Need to know what happened in crypto today? Here is the latest news on daily trends and events impacting Bitcoin price, blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, Web3 and crypto regulation.
Three Arrow Capital’s Su Zhu was arrested in Singapore where he’ll serve a four month sentence. Meanwhile, Hong Kong and Macau police have arrested several further individuals and seized over $2.8 million in their investigation into the JPEX fraud case. In other news, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has pushed back its decision on at least four spot Bitcoin ETF filings.
3AC’s Su Zhu arrested in Singapore
Three Arrows Capital (3AC) co-founder Su Zhu was arrested on Sep. 29 while allegedly trying to flee Singapore, according to Teneo, 3AC’s appointed liquidator who released a statement saying:
“Su Zhu was apprehended at Changi Airport whilst attempting to travel out of Singapore following a committal order granted by the Singapore Courts against him.“
Despite the ongoing Sam Bankman-Fried trial and the latest arrest news, the cryptocurrency community appears to be taking the news in stride, with many users on X passing along the refrain that the supposed bad actors are being shaken from the crypto world just in time for a landmark bull run:
Few more convictions, then up only
— Tnut (@Teeznutz11) September 29, 2023
3AC’s other co-founder, Kyle Davies, has reportedly been issued with the same order as Su Zhu, which would indicate that authorities in Singapore are currently seeking his arrest.
Hong Kong and Macau police seize over $2.8M related to JPEX fraud case
Authorities in Hong Kong and Macau have recently revealed arrests connected to the JPEX crypto exchange fraud case and highlighted that they are currently tracking down several other suspected figures.
On Sept. 29, local media outlet Radio Television Hong Kong reported that two Hong Kong men involved in the JPEX case were arrested. According to the report, the two were responsible for creating accounts in casinos based in Macau to allegedly launder illegal funds. As the suspects were arrested, the police froze casino assets and seized cash worth over 14 million Hong Kong dollars ($1.7 million).
Another local publication, the South China Morning Post, has also reported that two additional people were arrested, with one suspect allegedly found destroying potential evidence with paper shredders and bleach in the bathtub of an apartment. This brings the total number of detained suspects to 18. Furthermore, cash and gold worth 8.7 million HKD ($1.1 million) were seized in three apartments in the latest police operation.
Token 2049 在 9 月 13日至14 日於新加坡舉辦，交易所JPEX 在開展首日吸引許多民眾。
不到一天的時間，香港證監會發出警告，指交易所JPEX謊稱在香港持有牌照。
消息一出，JPEX位於Token 2049的攤位人去樓空，展攤甚至還變成觀展民眾的休息空間。#jpex #token2049 pic.twitter.com/9ixRfu3wAo— 灰度 (@huidu_io) September 20, 2023
According to the authorities, the JPEX scandal has become one of the largest fraud cases in Hong Kong, garnering over 2,300 complaints from victims and losses of around $178 million. Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security, Chris Tang Ping-keung, has pledged to bring justice to the victims and continue to pursue those responsible.
SEC delays spot Bitcoin ETF decisions
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its decision on several proposals for spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including BlackRock, Invesco, Bitwise and Valkyrie ahead of an anticipated government shutdown.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart is expecting the applications from Fidelity, VanEck and WidsomTree to also be pushed back by the securities regulator.
ANOTHER: @BlackRock joins the party on spot #Bitcoin ETF delays. Three out of seven down. https://t.co/Cn9DSibqf8 pic.twitter.com/eJTzDNInCi
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) September 28, 2023
The latest delays came two weeks earlier than the scheduled second deadline date for many applicants, who had been expecting to hear from the securities regulator by Oct. 16–19, with analysts putting it down to the incoming U.S. government shutdown on Oct 1.
In late August, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas estimated that the probability of a spot Bitcoin ETF being approved by the end of 2023 had increased to 75%, and raised those odds to 95% by the end of 2024.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
