Bitfinex hacker released, treasury changes and global policy changes

In this week’s edition of the weekly recap, the Bitfinex hacker won an early release from prison thanks to criminal justice reform legislation, BitMine Immersion’s chairman sought shareholder approval for a massive expansion of permitted shares, and South Korean traders moved more than $110 billion to foreign platforms amid domestic regulatory constraints.

Bitfinex Hacker Credits Trump Legislation for Early Release

• Ilya Lichtenstein announced Thursday via X that he has been released from prison early under President Donald Trump’s First Step Act of 2018.
• Lichtenstein, who admitted to orchestrating the hack of the cryptocurrency exchange, said he “remains committed to making a positive impact on cybersecurity as soon as possible” following his release.

BitMine Chairman Addresses Stock Authorization Proposal

• Tom Lee, president of Ethereum treasury company BitMine Immersion, urged shareholders to approve a board proposal increasing the company’s authorized shares from 500 million to 50 billion.
• In a message earlier this year, Lee clarified that the proposed increase was not intended to “dilute” existing shareholders.

Iran accepts cryptocurrency for arms purchases

• Mindex, the export center of the Iranian Defense Ministry, has started accepting cryptocurrency payments for advanced weapons systems to circumvent international sanctions.
• Potential customers can purchase missiles, tanks and drones using cryptocurrency as well as other accepted payment methods, including Iranian rial or barter, according to the center’s website.

Turkmenistan legalizes cryptocurrency operations

• The country officially implemented the Virtual Assets Law legalizing cryptocurrency mining and trading to boost economic development and attract foreign investment.
• President Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed the regulation on November 28, providing a framework for the use, creation and exchange of virtual assets within the country.

Cuban and Mavericks win Voyager fraud trial

• A cryptocurrency class action lawsuit alleging that Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks defrauded investors by promoting now-bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Voyager Digital has been dismissed in its entirety.
• U.S. District Court Judge Roy K. Altman dismissed the case on Dec. 30, ending claims under various securities laws and consumer fraud laws, according to Brown Rudnick’s Cuban legal team.

Trump Media Announces Token Distribution to Shareholders

• The company behind Truth Social revealed plans on Wednesday to distribute a new digital token to shareholders through a partnership with Crypto.com.
• The token will be issued on Crypto.com’s Cronos blockchain, with each shareholder receiving one token for each whole share of DJT held once the program launches.

Cypherpunk expands its privacy coin reserves

• Digital asset treasury company backed by the Winklevoss twins purchased $28 million worth of zcash privacy coins, bringing total holdings to 290,062 ZEC valued at $152 million.
• Nasdaq-listed Cypherpunk Technologies acquired 56,418 tokens at an average price of $514.02 per token, now holding approximately 1.76% of the circulating supply of zcash.

Prenetics abandons its Bitcoin treasury strategy

• The health sciences company that raised $48 million earlier this year in part to build a Bitcoin treasury announced it would cease BTC purchases amid prolonged weakness in the cryptocurrency market.
• Prenetics launched its accumulation strategy in June following the model championed by Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc., but enthusiasm faded after the market’s sharp downturn in October.

China introduces interest-bearing digital yuan

• The People’s Bank of China announced a major overhaul of the framework on Monday, revealing that commercial banks will start paying interest on digital yuan holdings.
• This policy change aims to promote the adoption of state-backed digital currency by providing financial incentives for users to hold balances.