NPR investigated a crypto scam company known as SpireBit, which stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from Russian-speaking seniors. Now, some of the victims are getting their money back after a lawsuit by Massachusetts authorities.
Changpeng Zhao agreed to plead guilty to money laundering charges and step down from Binance as part of a sweeping settlement with the Department of Justice and top regulators.
The crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried has been tried and convicted of orchestrating one of the largest financial frauds in history, but little has changed for people who lost billions when FTX collapsed.
As Sam Bankman-Fried prepares to go to prison for one of the largest financial frauds in history, the cryptocurrency industry is looking ahead to a future without its former "golden boy."
Caroline Ellison accused Bankman-Fried of being the mastermind behind illegal activity at FTX. Her words carry weight: She worked with him and also once dated him.
He thought he was investing in cryptocurrency. In fact, he was being swindled out of his life savings. There has been a 900% increase in such cases since the pandemic began, federal regulators say.
The SEC announced this week a barrage of lawsuits against crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance. The outcome could help define the future of the cryptocurrency sector.
Most white-collar defendants lay low, but the ex-CEO of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX has been talking, tweeting, and sending email newsletters. Those comments could come back to hurt him.
A review found that the exchange's compliance program violated state laws, making it "vulnerable to serious criminal conduct." It will pay a $50 million fine and spend the rest beefing up oversight.
North Korean hackers have stolen an estimated $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency and other virtual assets in the past five years, more than half of it this year alone, South Korea's spy agency says.
The investigation examined the one-term North Carolina Republican's promotion and purchase of LGB Coin, named for the chant "Let's Go Brandon" mocking Democratic President Joe Biden.
FTX had agreed earlier this week to sell itself to bigger rival Binance after experiencing the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run. The Department of Justice and the SEC are investigating.
Many first-time investors bought Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as they neared all-time highs, and crypto companies spent millions on marketing. Today, they are coping with painful losses.
