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Crypto Price Manipulation and Securities Fraud Lead to Two Prison Sentences

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Two men have been sentenced for manipulating the price of Hydrogen Technology’s cryptocurrency, HYDRO, and scheming to defraud investors.

This case marks the first time a jury in a federal criminal trial has classified a cryptocurrency as a security and found that price manipulation of cryptocurrency constitutes securities fraud.

$300M HYDRO Crypto Fraud Scheme

Court documents and trial evidence revealed that Kane, the co-founder and CEO of Hydrogen Technology, and Hampton, the Head of Financial Engineering at the company, enlisted Moonwalkers Trading Limited of South Africa to manipulate the price of HYDRO. From October 2018 to April 2019, the firm used an automated trading bot to create fake and fraudulent orders on a U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange.

Kane, Hampton, and their co-conspirators conducted approximately $7 million in “wash trades” and placed over $300 million in “spoof trades” for HYDRO. These trades misled retail investors into purchasing HYDRO at artificially inflated prices, resulting in the conspirators’ profit of approximately $2 million over ten months.

“Shane Hampton, Michael Kane, and their co-conspirators defrauded investors by using a trading bot to manipulate the price of their company’s cryptocurrency,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Price Manipulation and Securities Fraud

Kane pleaded guilty in November 2023 to one count of conspiracy to commit securities price manipulation, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and two counts of wire fraud. Hampton was convicted by a federal jury on February 7 of one count of conspiracy to commit securities price manipulation and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The jury unanimously determined that the defendants’ sales of HYDRO were investment contracts, thus classifying the token as a security under federal securities law. This trial was the first criminal jury trial in which a cryptocurrency was deemed a security.

Two additional co-conspirators, Andrew Chorlian and Tyler Ostern, pleaded guilty in May 2023 to one count of conspiracy to commit securities price manipulation and wire fraud. Both have been previously sentenced.

Shane Hampton, 32, of Philadelphia, received a sentence of two years and 11 months in prison. His co-conspirator, Michael Kane, 39, of Miami Beach, Florida, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison.

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Cryptocurrency

Cardano Price Analysis: ADA Enters Consolidation Phase After 16% Weekly Drop

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Cardano is navigating a pivotal price range, bounded by the $0.75 and $1.3 thresholds, with its recent price action underscoring a successful pullback to the previously breached $0.75 support.

The outcome of a breakout from this range will likely set the tone for its next significant market direction.

Technical Analysis

By Shayan

The Daily Chart

Cardano has recently encountered a rejection at the $1.3 resistance level, triggering heightened volatility and a descending retracement phase. As a result, the price settled at the $0.75 support zone, which coincides with a significant prior yearly swing high and is laden with demand and buying interest. This support has halted further downside momentum, keeping ADA confined within the $0.75-$1.3 range.

This consolidation phase suggests a build-up of market pressure, with the potential for a decisive breakout on either side. A bullish breakout above $1.3 would signal the initiation of a sustained uptrend, while a bearish breakdown below $0.75 could result in a significant liquidation cascade, pushing the price toward lower support levels.

The 4-Hour Chart

On the shorter timeframe, Cardano’s price action has been shaped by a descending wedge pattern, a formation that often indicates a potential bullish breakout if the upper boundary is breached. Currently, the asset is hovering around the wedge’s lower boundary, near the $0.75 support zone, where increased buying interest is evident. This area is further reinforced by the critical 0.5 ($0.82)-0.618 ($0.7) Fibonacci retracement levels, solidifying it as a formidable barrier against further selling pressure.

In the mid-term, ADA is anticipated to continue consolidating within this wedge pattern while maintaining its position above these key Fibonacci levels. A bullish breakout from the wedge could pave the way for an advance toward the $1.3 resistance. Conversely, a bearish breakdown below the wedge’s lower boundary might trigger a deeper decline, with the $0.5 threshold emerging as the next significant support level.

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Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.

Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.

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Cryptocurrency

Binance Prevents Over $129M From Being Lost to Scams in 2024 via AI and ML

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Crypto exchange giant Binance reportedly stopped more than $129 million from being lost to criminals in 2024.

In its Anti-Scam Refund Initiative end-of-year report, the company outlined how it deployed cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies to transform digital asset security from reactive measures to proactive defense strategies.

Anti-Scam Initiative

According to the report, on average, the company processed about 80 successful fund recoveries monthly, totaling to about $9 million of stolen funds returned to victims in 2024. Additionally, it revealed that it made over 30,000 phone calls to warn potential targets of likely scams, with at least 15,000 alerts issued daily to platform users.

The initiative’s efforts resulted in no less than 47,000 malicious addresses being blacklisted and, as of November, more than $129 million in annual funds prevented from being swindled.

The key to Binance’s approach to stopping bad actors from stealing from its user base is a system that combines technological surveillance and human-centered support. In it, machine learning algorithms analyze complex transaction patterns in real-time, identifying potential criminal activities at super-fast speeds. It also employs AI-powered behavioral profiling to distinguish between legitimate user activity and potential illegal undertakings.

The firm reported that it developed more than 50 specialized models and implemented 14 major upgrades to outmaneuver the fraudsters’ increasingly sophisticated tactics.

Its Anti-Scam Refund Initiative operates through four pillars: proactive protection, 24-hour safety mechanisms, rapid response recovery, and support for silent victims. The one-day safety net allows users a cooling period for suspicious transactions, with funds moved to flagged accounts frozen to provide an opportunity for investigations and potential intervention.

Binance’s Wins Over Crypto Thieves

Since the beginning of the year, CryptoPotato has reported several incidents in which Binance’s intervention helped cryptocurrency users recover stolen funds. For instance, in October, the company aided Delhi police in taking down a digital asset scam ring in the city and recovering up to 100,000 USDT.

Earlier in September, the exchange’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) helped authorities in the same country crack a scheme in which user funds amounting to $47.6 million were stolen from an online gaming platform and siphoned into several digital wallets.

In August, the company announced that its risk management system had prevented more than $2.4 billion in losses from potential swindlers in the first half of 2024. About $1.1 billion of this was attributed to suspected criminal withdrawals, with another $73 million previously frozen due to external hacks.

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SOL Eyes $200 After 5% Daily Surge, BTC Calms at $95K (Weekend Watch)

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Bitcoin’s declining trading volumes continue over the weekend as the asset has produced little to no actual price movements over the past day.

The altcoins have recovered some ground from the Saturday correction, with ETH above $3,400 and DOGE aiming at $0.33.

BTC Stalls at $95K

Last week’s correction erased much of BTC’s price gains charted in December as the asset plummeted to $92,000 on December 21. It managed to bounce off immediately and headed toward $100,000 on a couple of occasions since then = on December 22 and 26 – but to no avail.

Each attempt was met with a vicious rejection that pushed the cryptocurrency south by several grand. The last such movement came at the end of the business week, and BTC slumped toward $93,000.

It defended that level and jumped to $94,000 yesterday and $95,000 now. This is somewhat expected given the declining trading volumes as of late, which could actually be a blessing in disguise for BTC and other assets if whales continue to make big purchases.

For now, though, BTC’s market cap remains well below $1.9 trillion on CG, and its dominance over the alts has been reduced to 54%.

Bitcoin/Price/Chart 29.12.2024. Source: TradingView
Bitcoin/Price/Chart 29.12.2024. Source: TradingView

SOL, SUI Recover

Most altcoins suffered badly yesterday but have produced some minor increases over the past 24 hours. ETH has climbed above $3,400, XRP is close to $2.2, while BNB continues to defy the market sentiment with a 2.5% jump to $718.

Dogecoin has added over 3% of value and stands close to $0.33, while SOL and SUI have gained 5-6%. As a result, SOL now trades above $195, while SUI is north of $4.25.

Other notable gainers include HBAR, DOT, AAVE, APT, ICP, and PEPE.

The total crypto market cap has recovered about $50 billion since yesterday and is close to $3.5 trillion on CG.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto
Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto
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Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.

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