Egyptian Fintech MNT-Halan Secures $400 Million in Funding, Valuation Rises to Over $1 Billion

Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan announced on Feb. 1 that it had raised over $340 million via debt and equity and it expects to raise an additional $60 million from leading international investors. The latest funding round sees MNT-Halan’s valuation rise to over…

US Senator Focused on Crypto Money Laundering Crackdown — Urges Congress, Regulators to Take Action

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has called on Congress to ensure regulators, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), have the tools to regulate the crypto industry effectively and crack down on crypto money laundering activities. “The current legal structure essentially…

Philippine Authorities Rescue Alleged Victims of ‘Crypto Trafficking Ring’

Philippine authorities say that they have rescued alleged victims of a “crypto trafficking ring” who were recruited to work in a call center in Cambodia and scam people out of their cryptocurrencies. The authorities are also investigating government employees who may…

Uncertainty Surrounds Federal Reserve’s Future Plans for Rate Hikes

The U.S. Federal Reserve has raised the benchmark bank rate seven times during the course of 2022, leading many to question when the central bank will cease or change course. The Fed has stated that it aims to bring inflation down…

SEC Charges Team Behind Coindeal Crypto Fraud That Promised 500,000 Times Investment Returns

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged the team behind Coindeal, a $45 million fraudulent crypto investment scheme. The regulator explained that the defendants falsely claimed that Coindeal “would generate investment returns of more than 500,000 times for investors.”…

Report Shows Financial Troubles Plagued Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research as Early as 2018

Before FTX collapsed it was assumed that Alameda Research was one of the top quantitative trading firms and market makers within the industry. However, much of that perception may have been a facade as a recent report details that Alameda suffered…

JPMorgan: Crypto Is a Nonexistent Asset Class for Most Large Institutional Investors

A strategist at global investment bank JPMorgan says crypto is effectively nonexistent as an asset class for most large institutional investors. “The volatility is too high, the lack of an intrinsic return that you can point to makes it very challenging,”…

Chinese Zhejiang Province Aims to Build a $28.7 Billion Metaverse Industry by 2025

Zhejiang, a coastal province of China, has presented a metaverse development plan that seeks to build a metaverse hub in its territory. The plan aims to entice the creation of a $28.7 billion metaverse industry and construct an ecosystem of several…