ChainCatcher news, according to Reuters, Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of the cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud on Tuesday.The 59-year-old Mashinsky was indicted on July 13, 2023, on seven counts of fraud, conspiracy, and market manipulation. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan stated that he misled Celsius's customers, enticing them to invest, and artificially inflated the value of the company's proprietary cryptocurrency. He pleaded not guilty to these charges on that day.During Tuesday's hearing, Mashinsky stated that he pleaded guilty to two of the original seven charges: commodity fraud and a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the price of CEL (Celsius token).In court, Mashinsky admitted that during an interview in 2021, he provided "false comfort" to Celsius customers by claiming that Celsius had received regulatory approval for its Earn program, when in fact it had not been approved. The program promised to use customers' cryptocurrency to generate investment returns.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev will continue to be detained while awaiting trial. Pertsev recently expressed disappointment on X regarding the court's decision to extend his detention, believing it hinders his ability to prepare for an appeal.Previously, several Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives demanded that Treasury officials answer questions about the handling of the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash, which was sanctioned in 2022 but is still operational. The lawmakers emphasized that the usage of this mixer has "rebounded" this year, with $1.8 billion in deposits in the first half of 2024, a 45% increase compared to the entire year of 2023.

ChainCatcher news, the Trump family's new crypto project World Liberty Financial (abbreviated as WLFI) announced on the X platform that Alexei Dulub, the founder of Web3 Antivirus and PixelPlex, has joined the team as an advisor.According to WLFI's description: "Alexei has been a blockchain pioneer since 2013, building custom L1 and L2 that support today's Web3 projects."It is reported that Web3 Antivirus is an open-source Web3 extension project that prevents crypto scams and wallet losses, while PixelPlex is a provider of blockchain technology solutions and software development.

ChainCatcher message, Alex Lab officially announced on social media an update regarding the theft incident, stating, "We are committed to transparency and user compensation. Starting from June 5, 2024, all ALEX's revenue will be used to compensate users affected by the hacking incident."Previously, ALEX Lab suffered an attack resulting in a loss of $4.3 million and promised to offer a 10% bounty to the hacker for the return of the stolen assets. Since then, they have recovered some of the stolen funds and are considering remedies for the affected users.

ChainCatcher news, the legal dispute of Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev has reached a critical moment as he seeks to raise more funds to address the lawsuit. Last month, a Dutch court announced the refusal to release Alexey Pertsev, forcing him to prepare for further appeals.In addition, another Tornado Cash developer, Roman Storm, will be tried in the U.S. in September, facing charges of money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business, and conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions laws.

ChainCatcher news, according to DL News, a Dutch court has refused to release Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev, who was sentenced for money laundering, as he prepares to appeal. A spokesperson for the Court of Appeal in The Hague revealed that Pertsev will remain in custody. His defense attorneys Keith Cheng and Judith de Boer argued that Pertsev is not a flight risk and that he needs internet access to prepare for the appeal trial.Pertsev was arrested in August 2022, just days after the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Tornado Cash. He was detained, and prosecutors disclosed his money laundering charges three months later. After eight months in prison, Pertsev was released to house arrest, and he was ultimately released last year under specific conditions. Now, his lawyers argue that the risk of Pertsev fleeing is no greater than it was before.Another Tornado Cash developer, Roman Storm, is set to stand trial in the U.S. in September. He is charged with money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, and conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions laws.

ChainCatcher news, according to RootData, the Alex token ALEX has increased by 52.4% in the last 24 hours, currently priced at $0.13.Additionally, the Web3 asset data platform RootData shows that ALEX is an open-source Bitcoin DeFi platform based on the Stacks blockchain. ALEX brings Bitcoin to users through the following methods: the project launches its token, offers fixed ratings and fixed-term non-liquidation risk lending, advanced DEX (decentralized exchange), deposits tokens to earn interest, and achieves high returns through yield farming.

ChainCatcher news, the Bitcoin ecosystem DeFi protocol ALEX announced on social media that 100% of the protocol's revenue will be allocated as an additional subsidy to certificate holders. The governance proposal was approved by an overwhelming majority vote, and further announcements will be made as the subsequent implementation progresses.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, the Bitcoin ecosystem DeFi protocol ALEX has announced that the BRC20 bridging is now live, currently supporting the withdrawal of BRC20 tokens from Stacks to Bitcoin. The Runes bridging is expected to go live this week, which will support both withdrawals and deposits.

ChainCatcher message, Bitcoin DeFi platform ALEX Lab released a security incident update stating, "There is substantial transaction evidence indicating that this attack is related to the hacker organization Lazarus Group. We are actively collaborating with international law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to address the impact of this attack and recover lost assets. Alex Lab is implementing enhanced security protocols to strengthen the platform's ability to withstand similar threats.As the investigation progresses and recovery efforts continue, Alex Lab will provide regular updates."

ChainCatcher message, Bitcoin DeFi platform ALEX Lab released a security incident update on X: As of June 17 at 11 AM, the attacker has broadcasted over 9,700 transactions, involving the generation of new wallet addresses and then dispersing the on-chain STX balance to these new wallets. The number of traceable transactions has started to grow exponentially from 300 to over 9,600, and it has been accelerating with no signs of stopping. This also means that the number of the attacker's independent addresses has increased from fewer than 100 to over 4,700 in just 7 days. A small amount of STX has been transferred to thousands of new addresses, which were then sent to CEX.Most CEXs have fully cooperated with ALEX during the recovery process; however, the attacker realized this and quickly shifted to the sending addresses of the stolen funds on CEX. The currently traceable amount of STX deposited into CEX is 8,373,587 STX, and the attacker's current on-chain balance is approximately 5,560,332 STX (calculated based on wallet balances exceeding 100 STX).

ChainCatcher message, the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb announced that due to STX network issues, the deposit and withdrawal services for STX and ALEX will be suspended.

ChainCatcher message, the Bitcoin DeFi platform ALEX Lab announced on platform X that all ALEX pools are now open, including GUS, MEGA, LONG, NOT, PEPE, MAX, STX, DIKO, and USDA pools. The ALEX Lab Foundation has restored liquidity.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Bitcoin Layer2 developer Alex Labs has announced its roadmap to restore community trust and restart its platform operations following recent violations. The Alex Labs Foundation is conducting two governance votes, including reopening the funding pool and planning the launch of its native token and the migration of its automated market maker (AMM).In response to the recent hacking incident, the foundation has taken measures to enhance security to prevent future attacks. These measures include collaborating with Kaamel Technology to "investigate the incident," incorporating new smart contract-based multi-signature security audits, and working with legal entities to recover the remaining stolen funds. The governance vote will conclude at 23:30 Beijing time on June 2, and will determine the future management of the user funds that have been found, frozen, and recovered.

According to ChainCatcher news, on-chain data shows that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin transferred 30 ETH, worth approximately $113,000, to Juicebox: Free Alexey & Roman 30 minutes ago. Currently, Juicebox: Free Alexey & Roman has raised about 423 ETH, and the funds will be used to support the legal defense fund for Tornado Cash developers Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm.

ChainCatcher news, the Bitcoin ecosystem project ALEX stated on social media that ALEX holders have received non-transferable special voting tokens "special-vote". Users can use these tokens to vote on proposals such as the treasury grant program (which requires 50% of voting tokens to participate) and reopening Pools (referring to Pools not affected by previous security incidents).ALEX stated that the number of "special-vote" tokens is equal to the amount of ALEX tokens held by users at Stacks block 150610, including LP positions, atALEX, and staking positions, as well as tokens held on the B20 order book.

ChainCatcher message, Bitcoin DeFi platform ALEX Lab announced a financial status update and details on the recovery of stolen assets, recently selling 3% of its tokens to raise 10 million USDC, of which 7 million is allocated for bounties or the Treasury Grant project, and the remaining funds are used for the foundation's operations, personnel expenses, marketing, security contracts, and legal fees.Approximately 4 million STX were sent to 27 different exchanges, of which about 1 million STX are unrecoverable. Additionally, 10 million STX are suspected to be controlled in several on-chain wallets, and the foundation is working to contact the relevant parties.

ChainCatcher news, MetaLeX, founded by cryptocurrency lawyer Gabriel Shapiro, announced the completion of a $2.75 million seed round financing, with the company valued at $27.5 million. This round of financing was led by Cyber Fund.According to the Web3 asset data platform RootData, MetaLeX is a new way to serve the legal, governance, and operational needs of the crypto community, built specifically for the new cybernetic economy through a unique set of on-chain protocols and off-chain legal arrangements.

According to ChainCatcher news, based on the latest proposal voting results, Alchemix DAO will donate 15 ETH to the legal defense fund for Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev (Free Alexey & Roman).It is reported that the two developers, Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm, who contributed to Tornado Cash, were arrested in different jurisdictions after the OFAC sanctions were implemented in 2022. Their trial in 2024 sets an important precedent for developers, privacy protocols, and the broader crypto industry. Alexey's first trial was held on March 26 of this year (with a verdict and further potential legal actions scheduled for mid-May), while Roman's trial is set for late September.