Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group (DCG) has suspended shareholder payouts as it struggles to ride out a “wave of unprecedented fraud and criminal behavior” plaguing the industry.

As reported by CoinDesk, in a letter to shareholders on Tuesday, Silbert explained that the company was “focused on strengthening our balance sheet by reducing operating expenses and preserving liquidity.”

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Crypto-friendly bank Silvergate posted a loss of $949 million for the final three months of 2022. Massive losses in the past few weeks have forced the company to lay off 40% of its staff. It expects to part ways with $8.1 million in restructuring costs, such as severance packages.

Customers withdrew a record-breaking $8 billion from Silvergate during the quarter. The bank’s largest customers, FTX and Alameda Research, filed for bankruptcy protection in November. As Silvergate liquidated assets to satisfy an avalanche of customers’ withdrawal requests, the bank lost hundreds of millions of dollars by selling bonds and other illiquid securities prior to their intended maturities. Silvergate will also pay a $134 million impairment charge for securities that it plans to prematurely sell during the first quarter of 2023.

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Yuga Labs has announced its first Bored Ape-themed video game… And trying to understand it feels like digging through shit to find a key.

The game: Dookey Dash. The premise: One of Yuga Labs’ apes got so drunk at a party that it swallowed a very important key. The rules: very complicated.

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Criminals behind a UK-based bitcoin scam bribed authorities, bought luxury properties with suitcases full of cash, and handed out thousands of pounds to people in the street after making “more money than they could spend.”

The gang was jailed this week for between six years and 18 months after exploiting a loophole in an Australian crypto exchange to steal $26.9 million in bitcoin. However, before they were arrested, they enjoyed extremely lavish lifestyles thanks to the ill-gotten crypto. Police reportedly recovered 445 bitcoin, luxury watches, cars, property, designer goods, and a £600 wine cooler.

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On September 13, roughly four months after the collapse of algorithmic stablecoin terra and crypto token luna, South Korean authorities issued a warrant for founder Do Kwon’s arrest. Lo and behold, he was nowhere to be found.

In December, Kwon was spotted by authorities in Serbia after appearing in Dubai, leaving some wondering why he chose to go there. Only, Serbia is a much more likely place for a crypto fugitive like Kwon to ensure they remain hidden.

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Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson has reportedly received a record-breaking £1 million ($1.2 million) donation from a Thailand-based cryptocurrency investor and Bitifinex/Tether parent company shareholder.

Friday’s updated register of interests reveals how Christopher Harborne made the record gift to Boris Johnson LTD, the former PM’s political office that funds his activities.

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Since the collapse of disgraced Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire, liquidators have been attempting to consolidate the crypto holdings of both FTX and Alameda Research, with the aim of eventually returning some value to creditors.

Despite the lack of risk mitigation procedures at Alameda, it appears that those in charge of liquidating the remaining assets may be just as gung-ho as the previous leadership.

On-chain evidence of repeated errors paints a worrying picture for those hoping to one day recoup some of their funds.

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Waves DEX users have been complaining that they can’t withdraw USDT or USDC from the exchange. On the Waves blockchain explorer, withdrawals of USDT and USDC seem to be working normally but users are struggling to get their transactions actioned in reality.

When looking at the Waves DEX Ethereum bridge, it seems that it’s been depleted of all its USDC and USDT. Users took to Twitter to ask Sasha Ivanov, founder of Waves and the administrator of the Waves DEX to ask about their balances but received no replies.

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Since the president made bitcoin legal tender in 2021, he’s struggled to prove the move makes any kind of sense for the country — El Salvador has sparred with major international players in the financial industry, like the International Monetary Fund.

With the passage of the country’s new Digital Assets Issuance Law, El Salvador is one step closer toward finally being ready to sell its Volcano Bonds for some bitcoin and USD — but especially, Tether.

Here’s what you need to know.

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Approximately 800 victims of the BitConnect crypto investment scam will get back at least some of their funds after a San Diego Federal court ordered that $17 million be distributed to investors in over 40 different countries.

BitConnect managed to con thousands of investors out of a collective $2.4 billion by fraudulently pitching BitConnect’s ICO and crypto exchange as a sound investment.

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