Tether gets $750 million from Bitfinex
This week, Bitfinex, through its mother company, iFineX Inc. made full payment of the $750 million loans that it had taken from Tether. This comes as good news to the Bitfinex community who were worried following the ongoing possible wind-up rumors.
In a press release, Bitfinex explained:
“The loan has now been repaid early and in full and the line of credit has been canceled.”
Reportedly, Bitfinex had borrowed the $750 million from Tether back in 2018. Bitfinnex had initially paid $200 million and recently cleared the remaining balance plus interest. When asked why Bitfinex took the loan, Stuart Hoegner, Bitfinex’s general counsel explained that the exchange was in a short term need for cash and Tether was willing to help. The money was paid in US dollars to Tether’s bank account in Deltec Bank.
The payment was made ahead of schedule noting that the loan was not due until November 5, 2021. The loan repayment has been seen as a step towards ending the FUD between the two companies.
Protego receives a federal bank charter
Protego Trust Bank announced this week that it has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The new federal charter will allow the bank to hold trade, issue, and lend its clients digital assets.
Protego becomes the second institution to receive the charter. Anchorage received the charter last month. Notably, Protego has 18 months to launch operations before the charter expires.
According to Chris Hunter, Protego executive, institutional investors’ demand for “secure and compliant ace to digital assets” has been growing by each day.
Bonnie Wells, the Bank’s Chief Compliance Officer, further explained:
“We were set on building a compliant institution from the outset. We have made the tough decision to pursue the long process of obtaining a charter.”
Founder of crypto hedge fund admits to security fraud
Stefan He Qin, a 24-year-old Australian national admitted this week in court to have embezzled nearly all the assets raised in his Virgil Sigma Fund. Qin’s lawyers explained that his clients had accepted full responsibility for their actions. He also adds that he is “committed to doing what is right so that he can make amends.”
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Qin embezzled assets from Virgil Sigma Fund and his VQR Multistrategy Fund which -amounted to nearly $100 million in assets.
DOJ explained that Qin used the assets to pay for personal expenses, including paying for a penthouse apartment. Reportedly, Qin stole money from the first project and tried to pay investors with funds collected from the second.
The Virgil Sigma Fund was advertised as an arbitrage opportunity fund. It managed to collect over $90 million worth of assets under management while VQR managed to get $24 million.
Following his admission, Qin now faces up to 20 years in prison. The final sentencing will be made on May 20, 2021.
Hackers attack government IT infrastructure to mine crypto
Hackers have been exploiting the IT infrastructure of Russia’s government IT infrastructure. According to the deputy director of the National Coordination Center for Computer Incidents, Nikolai Murashov the hackers have been attacking government bodies like defense contractors, research institutes, and medical institutions to mine cryptocurrencies.
While this is not a popular trend used by attackers to raise funds as reported by the Group-IB cybersecurity firm, hacking is still a problem for Russia and other governments globally.
credit: crypto.co