CFA Report Pegs US Crypto Fraud Losses at $80.7B

Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral election by a significant margin, with crypto prediction markets accurately forecasting the outcome. Mamdani's victory marks the city's first mayoral win by a Muslim candidate and strengthens the influence of New York's progressive bloc.

The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on expat North Korean bankers for allegedly laundering stolen crypto to support North Korea's weapons programs. These sanctions targeted eight bankers, two North Korean companies, and 53 crypto wallet addresses linked to money laundering activities involving USDT stablecoin.

Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced significant drops, with Bitcoin touching $99,000 and Ethereum hitting a four-month low of $3,097. The total daily liquidations surpassed $2 billion, with Ethereum leading in liquidations at $655 million.

Sequans, a NYSE-listed chipmaker, sold 970 Bitcoin to reduce debt after adopting a digital asset treasury strategy. The company's Bitcoin holdings decreased from 3,234 to 2,264 BTC, worth approximately $228 million.

Zcash, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency, is gaining recognition as an alternative to Bitcoin due to its zero-knowledge proof transactions. With a recent price surge, Zcash is positioning itself as a privacy-enhanced option in response to concerns about Bitcoin's transparency and surveillance issues.

During a court hearing in Manhattan, federal appeals judges expressed skepticism towards Sam Bankman-Fried's attempt to overturn his conviction and 25-year sentence for fraud and money laundering. The judges questioned the validity of his arguments, including claims about improper legal advice and misinformation given to the jury.

MARA, a publicly traded Bitcoin miner, reported its highest quarterly revenue of $252 million in Q3, marking a 92% year-over-year increase. The company also highlighted efforts to expand services for AI computing, aiming to become a vertically integrated digital infrastructure company.

NIP Group is expanding its Bitcoin mining operation to produce 160 BTC monthly, aiming to increase its hash rate to 11.3 EH/s. The company plans to use Bitcoin influx for investments in AI, gaming, fan loyalty, and other technologies.

Bitcoin's white paper, turning 17, introduced proof of work and cryptography to solve double-spending. The network has evolved from CPU mining to global adoption, valued at over $2 trillion.

Bernstein upgraded IREN's rating and price target after the company secured a $9.7 billion cloud services deal with Microsoft. The deal showcases how Bitcoin miners can benefit from the AI industry, with IREN's shares trading at over $69, up 2% on Tuesday.