Veröffentlicht am

Australia’s “Operation Kraken” seizes over $6 million in crypto from alleged Ghost mastermind

  • The AFP arrests a 32-year-old man during a raid at his home in New South Wales
  • Seizing the crypto was made possible after the AFP cracked the suspect’s seed phrase
  • The arrest marks the second under Operation Kraken

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has seized $6.4 million in crypto from the alleged mastermind behind Ghost, an encrypted communication platform used by criminals, for creating and administrating the app.

Under Operation Kraken, a 32-year-old man from New South Wales was arrested on September 17, and charged with five offenses, including supporting a criminal organization, according to an AFP statement.

The success of this operation was made possible after an AFP analytics specialist uncovered the account’s seed phrase belonging to the suspect’s digital wallets from devices during a raid at his Narwee home.

According to the AFP, they moved the assets to a secure AFP cryptocurrency storage where it was restrained under the Commonwealth Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

This marks the second crypto asset seizure under Operation Kraken after crypto and property worth nearly $1.4 million were seized as part of an investigation into an alleged criminal syndicate in Western Australia.

“The restraint of these assets shows the technical capabilities and powers that the AFP, and our partners through the CACT (Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce), are able to bring to bear on organized crime,” said acting Commander Scott Raven.

To date, Operation Kraken has made 46 arrests, conducted 93 search warrants, seized 30 illicit firearms, seized $1.6 million in cash, and restrained $7.65 million in assets.

Cracking down on Ghost

According to the AFP, Ghost was created nine years ago; however, it was only in 2022 that the opportunity for law enforcement to target the platform arose.

The need to crackdown on the communication platform is highlighted by the number of organizations involved. In 2022, international partners began targeting Ghost and asked AFP to be part of its task force.

Europol created a task force called OTF NEXT, which was led by the FBI and the French Gendarmerie. Under these two organizations, those assisting included the AFP, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Swedish Police Authority, the Dutch National Police, the Irish Garda Síochána, and the Italian Central Directorate for Anti-Drug Service. The Icelandic Police also helped.

While working within the task, the AFP created Operation Kraken after they were able infiltrate Ghost. After modifying the updates the suspect released, which infected devices, the AFP was able to access the content on these devices in Australia.

According to the AFP, most of the alleged offenders who used Ghost are in New South Wales; however, they were also found in Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

The post Australia’s “Operation Kraken” seizes over $6 million in crypto from alleged Ghost mastermind appeared first on CoinJournal.

Veröffentlicht am

Franklin Templeton launches its tokenized money fund on Aptos

  • Franklin Templeton has launched the OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) on Aptos.
  • FOBXX currently has a market cap of over $435 million, second among tokenized US Treasuries behind BlackRock fund BUIDL.

Franklin Templeton has expanded its OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) to the layer-1 blockchain Aptos.

The $1.6 trillion asset manager, which also offers the Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC) and Franklin Ethereum ETF (EZET), announced the launch of FOBXX on Aptos on Wednesday, October 2, 2024. It’s another milestone for the company after its recent expansion of the tokenized money fund to Avalanche.

FOBXX launched in 2021 and is a US Treasury-backed fund that brings the benefits of tokenized real-world assets to investors.

With its expansion to Aptos, the fund has expanded to a non-Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and adds to institutional investor access through Franklin Templeton’s platform Benji Investments.

FOBXX will be represented by Franklin’s BENJI token on the Aptos network, helping to merge traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralised finance (DeFi). Franklin brought its money market fund to Polygon and Stellar blockchain networks in April 2024.

The firm then expanded it to Arbitrum in August 2024.

Tokenized treasuries market growth

According to data from RWA.xyz, FOBXX is currently the second largest tokenized fund with over $435 million in assets.

The top US Treasury-backed asset is the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), which launched on Ethereum and currently has over $518 million in assets under management.

Investors have increasingly looked to tap into opportunities in the RWA market. This has seen treasury-related products such as the Ondo U.S. Dollar Yield (USDY), Hashnote Short Duration Yield Coin (USYC) and OpenEden TBILL Vault (TBILL) attract a growing number of holders.

USDY, USYC and TBILL have market caps of $420 million, $280 million and $116 million respectively. Ondo launched its USDY fund on Sui in March.

Meanwhile, the total value of tokenized US treasuries, cash-equivalents and bonds, per RWA.xyz, has grown to over $2.27 billion.

That’s up from around $769 million on January 1, 2024, when FOBXX incidentally accounted for over $325 million of the total market value.

BlackRock’s BUIDL launched in March 2024 and hit $500 million market cap in July.

The post Franklin Templeton launches its tokenized money fund on Aptos appeared first on CoinJournal.

Veröffentlicht am

Will Ripple (XRP) get an ETF? Crazy days ahead for Ethereum, Rexas Finance (RXS) could shake up RWAs

The cryptocurrency market is anything but quiet, with constant developments keeping everyone on their toes. Recently, exciting news has emerged for major players like Ripple (XRP), Ethereum (ETH), and a new player, Rexas Finance (RXS). Some experts believe Ripple is on the verge of a potential ETF launch, while Ethereum continues its rollercoaster ride, eyeing the $4,100 mark. Meanwhile, Rexas Finance is stealing the show with its potential to disrupt traditional real estate and real-world asset (RWA) investments. Let’s dive into the opportunities and challenges these three projects face.

Is there a possibility that ripple (XRP) will get an ETF?

And so the whispers begin, and the Ripple community is restless thinking: Will Ripple be next to get an ETF? With the imminent launch of the first US XRP trust by Grayscale, it is looking more and more likely.

An ETF for Ripple would be an important development, providing the opportunity to get exposure to XRP for investors if they don’t want to buy or keep the token in their wallets. This could bring in more liquidity, increased trading activity, and a rise in the price of Ripple. Though as of now an ETF is by no means guaranteed, Grayscale’s step indicates that the time when XRP is seen being launched on traditional exchanges as a part of an ETF might not be very far off. 

Crazy days ahead for Ethereum (ETH)?

Ethereum (ETH) has witnessed both the bull and the bears, but the question that still lingers is: Is that moment where ETH breaches the $4,100 price level finally going to happen?

For the third time, investors have tried to breach this level only to be shut down once more making investors question if this crucial resistance barrier is one that ETH has to power through. Presently trading at $2,639, Ethereum has had a turbulent as well as exhilarating trip. Should it clear the $4,100 resistance level, the floodgates may burst wide open for profits; however, every rejection risks turning sentiment bearish instead. At the same time, Ethereum still stands out as one of the most attractive assets in the crypto world and many say that it is just a matter of time before this ETH psychological barrier is overcome. 

Rexas Finance (RXS) preparing to revolutionize real estate investments

Finally we come to Rexas Finance (RXS), which has already gained traction even at its presale stage and could be on track to change the way we view investments in RWA. Consider buying a slice of a swanky apartment in Paris or a vacation home on the Caribbean Sea without ever leaving your house. That is what Rexas Finance is providing—a platform to invest in real estate all over the globe, be it complete real estate or only a portion which depends on how much one wishes to invest.

In the presale stage 3, Rexas Finance is currently valued at $0.050 having increased by 66.7% from $0.030, the price in stage 1. As the project goes to the next listing price of $0.20, the earliest investors are already looking at an opportunity to make a 300% growth by the time the project is finally launched.

What makes Rexas Finance unique is the fact that its concept of fractional ownership of real-world assets such as real estate, commodities, and even art, lets investors own and trade slices of these asset classes in the form of the token with the use of blockchain technology. Anyone can use Rexas Finance to invest in high-culture housing activities without quitting his or her job. This democratizes real estate investment since all people who wish to take risks on the economy can do so even when they don’t have enough money to purchase whole buildings.

The expansion of Rexas Finance is not narrative for narrating’s sake; it’s firmly grounded in utility. This project seeks to open up the $280 trillion global real estate market by making this traditionally difficult-to-invest asset class liquid and accessible to the average person. 

Conclusion: There is a bright future ahead

Be it Ripple (XRP) making waves with the bullish outlook of an ETF coming, Ethereum (ETH) being quite volatile, or Rexas Finance (RXS) changing the perspective of how we invest in tangible assets – the prospects of crypto are exhilarating. Rexas Finance however presents something completely new – it enables everybody in the world to invest in properties irrespective of their location while the battles of Ripple and Ethereum continue in the high-stakes market.

For more information about Rexas Finance (RXS) visit the links below:

Website: https://rexas.com

Win $1 Million Giveaway: https://bit.ly/Rexas1M

Whitepaper: https://rexas.com/rexas-whitepaper.pdf

Twitter/X: https://x.com/rexasfinance

Telegram: https://t.me/rexasfinance

The post Will Ripple (XRP) get an ETF? Crazy days ahead for Ethereum, Rexas Finance (RXS) could shake up RWAs appeared first on CoinJournal.

Veröffentlicht am

Bitwise files Form S-1 for XRP ETF with SEC

  • The first XRP ETF filing is now with the US Securities and Exchange Commission
  • Bitwise submitted a Form S-1 filing for approval to launch an XRP ETF on October 2, 2024.

Bitwise has filed an initial registration statement for the launch of the first spot XRP exchange-traded fund.

On Wednesday, Oct. 2, the crypto asset manager announced it had submitted a Form S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for the Bitwise XRP ETF.

XRP is the cryptocurrency by Ripple. Currently, it’s the seveth-largest crypto asset by market cap with over $32 billion.

First XRP ETF

Bitwise, one of the ETF issuers already offering a spot Bitcoin ETF and Ethereum spot ETF, is the first company to officially apply for approval to issue an exchange-traded fund tracking the daily price of XRP.

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, commented on the development via X:

The announcement that Bitwise seeks SEC’s approval for an XRP ETF followed the filing for an XRP ETF Trust in Delaware on Tuesday, October 2, 2024.

With this official Form S-1 filing, the Bitwise XRP ETP will now await SEC’s approval, including for the Form 19b-4.

Commenting on the filing, Bitwise chief executive officer Hunter Horsley said:

“At Bitwise, we believe blockchains will usher in new, apolitical monetary assets and permissionless applications for the 21st century… It’s why for the past seven years we’ve helped investors access the opportunities in the space, and we’re excited to continue that work with our filing for a Bitwise XRP ETP.”

Will SEC appeal XRP ruling?

Bitwise’s S-1 filing comes just days before a deadline for the SEC to appeal the 2023 court ruling on the status of XRP. This deadline is on October 7 and relates to the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple and its executive over the sale of XRP, which the regulator said was a security until a US judge ruled it was not in July last year.

If SEC appeals the ruling over XRP sales, then it would be interesting to see how the regulator handles the application for the XRP ETF.

Ripple has battled the SEC in a legal tussle that began in December 2020. In August 2024, Judge Analisa Torres ordered Ripple Labs to pay a $125 million civil penalty in settlement with the securities agency.

XRP price rose sharply following this news. However, the coin has pared most of the gains and traded around $0.58 at the time of writing.

The post Bitwise files Form S-1 for XRP ETF with SEC appeared first on CoinJournal.