In a recent statement it was learned that Tether and OKX teamed up to dismantle a criminal network, freezing 225 million USDT.
In a major joint effort, Tether and OKX have assisted the United States Department of Justice in an investigation that led to the freezing of approximately 225 million USDT tokens in external wallets linked to an international human trafficking ring in Southeast Asia. This network, responsible for a global scam known as the “pig butchering” scam, has been dismantled thanks to collaboration between these companies and law enforcement agencies.
During the process, Tether and OKX proactively alerted US law enforcement agencies. Including the Department of Justice, on the location of illicit funds, analyzing their flow through the blockchain.
These alerts coming from Tether and OKX led to a freeze request by the United States Secret Service and a voluntary freeze by Tether. Importantly, frozen wallets are not associated with Tether clients. So, any legitimate wallets captured during the operation will be quickly unlocked in collaboration with law enforcement and owners.
Microsoft Hires Sam Altman, Former OpenAI CEO
Microsoft has brought in Sam Altman, the former CEO of OpenAI, to head an “advanced AI research team.” As announced by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in a publication. Altman will join the internal team along with Greg Brockman, co-founder of OpenAI, and other colleagues, Nadella noted.
Altman shared on Twitter that the “mission continues” following the announcement, receiving enthusiasm from Nadella. He expressed being “super excited” to have Altman as CEO of this new group.
On November 20, Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft Corporation, posted on X the following:
“We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI and have confidence in our product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate with everything we announced at Microsoft Ignite, and in continuing to support our customers and partners. We look forward to getting to know Emmett Shear and OAI’s new leadership team and working with them.”
Greg Brockman also joined the conversation on Twitter, stating that they are going to “build something new and it will be amazing.” The group’s initial leadership team will consist of Altman, Greg Brockman, Jakub Pachocki, Szymon Sidor and Aleksander Madry, as confirmed by Brockman on X.
Bullish Cryptocurrency Exchange Acquires CoinDesk
According to reports from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Bullish, the cryptocurrency exchange led by Tom Farley, former president of the New York Stock Exchange, completed the acquisition of crypto media platform CoinDesk. Matt Murray, former editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, will lead an independent editorial board. Meanwhile, the current CoinDesk editorial team will remain intact.
Although the exact terms of the deal were not disclosed, the all-cash transaction represents a significant moment for CoinDesk, which was previously owned by Digital Currency Group (DCG).
ARK Investment Management Insists on Launching a Bitcoin ETF in the United States
Despite the obstacles, ARK Investment Management, the cryptocurrency investment firm founded by Cathie Wood, is not giving up on its goal of launching a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States.
On November 20, ARK Invest filed a third amended version for its Bitcoin Spot ETF prospectus. This, in collaboration with the European digital asset manager 21Shares.
If approved, the ARK and 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, called ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, will be listed on the BZX Exchange of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) under the symbol ARKB. As indicated in the updated presentation.
By Leonardo Perez
