Investigation

The once-ubiquitous Bitcoin ATM—those familiar kiosks in gas stations and convenience stores designed for easy cash-to-crypto conversion—is facing an existential crisis.

The Argentine anti-corruption authority (Oficina Anticorrupción; OA) has concluded that President Javier Milei acted for personal gain in promoting the Libra cryptocurrency (LIBRA), but did not violate the country's public ethics laws.

Venezuelan authorities demanded that cryptocurrency exchanges and mining companies stop all their business activities.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has sent a stern warning to professional networking site LinkedIn. Sean Ragan, Special Agent with the Bureau, said cryptocurrency investment scammers are on the rise on the professional network.

On December 7, a man named Brannen Sage Mehaffey pleaded guilty to operating an illegal cryptocurrency money transfer exchange.

Employees of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) are suspected of kidnapping a foreign citizen to demand a ransom. To save himself from threats and torture, the man paid the kidnappers 7.5 Bitcoins.

With New Zealand Exchange Cryptopia in the midst of a liquidation process, hackers seem to consider it an easy victim. Despite it being under the supervision of Grant Thornton liquidators, criminals have stolen over $40,000.

The anti-terrorist squad and state police of Riga, Latvia, have arrested a man who was planning to kidnap and kill two people to steal their cryptocurrencies worth half a million euros.

Japanese police are going to confiscate cryptocurrency funds stolen during the Coincheck hack. If successful, this will be the first digital currency confiscation of the kind in the country.