ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Kong media East Network, the CEO of the virtual asset trading platform Binance, Richard Teng, met with law enforcement in Hong Kong to discuss advancing bilateral cooperation to combat financial and cyber crimes related to virtual assets.The topics discussed included expanding and strengthening the cooperation between the public and private sectors in network defense within the blockchain ecosystem, as well as continuously enhancing the capabilities of law enforcement agencies in the face of increasingly complex threats and sophisticated technological criminals.

ChainCatcher news, FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett stated that, according to several legal sources, the SEC has been prioritizing cases with court deadlines, which explains why we have not yet seen any pause requests in the Ripple and Kraken cases.Ripple's next court deadline is April 16, while Kraken's deadline appears to be March 31. The Binance case has been postponed to April 14, Lejilex's case to April 11, and Coinbase has agreed with the SEC to extend the deadline, allowing the SEC to respond to Coinbase's interim appeal request by March 14.SEC leadership may expect that Trump-nominated Chairman Paul Atkins will be confirmed by then. In the meantime, the cryptocurrency special working group, Congress, and the Presidential Working Group on Digital Assets may be working to fill the regulatory gaps that led to the initial lawsuits.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cryptonews, Nigerian House of Representatives member Philip Agbese has filed a lawsuit against Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan in the Abuja Federal Capital Territory High Court, seeking 1 billion naira (approximately $667,000) in damages for defamation.The lawsuit stems from Gambaryan's claims on social media that Agbese and two other lawmakers attempted to solicit a $150 million cryptocurrency bribe. Agbese's camp stated that he has never owned a cryptocurrency account or engaged in digital currency transactions, demanding that Gambaryan publicly apologize in at least three national newspapers and delete all related social media posts.The Nigerian Minister of Information and National Orientation dismissed Gambaryan's allegations on February 14, stating that the claims lack credible evidence. The court has ordered Gambaryan to respond to the lawsuit within 8 days.Previous news, Binance executives reiterated that Nigerian lawmakers had solicited a $150 million bribe in exchange for dropping the lawsuit against Binance.

ChainCatcher news, former SEC official John Reed Stark believes that the SEC's lawsuit against Coinbase may be stillborn, as the newly established cryptocurrency working group of the regulator is seeking to resolve the previous enforcement actions against the exchange.In a post on X on February 17, Stark explained why the SEC requested a 28-day extension to respond to Coinbase's petition for permission to appeal. He stated, "According to an unprecedented joint motion spanning 3 pages, the SEC's review of cryptocurrency-related issues is 'ongoing,' and the extension will allow the SEC time for 'appropriate review' as it prepares its response to Coinbase's petition. In other words, the SEC's lawsuit against Coinbase may already be over."Stark estimated that the SEC's lawsuit against Binance will also meet the same fate. He cited a joint motion submitted on February 11, where both parties believe that the SEC's special cryptocurrency working group "may influence and facilitate a potential resolution of this case." The same goes for Ripple, which has been embroiled in a lawsuit with the SEC since 2020, "It is expected that all cryptocurrency-related appeals, including the appeal in the Ripple case, will be paused, and it is even more likely to be completely withdrawn."

ChainCatcher news, Bitwise executive Jeff Park pointed out that under the framework of U.S. securities law, insider trading that results in losses does not constitute a violation on a technical level. This is because insider trading, as a form of securities fraud, must simultaneously meet the three elements of liability, breach, and damages.Jeff Park explained that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defines insider trading primarily based on the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act. Since the essence of insider trading is fraudulent behavior in securities transactions, if the trade does not result in a profit, it cannot be proven to have caused actual harm to others. This also explains why the civil penalties in insider trading cases are usually calculated based on multiples of "profits gained" or "losses avoided."Additionally, Jeff Park stated that for crypto assets like meme coins, if they are not classified as securities, then insider trading regulations do not apply, and they should be regulated from the perspective of market manipulation or fraud.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, an Argentine law firm submitted a criminal complaint to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on February 17, accusing the masterminds behind the LIBRA token collapse and calling for an investigation into Argentine President Milei's related role.On another legal front, Civic Coalition ARI also filed a criminal complaint on February 17, requesting the DOJ to investigate allegations of bribery and fraud against Milei.The LIBRA token saw a significant surge on February 14, following a post by President Milei on the X platform regarding the project. The post has since been deleted, emphasizing that the project would be used to fund "small businesses and startups in Argentina," and included a contract address, causing the token's market value to briefly soar to $4.56 billion, before rapidly falling to $257 million within hours.These new legal challenges are based on previous criminal allegations in Argentina, accusing Milei of participating in fraudulent activities by supporting the token.

ChainCatcher news, according to TASS, the lawyer of former BTC-e operator Alexander Vinnik, Arkady Bukh, confirmed that after his release last week, the U.S. has "dropped" the case against Vinnik, and the Northern District Court of California has confirmed that it will dismiss all charges against Vinnik.Previous news, according to The New York Times, as part of a swap with Russia, the U.S. will release Russian cybercrime suspect Alexander Vinnik in exchange for the release of American citizen Marc Fogel. Vinnik previously operated BTC-e, which was one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.He was arrested in 2017 and detained at the request of Washington for allegedly laundering $4 billion through the platform. In May of this year, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and faces 20 years in prison.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, court documents show that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has suspended its lawsuit against the cryptocurrency mining company Geosyn Mining.The FBI's indictment states that these executives are accused of defrauding client funds by promising to purchase and host Bitcoin mining machines for clients, but instead misappropriating the funds for personal expenses. The SEC previously stated in its lawsuit that Ward and McNutt allegedly defrauded approximately 64 investors out of $5.6 million between November 2021 and December 2022.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Associated Press, some lawyers in Argentina filed fraud charges against President Javier Milei in a criminal court on Sunday, accusing him of promoting cryptocurrency on social media.One of the plaintiffs, lawyer Jonatan Baldiviezo, stated that they see an illegal organization in this incident that has committed "an indeterminate number of fraudulent acts." He said, "In this illegal organization, fraudulent crimes occurred, and the president's actions are crucial."The criminal justice department is expected to appoint a judge on Monday to hear the case or submit it to the prosecutor for further investigation.

ChainCatcher news, Shrapnel announced that its long-term legal dispute has made significant progress, with the litigation process entering its final stage, and a settlement or judgment is expected to be reached soon.As a result of this news, its token (SHRAP) has shown active market performance, with the price rapidly climbing from 0.01 USDT, reaching a high of 0.019 USDT during the session, an increase of 90%; the current price has retraced to around 0.015 USDT, with a cumulative increase of 60% over the past 24 hours.

ChainCatcher news, currently suing pump.fun's law firm Burwick Law managing partner Max Burwick declined to comment on who first launched the meme coin Dogshit2 and questioned the significance of the issue.Dogshit2 appeared in Burwick Law's evidence file against pump.fun. The file showcases the step-by-step creation of the token, seemingly indicating that it was launched by the company during the lawsuit against pump.fun.However, Burwick Law stated, "Our firm has no affiliation, endorsement, or ownership interest in the Dogshit2 token or any related assets. In short, our firm has not launched any meme coin on-chain."

ChainCatcher news, Binance's financial crime compliance officer Tigran Gambaryan recently reiterated that a rogue Nigerian lawmaker demanded a $150 million bribe in exchange for dropping the lawsuit against Binance. The relevant lawmaker wanted the funds to be transferred directly to their cryptocurrency wallet, using "fake cameras and media" to make the meeting with visiting Binance executives appear legitimate.In May 2024, reports emerged that Binance CEO Richard Teng accused members of the Nigerian House of Representatives Financial Crimes Committee (HCFC) of soliciting a $150 million bribe. At that time, Nigeria's Minister of Information Mohammed Idris denied the allegations, stating that it was a strategy by the company to "hurry to cover up the serious criminal charges it faces."However, Gambaryan insisted that this attempt was indeed conducted with the involvement of Nigeria's Department of State Services (DSS). He also stated, "The Nigerian government has publicly claimed that there is $26 billion in mysterious funds (through Binance) flowing out of Nigeria, which is completely nonsense. This information was provided at their request; it is merely the cumulative trading data of Nigerians on the platform. This money did not flow out of Nigeria—people are just buying and selling cryptocurrency. For example, if you trade $100 a hundred times, that amounts to $10,000 in trading volume, but in reality, you only used $100. Similarly, this is just another example of their lies to cover up a false investigation."Just after Gambaryan shared these explosive details, Nigeria's Minister of Information Idris issued a statement denying them. However, the statement acknowledged the bribery allegations, but Idris pointed out that it was the Nigerian government that initiated the investigation, "even though no one has formally filed a lawsuit." His statement also revealed that the Nigerian government rejected a U.S. proposal to pay $5 million in exchange for Gambaryan's release.

ChainCatcher news, the American law firm Burwick Law has released a form stating: "If you have suffered financial losses on LIBRA, please contact us to understand your legal rights. Burwick Law represents thousands of clients seeking to recover cryptocurrency losses."Previous news, two American law firms (including Burwick Law) have sued Pump.fun, demanding the platform remove tokens that use its IP. Subsequently, Burwick Law revealed that its lawyers have received violent threats and, along with several plaintiffs, have been doxxed with their personal information exposed.

ChainCatcher News: West Virginia Senator Chris Rose has submitted a bill proposing to allow the state treasury to invest up to 10% of its funds in Bitcoin or precious metals to hedge against inflation risks.The bill stipulates that the state treasury can invest in digital assets with a market capitalization of over $75 billion, with Bitcoin currently being the only asset that meets the criteria. Assets can be held on-chain or invested through ETFs.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, Texas lawmakers have reintroduced a bill aimed at establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve, now designated as SB 21, which allows for investments in additional cryptocurrencies.Senator Charles Schwertner announced the bill on February 12, emphasizing that it will make Texas the first state to establish a cryptocurrency reserve, potentially driving innovation and "financial freedom." This new legislation builds on SB 778, the previous bill introduced in January this year, which primarily focused on Bitcoin.The SB 778 bill restricted the state government to only purchase and hold Bitcoin, without allowing it to be used for other operations, while the SB 21 bill expands the scope to allow investments in cryptocurrencies that maintain a market value of at least $500 billion for a year. However, currently, Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that meets this standard.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the American Web3 gaming company Ready Games has won a legal battle against its Gibraltar subsidiary Ready Maker and its CEO Christina Macedo. The Gibraltar Supreme Court has ordered the freezing of approximately 440 million PLAY tokens (about $7 million), which accounts for about half of the circulating supply. Ready Games founder David Bennahum stated that its subsidiary violated the trust agreement by unlawfully claiming ownership of the company and the PLAY tokens.

ChainCatcher news, Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett revealed that court documents show U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson approved the joint motion to stay the lawsuit between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Binance on February 13. The order will pause the case for 60 days and requires both parties to submit a joint status report by April 14, 2025.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Wall Street Journal, Elon Musk's social platform X (formerly Twitter) has agreed to pay approximately $10 million to settle with Donald Trump over his account suspension incident. This makes X the second platform, after another social media company, to reach a settlement regarding the lawsuit over Trump's account ban following the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021.Trump and other plaintiffs sued then-Twitter and its former CEO Jack Dorsey in 2021. Musk completed the acquisition of Twitter on October 27, 2022. Trump's X account (originally Twitter account) was restored on November 19, 2022.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Jiangsu High Court's official WeChat account, the Jiangsu High Court has released typical cases involving foreign-related commercial trials, stating that overseas virtual currency investments are not protected by Chinese law. In the relevant case, Singaporean citizen Pan XX and Chinese citizen Tian XX signed a cooperation agreement with a third party to jointly operate the "MFA Blockchain" project. Pan XX transferred 15.74 million yuan to Tian XX for the purchase of MFA virtual currency, but later the virtual account involved in the case was locked, resulting in the total loss of the principal. Pan XX filed a lawsuit in court.The Jiangsu High Court, in its second instance, held that Pan XX is a Singaporean citizen, and the case has foreign-related factors. According to China's law application rules, matters involving China's financial security and social public interests should directly apply the mandatory provisions of Chinese laws and regulations, which prohibit virtual currency investments. In this case, the parties signed a contract to speculate on overseas virtual currencies, violating the mandatory provisions of China's financial regulatory field. Therefore, the investment losses claimed by the parties are not protected by law, and the resulting losses shall be borne by the parties themselves.

ChainCatcher news, on the 11th local time, the nonpartisan oversight organization "American Oversight" filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking records from the "Office of Government Efficiency."The organization believes that despite the commitment from the head of the Office of Government Efficiency, Musk, to maintain maximum transparency in the department's actions, the structure of the Office of Government Efficiency dictates that its communications will still remain confidential.It is reported that the lawyers for the oversight organization believe that the Office of Government Efficiency should be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. A White House spokesperson previously stated that the Office of Government Efficiency is governed by the Presidential Records Act. The National Archives and Records Administration has stated that documents under the jurisdiction of the Presidential Records Act cannot be released under the Freedom of Information Act for at least five years after the current administration's term ends.