News – Page 45

Germany Indicts Two Ex-MPs for Bribery

Axel Fischer and Eduard Lintner were members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Baku used a secret US$2.9 billion slush fund to, among other things, offer free trips and expensive gifts to European MPs who would vote in Baku’s favor. The investigation conducted and published by OCCRP and the Süddeutsche Zeitung exposed Lintsner and a third PACE member, Karin Strenz, as those who benefited from the tactic.

Source: Written by Kelly Bloss and Robert Denis, 2024-01-30; https://www.occrp.org/en/daily//en/daily/18414-germany-indicts-two-ex-mps-for-bribery

Spanish Authorities Uncover Funeral Home Involved in Selling Corpses to Universities

Funeral home in Valencia allegedly falsified records to make it look like the person had authorized the use of their body for scientific research. Employees allegedly chose deceased persons who were either foreigners or had no next of kin on file, to ensure that no one would come to claim the bodies. One such cadaver belonged to a man who had supposedly signed over his body to a university. The body, which was to be buried in a charitable burial paid for by the town council, was instead sold for nearly US$1,200.

Source: Written by Lieth Carrillo, 2024-01-31; https://www.occrp.org/en/daily//en/daily/18418-spanish-authorities-uncover-funeral-home-involved-in-selling-corpses-to-universities

Bitcoin ETF vs Buying BTC Directly: What’s Better?

A spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has been one of the hottest topics over the past few years. Many investment companies, both traditional and crypto-oriented, have been filing multiple applications with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission over and over again. On January 10th, 2024, the SEC finally gave the go-ahead and a total of 11 Bitcoin ETF applications. With the approval already a fact, it’s now critical to explore a very important subject – the difference between buying a spot Bitcoin ETF and buying Bitcoin directly.

Source: George Georgiev, 2024-01-21; https://cryptopotato.com/bitcoin-etf-vs-buying-btc-directly-whats-better/

Pope Francis Encourages Brave Women Who Left Mafia Life

The head of the Catholic Church blessed on Monday the decision of a group of Italian women to leave their mafia families. Father Luigi Ciotti, who accompanied the women, said that it was an emotional encounter, filled with gratitude. The women pleaded for help in escaping the claws of the mafia, as reported by theassociation. “I bless your decision, and I urge you to continue on this path,” he said during the audience at the Vatican. “The mafias have ‘confiscated’ their lives,” CiottI said.

Source: Written by Zdravko Ljubas, 2023-11-03; https://www.occrp.org/en/daily//en/daily/18180-pope-francis-encourages-brave-women-who-left-mafia-life

Bitfinex Unveils Securities Platform in El Salvador

Bitfinex has announced the launch of a securities trading platform in El Salvador. El Salvador is the first country to recognize bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender. The new platform launch follows the of several Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) two weeks ago. The move rides on the expectation that there will be substantial demand for similar financial instruments that give investors exposure to digital assets. Bitfinex believes developing a tokenized securities industry in El Salvador will be a success.

Source: Mandy Williams, 2024-02-01; https://cryptopotato.com/bitfinex-unveils-securities-platform-in-el-salvador/

Starknet Foundation to Distribute 50 Million Tokens to Early Community Contributors

The Starknet Foundation has announced its intention to allocate approximately 50 million STRK tokens as part of its Early Community Member Program (ECMP) This initiative, unveiled on October 30, is designed to reward and motivate the individuals who played a pivotal role in developing the Starknet ecosystem. The registration process for potential recipients will be open until November 19, with the final list expected to be announced by December 29. The program aims to reward individuals who have made significant technological contributions, actively participated in crucial ecosystem projects, and consistently shared content related to Starknet.

Source: Wayne Jones, 2023-11-01; https://cryptopotato.com/starknet-foundation-to-distribute-50-million-tokens-to-early-community-contributors/

BTC’s Stagnation Continues, XMR Slumps Double Digits Following Binance Delisting (Market Watch)

The primary cryptocurrency has shown little movement for the past several days and even weeks. The last such rejection came on Thursday, and the asset plummeted by nearly two grand in hours. Since then, Bitcoin has failed to make any major moves, aside from a $1,000 pump and dump yesterday. As of now, the cryptocurrency inches above $43,000. Its market capitalization has increased to just over $845 billion on CMC, and its dominance over the alts stands still at 51.2%.

Source: Jordan Lyanchev, 2024-02-08; https://cryptopotato.com/btcs-stagnation-continues-xmr-slumps-double-digits-following-binance-delisting-market-watch/

El Salvador’s Bitcoin Adoption Drops Significantly: Survey Reveals a 12% Usage Rate in 2023

12% of Salvadorans used Bitcoin at least once to pay for goods and services in 2023. This marks a significant decrease from 2022, when the same university reported that 24.4% had engaged in transactions using Bitcoin. The decline in numbers raised questions about the sustainability and widespread acceptance of the premier crypto asset in everyday transactions. Nearly half – 49.7% – made purchases using the crypto asset only one to three times. On the other end of the spectrum, 20% of respondents used Bitcoin.

Source: Chayanika Deka, 2024-01-21; https://cryptopotato.com/el-salvadors-bitcoin-adoption-drops-significantly-survey-reveals-a-12-usage-rate-in-2023/

Georgia Busts Fraudulent Call Center Ring

The group set up companies and call centers throughout Georgia. They created e-commerce platforms to enhance credibility, alluring victims with lucrative financial deals. This is how they allegedly embezzled “several million Swiss francs belonging to citizens of the Swiss Confederation,” read the statement. To facilitate the laundering of the fraudulently acquired funds, the suspects reportedly transferred them to their bank accounts and then invested them in real estate. The suspects’ real and movable property, valued at up to five mill, was seized.

Source: Written by Zdravko Ljubas, 2024-02-07; https://www.occrp.org/en/daily//en/daily/18447-georgia-busts-fraudulent-call-center-ring

Did Bitcoin (BTC) Price Indeed Bottom After the Unrealistic ETF-Related Market Expectations? (Analysis)

The US Securities and Exchange Commission made history in mid-January when it finally approved nearly a dozen spot BTC ETFs to launch on local exchanges. There was a big price run-up ahead of the approvals that resulted in a highly positive Q4 ’23 for BTC. However, the landscape changed on the day the ETFs launched in the US, and Bitcoin slumped by over ten grand in the following weeks. Has the asset finally bottomed? Bitcoin’s price reacted well at first and shot up to over $49,000 hours after the US exchan.

Source: Jordan Lyanchev, 2024-02-04; https://cryptopotato.com/did-bitcoin-btc-price-indeed-bottomed-after-the-unrealistic-etf-related-market-expectations-analysis/

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