New regulators are set to define Europe’s crypto policies
French authorities have reportedly lifted Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s travel ban amid an ongoing investigation into the messaging platform.
Durov had been ordered to remain in France following his arrest in Paris in August last year, facing multiple charges related to his operation of Telegram.
Durov was previously granted temporary exemptions, and French authorities have now fully lifted restrictions on his travel, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
As part of the latest decision, dated Monday, officials also removed the requirement for Durov to regularly check in at a local police station, the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Investigation still ongoing
The report did not mention any details regarding the French investigation into Telegram, hinting that the case is still active.
According to a statement on preliminary charges by France’s Prosecutor’s Office, Durov was last year accused of facilitating a platform that enables illicit transactions. The prosecutors said the Telegram CEO is facing up to 10 years in prison, in addition to a fine of $550,000.
Telegram and Durov have repeatedly denied the accusations, highlighting the messenger’s compliance with industry standards and the laws of the European Union.
While denying the accusations, Durov has consistently criticized the French government, including French President Emmanuel Macron, regarding what Durov has described as the country’s political trajectory around censorship.
“Emmanuel Macron isn’t making the right choices. I’m very disappointed. France is getting weaker and weaker,” Durov said in an interview with French outlet Le Point in June.
Related: Telegram’s Pavel Durov unveils decentralized AI network built on TON
In October, Durov warned of the potential consequences of the EU’s Chat Control proposal, urging the world to fight against the “dystopian” measures proposed by the EU.
“Germany is persecuting anyone who dares to criticize officials on the Internet. The UK is imprisoning thousands for their tweets. France is criminally investigating tech leaders who defend freedom and privacy,” Durov wrote in an X post on Oct. 9.
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Cryptocurrency scammers have impersonated Australian police and exploited government infrastructure to pressure victims into handing over their digital assets, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said Thursday.
The AFP said scammers used the local cybercrime reporting tool ReportCyber to submit reports about their targets. At a later time, they contact the victims posing as police and inviting them to check the report on government websites, lending credibility to the scammers.
In one case, the scammers warned the victim that they would be contacted by a representative from a crypto company, who would also provide information to prove their legitimacy. This second caller then attempted to persuade the target to transfer money from their platform wallet to a wallet of their choice.
“Thankfully the target became suspicious and hung up,“ the AFP said.
Related: Australia unmasks $123M crypto laundering ring behind security firm
A game of pretend
AFP Detective Superintendent Marie Andersson said the scammers falsely claimed that an individual had been arrested and the victim identified in an investigation involving a crypto breach. She noted that the scammers’ verification steps often resembled legitimate law-enforcement procedures, making the scheme “highly convincing” to some victims.
Andersson said this was part of a broader trend in scams becoming increasingly sophisticated. She encouraged “Australians to adopt necessary safety measures online” and warned that “if you’re contacted by someone about a ReportCyber report you didn’t lodge or authorise someone to make on your behalf, terminate the call and notify ReportCyber.
“Also bear in mind legitimate law enforcement officials will never request access to your cryptocurrency accounts, wallets, bank accounts, cryptocurrency wallet seed phrases, or any personal information relating to your financial accounts.”
Related: Australian feds seize mansion, Bitcoin allegedly linked to crypto exchange hack
Australia cracks down on crypto crime
In late October, the AFP announced that it had cracked a coded cryptocurrency wallet backup containing 9 million Australian dollars ($5.9 million) — suspected to be the proceeds of a crime.
In late August, Australia’s markets regulator was reported to be expanding its campaign against online scams, having taken down 14,000 since July 2023, with over 3,000 involving cryptocurrency.
In July, authorities in the Australian island state of Tasmania found that the top 15 users of crypto ATMs in the state were all victims of scams, with combined losses of $1.6 million.
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Taiwan is preparing to issue a report on its Bitcoin holdings, signaling that officials are weighing whether the country should follow the United States in creating a national Bitcoin reserve.
Zhuo Rongtai, premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), said the country is preparing a report to assess the total amount of Bitcoin (BTC) confiscated by domestic agencies.
The report will be issued before the end of the year, said Rongtai during a legislative general fiscal inquiry meeting with the Finance Committee on Tuesday.
When asked about the fate of the confiscated Bitcoin, legislator Ge Rujun proposed that Taiwan’s government “hold it unchanged” before deciding whether to liquidate the assets or include them in a strategic reserve, according to local media outlet Blocktempo.
Rongtai’s forthcoming report will also include a list of “pros and cons” for creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve, marking the first time Taiwanese officials have publicly considered BTC as a reserve asset.
The premier’s pledge to “study” Bitcoin for a strategic reserve asset and draft more Bitcoin-friendly regulations in the next six months is a “breakthrough” for the country, wrote Ko Ju-Chun, a lawmaker in Taiwan’s unicameral legislature, the Legislative Yuan, in a Tuesday X post.
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Governmental interest in Bitcoin started rising after March 7, when US President Donald Trump signed an executive order outlining a plan to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, initially using cryptocurrency forfeited in government criminal cases, Cointelegraph reported.
The Bitcoin reserve marked the “first real step toward integrating Bitcoin into the fabric of global finance, acknowledging its role as a foundational asset for a more stable and sound monetary system,” said Joe Burnett, head of market research at Unchained, at the time.
Related: Taiwan charges suspects in record $72M crypto laundering scheme
Taiwan legislators are calling for a Bitcoin reserve as a hedge against global uncertainty
While Taiwan has yet to make an official move, lawmakers have previously called for the creation of a Bitcoin reserve.
In May, Ju-Chun called for the government to consider adding Bitcoin to its national reserve, citing Bitcoin’s potential to serve as a hedge amid global economic uncertainty, during a speech to the Taiwanese government at the National Conference on May 9.
The lawmaker previously suggested a maximum allocation of 5% of Taiwan’s $50 billion reserve.
Taiwan has been exploring more crypto-friendly regulations to bolster institutional cryptocurrency adoption. In October 2024, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) of Taiwan announced the launch of a trial for crypto custody services for financial institutions.
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