ChainCatcher message: According to an announcement from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, between December 30, 2021, and March 12, 2022, London resident Osunkoya operated unregistered cryptocurrency ATMs at 28 different locations through his company GidiPlus Ltd, with a value exceeding £2.5 million. He was ultimately sentenced to 4 years in prison. This ruling marks the first time in the UK that someone has been sentenced for unregistered crypto asset activities.Previously, the FCA collaborated with law enforcement agencies to crack down on illegal crypto ATMs nationwide. In 2023, the FCA visited 38 locations and dismantled 30 machines. The number of crypto ATMs advertised on CoinATMRadar in the UK has decreased from over 80 in 2022 to zero in 2024.

ChainCatcher News, the Chinese Embassy in South Korea's official WeChat account published a typical case of a virtual currency "pig slaughtering" scam, revealing that a certain international student, under the romantic pressure from his girlfriend, became firmly convinced that he could make money by "trading virtual currency" and entrusted his account to her for management, subsequently transferring over 300,000 RMB for "recharging." The Chinese Embassy in South Korea reminds that online dating carries risks and not to believe in investment schemes that claim to have "insider information" and guarantee profits.

ChainCatcher news, the Office of the Financial Committee of the Hunan Provincial Committee, the Financial Work Committee of the Hunan Provincial Committee, and the Hunan Provincial Local Financial Supervision Administration's official WeChat account disclosed a GBC platform fundraising fraud case. Zhou, Tong, Wu, and others commissioned Chengdu Xingyi Network Technology Co., Ltd. to design the GBC platform software for computer clients and mobile apps. Wu falsely claimed that GBC coins and wealth coins were blockchain virtual currencies, developing downlines in areas such as Jinshui District, Zhengzhou City. By the time the case was reported, the "GBC" platform had developed 47 levels of members, involving 59,548 member accounts, with a total fund flow of 3.408 billion yuan, of which 40,480 member accounts suffered losses totaling 629 million yuan. The main criminal gained over 226 million yuan through fundraising fraud on the GBC platform.Upon investigation, the GBC platform system generated digital symbols out of thin air, which had no economic value. The Zhengzhou Intermediate People's Court, after hearing the case, determined that based on the facts of the crime, its nature, circumstances, and the degree of harm to society, the involved individuals were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from fifteen to thirteen years.

ChainCatcher news, ConsenSys founder Joseph Lubin announced on the X platform that ConsenSys has reached a principle agreement with the U.S. SEC to dismiss the securities enforcement case regarding MetaMask, and the U.S. SEC will submit a valid settlement agreement to the court.Joseph Lubin added that ConsenSys can now fully focus on rebuilding, and 2025 will be the best year for Ethereum and ConsenSys to date, with the shift towards a more decentralized world paradigm accelerating.

ChainCatcher news, according to Sun Yuchen's social media disclosure, he has won the defamation lawsuit against Sina. The Beijing Internet Court made a civil judgment, determining that the content published by Sina in March 2022, titled "Sun Yuchen suspected of insider trading, FBI and IRS have launched an investigation," constituted an infringement of Sun Yuchen's right to reputation.Sina chose not to appeal and published an apology statement on its website, while compensating Sun Yuchen 31,338 yuan.Currently, Sun Yuchen has confirmed receipt of the compensation.

ChainCatcher news, in recent days, Bitcoin has recorded its largest three-day drop (-15%) since the FTX collapse. Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, stated in a report to clients on Wednesday that in the worst-case scenario, Bitcoin could drop to the range of $72,000-$74,000, followed by a potential rebound, and noted that there is a lag in the correlation between Bitcoin and global central bank liquidity indicators.Markus Thielen identified a key level of $82,000 by analyzing the realized price of short-term holders, which is the average price at which addresses holding tokens for less than 155 days purchased BTC, indicating that the potential demand zone is around $82,000 (which has been reached).Markus Thielen explained that historically, Bitcoin rarely stays below this level (the realized price of short-term holders) for an extended period during bull markets, while in bear markets, Bitcoin tends to remain below this level for a longer duration.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the legal and consulting fees for the FTX bankruptcy case have accumulated to $950 million, making it one of the most expensive bankruptcy cases in U.S. history, second only to the Lehman Brothers case. Among them, the fees for the restructuring advisor Alvarez & Marsal are close to $400 million, the legal advisor Sullivan & Cromwell has fees exceeding $300 million, and John Ray's consulting firm fees are nearly $10 million. The overall legal and financial advisory fees are still on the rise, and the final costs are expected to exceed $1 billion.

ChainCatcher message, Solana co-founder Toly commented on the meme token "toly's minutes" issued by the time tokenization platform Time.fun, saying that time is fun, and business communication is my favorite crypto use case.According to GMGN data, the market capitalization of Solana co-founder Toly's tokenized time (toly's minutes) is currently reported at 14 million USD, with a trading volume of 16.8 million USD in the first 2 hours since launch.

ChainCatcher news, Infini founder Christian posted a response regarding the platform's approximately $49.5 million hacking incident. The team is currently sorting out and tracking the specific situation. The user withdrawal function is operating normally, and in the worst-case scenario, full compensation will be provided, so users can rest assured.

ChainCatcher news, Cobo co-founder and CEO Shen Yu posted on platform X, stating that the Bybit $1.5 billion security incident and multiple cases of Safe owner tampering have exposed three major pain points in current blockchain security:Front-end/plugins are easily tampered with, and users cannot verify signed data;The environment of multi-signature key holders lacks independence and has no mandatory review mechanism;Hardware wallet transaction parsing capabilities are weak, essentially in a blind signing state;

ChainCatcher news, according to Guangming.com, Ms. Cheng from Hefei and her boyfriend were preparing to sell their USDT for RMB, involving over 277,000 USDT.After completing the transaction with her friend Sun, Ms. Cheng was informed that the cash of over two million was provided by someone else and that the transaction would only be considered complete if it was transferred to another account. Meanwhile, Ms. Cheng's virtual currency had already been transferred to Sun's account, and Sun claimed that his phone was infected with a virus, which prohibited any operations with the U coin. Consequently, Sun reported to the police, and the police arrived at the scene.Ms. Cheng believes that this was a trap set up by the three individuals in collusion. According to the latest information from the Xinzhan Branch of the Hefei Public Security Bureau, the police have filed a case for fraud in this matter, and Ms. Cheng has received the case notification.

ChainCatcher message, on-chain detective ZachXBT posted on social media that the Lazarus Group has just aggregated part of the funds from the Bybit hack with the funds from the Phemex hack directly on-chain, mixing the funds from the initial theft addresses of both incidents.

ChainCatcher news, citing TASS, reports that the Supreme Court of Russia is pushing to classify cryptocurrencies as property in criminal cases, aiming to enhance law enforcement's ability to track, freeze, and confiscate illegal digital assets. The Supreme Court is involved in drafting a legislative initiative "aimed at recognizing digital currencies as property in criminal proceedings," which could strengthen law enforcement's capacity to handle crypto-related crimes.This is not the first time the Supreme Court of Russia has dealt with cryptocurrency issues in legal proceedings. In 2019, the court ruled that exchanging Bitcoin for rubles constitutes money laundering if the digital currency was obtained through illegal activities, particularly in cases involving drug trafficking. The court's ruling further indicates that cryptocurrencies may fall under the jurisdiction of existing anti-money laundering laws. Additionally, in 2021, the court ruled that the electronic currency WMZ used in the Webmoney Transfer system is legally recognized as a civil rights object, setting a precedent for Russia's legal treatment of digital assets. These earlier rulings demonstrate that the Supreme Court is working to incorporate cryptocurrencies into the country's judicial framework.

ChainCatcher news, the founder of Slow Mist, Cosine, stated on social media that from a security perspective, the suggestion to urgently stop the wallet system in the case of unknown reasons is correct. Bybit's response to the theft was very quick, and identifying the problem was also swift. Slow Mist and some security teams immediately intervened for communication, quickly determining the issue and speculating on the hacker's profile. Bybit was well-prepared and had no issues in promptly reopening withdrawals.Cosine explained that he believes there is no problem with Zhao Changpeng's previous suggestion and Bybit's final resolution. Currently, many industry insiders are infighting over this controversy, forgetting that the common enemy should be North Korean hackers.Previous news, Zhao Changpeng suggested that Bybit temporarily stop all withdrawals, stating that he would provide any assistance if needed.

ChainCatcher news, SafeMoon's Chief Technology Officer Thomas Smith has pleaded guilty to charges related to a $200 million cryptocurrency fraud case.Documents submitted to the Brooklyn federal court on February 20 show that SafeMoon's CEO Thomas Smith withdrew his previous not guilty plea before District Judge Cheryl Pollak and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.Judge Pollak suggested that U.S. District Judge Eric Komitee, who is overseeing Smith's case, accept the new plea.Conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while conspiracy to commit securities fraud carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Wang reports, the Criminal Investigation Team of the Shaoyang County Public Security Bureau received a tip-off about a quick fund transfer. A sum of money related to fraud was withdrawn by someone in Wufengpu Town, Shaoyang County. After receiving the tip, the investigating officers quickly launched an investigation and arrested a suspect named Wu.During the interrogation, Wu confessed to contacting fraudsters for profit by providing his bank card to receive the fraudulent funds, and illegally exchanging them for virtual currency to hand over to the higher-ups in the criminal organization. Currently, Wu has been criminally detained in accordance with the law, and the case is under further investigation.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, British police have arrested and charged two men who are suspected of committing cryptocurrency fraud against a 75-year-old retiree from Aberdeenshire, resulting in a six-figure loss for the victim.It is reported that the case was reported in July 2024. The Northeast Division of Police Scotland collaborated with West Midlands Police and South Yorkshire Police to arrest a 54-year-old man in Coventry and a 36-year-old man in Mexborough, both of whom were charged on the same day.

According to ChainCatcher news, as disclosed by the "Shanghai Prosecutor" public account, the Jinshan District Court of Shanghai recently made a ruling on a digital collectibles fraud case. Two suspects built a digital collectibles trading platform, packaging AI-generated images purchased at low prices as digital collectibles with investment value for sale.The suspects attracted investors by fabricating overseas identities and promising capital protection buybacks, and created a false appearance of active trading in the secondary market through self-buying and selling. The case occurred between October and December 2023, resulting in investor losses of approximately 1.8 million yuan.In January 2025, after the Jinshan District Prosecutor's Office of Shanghai filed a public prosecution, the two suspects were sentenced to corresponding penalties by the court for the crime of fundraising fraud.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, after Trump's election, an increasing number of white-collar criminals, including former FTX CEO SBF, are seeking pardons. However, William Livolsi, executive director of the white-collar support group, stated that SBF's chances of receiving a pardon are slim due to the growing backlog of pardon cases.Livolsi pointed out that SBF's case is different from that of Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road on the dark web, and that Ulbricht's pardon is related to Trump's political commitments. Although there is a formal application process for the pardon attorney's office, the backlog of petitions has reached about 10,000. Livolsi emphasized that pardon decisions are often influenced by political connections, media pressure, or personal interests, rather than a transparent process.

ChainCatcher News: The website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission of China recently published an article pointing out that the integrity risks in the construction of financial information systems are becoming increasingly prominent, especially the issues of "difficult management, difficult supervision, and difficult accountability" caused by high professional and technical barriers.During the investigation of the corruption case of Yao Qian, the former director of the Science and Technology Supervision Department of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the discipline inspection and supervision team stationed at the CSRC discovered that he used virtual currency for power-for-money transactions, which were highly concealed and difficult to gather evidence. Yao Qian accepted huge bribes through his position, providing assistance to others in the procurement of information systems, involving project contracting, fund allocation, and other aspects.In response to the issues exposed by the case, the discipline inspection and supervision team proposed supervision opinions to the CSRC Party Committee, urging the strengthening of integrity risk prevention and control in information system procurement, and reinforcing system construction and implementation. At the same time, it emphasized the need to strengthen the education, management, and supervision of professional and technical personnel, especially the "top leaders," to correct the erroneous thinking of some cadres who believe their integrity risks are low, and to enhance their political awareness and discipline consciousness.In November last year, Yao Qian was subjected to disciplinary review and supervisory investigation by the discipline inspection and supervision team stationed at the CSRC and the Shantou Municipal Supervisory Commission in Guangdong Province for serious violations of discipline and law. This case further highlights the importance of integrity risk prevention and control in the field of financial technology supervision.