Ivan Turogin and Sergei Potapenko are suspected in a $575 million fraud case, but they can’t be exposed to U.S. detention conditions.
Founder of Estonia’s LHV Bank Lost Access to $472M of Ether
“It’s no secret that I have a wallet with 250,000 Ethereum units,” Lõhmus said in an interview with Estonian national radio channel Vikerraadio in late October.
LHV Bank founder has $470M worth of Ether, but lost his private key
Rain Lõhmus, the founder of LHV Bank told Estonian media last month he’s not made much effort to recover the funds, but is willing to pay someone who can.
Crypto firm claiming $1.4B in trades on CMC flashes reportedly fake license data
A crypto exchange claiming $1.7 billion in daily trades and reporting $1.4 billion of daily trading volume on CoinMarketCap had reportedly displayed false license data until Estonian regulators checked it.
CoinsPaid claims North Korean hacking group used fake job interview to steal $37M
Hackers attempted to infiltrate CoinsPaid infrastructure directly starting in March 2023, but switched their approach to targeting individuals through fake high-salary job offers.
Crypto payment gateway CoinsPaid suspects Lazarus Group in $37M hack
CoinsPaid said it is now working with Estonian law enforcement and several blockchain security firms are assisting to minimize the impact of the July 22 exploit.
Estonia squeezes out 400 crypto firms after new laws
Estonia’s money laundering regulator highlighted a number of issues it found within local crypto firms, such as dodgy execs and nonsensical business plans.
Estonia’s Registered Crypto Firms Drop 80% as Tough New Checks Reveal ‘Suspicious’ Behavior
Regulators in the tech-friendly nation say they’ll return to business-as-usual monitoring after money laundering fears led it to take a tough line.
Belgian crypto platform Bit4You suspends operations after CoinLoan halts activity
Bit4You suspended operations on April 26 amid CoinLoan insolvency investigation by Estonian regulators.
Belgian Crypto Lender Bit4You Suspends Activities After Service Provider Declared Insolvent
Bit4You learnt of CoinLoan’s insolvency on April 24 and that it no longer has the necessary registration as a digital asset custodian.
Paxful co-founders’ litigation cites misappropriation of funds, money laundering, U.S. sanctions evasion
A bitter dispute between Paxful’s co-founders in Delaware courts may have led to the crypto marketplace’s sudden closure.
Crypto Exchange Coinmetro Seeks US And Europe Expansion Amid Bearish Market
With the increasing adoption and acceptance of crypto assets, more crypto-related firms and service providers are rising. Also, they are taking their expansion visions in the sector very seriously.
However, crypto industry regulations have placed limitations on some firms’ goals. Most top-tier regulators require the fulfilment of some rules for the operation of crypto service providers in their regions. These include registration and other license approval from the country watchdogs.
Coinmetro, a crypto exchange, expressed its plans for a global expansion in a new development. This plan propelled the firm to embark on a fundraising round that generated about 7 million euros (worth $7 million). According to the firm’s report, the exchange is now valued at 180 million euros.
Expansion Plans From The Exchange Using Funds
The exchange revealed its plans to utilize the raised funds to boost its expansion visions in the UK, US, and Europe. Also, it cited its ongoing creation of some passive income products. Such products are meant to assist its customers in handling periods of increasing inflation and interest rates.
Coinmetro mentioned that the funding round marks the forerunner of the firm’s Series A round for the first quarter of 2023. The funds are generated from three pioneering investors and more than 100 other shareholders in the firm.
Founded in 2018, Coinmetro is a trading platform that ensures mobility between blockchain-based virtual assets and traditional markets. Also, the company provides a platform for crypto asset trading through its operation as a crypto exchange.
It engages both beginners and professionals on its internet-accessible trading platform. Also, it runs an initial coin offering (ICO) platform.
Headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, Coinmetro is under the regulation of the FIU in Estonia. In addition, it is registered with the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Also, Conmetro is under the regulation of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada (FINTRAC) and Australian regulators. The firm is currently processing its application for a U.K. license.
Coinmetro Prepares For Next Crypto Evolution
The CEO of Coinmetro, Kevin Murcko, while reacting to the funding round, cited the firm’s preparation for crypto’s next stage. He mentioned the expectation for more volatility in the space following the unique year for crypto assets.
Murcko said that only those who understand the market dynamics would reap the growth from the coming phase.
Further, the CEO commended the firm’s outstanding ideas and planned to bring them to reality in the coming months and years. It revealed that the funding offers them the proper financial support to actualize the visions and ideas for the benefit of their customers.
According to him, such a move confirms their goals to remain successful despite the bear market impact on the entire system.
Featured Image From Pixabay, Charts From Tradingview
The state of crypto in Northern Europe: Hostile Scandinavia and vibrant Baltics
The Nordics remain a cold place for crypto, but Estonia still leads as the public blockchain adopter.
Lithuania aims to tighten crypto regulation and ban anonymous accounts
The country decided to act in advance of upcoming EU regulations that could effectively ban non-custodial wallets
Estonian regulator wants to revoke all crypto exchange licenses
About 400 crypto businesses in Estonia still hold licenses after the state revoked nearly 2,000 licenses last year.
Estonian ‘auto liquidation’ DeFi platform Minterest raises $6.5m
Minterest aims to channel all fees, interest, and revenue back into the protocol for its users.
Estonian IT company inks $26M crypto mining deal with Bitmain
Burfa intends to purchase new cryptocurrency mining equipment from Bitmain to boost its data-center capacity.
Inside the Estonian CBDC Experiment That Could Shape the Digital Euro
How the firm helping lead Estonia’s central bank digital currency research is approaching a mass-market crypto coin.
Estonia’s Central Bank to Research if Blockchain Can Support a Digital Euro
Eesti Pank said the initiative will gauge the suitability of the KSI Blockchain, already used within the country’s e-government system, in supporting a central bank digital currency.