ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has completed registration with India's financial regulatory authority and paid the relevant fines. Bybit is expected to obtain a full operating license in the coming weeks, officially launching compliant operations in the Indian market.

ChainCatcher news, mining company Stronghold Digital has violated energy market rules while prioritizing its Bitcoin mining business, agreeing to pay over $1.4 million in fines and refunds.Stronghold has a contractual obligation to provide available power to the PJM grid to help ensure the reliability of the grid. However, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's enforcement office found that Stronghold failed to meet this obligation from June 2021 to May 2022, instead diverting power to its Bitcoin mining operations.Stronghold and Scrubgrass will repay PJM $678,635 in improperly earned capacity revenue and pay a civil penalty of $741,365 to the U.S. Treasury. The company must also submit compliance reports for at least two years and provide market rules training for its personnel.

ChainCatcher news, Bitfinex Alpha's latest report shows that the Bitcoin market is undergoing a structural transformation. Although the BTC price fell below $100,000 due to Trump's tariff policy, the continuous accumulation by institutional investors indicates market resilience. MicroStrategy increased its holdings by 10,107 bitcoins for $1.1 billion, bringing its total holdings to 158,400 bitcoins, and submitted a financing application to the SEC in preparation for future purchases; the Japanese listed company Metaplanet completed a $745 million financing to expand its Bitcoin reserves to hedge against the risk of yen depreciation. In January 2025, BTC recorded a 10% increase, with prices consolidating within a 15% range for nearly 65 days.On a macro level, Bitcoin's correlation with traditional markets has increased, with a 30-day correlation with the S&P 500 reaching 0.8, a new five-month high. The Federal Reserve maintained interest rates at 4.25%-4.50%, with inflation still above the 2% target, and core PCE year-on-year remaining at 2.8%. Meanwhile, Tether is integrating its $140 billion USDT into the Bitcoin Lightning Network, enhancing network payment efficiency through Taproot Assets technology, and driving Bitcoin's transformation from a store of value to a payment network.

ChainCatcher news, according to Lookonchain data monitoring, before the market crash, a whale wallet that had been silent for 6 years transferred 77,736 ETH to Bitfinex, worth approximately $228.6 million.According to analysis, this wallet had previously withdrawn 77,736 ETH from Bitfinex on January 5, 2019 (at that time worth only $11.9 million).

ChainCatcher news, recently, the People's Court of Pingjiang County, Hunan Province announced multiple criminal judgments involving the BKEX exchange, clearly defining the platform's contract trading as gambling behavior, and holding relevant employees and agents criminally responsible for the crime of operating a casino.The judgment shows that BKEX was founded by Ji Jiaming in 2018 in Chengdu, mainly providing virtual currency exchange and spot trading services. In 2021, the platform launched perpetual contract trading features, allowing users to bet on the price fluctuations of virtual currencies like BTC and ETH using USDT, suspected of using the internet to gather crowds for gambling. By the time of the incident, BKEX had accumulated a net profit of approximately 54.798 million USDT (equivalent to about 300 million RMB), with 270,000 contract trading users, of which over 60,000 were active users.Due to the founder Ji Jiaming being on the run, this case mainly targets platform employees and agents. The judgment involves 2 employees and 6 agents, among them, an employee named Zheng Lei, who served as a wallet engineer responsible for technical support for fund circulation, was sentenced to 2 years and 1 month in prison, with a 2-year and 1-month probation, and fined 150,000 yuan; another employee, Wang, was responsible for KYC verification and fund settlement, sentenced to 1 year and 11 months in prison, and fined 52,000 yuan. Agent Dong was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison, with a 1-year and 6-month probation, and fined 35,000 yuan for developing downline participants for gambling profits. The related illegal gains have been confiscated and turned over to the national treasury.The court determined that the defendants were all accomplices, and some individuals received lighter penalties due to pleading guilty and actively returning stolen goods.Earlier in 2023, news from BKEX exchange: due to suspected "money laundering" and cooperating with the police for evidence collection, it will suspend withdrawals.

ChainCatcher news, Bitfinex Alpha's latest report shows that the correlation between Bitcoin and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq has reached a new high for the year, while the implied volatility of options has decreased by 13% this week, indicating that traders expect price fluctuations to ease.On the macro front, the number of unemployment claims in the U.S. has risen to the highest level in three years, and the consumer confidence index has ended a six-month streak of increases, with growing concerns in the market regarding the Trump administration's trade policies and regulatory changes. On the institutional side, there has been a surge in applications for Litecoin, XRP, and Solana ETFs, indicating rising institutional investment interest, while the U.S. House Oversight Committee has launched an investigation into unfair banking services faced by crypto-related entities.

ChainCatcher news, according to the latest data from Coinglass, 4954.64 bitcoins have flowed out of the Bitfinex exchange wallet in the past week, 1589.95 bitcoins have flowed out of the Coinbase Pro wallet in the past 7 days, and 1033.94 bitcoins have flowed into the OKX wallet in the past 7 days.

ChainCatcher news, Bitfinex released an analysis report stating that the symbiotic potential between Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence infrastructure cannot be ignored. AI operations require a significant amount of energy and specialized facilities, while Bitcoin miners already possess these facilities. During peaks in AI operations or surges in energy demand, miners can scale down Bitcoin mining and increase mining capacity when energy is more abundant. This dynamic can enhance the economic efficiency of mining operations while maintaining sufficient hash power for the Bitcoin network.Whether this shift is beneficial or detrimental to the Bitcoin network depends on the diversification of miners and the industry's ability to maintain network security amid changing dynamics. If executed strategically, the combination of AI and Bitcoin mining can foster innovation and efficiency without compromising the decentralized nature of Bitcoin.However, if a significant amount of hash power is permanently transferred, the Bitcoin network may face greater centralization risks. Choosing AI over other digital assets also aligns with the broader strategic goals of many mining companies. The growth trajectory of the AI industry is expected to achieve long-term scalability and align with emerging technological trends, from automation to advanced data analytics.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi citing the German Handelsblatt, the European Commission has completed its investigation into the social media platform X and will decide to impose a fine of several million euros on it.

According to ChainCatcher, TechCrunch reported that Indonesia's antitrust agency KPPU has fined Google 20.25 trillion Indonesian rupiah (approximately 12.6 million USD) for monopolistic practices related to its Google Play Store payment system. KPPU has ordered Google to stop mandating the use of the Google Play Billing (GPB) system and to allow all developers to participate in the User Choice Billing (UCB) program, while also providing at least a 5% service fee discount within one year of the ruling taking effect.The investigation began in 2022 and found that Google forced Indonesian developers to use the GPB system and charged fees of up to 30%, while prohibiting other payment options, resulting in reduced users, decreased transaction volume, and impaired revenue. Google plans to appeal this ruling and stated that its current practices support healthy competition in Indonesia's app ecosystem.Google has previously faced fines and regulatory investigations for similar anti-competitive behavior in India, South Korea, the European Union, and other regions, and Japan's antitrust agency may become the next country to rule that it has violated antitrust laws.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, Allianz CEO stated that we expect the "extortion" of regulatory fines to significantly decrease under the Trump administration, and compared to the Biden administration, Trump will have a positive impact on the financial services industry.

ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that the UAE-registered crypto market maker CLS Global has agreed to plead guilty, admitting to providing "wash trading" services for the undercover law enforcement-created virtual project NexFundAI during July-August 2024, executing self-trades across multiple wallets through algorithms to fabricate trading volume to attract investors.Company employees admitted in a video conference: "This is wash trading, and we have done this for many clients." If the court approves the plea agreement, CLS Global will pay a fine of $428,059 and forfeited cryptocurrency, and will be banned from participating in the U.S. cryptocurrency market. The company has over 50 overseas employees, primarily providing crypto-related services to U.S. investors.

ChainCatcher news, Bitfinex released a report stating that Bitcoin experienced an astonishing rebound last week, rising back above $100,000 after briefly dropping to a low of $89,698. The rebound peaked at $105,800. The 18.2% rebound from peak to trough highlights Bitcoin's relative strength compared to stocks. The recovery was primarily driven by positive spot buying, evidenced by a significant increase in cumulative spot trading volume. This indicator suggests that buying pressure from buyers, especially from U.S. exchanges, is substantial. The buying pattern is similar to previous activities associated with MicroStrategy and ETF purchases, further confirming the view that institutional demand remains strong.However, the spot buying pressure observed last week may take time to replenish buying interest, potentially leading to a brief pullback before further upward momentum can resume. Bitcoin's resilience and sustained demand suggest it will continue to strengthen in the medium term.

ChainCatcher news, South Korean authorities have discovered over 500,000 KYC violations at Upbit, with potential fines reaching up to $34.3 billion.Previous news, South Korean financial authorities have notified Upbit that it will face a suspension and rectification order.

ChainCatcher news, according to market reports, Digital Currency Group (DCG) has been charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and fined $38 million due to the lending fraud activities of its subsidiary Genesis.It is reported that Genesis is a cryptocurrency lending platform under DCG and was once one of the largest institutional lending service providers in the crypto industry. In November 2022, the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX exacerbated market turmoil, leading Genesis to suspend customer withdrawals during this period and file for bankruptcy protection in January 2023, with asset and liability valuations between $1 billion and $10 billion. According to the SEC investigation, Genesis and DCG are accused of concealing financial losses through false statements, involving over 230,000 investors and totaling more than $1 billion.

ChainCatcher news, according to CSBS, based on the official announcement, in a coordinated law enforcement action by financial regulators in 48 states in the U.S., Block, Inc. will pay a fine of $80 million and take corrective measures to address violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws, which protect the financial system from illegal use.It is reported that over 50 million consumers use Block's mobile payment service Cash App to spend, remit, store, and invest. In the multistate settlement agreement signed this week, Block agreed to pay fines to state government agencies, hire an independent consultant to review the comprehensiveness and effectiveness of its BSA/AML program, and submit reports to the states within 9 months. After the report submission, Block will have 12 months to correct any deficiencies identified in the review.

ChainCatcher news, according to an announcement from the Southern District of the U.S. Department of Justice, the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX has been fined $100 million for violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). BitMEX is accused of failing to establish and implement anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) programs, deliberately circumventing U.S. laws for profit.Its founders and executives had previously pleaded guilty, and the company pleaded guilty in July 2024, receiving a fine and two years of probation on January 15, 2025.

ChainCatcher news, according to a document disclosed by @tier1ok, a U.S. court has stated that it has the authority to order voluntary restitution based on the defendant's plea agreement. This voluntary restitution should include all assets seized from the Bitfinex hacker wallet, and according to the plea agreement, these assets should be returned to Bitfinex as restitution in kind.All other seized assets listed in the amended second revised attachment (ECF 195) should continue to undergo third-party ancillary forfeiture proceedings.

ChainCatcher news, according to official news, Bitfinex announced the launch of StablR USD (USDR) and StablR Euro (EURR), two fully collateralized stablecoins designed to meet the growing demand for liquidity and usability in the European digital asset ecosystem.