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CLS Global, a crypto market maker registered in the United Arab Emirates, has been hit with a $428,000 fine for wash trading of the FBI’s bait token NexFundAI. On April 2, a federal court in Boston sentenced CLS Global on criminal charges for manipulating trading volumes of NexFundAI token. NexFundAI is a bait token launched by FBI in March 2024 as part of a sting operation called “Operation Token Mirrors.” In October 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed fraud charges against CLS Global and several other companies that had taken the bait, including ZM Quant Investment and Gotbit Consulting. MyTrade was also allegedly involved . The FBI reported that the operation led to the confiscation of $25 million in cryptocurrency, and several wash trading bots were shut down. In addition to the $428,000 fine, the court imposed a three-year probation on CLS Global, banning the company from offering services in the U.S. during this period. CLS Global had pleaded guilty to charges in January this year. According to a January report from Chainalysis , wash trading accounts for an estimated $2.57 billion in trading volumes within the crypto market. However, global efforts are underway to crack down on this practice, as well as broader market manipulation. One recent example is Galaxy Digital’s $200 million settlement last month, resolving allegations of manipulating the LUNA token following an investigation by New York regulators. Earlier, the SEC accused Justin Sun for manipulating the markets for BitTorrent ( BTT ) and Tron ( TRX ) through wash trading, giving the false impression of active trading and liquidity. However, the case has been put on hold .

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U.S. President Donald Trump has granted pardons to three co-founders and executives of the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX. This groundbreaking development comes years after the trio pleaded guilty to financial crimes related to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). According to a CNBC report , Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, who co-founded digital asset firm BitMEX, were granted a presidential pardon on Friday, March 28th, 2025 As noted in our previous post, Arthur Hayes and Ben Delo pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act while at BitMEX’s helm. Each agreed to pay $10 million in penalties. Similarly, BitMEX was found guilty of operating without the necessary compliance measures with the right authorities. The trading firm was charged for illegal financial transactions on its platform. In addition, federal prosecutors stated that despite publicly claiming to restrict U.S. users, the exchange continued to serve them during the period it was charged for. A US District Judge pronounced a $100 million fine on the company earlier this year, concluding the case. Likewise, the founders and executives received different sentences, including probation alongside financial penalties. As we covered in our latest report, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes was sentenced to six months of home confinement in May 2022, along with a two-year probation. Delo and Reed also received probation as part of their penance. With President Trump’s pardon, these BitMEX founders are now free from any legal consequences tied to their convictions. Following the presidential pardons, reactions in the digital asset community remain contentious. For example, supporters of the BitMEX executives argue that they were unfairly targeted and that enforcing financial regulations in the cryptocurrency industry has been inconsistent. Other community members believe the charges were necessary to uphold legal standards in digital finance. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) had maintained that BitMEX knowingly failed to comply with financial laws. Officials highlighted that the company’s lack of oversight created opportunities for illegal activities, which could have been prevented with proper policies. The case had been closely watched within the cryptocurrency industry, as it set a precedent for how regulators handle compliance failures in digital asset exchanges. In related news, Hawk Tuah girl Hailey Welch, popular for her connection with the controversial $HAWK token, has been cleared of wrongdoing after a lengthy investigation by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Meanwhile, Under President Donald Trump, regulatory trends around crypto have improved. As we mentioned in our previous news brief, the US SEC has dismissed its case with Ripple Labs, with the firm also closing its counter-appeal. Like Ripple, Coinbase, Uniswap, and Robinhood, among other firms, have also seen their respective legal cases closed.

Chinese gaming firm The9 secures $8M strategic investment from crypto investment funds The9 Limited, a Nasdaq-listed Chinese gaming company, has raised $8 million in strategic investment from three crypto investment funds, including Elune Capital, Fine Vision Fund and Bripheno