The Week in Crypto – Roger Ver, Hive, and CBDCs

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This week in the crypto world we saw Roger Ver sued for the second time over trading platform losses, the U.S. and European law enforcement agencies bringing down a crypto ransomware operation, and the UK stepping up its CBDC plans.

Boo.

No. 3 – Roger Ver’s Alleged Debts Cross $100 Million

Roger Ver, known as “Bitcoin Jesus” for his early advocacy of the cryptocurrency, has been sued for the second time for unpaid trading losses, bringing his alleged losses to over $100 million. This week Genesis, the crypto firm that recently filed for bankruptcy, sued Ver for nearly $21 million, claiming that he failed to pay after a margin call. This comes on top of an $84 million lawsuit by CoinFlex, another crypto platform, which claims that Ver defaulted on a leverage trading position and has not paid up.

Ver denied the charges, saying that the contract was dependent on Genesis staying solvent, which it clearly isn’t. One of you is lying…

No. 2 – Hive Ransomware Group Taken Down

This week U.S. and German law enforcement announced that they had dismantled the Hive ransomware group, which had targeted public infrastructure and extorted over $100 million in cryptocurrency since it began operations in 2021.

The coalition, comprising of the Department of Justice, FBI, and German Federal Criminal Police, successfully shut down the Hive website after a months-long operation that began in Florida last year and resulted in victims being handed decryption keys by authorities.

No. 1 – UK Pushing Ahead with Digital Pound Plans

This week the UK advanced its plans for a digital pound as both the Treasury Department and the Bank of England advertised for senior positions related to the development of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

The Bank of England advertised for a “Central Bank Digital Currency Senior Specialist” to lead international engagement for its CBDC, before HM Treasury posted a vacancy for a “Head of Central Bank Digital Currency” to work on the consultation process and strategy behind any potential rollout of CBDC in coordination with the Bank of England’s CBDC Unit.