Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has made its second-largest single Bitcoin purchase ever, scooping up more than 1,000 Bitcoin as the cryptocurrency came within 3% of its all-time high.

Metaplanet said on May 19 that it purchased 1,004 Bitcoin (BTC) for a total cost of around 15.2 billion yen ($104.6 million), bringing its total holdings to 7,800 Bitcoin worth around $807 million at current market prices.

It is the second-largest purchase the firm has made following its buy of 1,241 BTC for $129 million on May 12 in a move that pushed its Bitcoin holdings above that of El Salvador.

Metaplanet has the largest Bitcoin holdings of a public company in Asia and has the tenth largest holdings among public firms globally, according to BiTBO data.

The firm reported a first-quarter BTC Yield of 95.6% and a yield of 47.8% so far in the second quarter, which measures the ratio of percentage change in Bitcoin holdings per fully diluted share.

If Metaplanet buys another 301 BTC, it would surpass Galaxy Digital Holdings, which is in ninth spot with its holdings of 8,100 Bitcoin.

Metaplanet Bitcoin purchase disclosure. Source: Metaplanet

Michael Saylor’s Strategy remains the clear leader in terms of corporate BTC holdings with 568,840 Bitcoin worth around $59 billion.

Related: Metaplanet is raising another $21M through bonds to buy more Bitcoin

Metaplanet has been much more aggressive in its accumulation of the asset in recent months, with 2,800 scooped up so far in May. It made four purchases in April, totaling 794 BTC, and six purchases in March, totaling 1,655 BTC. 

Saylor hints at another buy

Meanwhile, Michael Saylor has hinted at another Monday purchase by posting a screenshot of the Saylor tracker, which follows the firm’s Bitcoin portfolio, on X. 

“Never short a man who buys orange ink by the barrel,” Saylor said.

Strategy leads the corporate pack with 77% of the growth in Bitcoin holdings so far this year, according to BTC investment firm River.

On May 12, River researchers revealed that corporations and businesses are the largest net buyers of Bitcoin so far this year, outpacing exchange-traded funds, governments, and even retail investors. 

Magazine: Arthur Hayes $1M Bitcoin tip, altcoins ‘powerful rally’ looms: Hodler’s Digest

Coinbase has been hit with a flood of lawsuits after it recently disclosed its user data was breached, with users accusing the crypto exchange of mishandling the incident.

At least six lawsuits were filed against Coinbase between May 15 and May 16, which all made various claims that the exchange failed to keep stringent security protocols to protect user data and handled the data breach aftermath poorly.

In one of the lawsuits, filed in a New York federal court on May 16, plaintiff Paul Bender argued that Coinbase failed to protect the sensitive personal information of millions of users during the data breach. 

Users are suing Coinbase, alleging the exchange failed to protect their sensitive data. Source: PACER

Coinbase reported on May 15 that four days earlier it had been hit with a $20 million extortion attempt after cybercriminals bribed several of its customer support agents to access internal systems and steal a limited amount of user account data.

The stolen data included names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, the last four digits of Social Security numbers, some bank account identifiers, driver’s licenses, passports and some account data, such as balance snapshots and transaction history.

Bender claimed that “Coinbase failed to implement and maintain reasonable security safeguards,” which exposed users to “serious and ongoing risks.”

The suit also claimed Coinbase’s response to the incident was “inadequate, fragmented, and delayed.”

“Users were not promptly or fully informed of the compromise, and Coinbase did not immediately take meaningful steps to mitigate further harm,  provide identity protection services, or offer actionable guidance to affected individuals,” the complaint claimed.

The lawsuit claimed users could face “substantial, immediate, and ongoing threat of identity theft and financial fraud” and that the consequences of the breach could be long-term or “potentially permanent” because the compromised information can’t be recovered or made secure once exposed.

Flurry of lawsuits make similar allegations 

Two other lawsuits filed in a New York federal court made similar claims against Coinbase, while a fourth lawsuit added the allegation of unjust enrichment, arguing that Coinbase didn’t spend enough on data security measures.

All four complaints ask for damages and other measures to help protect the plaintiff’s sensitive data.

Meanwhile, a fifth lawsuit filed in a California federal court on May 15 made similar claims against Coinbase, but asked the court to order Coinbase to purge all sensitive data it holds about the plaintiffs and hire third-party security auditors to test its security systems, among other requests.

A Coinbase spokesperson did not comment on the lawsuits and instead pointed Cointelegraph to a blog post it shared regarding the data breaches.

Coinbase said it refused to pay the $20 million ransom and has flagged plans to reimburse users tricked into sending crypto to phishing scammers due to the data breach.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the exchange said it expects reimbursement expenses ranging from $180 million to $400 million.

Related: Retired artist loses $2M in crypto to Coinbase impersonator

The exchange also reportedly fired a group of customer support agents based in India following their alleged involvement in social engineering attacks on users.

Coinbase (COIN) shares dipped 7% and dropped to $244 after it disclosed the data breach along with an ongoing SEC probe over misstated user numbers in 2021.

The stock has since staged a comeback, spiking 9% and hitting $266 by the closing bell on May 16, according to Google Finance. 

Coinbase has climbed even higher following the data breach. Source: Google Finance 

Magazine: Arthur Hayes $1M Bitcoin tip, altcoins’ powerful rally’ looms: Hodler’s Digest, May 11 – 17

A recent proposal that aims to change Bitcoin’s base unit to make it easier to understand as a payment tool has run into opposition, with critics saying Bitcoin’s satoshis are no more confusing than the dollar’s cents.

Bitcoin developer John Carvalho introduced Bitcoin Improvement Proposal-177 on April 23, which seeks to eliminate the concept of satoshis, of which there are 100,000,000 in 1 Bitcoin (BTC), and effectively split Bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million into 21 quadrillion units.

It follows a 2017 proposal from Bitcoin developer Jimmy Song to create “bits,” representing one-millionth of 1 Bitcoin. However, Carvalho said Song’s approach would still require Bitcoin users to think about decimals and “shifts complexity rather than eliminating it.”

Block Inc. CEO Jack Dorsey is among those calling for the change, saying in a May 18 X post that satoshis, or sats, are too confusing for newcomers.

“Bits of Bitcoin is better, and just Bitcoin is best,” Dorsey said.

Dorsey pointed to a December 2024 discussion on the topic where Stevie Lee, product lead of Bitcoin infrastructure firm Spiral, argued that not enough people know or care about what satoshis are.

“Everyone knows Bitcoin, no one knows sats, people just want to send and receive Bitcoin,” Lee said, recalling past conversations where people thought satoshis were an entirely new token, unrelated to Bitcoin.

He added that the Bitcoin community shouldn’t be too concerned with the change, as they know the underlying economics of Bitcoin would remain intact.

Related: DOJ charges 12 more gamer-turned $263M Bitcoin robbers

Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten and Byte Federal director of product Michelle Weekley were among those who opposed the change.

“People understand cents in a dollar, they will understand sats in a Bitcoin,” Weekley said on X.

Magdalena Gronowska, a self-described Bitcoin consultant, claimed that the change could make some people think that Bitcoin abruptly crashed from its current price of around $100,000 and that its “supply has massively inflated.”

Zaprite business development lead Parker Lewis argued that sats were easier to understand. Source: Parker LewisBitcoin creator was open to the idea

Robin Linus, the creator of the Bitcoin Virtual Machine (BitVM), highlighted that even Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, was open to changing how Bitcoin’s units are displayed for the purpose of usability.

“If it gets tiresome working with small numbers, we could change where the display shows the decimal point,” Satoshi said in a February 2010 post before vanishing the following year.

“Same amount of money, just different convention,” Satoshi added.

Comment from Satoshi Nakamoto about changing Bitcoin’s unit base in February 2010. Source: Bitcointalk

The Bitcoin network hasn’t implemented any improvement proposals since the Taproot upgrade in November 2021, which aimed to improve Bitcoin’s speed, efficiency and privacy.

Magazine: Danger signs for Bitcoin as retail abandons it to institutions: Sky Wee

A group of Coinbase users from Illinois have filed a class-action lawsuit against the crypto exchange, alleging that its identity checks violate the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

Plaintiffs Scott Bernstein, Gina Greeder and James Lonergan claimed in the May 13 lawsuit filed in a federal court that Coinbase’s “wholesale collection” of faceprints for its Know Your Customer requirements violates BIPA, as they weren’t notified.

The group claimed Coinbase failed to notify users in writing of the collection, storage, or sharing of their biometric data and the purpose and retention schedule for their data.

“Coinbase does not publicly provide a retention schedule or guidelines for permanently destroying Plaintiffs’ biometric identifiers as specified by BIPA,” they alleged. 

The complaint said Coinbase requires users to verify their identity by uploading a government-issued photo ID and a selfie, which is then sent to a third-party facial recognition software to scan and extract facial geometry. 

This process captures biometric identifiers without users’ informed written consent, which the suit claimed violates BIPA.

Coinbase ID verification procedures. Source: CourtListener 

Additionally, the group claimed Coinbase violated the law by sharing biometric data without users’ consent to third-party verification vendors such as Jumio, Onfido, Au10tix and Solaris.

“Coinbase ‘obtains’ biometric data in violation of [BIPA] because it explicitly directed the Third Party Verification Providers to use its software to verify and authenticate users, including Plaintiffs, and its software does so by collecting biometric data,” the complaint read.

The group claimed that more than 10,000 individuals have filed demands for arbitration over these issues with the American Arbitration Association, which Coinbase has allegedly refused to pay the required arbitration fees, causing them to be dismissed.

Related: Alabama drops staking lawsuit against Coinbase

The suit brings three claims of violating state biometric privacy laws and one for consumer fraud under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

The group is seeking relief of $5,000 per willful or reckless violation found, $1,000 per negligent violation found, along with injunctive relief and litigation costs. 

Coinbase has also recently been hit with at least six lawsuits over its May 15 disclosure that some of its customer support agents were bribed to leak users’ data.

Past BIPA violation suit sent to arbitration

In May 2023, a group of Coinbase users sued the exchange under similar accusations of BIPA violations.

A judge later allowed that lawsuit to pause pending arbitration and dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice on Feb. 3 after Coinbase and the group of users agreed to drop the action.

Magazine: Arthur Hayes $1M Bitcoin tip, altcoins ‘powerful rally’ looms: Hodler’s Digest

Bitcoin has notched its highest-ever weekly close as crypto market momentum continues and the cryptocurrency is again nearing its all-time high.

Bitcoin (BTC) has closed at a weekly gain for the past six weeks in a row, and its most recent close at midnight UTC on May 18 was its highest weekly close ever at just below $106,500, according to TradingView.

Its last highest weekly close was in December when it reached $104,400. It later went on to reach an all-time high of $109,358 on Jan. 20, according to TradingView. 

Bitcoin is now less than 3% away from its peak price and has gained 2% over the past 24 hours to trade around $104,730 at the time of writing.

Bitcoin also posted its highest-ever close in a 24-hour period on May 18. However, this is not the largest daily gain Bitcoin has made.

“Bitcoin just had its highest daily candle close… ever,” investor Scott Melker posted to X on May 19. 

With a daily close above $105,000, “Bitcoin will develop a brand new higher high,” said analyst Rekt Capital.

BTC/USD weekly timeframe. Source: TradingView

Bitcoin’s weekly gains over the past six weeks are mirroring its gains in November when it added $30,000 in three of its largest weekly candles ever.

It has added around $12,000 so far in May, climbing from $94,000 to over $106,000 before it pulled back to around $105,400.

Related: BTC price to $116K next? Bitcoin trader sees ‘early week’ all-time high

Additionally, Arete Capital partner “McKenna” said the Coinbase premium had returned, which measures US sentiment by comparing the difference between Coinbase’s BTC/USD pair and Binance’s BTC/USDT equivalent. 

The “strength of this bid on a Sunday night feels strange,” they said, adding its “possible someone knows some important news dropping next week.”

Bitcoin’s CAGR cools down

On May 18, analyst Willy Woo dived into Bitcoin’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR), noting that it was trending downward as the network continues to store more capital.

“BTC is now traded as the newest macro asset in 150 years, it’ll continue to absorb capital until it reaches its equilibrium,” he said.

Woo compared it to long-term monetary expansion of 5% and GDP growth of 3%, estimating that Bitcoin’s annual growth rate will be around 8% in around 15 to 20 years when it has settled. 

“Until then, enjoy the ride because almost no publicly investable product can match BTC performance long term, even as BTC’s CAGR continues to erode.”Bitcoin annualized growth rate. Source: Willy Woo

Magazine: Arthur Hayes $1M Bitcoin tip, altcoins ‘powerful rally’ looms: Hodler’s Digest

An Australian man from the state of Queensland has forfeited Bitcoin, a waterfront mansion and a Mercedes-Benz car after Australian Federal Police claimed the assets could be linked to the proceeds of crime.

The AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) said in a May 18 statement that it seized nearly 25 Bitcoin (BTC), alongside the mansion and car, which are together worth a total of 4.5 million Australian dollars ($2.88 million).

The AFP said its investigation began in September 2018 after law enforcement in Luxembourg shared information about suspicious Bitcoin transactions that the agency claimed were connected to the Queensland man, who was previously convicted of hacking a US gaming company.

A waterfront mansion in Queensland was confiscated under the allegation that it’s linked to the theft of 950 Bitcoin. Source: Australian Federal Police

The AFP claimed its investigation also linked the man to the theft of 950 Bitcoin stolen from a French crypto exchange in 2013.

No criminal charges were laid over the Bitcoin theft; however, the AFP obtained a court forfeiture order of the property, car and Bitcoin in April under the claim that they could not be linked with “identifiable legitimate earnings.”

AFP uses “unique powers” to seize assets

Local media outlet 7NEWS reported that the owner of the confiscated assets is Shane Stephen Duffy, who pleaded guilty to fraud and computer hacking in 2016 for selling the personal data of League of Legends players.

A cyberattack on League of Legends developer Riot Games in 2011 saw hackers obtain the details of more than 5 million users; Duffy was not accused of being involved in the hack, with prosecutors saying he got a copy of the data online and sold it for profit.

Duffy was also accused of hacking the X account of Riot Games president Marc Merrill to publicize his data-selling business, which offered to sell access to the accounts of other League of Legends players. 

Related: Aussies lost $122 million to crypto scams in the last 12 months: AFP

AFP Commander Jason Kennedy said in a statement that the agency has “unique powers” under the Proceeds of Crime Act to “restrain and forfeit” assets it suspects to be proceeds of crime, including cybercrime.

Source: Australian Federal Police

“The profits derived from criminal activities are also often used to fund further criminal acts, which is why the AFP works closely with our partners in the CACT to target the proceeds of crime and ensure they are reinvested in the community,” he said. 

The proceeds from selling the assets will be sent to a special purpose fund that supports crime prevention and law enforcement-related measures, the AFP said. 

Since July 2019, the CACT has used its power to restrain over $1.2 billion in assets, including houses, cars, yachts, crypto and fine art.

Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight 

Vladimir Smerkis, a co-founder of the Telegram-based crypto project Blum, has reportedly been arrested in Moscow, Russia, on fraud allegations, amid Blum confirming he is no longer affiliated with the project.

The Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow approved a request from investigators to keep Smerkis in custody while he is being investigated, Russian state-owned news outlet TASS reported on May 18.

Smerkis — who previously ran operations for Binance in Russia — is suspected of committing fraud on a “large scale,” pursuant to Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, violations of which can result in imprisonment ranging from two to 12 years.

It isn’t clear if charges have been filed against Smerkis.

Russian news outlet Mash tied the fraud allegations against Smerkis to his involvement in The Token Fund and Tokenbox crypto ventures that he co-founded in 2017, where investors reportedly suffered combined losses of around $15 million.

Blum, which is not involved in The Token Fund and Tokenbox ventures, wrote to X on May 18 that Smerkis resigned from his role as the firm’s chief marketing officer and would no longer be involved in the project in any capacity.

Source: Blum

Blum said its team remains fully committed and focused on its goals and that its day-to-day operations would continue as usual.

Blum is a crypto project that integrates a decentralized exchange into Telegram Mini Apps, enabling users to trade crypto, earn rewards and participate in token airdrops.

No Smerkis, no BLUM token?

The incident sparked concerns that Blum’s token airdrop won’t follow through as planned. 

In an April 3 X post, Blum hinted at a potential BLUM token listing in the third quarter of this year.

Blum users could receive BLUM tokens by earning Blum points in its newly launched Drop Game, where users tap on snowflakes falling from their mobile phone screen, and convert those points into tokens during the project’s slated token generation event.

Related: Pavel Durov rejects EU pressure to censor Romanian election content

However, the news of Smerkis’ arrest appears to have shaken community confidence that the BLUM token airdrop will happen.

“Blum owes its users a clarification on the planned airdrop,” one X user and Blum community member said, while crypto influencer RK Gupta added:

“No airdrop. No updates. Just silence. Was it all for nothing?”

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Key points:

Bitcoin’s rally to $105,980 has traders predicting new all-time highs this week.

Traders lift their end-of-year Bitcoin price targets to $200,000 based on technical factors and institutional investor adoption. 

Bitcoin (BTC) has been stuck in a narrow range for the past few days, but the rally above $105,500 on May 18 increases the possibility of an upside breakout. Popular trader Alan said in a post on X that Bitcoin could soar to $116,000 early next week.

Another bullish voice was that of Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan. While speaking to Cointelegraph, Hougan said that a supply shock due to increased institutional demand could propel Bitcoin to $200,000 by the end of 2025. He expects seller exhaustion to occur at the $100,000 level.

Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360

Although Bitcoin remains strong, select analysts are shifting their focus to altcoins as they believe an altcoin season could be around the corner. Crypto analyst Javon Marks said in a post on X that altcoins, excluding Ether (ETH), could “deliver one of their most powerful runs since 2017!”

Could Bitcoin and altcoins continue their move higher? Let’s look at the cryptocurrencies that are showing strength on the charts.

Bitcoin price prediction

Bitcoin remains stuck in a range, but the bulls are trying to overcome the overhead resistance at $105,820.

BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Both moving averages are sloping up, and the relative strength index (RSI) is in the overbought zone, signaling that the buyers hold the edge. A break and close above $105,820 increases the likelihood of a retest of the $109,588 level. Sellers will try to defend the $109,588 resistance, but if the bulls prevail, the BTC/USDT pair could skyrocket to $130,000. 

Alternatively, a sharp drop below $100,000 signals that the bears have seized control. That may tempt several short-term bulls to book profits, pulling the pair toward the 50-day simple moving average ($91,447).

BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The pair has broken out of the symmetrical triangle pattern on the 4-hour chart, indicating that buyers are in control. There is resistance at $105,820, but it is likely to be crossed. If that happens, the pair could march toward the all-time high of $109,588 and thereafter to the pattern target of $110,922.

Sellers are likely to have other plans. They will try to pull the price back into the triangle. If that happens, the aggressive bulls may get trapped, pulling the pair to $100,000. If this level also cracks, the drop could extend to the target objective of $95,616.

Ether price prediction

Ether dipped back below the breakout level of $2,550, but the bears are struggling to sustain the lower levels.

ETH/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The upsloping 20-day exponential moving average ($2,275) and the RSI near the overbought zone suggest the path of least resistance is to the upside. If the price closes above $2,550, the bulls will try to strengthen their position by pushing the ETH/USDT pair above $2,739. If they manage to do that, the pair could surge toward $3,000.

The first sign of weakness will be a break below the $2,400 level. That could pull the pair to the 20-day EMA, which is a critical level to watch out for. A break below the 20-day EMA suggests the bulls are losing their grip.

ETH/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The bulls pushed the price above the moving averages, indicating demand at lower levels. If buyers pierce the downtrend line, the up move could reach $2,739. A break and close above $2,739 could resume the uptrend.

Contrary to this assumption, if the price turns down from the downtrend line and breaks below $2,400, it signals that the bulls are rushing to the exit. That could start a deeper correction to $2,270 and then to $2,111. 

Hyperliquid price prediction

Hyperliquid (HYPE) is facing resistance at $28.50, but a positive sign is that the bulls have not ceded much ground to the bears.

HYPE/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The upsloping moving averages and the RSI in the overbought zone indicate that the buyers are in command. A break and close above $28.50 could catapult the HYPE/USDT pair toward $35.73.

If the price turns down sharply from $28.50, it signals that the bears are aggressively defending the level. The pair could then slide to the 20-day EMA ($23.52), which is likely to attract buyers. If the price rebounds off the 20-day EMA, the bulls will strive to clear the overhead resistance. 

HYPE/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The pair is finding support at the 50-SMA on the 4-hour chart, indicating buying on dips. The bulls will try to strengthen their position by pushing the price above the $28.50 level. If they do that, the pair could rally to $31.33.

Instead, if the price turns down and breaks below the 50-SMA, it implies that the bulls are booking profits in a hurry. That could sink the pair to $24 and later to the solid support at $23.

Related: Here’s what happened in crypto today

Monero price prediction

Monero (XMR) rallied sharply to $353 on May 12 from $262 on May 4, indicating aggressive buying by the bulls.

XMR/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The shallow pullback of the past few days shows that the bulls are hanging onto their positions as they anticipate another leg higher. If the price continues higher and breaks above $353, the XMR/USDT pair could skyrocket to $391 and then to the target objective of $422.

The immediate support on the downside is at $331. A break and close below $331 could pull the pair down to the 20-day EMA ($308). If the price rebounds off the 20-day EMA, the bulls will again try to resume the uptrend.

XMR/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The pair is finding support at the 50-SMA, but the bulls are struggling to push the price above the overhead resistance at $353. If the price turns down and breaks below the 50-SMA, the pair could start a deeper correction to $317 and then to $300.

On the contrary, a break and close above $353 signals the resumption of the uptrend. The pair could march toward $391, where the bears are expected to step in.

Aave price prediction

Aave (AAVE) is facing resistance at the $240 level, but a positive sign is that the bulls have not allowed the price to dip to the 20-day EMA ($206). That suggests buying on every minor dip.

AAVE/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

If the price closes above $240, the AAVE/USDT pair could start the next leg of the up move. The pair could rise to $280, which may act as a resistance, but if the bulls persist, the next stop could be $300.

Sellers will have to drag the price below the 20-day EMA to prevent the upside. If they can pull it off, the pair could tumble to the crucial support at $196. Buyers are expected to vigorously defend the $196 level.

AAVE/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The pair has been consolidating between $217 and $240 for some time. The 20-EMA has started to turn up, and the RSI has risen into the positive zone, signaling an advantage to buyers. A break and close above $240 could drive the pair to $267.

On the other hand, if the price turns down from $240, it suggests that the bears are fiercely defending the level. That could keep the pair stuck between $240 and $217 for some time. Sellers will have to tug the price below $217 to signal a comeback.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Attorneys for Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm filed a motion asking the court to reconsider the motion to dismiss the case due to the prosecution withholding exculpatory evidence in the form of communications with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) dating back to 2023.

According to a May 16 letter from Storm’s attorneys to Judge Katherine Polk Failla, the FinCEN documents show that non-custodial crypto mixers do not fall under the legal definition of a “money transmitting business” and that prosecutors have known this since at least 2023.

Despite having knowledge of the FinCEN guidance on crypto mixers, state prosecutors still proceeded with cases against the Samourai Wallet developers and Tornado Cash, the attorneys alleged.

Letter sent by Roman Storm’s attorneys to Judge Failla. Source: Court Listener

US prosecutors denied they withheld the evidence, claiming they submitted the FinCEN communications within the stipulated timeframe to produce the documents for the defense and the court during legal discovery.

Storm’s defense cited the same legal documents and the same argument the Samourai Wallet developer’s attorneys posed to the court in a May 5 legal letter. Storm’s attorneys wrote:

“The disclosures in the Samourai case reveal that the government, at the very least, played fast and loose and, at worst, affirmatively misled this Court with its arguments about FinCEN guidance when responding to the motions to dismiss and to compel discovery.”

The letter went on to argue that although the government continues to claim that the cases bear only “superficial similarities” to each other, they share the core characteristics of cryptocurrency mixers under the law, thus making the FinCEN documents salient to dismissing the case against Storm.

The 2023 communications between US prosecutors and FinCEN. Source: Court Listener

Related: Crypto group asks Trump to end prosecution of crypto devs, Roman Storm

Roman Storm’s trial moves ahead despite sanctions against Tornado ruled unlawful

Federal Judge Robert Pitman issued a ruling on April 28 denying the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) the ability to reimpose sanctions on Tornado Cash — setting a legal precedent for non-custodial mixer cases.

Despite this, US federal prosecutors still moved ahead with the case against Storm although the charges have been modified.

Magazine: Tornado Cash 2.0: The race to build safe and legal coin mixers

Telegram founder Pavel Durov said he rejected pressure from a European Union (EU) country to censor political content on the social media platform ahead of the May 18 presidential elections in Romania.

According to Durov, a Western European government, which he hinted at with a baguette emoji, approached the platform and requested it censor conservative voices, which he flatly denied. Durov wrote in a May 18 Telegram post:

“You can’t ‘defend democracy’ by destroying democracy. You can’t ‘fight election interference’ by interfering with elections. You either have freedom of speech and fair elections — or you don’t. And the Romanian people deserve both.”

The Telegram founder is an ardent defender of free speech, who is highly regarded in the crypto community for his stances on freedom of expression, autonomy, privacy, and individual liberty.

Source: Pavel Durov

Related: Pavel Durov says Telegram would exit markets before betraying users

Durov thrust into the spotlight following arrest in France

Pavel Durov was arrested in France in August 2024, sparking widespread condemnation from the crypto community and free speech advocates worldwide, who accused the French government of orchestrating a politically-motivated arrest.

French President Emmanuel Macron denied the arrest was political while claiming the French government was “committed to freedom of expression and communication” in an August 26 X post.

“You can’t keep founders personally liable, and charge them up to 20 years, for not moderating speech, and at the same time claim you are deeply committed to freedom of expression,” Helius Labs CEO Mert Mumtaz wrote in response to Macron.

Shortly after Durov’s arrest, Chris Pavlovski, the CEO of Rumble — a free speech online video platform — announced that he safely departed the European Union after France threatened Rumble.

The CEO also criticized the French government for the arrest of the Telegram co-founder, characterizing it as an attempt to pressure him into censoring speech on the platform.

Durov maintains that Telegram complies with lawful information requests made by law enforcement officials and said that the company has a legal representative in France who handles such requests.

The Telegram co-founder also criticized the French government for bypassing the legal representative and choosing to issue an arrest warrant instead.

Magazine: Did Telegram’s Pavel Durov commit a crime? Crypto lawyers weigh in