Feds want Bitfinex hacker ‘Razzlekhan’ jailed for 18 months

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Paul Atkins appeared before lawmakers in one of his first hearings since becoming chair of the financial regulator, addressing questions about his plans for the cryptocurrency industry.In a May 20 hearing discussing oversight of the SEC, Atkins reiterated his pledge to make regulating digital assets a “key priority” while chair. In response to questions from North Carolina Representative Chuck Edwards, the SEC chair did not directly answer how much of the regulator’s funds were used to support the crypto task force headed by Commissioner Hester Peirce, and said its findings were “still under development.”“We should be having something here in the next few months with proposed steps forward,” said Atkins in response to the task force’s first report. The SEC chair’s appearance at the oversight hearing was one of his first since being sworn into office in April. Nominated by Donald Trump, Atkins, also a former commissioner, was seen by many lawmakers and those in the digital asset industry as someone who could radically change the SEC’s approach to crypto. Related: Paul Atkins: ‘Crypto markets have been languishing in SEC limbo’This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Argentine President Javier Milei has dissolved a task force established to investigate the fallout from LIBRA, the scandalous cryptocurrency project the head of state promoted on his social media channel before it crashed to zero. The Investigative Task Force (ITU) was dissolved via a May 19 decree signed by Milei and Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona, government documents revealed. “The Research Task Unit is dissolved” after completing its mandate, the translated version of the decree read.The task force is being dissolved despite pressure from opposition groups, which are seeking to activate an investigative commission as soon as May 20, local media outlet Clarin reported. A screenshot of Milei’s tweet endorsing LIBRA. Source: TRM LabsGovernment officials established the UTI on Feb. 19, mere days after President Milei promoted LIBRA on his official X account. His endorsement briefly sent LIBRA soaring from practically worthless to $5 a token and a nearly $5 billion market capitalization, before quickly crashing to zero in what appeared to be a classic pump-and-dump scheme. The fallout from LIBRA sparked allegations of insider trading and manipulation, with President Milei caught in the crosshairs.In addition to facing an investigation, Milei’s credibility suffered at home, with nearly 58% of Argentinians saying they no longer trust the president for his role in the scandal.Related: Argentine President Javier Milei denies promoting failed LIBRA memecoin“I didn’t promote it, I shared it”In a televised interview on Todo Noticias, Milei denied any wrongdoing for promoting the project, claiming that he merely shared information about a project that sought to help entrepreneurs access funding options. Source: tier10k“I saw a tool that could finance entrepreneurs, and I spread the word. I acted in good faith and took a hit,” he said, according to a translation of the interview. Milei also downplayed investors’ losses, claiming that “at most” 5,000 people were affected — the vast majority of whom were Chinese and American. He claimed that only “four or five” Argentinans suffered losses. Nevertheless, blockchain data reviewed by Cointelegraph revealed that more than 15,000 wallets sold LIBRA at a profit or loss of more than $1,000. More than 86% of wallets reported a loss totaling $251 million. Magazine: Influencers shilling memecoin scams face severe legal consequences

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced the launch of regulated derivatives trading on its platform under the European Union’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).According to a May 20 announcement, Kraken’s perpetual and fixed maturity crypto futures contracts will be available for trading by retail and institutional customers in the European Economic Area (EEA). The announcement follows the exchange acquiring an MiFID license in early February through the acquisition of a Cypriot investment firm, approved by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.Kraken’s head of exchange, Shannon Kurtas, said, “Europe is one of the fastest-growing regions for digital asset trading and investment, with some of the most sophisticated and demanding clients and institutions.” He added, “Clients and partners increasingly seek comprehensive offerings within a regulated framework.”Source: Kraken ProKraken had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment by publication.Release the KrakenKurtas said that following the deployment of the new derivatives products, “they [users] can seamlessly trade futures as part of a full suite of products” on the platform.Derivatives, he said, will improve “capital efficiency, access to liquidity, reliability and enable sophisticated strategies and position management.” Kraken’s derivatives will be offered through a Cyprus-based MiFID II-regulated entity, Payward Europe Digital Solutions. The launch follows Kraken completing its acquisition of the futures trading platform NinjaTrader earlier this month, as its first quarter revenue jumped 19% year-on-year to $471.7 million.Crypto derivatives see lots of activityRecently, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said his firm will continue to look for merger and acquisition opportunities, after acquiring crypto derivatives platform Deribit. The comments came after the publicly listed US crypto exchange earlier this month agreed to acquire Deribit, one of the world’s biggest crypto derivatives trading platforms.Major crypto exchange Gemini has also recently received regulatory approval to expand crypto derivatives trading across Europe. Gemini’s head of Europe, Mark Jennings, said in a May 9 statement:“Once we commence business activities, we will be able to offer regulated derivatives throughout the EU and EEA [European Economic Area] under MiFID II.”Decentralized finance platform Synthetix also plans to venture further into crypto derivatives with plans to re-acquire the crypto options platform Derive. The transaction is subject to approval from both the Synthetix and Derive communities.Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025