 wallets in connection with the case later in January. In March, the exchange was able to unblock some of the funds it held and allowed users to withdraw up to 50% of their Bitcoin (BTC).
Magazine: Lawmakers’ fear and doubt drives proposed crypto regulations in US
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency. The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies. While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past. According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975. Source: Web.archive.org Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership. The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January. Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Lugano, Switzerland. Source: Cointelegraph Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system. Related: Bitcoin at 16: From experiment to trillion-dollar asset “At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert. “Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding: “What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.” However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said. Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan. Satoshi’s new addresses. Source: Conor Grogan If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person. Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day. Magazine: 10 crypto theories that missed as badly as ‘Peter Todd is Satoshi’
The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up. On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication. Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data. The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This is the largest daily decline since March 16, 2020. “US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19 with recession odds ABOVE 60%,” it added. The Kobessi Letter said Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement was “historic” and if the tariffs continue, a recession will be “impossible to avoid.” Source: Anthony Scaramucci On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries. Trump said the reciprocal tariffs will be roughly half the rate US trading partners impose on American goods. Related: Bitcoin bulls defend $80K support as ‘World War 3 of trade wars’ crushes US stocks Meanwhile, the crypto industry has pointed out that while the stock market continues to decline, Bitcoin (BTC) remains stronger than most expected. Crypto trader Plan Markus pointed out in an April 4 X post that while the entire stock market “is tanking,” Bitcoin is holding. Source: Jeff Dorman Even some crypto skeptics have pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s performance and the US stock market during the recent period of macro uncertainty. Stock market commentator Dividend Hero told his 203,200 X followers that he has “hated on Bitcoin in the past, but seeing it not tank while the stock market does is very interesting to me.” Meanwhile, technical trader Urkel said Bitcoin “doesn’t appear to care one bit about tariff wars and markets tanking.” Bitcoin is trading at $83,749 at the time of publication, down 0.16% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data. Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple a ‘bad actor’ with no crypto legal precedent set
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Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”
Is Satoshi Nakamoto wealthier than Bill Gates?
Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”
