Tuesday, August 12, 2025The Guardian

Crypto mogul Do Kwon pleads guilty to fraud for $40bn market collapse

Terraform Labs co-founder, pleading guilty to two charges, was accused of misleading investors in 2021 about TerraUSDDo Kwon, the South Korean entrepreneur behind two cryptocurrencies that lost an estimated $40bn in 2022 and caused the market to implode, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two US charges of conspiracy to defraud and wire fraud.Kwon, 33, who co-founded Singapore-based Terraform Labs and developed the TerraUSD and Luna currencies, entered the plea at a federal court hearing in New York. He had pleaded not guilty in January to a nine-count indictment charging him with securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud and money-laundering conspiracy.

Saturday, August 9, 2025The Guardian

Trump-backed World Liberty proposes $1.5bn crypto holder, Bloomberg News reports

Co-founded by president’s eldest sons, Eric and Don Jr, World Liberty has earned the family $500m since its launchWorld Liberty Financial, a crypto venture backed by Donald Trump and the US president’s family, is sounding out investors for a $1.5bn fundraising round meant to set up a public company that will hold its WLFI tokens, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.The structure of the deal is yet to be finalized, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter, adding that large investors in the crypto and tech space had been approached for the venture.

Thursday, August 7, 2025The Guardian

Trump signs order to allow crypto and real estate investments in retirement plans

Experts say allowing alternative assets like cryptocurrency in 401(k) portfolios carries a high degree of riskDonald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that aims to allow cryptocurrency and other alternative assets like private equity and real estate to be included in the investments in 401(k) retirement accounts.The order smooths the way for fund managers to tap into trillions of dollars of Americans’ retirement savings. It could open up a vast new funding source to managers of so-called alternative assets outside stocks, bonds and cash, though critics say it also could bring too much risk into retirement investments. Such a move would be a boon for big alternative asset managers by opening the $12tn market for retirement funds, known as defined contribution plans, to their investments.

Wednesday, August 6, 2025The Guardian

UK solicitor faces disciplinary tribunal over threat allegations

Solicitors Regulation Authority to prosecute Carter-Ruck partner Claire Gill over alleged email from 2017A solicitor at one of Britain’s best known libel law firms is facing prosecution before a disciplinary tribunal over allegations that she made an inappropriate threat.The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) announced today it had decided to prosecute Claire Gill, a partner at Carter-Ruck. The decision was taken in March earlier this year.

Tuesday, August 5, 2025The Guardian

The dark side of cryptocurrency

Digital money | Gift of the gab | Scottish national dress | Birds and the bees | Targeting ThatcherAndrew Bailey is right to distance the British financial system from cryptocurrency, but he is being too polite about it (Editorial, 29 July). Cryptocurrency is evil. Being speculative in nature, it serves no purpose as a useful currency, and being secretive, it facilitates international drug dealing, people trafficking and terrorism. In addition to helping destabilise our precarious world, it has a huge, unnecessary carbon footprint. It’s time for our financial authorities to speak truth to money.Nick MakepeaceNarberth, Pembrokeshire• At my primary school in 1948 I was sent almost daily to the headmaster, who would give me two painful whacks on each of my hands – all for talking in class. I now appreciate that I simply suffered, well before my time, from an excess of “oracy” (Letters, 1 August).Alan WoolleyWeybridge, Surrey

Tuesday, August 5, 2025The Guardian

Trump’s new gilded age: fearmongering, mass deportations and self-enrichment – video

Donald Trump's second presidency has led to allegations of pervasive self-dealing. From the acceptance of a luxury jet from the state of Qatar, to the creation of a Trump cryptocurrency, the president has been accused of monetizing the White House while enacting a swath of extreme policy. Oliver Laughland and Tom Silverstone travel across south Florida, visiting Turning Point's student action summit, meeting the Republican strategist Steve Bannon, and witnessing events at the harsh new detention centre "Alligator Alcatraz".

Monday, August 4, 2025The Guardian

George Osborne says UK has been left behind in cryptocurrency boom

Ex-chancellor criticises hesitant approach to crypto and warns country in danger of missing next surge in marketBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK has been left behind in the cryptocurrency boom and is in danger of missing a second wave of demand, according to the former chancellor George Osborne.Osborne, who has an advisory role at the crypto exchange firm Coinbase, said the country already missed out on the first generation of crypto because the formerly sceptical US had embraced digital currencies under Donald Trump.

Tuesday, July 29, 2025The Guardian

The Guardian view on Trump’s crypto push: Britain is right to say no to digital currency politics | Editorial

As the US president’s family profits from private money, the Bank of England is showing necessary leadership by rejecting the hypeHype too often influences policymakers when it comes to regulating markets. So it was reassuring to hear Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, resist the momentum behind cryptocurrencies. In his July Mansion House speech, he reiterated his scepticism over the need for a “Britcoin” central bank digital currency or a UK stablecoin, with tokens issued by finance houses and backed by their sterling reserves. As Donald Trump signs stablecoins into US law and rebrands private dollars with political colours, Mr Bailey’s caution isn’t just prudent, it’s essential.The governor’s view is that UK banks should not be allowed to issue their own stablecoins. Nor should the Bank effectively run Britcoin bank accounts without clear public benefit. These are not the views of a luddite, but of a regulator worried, correctly, about creating a new class of imprudent assets. The key question is not whether new technologies can be adopted in finance, but whether they should be – especially when the consequences of failure could affect the wider economy.

Sunday, July 27, 2025The Guardian

The key to understanding Trump? It’s not what you think

Everything the US president does is for money – and in serving his avarice, he’s managed to triumph over the marketDonald Trump embodies dealmaking as the essence of a particular form of entrepreneurship. Every deal begins with his needs and every deal feeds his wants. He thus appears to be like other super-rich people: seemingly bottomlessly greedy, chasing the next buck as if it is the last buck, even when they have met every criterion of satiation.But Trump is different, because his brand of greed harks back to an idea of leadership that is primarily about adversarial dealmaking, rather than about innovation or improved managerial techniques. Trump’s entire career is built on deals, and his own narcissism is tied up with dealmaking. This is because of his early socialization into his father’s real-estate dealings in and around New York. Real estate in the United States, unlike the money-making modes of super-rich individuals in other countries, relies on deals based on personal reputation, speculation on future asset values, and the ability to launder spotty career records. Profits and losses over time can be hard to identify and quantify precisely, as Trump’s auditors and opponents have often confirmed, since profits, which depend on speculation and unknown future value, are by definition uncertain.

Friday, July 18, 2025The Guardian

Crypto donations could entirely corrupt British politics. Labour must act quickly | Liam Byrne

We need to know who is funding our parties, but this new frontier is custom-built for hostile actors. The elections bill is a good start – but only thatLiam Byrne is the Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge HillOur party finance rules are riddled with loopholes. Shell companies. Unincorporated associations. Anonymous donations routed through digital campaigns between elections. All legal. All ripe for abuse. And now, a new gateway has opened: cryptocurrency.When someone buys a cryptocurrency their identity is anonymous, but the transaction itself is recorded on the blockchain and is publicly visible. So far we know that this anonymity has allowed cryptocurrencies to be used to fund everything from sanctions evasion to election interference. A recent report from the Centre for Information Resilience revealed that A7A5, a new “digital rouble”, has already been linked to sanctions evasions by Russians. The report also found that Ilan Shor, a fugitive oligarch who has been accused of being involved with Russian-backed attempts to meddle in Moldovan elections, had allegedly used the currency to funnel at least $39m (£29m) into the bank accounts of thousands of Moldovans in exchange for their votes.Liam Byrne is the Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge HillDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Thursday, July 17, 2025The Guardian

Merz says he ‘deplores deeply’ UK’s decision to leave EU after signing UK-Germany treaty – as it happened

UK PM and German chancellor answered media questions after signing first treaty between two countries since second world warWhile Rushanara Ali is answering the urgent question in the Commons, Keir Starmer is speaking at the event where he is announcing a “civil society covenant”.There is a live feed here.Why does this government think a 16-year-old can vote but not be allowed to buy a lottery ticket or an alcoholic drink, marry or go to war, or even stand in the elections they’re voting? It isn’t the government’s position on the age of maturity just hopelessly confused?

Thursday, July 17, 2025The Guardian

Tax on AI and crypto could fund climate action, says former Paris accords envoy

Laurence Tubiana urges governments to consider levies on energy-hungry technologyGovernments should consider taxing artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies to generate funds to deal with the climate crisis, one of the architects of the Paris agreement has said.Laurence Tubiana, the chief executive of the European Climate Foundation and a former French diplomat, is co-lead of the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force, an international initiative to find new sources of funds for climate action by taxing highly polluting activities including aviation and fossil fuel extraction.

Wednesday, July 16, 2025The Guardian

National Crime Agency officer jailed for stealing £4.4m worth of seized bitcoin

Paul Chowles, 42, stole the proceeds of an online illegal drugs market and laundered the money on the dark webA National Crime Agency (NCA) officer has been jailed for stealing £4.4m worth of bitcoin seized during a joint operation with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), after the criminal he was investigating told the police it was missing.Paul Chowles thought he had got away with the crime for five years, prosecutors said, after laundering the money on the dark web and spending £613,000, mostly on day-to-day expenses.

Tuesday, July 15, 2025The Guardian

UK should consider banning cryptocurrency political donations, minister says

Pat McFadden reacts over concerns foreign powers could use untraceable money to affect British democracyElection officials should consider banning political donations made in cryptocurrency, a minister has said, amid concerns that foreign powers are using untraceable money to influence British politics.Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister and close ally of the prime minister, Keir Starmer, told MPs on Monday he thought there was a case for preventing crypto donations given how hard it was to trace their source.

Tuesday, July 8, 2025The Guardian

How terrorist groups are leveraging AI to recruit and finance their operations

Counter-terrorism agencies are scrambling to maintain an advantage and thwart attacks as access to digital tools easesCounter-terrorism authorities have, for years, characterized keeping up with terrorist organizations and their use of digital tools and social media apps as a game of Whac-a-Mole.Jihadist terrorist groups such as Islamic State and its predecessor al-Qaida, or even the neo-Nazi group the Base, have leveraged digital tools to recruit, covertly finance via crypto, download weapons for 3D printing and spread tradecraft to its followers, all while leaving law enforcement and intelligence agencies playing catch up.

Saturday, June 28, 2025The Guardian

Online hacks to offline heists: crypto leaders on edge amid increasing attacks

Industry figures are seeing beyond the ‘illusion of invisibility’ after series of investor kidnappingsCryptocurrency traders such as Mohammed Arsalan are prepared to watch their online assets expand and explode if they miss the right moment, making or breaking their fortunes in just minutes. All in a day’s work on the internet. Offline, though, they have found themselves less equipped for the consequences of affluence. A string of kidnappings has plagued the industry over the past year and left traders across the globe paranoid, fearful and keen to invest in physical security measures.Arsalan grew up working class in Karachi, Pakistan. He hustles in any setting. At 14, he started a business exporting T-shirts overseas. By 17, the pandemic swept it all away. Inside, online and penniless, the booming world of Bitcoin beckoned him.

Wednesday, June 18, 2025The Guardian

Israel-linked group hacks Iranian cryptocurrency exchange in $90m heist

Hackers known as Predatory Sparrow claim responsibility for rendering Nobitex exchange funds inaccessibleAn Israel-linked hacking group has claimed responsibility for a $90m (£67m) heist on an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange.The group known as Gonjeshke Darande, Farsi for Predatory Sparrow, said on Wednesday it had hacked the Nobitex exchange, a day after claiming it had destroyed data at Iran’s state-owned Bank Sepah.

Wednesday, June 18, 2025The Guardian

US Senate Democrats cross the aisle to help Republicans pass crypto bill

Senate passes legislation to regulate stablecoins, first of what industry hopes will be wave of bills to bolster legitimacyThe Senate passed legislation on Tuesday that would regulate a form of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins, the first of what the industry hopes will be a wave of bills to bolster its legitimacy and reassure consumers.The fast-moving legislation, which passed by a 68-30 vote and will be sent to the House for potential revisions, comes on the heels of a 2024 campaign cycle in which the crypto industry ranked among the top political spenders in the country, underscoring its growing influence in Washington and beyond.

Tuesday, June 17, 2025The Guardian

‘I have never seen such open corruption’: Trump’s crypto deals and loosening of rules shock observers

After courtship with crypto industry, president now profits immensely from a sector he once said ‘seems like a scam’‘This is the looting of America’: Trump and Co’s extraordinary conflicts of interest in his second termCryptocurrency multibillionaire Justin Sun could barely contain his glee.Last month, Sun publicly flaunted a $100,000 Donald Trump-branded watch that he was awarded at a private dinner at Trump’s Virginia golf club. Sun had earned the recognition for buying $20m of the crypto memecoin $Trump, ranking him first among 220 purchasers of the token who received dinner invitations.

Monday, June 16, 2025The Guardian

‘This is the looting of America’: Trump and Co’s extraordinary conflicts of interest in his second term

Bitcoin, internet, EVs, private dinners for hire – the list of pay-for-play and quid quo pro goes on, and on … and on‘I have never seen such open corruption’: Trump’s crypto deals and loosening of rules shock observersThe South Lawn of the White House had never seen anything like it. The president of the United States was posing for the world’s media against a backdrop of five different models of Tesla, peddling the electric vehicles with the alacrity of a salesman on commission.“I love the product, it’s beautiful,” Donald Trump said as he sank into the driver’s seat of a scarlet Model Y. With the Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, beside him, he went on to enlighten the American people that some Tesla models retail for as little as $299 a month, “which is pretty low”.

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