Feds want Bitfinex hacker ‘Razzlekhan’ jailed for 18 months

Proponents of a bill to regulate stablecoins in the US Congress will likely take up another vote on the legislation in a matter of days without responding to concerns about President Donald Trump’s financial ties to the cryptocurrency industry.The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, failed to get enough votes to pass in the US Senate on May 8 amid calls from some Democratic lawmakers to halt any legislation related to digital assets until Republicans could address Trump’s potential conflicts of interest. Immediately following the vote, some lawmakers from both parties suggested they could reconsider the bill as early as this week, but without agreeing on a bipartisan path forward.After the GENIUS Act failed to proceed in a 48 to 49 vote in the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune made a motion to reconsider, setting up a possible vote on the matter within days. A source familiar with the matter told Cointelegraph Republicans who backed the bill were unlikely to modify it to block Trump or any member of his administration from investing in digital assets, claiming it was beyond Congress’s authority under the Constitution.“[…] this delay is not inherently detrimental,“ said Liat Shetret, vice president of global policy and regulation at blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. “We can expect the bill to return to the floor, with this pause giving both parties time to clarify provisions and address lawmakers’ concerns.”The Cedar Innovation Foundation, an organization tied to the political action committee (PAC) Fairshake, issued a warning to Senate leadership to “avoid political games” and pass a stablecoin bill “in the coming days.” Fairshake spent more than $131 million to support candidates in the 2024 US elections, some of whom are currently serving in the House and Senate. There are still more than 500 days until the 2026 midterms, when many members of Congress are up for reelection.On May 12, the Senate resumed consideration of the motion to proceed to consideration of the GENIUS Act, suggesting another vote soon.Related: US Treasury Secretary expresses support for crypto bills at hearingChanges to stablecoin or market structure bills?Should Republicans in the Senate reintroduce the bill without any changes, it’s unclear whether they would have enough support to clear a 60-vote majority to avoid a Democratic filibuster — a process to delay or sometimes block a vote on a bill. The Trump family’s ties to the crypto platform World Liberty Financial and its stablecoin, USD1, have raised potential corruption concerns, as has offering the top holders of his TRUMP memecoin the chance to pay for access to the president through an exclusive dinner and reception. “[…] the Republicans’ bill did nothing to address Trump’s conflict, and instead voted to hand Trump the authority to write the rules over his and his competitors’ stablecoins,” said Democratic Representative Maxine Waters in a May 6 statement. She blocked a hearing to discuss a possible digital asset market structure bill, citing concerns about Trump’s “ownership of crypto.”Democratic lawmakers have already introduced possible solutions to what they called the “biggest corruption scandal in the history of the White House” — with legislation in the House and Senate to bar members of Congress, the president, the vice president, and their families from profiting off memecoins. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Van Hollen also reportedly called on the president to fully divest from USD1 before making any possible deals with foreign governments.The nonpartisan organization State Democracy Defenders Action reported in April that Trump’s crypto holdings were worth roughly $2.9 billion, which accounted for 40% of his wealth. This report came before the launch of World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin, which an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm said it would use to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance. Trump’s sons, Eric, Donald Trump Jr., and Barron, were all listed as “Web3 ambassadors” for the platform.Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Defense lawyers have asked a judge to sentence the person responsible for helping post a fake message announcing regulatory approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds to roughly a year in prison, countering prosecutors’ request for a two-year sentence.In a May 13 filing in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Eric Council Jr.’s legal team asked that he be sentenced to no more than one year and one day in prison following his guilty plea. Council was part of a group that took control of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) X account in 2024 through a SIM swap attack, posting a message that suggested the regulator had approved spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund listings for the first time.“A sentence of twelve months and one day serves the ends of justice,” said the May 13 filing. “It sufficiently punishes the defendant for his role in this case. It also promotes respect for the law and deters future criminal conduct.”Eric Council Jr.’s sentencing recommendation, filed on May 13. Source: PACERCouncil initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, but changed his plea to guilty in February on one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. The judge overseeing the case, Amy Berman Jackson, also ordered prosecutors to “identify the felony and point to where that information can be found in the record” by May 13.Prison sentence between 1 and 2 years?The SEC hacker is scheduled to be sentenced on May 16. Prosecutors asked the judge to impose a two-year sentence on Council, saying he “profited through a sophisticated fraud scheme.” Court filings showed he earned roughly $50,000 through similar SIM swap attacks.Related: ZKsync X hacker posts false SEC probe in apparent effort to crash tokenThough Council’s case was likely winding down with his upcoming sentencing hearing, the DC court district could soon be under new leadership, potentially affecting the prosecution of crypto-related cases. On May 8, US President Donald Trump announced that Fox News host Jeanine Pirro would become the interim US attorney for the District of Columbia.Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

The largest political party in South Korea, the Democratic Party, has launched a Digital Asset Committee focused on developing cryptocurrency policies and promoting industry growth.The committee held its inaugural meeting at the National Assembly Members’ Hall in Seoul on May 13, the local news agency News1 reported.During its first meeting, the committee highlighted the importance of resolving regulatory uncertainty and addressing burning issues like stablecoin regulation amid the push for US-dollar stablecoins by the US government.The new committee joins similar organizations in South Korea, including the Virtual Asset Committee launched in late 2024 and another public-private crypto task force introduced in 2022, both initiated by the Financial Services Commission (FSC).Exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb involvedThe leadership of the Digital Asset Committee includes South Korean officials and politicians, such as National Assembly Chairman Min Byeong-deok, who joined the committee as chairman.Additionally, the organization features standing general election committee Chairman Yoon Yeo-joon, Muksanism Committee Chairman Maeng Seong-gyu, National Assembly member Kim Byeong-gi and former National Assembly Chairman Kim Jeong-woo.Digital Asset Committee Chairman Min Byeong-deok, Yoon Yeo-jun, Maeng Seong-gyu and Kim Jeong-woo (from left to right). Source: News1According to a report by ChosunBiz, the committee will also include participation of executives from major local exchanges, including Upbit, Bithumb, Coinbit and Gopax.Criticism of “one-exchange, one bank” ruleAt the opening meeting, committee Chairman Min expressed concerns regarding limitations of South Korea’s current one-exchange-one-bank rule, implying that crypto exchanges are restricted to collaborating with only one lender.“There are clear shortcomings to the one exchange, one bank principle,” Min reportedly said, adding that the committee is working with regulators to resolve the issue.The chairman also mentioned discussions about which regulators should supervise the stablecoin industry and whether stablecoins should be subject to a licensing or reporting system.Related: South Korea presidential front-runner pledges to approve Bitcoin ETFs“There is also a point of contention as to whether the Bank of Korea or the FSC should handle the regulation,” he reportedly said.The news came shortly after a Bank of Korea executive expressed concerns over the issuance of the South Korean won-backed stablecoins.“Stablecoin has a great impact on the implementation of central bank policies such as monetary policy, financial stability, and payment settlement,” Bank of Korea’s Koh Kyung-chul reportedly said at a conference on May 12.“The negative impact on the central bank’s policy implementation should be minimized by the central bank’s practical intervention in the approval stage,” he added.Magazine: Finally blast into space with Justin Sun, Vietnam’s new national blockchain: Asia Express