$3.6B in Bitcoin Linked to 2016 Bitfinex Hack Recovered

Cryptocurrency worth $3.6 billion has been recovered by the U.S. Justice Department — its biggest financial seizure on record.

The digital assets have been directly linked to the 2016 hack of Bitfinex, when coins now worth $4.5 billion were stolen.

Two people have been arrested in Manhattan on suspicion of attempting to launder the stolen funds.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said the successful operation shows "cryptocurrency is not a safe haven for criminals," adding:

"In a futile effort to maintain digital anonymity, the defendants laundered stolen funds through a labyrinth of cryptocurrency transactions. Thanks to the meticulous work of law enforcement, the department once again showed how it can and will follow the money, no matter what form it takes."

Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan are accused of conspiring to launder the proceeds of 119,754 BTC.

Court documents claimed that a hacker had managed to infiltrate Bitfinex's systems — initiating over 2,000 unauthorized transactions in the process. Stolen Bitcoin was subsequently sent to a digital wallet that Lichtenstein allegedly controlled.

An investigation suggests that 25,000 BTC was moved through a "complicated money laundering scheme" over the past five years — and some of the proceeds wound up in financial accounts that both Lichtenstein and Morgan controlled.

Court-authorized search warrants of their online accounts later uncovered private keys to the digital wallet where 94,000 BTC taken from Bitfinex all those years ago was stored.

'Criminals Always Leave Tracks'

Detectives described the defendants' techniques for laundering the crypto as "methodical and calculated." As well as relying on fictitious identities, funds were mixed through crypto exchanges and darknet markets — all with a view to obscuring transaction histories and throwing law enforcement agencies off the scent. Matthew M. Graves, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a news release:

"Cryptocurrency and the virtual currency exchanges trading in it comprise an expanding part of the U.S. financial system, but digital currency heists executed through complex money laundering schemes could undermine confidence in cryptocurrency."

The charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. collectively carry a maximum sentence of 25 years behind bars.

About a week ago, WhaleAlert had detected that 94,643 BTC from the wallet linked to the Bitfinex hack had moved — in regular tranches of 10,000 BTC.

The hack has gone down in history as one of the biggest to affect a crypto exchange — and at the time, Bitcoin's value plunged from $600 to $400.

Back in the summer of 2020, Bitfinex had announced that it was willing to offer up to $400 million if the funds were returned — and even said that it would allow the hackers to keep 25% of the stolen property as long as they returned the rest.

In a statement on Tuesday, Bitfinex said:

"We are pleased that the U.S. Department of Justice has today announced that it has recovered a significant portion of the Bitcoin stolen during the August 2016 security breach. We have been cooperating extensively with the DoJ since its investigation began and will continue to do so."

It now plans to "follow appropriate legal processes to establish our rights to a return of the stolen Bitcoin."

Will Paraguay Adopt Bitcoin as Legal Tender?

The topic of who will join El Salvador's lead in adopting Bitcoin as the country's legal tender is one that many are debating. The question of whether or not 2022 will be the year when other countries follow the crypto legalization trend is still up in the air.

Without a doubt, 2021 was a watershed moment in Bitcoin's history and journey, with the entire globe watching as a sovereign country adopted BTC as its legal tender.

The crypto community expected other countries, particularly small ones, to follow El Salvador's lead; in fact, the prominent JPMorgan bank argued at the time that there may be a "domino effect" once Bitcoin became a legal currency in El Salvador.

However, four months have passed and no other country has joined the hall of fame yet, despite the fact that certain countries, such as Tonga, have shown clear intentions of copying the Salvadoran model.

Recently, however, an announcement from the ‘CEO’ of El-Salvador (as he calls himself) has sparked a debate of whether Paraguay is set to become the second country to accept Bitcoin.

The tweet does mention two countries, however, for now, the majority of the crypto analysts are pointing towards Paraguay to be the second country in the race of accepting cryptocurrencies.

Here are some reasons why the Paraguayan crypto dream could become a reality in 2022:

1. The Boss Man Said It

The tweet shared above by the President of El-Salvador, Nayib Bukele, is no joke. This is because his authority and the level of connections he has in the political and crypto world are second to none. Many crypto developments promised by El-Salvador’s CEO have come to fruition in 2021, including the legalization of Bitcoin.

Another reason why Nayib might be right is that El-Salvador is a part of Latin America, along with Paraguay and other countries. Nayib’s decision of legalizing Bitcoin in 2021 had a big impact on the world and more so in its surrounding countries. Paraguay may very well be on its way to legalizing Bitcoin in 2022, and this takes us to a much stronger reason why this could happen.

2. Official Cryptocurrency Bill Passed in Paraguay’s Parliament

In December 2021, the Senate of Paraguay enacted a law aimed at regulating Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading and mining in the country.

Senator Fernando Silva Facetti, a bill co-author, said on Twitter that the law will be debated in the Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay in 2022. The bill in Paraguay does not make bitcoin legal tender. However, it does hint at tighter regulation from the country's officials when it comes to bitcoin mining, as well as an overarching goal of protecting investors from businesses that provide bitcoin services.

Paraguayan Congressman Carlitos Rejala told Bitcoin Magazine: “With this we want to welcome the innovation of cryptocurrencies in Paraguay to the world”

“This is the result of a very strong and arduous teamwork of many experts in the field, both local and foreign.”

“While El Salvador’s final bill was just a few pages of text representing easily the most favorable, accommodating Bitcoin legalese ever passed, the early draft of Paraguay’s legislation set a different tone”

3. Adoption of Cryptocurrencies in Latin America

Since the acceptance of Bitcoin in El-Salvador as legal tender, a tsunami of cryptocurrency acceptance has been witnessed in the world, especially in Latin America. Countries like Brazil and Tongo are also on the verge of accepting Bitcoin as legal tender.

According to one of Tonga's former MPs, the Polynesian island is preparing to make Bitcoin an official tender.

In a series of tweets, Lord Fusitu described the probable move, saying that a ruling very comparable to the El Salvador bill was being worked on.

He unveiled a five-point strategy that saw Bitcoin become legal tender by November.

Tonga's government and financial leaders have yet to officially discuss any plans for incorporating digital assets into the country’s economic model, but Fusitu'a's weight of influence in the area commands enough international recognition for his remarks to be taken seriously.

Several ministers, including Fusitu'a, are crypto fans, which has fueled speculation about Tonga's plans to make Bitcoin legal tender in 2022.

The proposal is similar to El Salvador's move last year when President Nayib Bukele took his country to the brink of Bitcoin adoption by making it legal tender alongside the US dollar.

In addition to Tonga, Brazil is seen as the core hub of cryptocurrencies by major exchanges like Coinbase, Binance and others. Binance told Coindesk: “It is a key strategic market for Binance, for sure. It is the largest market in Latin America in all metrics and with enormous potential; and it is also very important for the company globally,”

Considering this increased interest in the crypto craze in the region of Latin America, Paraguay might be making Bitcoin legal tender in 2022.

Final Verdict: Will Paraguay Accept Bitcoin as Legal Tender?

The answer to this question depends on world politics and decisions made in Congress when the bill will be debated again in 2022. However, at present, the majority of economists have predicted this bill to pass due to the reasons discussed in this article.

El Salvador Furiously Refuses to Abandon Bitcoin

El Salvador has issued a more formal — and angry — response to the International Monetary Fund's pleas for the country to abandon Bitcoin as legal tender.

The Central American nation's treasury minister, Alejandro Zelaya, furiously told a local television channel:

"No international organization is going to make us do anything, anything at all … Countries are sovereign nations and they take sovereign decisions about public policy."

Zelaya went on to add that El Salvador has taken great care to ensure that BTC transactions comply with money laundering rules.

President Nayib Bukele has sparked controversy by investing public funds worth tens of millions of dollars into Bitcoin — and making purchases from his smartphone on a whim whenever the cryptocurrency's value falls.

Last week, the IMF said BTC's use creates "large risks" when it comes to "financial stability, financial integrity and consumer protection" — and warned that El Salvador's public debt is currently on an "unsustainable path."

Some of the recommendations made by the IMF include abandoning the reward of $30 in BTC that is given to Salvadoran consumers who download the Chivo digital wallet.

While the IMF concedes that the Chivo wallet could play a significant role in boosting financial inclusion — an estimated 70% of the country's citizens are unbanked — it wants the app to only facilitate transactions in U.S. dollars and not Bitcoin. A report added:

"In the near-term the actual costs of implementing Chivo and operationalizing the Bitcoin Law exceed potential benefits.".

Bukele Dismissive

With a high-profile Twitter account as his weapon — and 3.5 million followers to boot — Bukele has wasted little time in dismissing the IMF's concerns, and challenging other critics such as the Bank of England.

When the IMF's warning first came to light, he simply responded with a meme from The Simpsons. And in recent days, he's been doubling down on Bitcoin's potential:

"There are more than 50 million millionaires in the world. Imagine when one of them decides they should own at least ONE Bitcoin. But there will ever be only 21 million Bitcoin. Not enough for even half of them. A gigantic price increase is just a matter of time."

Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: BTC, ETH Consolidate After Monday’s Surge

Crypto markets marginally consolidated on Tuesday, following yesterday’s price surge which saw bitcoin and ethereum both rally to multi-week highs. BTC climbed to $45,000, with ETH moving to $3,200.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin prices were marginally below yesterday’s high, as profit takers look to have closed some of their positions.

BTC/USD rose to an intraday high of $45,293.87 during Monday’s session, however it’s tracking close to $43,354.61 today.

Yesterday’s move, which now looks like a false break, moved beyond its recent resistance of $43,770, en route to its highest point since January 5.

The moving averages of 10-days (red) and 25 days (blue) have crossed over on the upside, which many believe shows that the momentum may continue to surge until a true resistance is found.

Should we see another swing, many could see this resistance as being close to the $50,000 level, which hasn’t been hit since late December.

As of writing, prices have continued to fall, with a doji being formed in today’s chart.

Ethereum

Following an intraday high of $3,219.47 on Monday, which was a three-week high, ETH was also consolidating during today’s session.

As of writing, ETH/USD fell to a low of $3,062.51 on Tuesday, as bulls liquidated positions in the world’s second largest cryptocurrency.

Ethereum now sits marginally above its old resistance level at $3,022, which seems to be forming a new floor.

The 14-day RSI has also dropped below its resistance level of 56, and is currently tracking around 54.

Similar to BTC, moving averages have also experienced an upside cross, which may give long-term bulls the confidence to maintain positions, despite the current short-term volatility.

Will another ETH rally come this week? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Google Exploring Blockchain Products — CEO Shares Web3 Strategies

Google has shared some details of its web3 and blockchain strategies. “As a company, we are looking at how we might contribute to the ecosystem and add value,” said Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc.

Google’s Web3 and Blockchain Strategies

The CEO of Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary Google, Sundar Pichai, shared some information on the group’s blockchain strategy during the company’s Q4 earnings call last week.

Pichai was asked about his view on web3 and Alphabet’s approach to the industry. “Anytime there is innovation, I find it exciting,” the Google CEO began, elaborating:

On web3, we are definitely looking at blockchain, and such an interesting and powerful technology with broad applications, so much broader, again, than any one application.

“As a company, we are looking at how we might contribute to the ecosystem and add value,” he continued, adding:

Just one example, our Cloud team is looking at how they can support our customers’ needs in building, transacting, storing value, and deploying their products on blockchain-based platforms.

“So we’ll definitely be watching the space closely and supporting it where we can. Overall, I think technology will continue to evolve and innovate and we want to be pro-innovation and approach it that way,” the CEO opined.

Google’s Cloud division recently formed a group to build business around blockchain applications. Richard Widmann, head of strategy for digital assets at Google’s Cloud unit, said the group plans to hire a slew of people with blockchain expertise. “We think that if we do our jobs right, it will drive decentralization,” he was quoted by the media as saying.

The executive added that Google is currently considering what types of services it can offer directly to developers in the blockchain space. Thomas Kurian, Google’s cloud CEO, has identified a number of areas, including retail and health care.

Shivakumar Venkataraman, an engineering vice president for Google, is now running a unit focused on “blockchain and other next-gen distributed computing and data storage technologies,” Bloomberg reported last week.

What do you think about Google’s web3 and blockchain strategies? Let us know in the comments section below.

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