bitkoban

Latest from BTC Pulse

China Convicts BKEX Staff for Illegal Gambling via Crypto Contracts
Court Finds BKEX Guilty of Operating Illegal Gambling The People’s Republic of China has jailed several workers and representatives of BKEX for operating illegal gambling using crypto contract trading. In a judgment dated 29 January, the People’s Court of Pingjiang County, Hunan Province ruled that BKEX’s trading system constitutes online gambling, which is illegal under Chinese law. Authorities ruled BKEX’s high-leverage crypto contract transactions were not standard financial trading but bets on the price movements, hence “opening a casino” according to Chinese law. How BKEX’s Trading Model Was Classified as Gambling BKEX users were allowed to place bets using USDT, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. Traders could apply extreme leverage of up to 1,000x to speculate on the prices of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other cryptocurrencies. The platform quickly started to grow: it attracted 270,000 users, with 60,000 active traders, and churned out a profit of 54.7 million USDT before law enforcement intervened. In the court’s decision, the risk-heavy speculation-laden nature of these deals was gambling rather than financial trading. BKEX’s Founder Tried to Evade Scrutiny The ruling said BKEX was set up in 2018 by Ji Jiaming via Chengdu Dechen BiKe TianXia Technology. He repeatedly altered the company’s registration information to avoid supervision from regulators. In 2021, Ji co-operated with Lei Le in setting up a perpetual contract trading system for BKEX. It soon became its main business and eventually attracted unwanted government attention. Prison Sentences for Employees and Agents The court convicted eight persons who participated in BKEX’s illegal operations and sentenced them as follows: Zheng Lei, a wallet engineer, was sentenced to two years and one month in prison, along with a 150,000 yuan ($20,900) fine and 1.34 million yuan ($186,600) in illegally obtained earnings. Wang, head of BKEX’s audit department , received one year and 11 months in prison, a fine of 52,000 yuan ($7,250), and liability for KYC verification and transaction processing. Dong had enlisted users through referral links and was paid $33,558 in commissions. He was handed a one-year and six-month suspended sentence and fined 35,000 yuan ($4,880), with 223,000 yuan ($31,000) of earnings confiscated. China’s Tough Stance on Cryptocurrency Anti-crypto Actions Include: The BKEX case is part of China’s wider crackdown on activities related to cryptocurrency, which the government considers a threat to financial stability. 2013: Prohibition on banks from processing crypto transactions. 2017: Prohibition on ICOs and crypto exchanges. 2021: A country-wide crackdown on crypto trading and mining. The BKEX case confirms once again that China adopts a zero-tolerance attitude toward unauthorized financial platforms and takes severe measures against crypto-related activities.

2025-01-30 15:21
Kazakhstan’s President Calls for Urgent Expansion of Crypto Infrastructure
Kazakhstan President Calls for ‘Immediate’ Crypto Infrastructure Expansion Central Asian country Kazakhstan is working tirelessly to emerge as a hub for digital asset trading, and now the president of the country has called on his administration to work towards establishing crypto infrastructure at the earliest. Action Called for by President Tokayev During a government session this week , President Tokayev pointed out that a fast adaptation to the digital economy is already being inseparable from crypto. In his view, regulated platforms such as those working in Astana’s International Financial Center now service only 5% of the crypto investors of Kazakhstan. Among its prominent residents are Galaxy Digital and Swiftex. The remaining, according to the head of state, are operating in what he described as a “gray zone. President Tokayev called on financial regulators to urgently establish a complete legislative framework on digital assets. “Infrastructure for broader legal circulation of digital assets shall be created. Financial regulators must focus on the development of appropriate legislation,” he said. His remarks suggest that authorities intend to ensure Kazakhstan remains competitive in a changing global crypto landscape. Crackdown on Illegal Crypto Platforms Kazakhstan has already made significant strides in cracking down on unregulated crypto operations. In 2024 alone, authorities shut down 36 illegal crypto platforms, which had a combined turnover of 60 billion tenge (approximately $112.84 million). Additionally, more than 3,500 crypto trading sites that were unregistered have been blocked in the joint work of the National Security Committee and the Ministry of Culture and Information. All this shall prevent potential risks of illegal activities that involve fraud, money laundering, and financial instability. Kazakhstan’s Crypto Future This places Kazakhstan, amid the development of the more crypto-friendly US administration , poised in an endeavor to become the digital asset market frontrunner. Further revising the law with new enhanced regulation to safeguard the market for trading securely may potentially tempt foreign investors and companies. One step in that direction was infrastructure development in the International Financial Center in Astana, housing several leading crypto platforms aspiring to be an innovation and legal trading hub. The head of state expressed his vision in accordance with the global trend when countries try to find a balance between innovation and risk management. If trust is developed and illegitimate activities are eradicated, Kazakhstan will become one of the leaders in the crypto market.

2025-01-29 22:11
Tangem Wallet Secures US Patent for Private Key Transfer Technology
A Breakthrough in Crypto Self-Custody: Tangem, a self-custodial cryptocurrency wallet, has just hit the jackpot of patents in the United States, considering the recent grant of its revolutionary private key backup and transfer technology. The patent, titled “Systems and methods for transferring secret data via an untrusted intermediary device,” was granted on January 28 by the USPTO. This opens up a new, innovative way of managing private keys, designed from the outset to make self-custodial wallets more usable and secure-a solution to one of crypto’s biggest pain points in securely managing private keys. Self-Custody: Tackling the Biggest Challenges Self-custody gives full control over crypto assets through a private key provided to the user. However, that very responsibility is fraught with dangers like theft or loss of the key, which have been huge barriers to greater mainstream adoption. Tangem’s patented solution tackles most of these issues by removing the need for users to handle seed phrases directly. Instead, it uses a seedless backup, created via an end-to-end encrypted, trustless intermediary transfer , and tamper-proof authentication. The technology makes use of the most secure cryptographic techniques currently known, including Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH), for securely transferring private keys across devices. But the system, protected by a patent, enables encrypted private keys to be securely transferred between trusted devices, such as Tangem cards, via an untrusted intermediary, like a smartphone. According to Tangem’s Chief Technology Officer, Andrey Lazutkin, the process remains secure even if the intermediary device is compromised. The key will be encrypted and sent safely onto another card, whichever device transports it. Not even a rooted phone with viruses will be able to intercept the keys,” Lazutkin said. The solution is trying to make self-custody easier by avoiding having the user directly handle private keys while still offering high levels of security in this way. Reception and Concerns in the Community That doesn’t mean this has always sat well with skepticism in the crypto community regarding the idea of a backup for one’s private keys. In 2024, Tangem fell under criticism for a security hole which had shown private keys of some users. Similar inventions-like Ledger’s cloud-based recovery-have faced similar outcry over perceived security risks. Nevertheless, Tangem’s patented technology is a step in the right direction toward achieving a balance between ease of use and security in self-custodial solutions for broader crypto adoption.

2025-01-29 20:54