Last week was wild for crypto as MicroStrategy added $2 billion worth of Bitcoin to its holdings.
Over 200 individuals were arrested in South Korea for their involvement in a $232 million crypto scam.
Mike Novogratz of Galaxy Digital says a Bitcoin strategic reserve is unlikely to happen. But if it did, we might have a global arms race in crypto accumulation.
The decomposed body of Kevin Mirshahi, a crypto influencer, was discovered in Montreal months after his abduction.
Indian authorities arrested a suspect linked to the $232 million WazirX hack.
What if the strategic Bitcoin reserve bill that Donald Trump and Senator Cynthia Lummis proposed never happens?
Galaxy Digital's CEO Mike Novogratz thinks the whole thing is unlikely—but if it does happen, massive things will follow for Bitcoin.
Last week, MicroStrategy bought another $2 billion worth of Bitcoin, bringing its overall hoard to a lot more than $20 billion.
There were reports of 2015 people being arrested in connection to an insane $232M crypto scam led by a South Korean Influencer.
Indian news outlets also report that the truth about the WazirX hack is coming to light, with the arrest of a Bengali man last week.
Finally, the week took a dark turn as the decomposing body of a crypto influencer was recovered from a park in Montreal months after he was abducted.
Here are some of the biggest stories in crypto from last week:
Last week was a wild one for crypto and crypto investors. The crypto market shot up to well above the $3 trillion mark, with Bitcoin hitting a new all-time high of around $93,000.
In the middle of all the commotion, MicroStrategy, known for being the world's largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, bought another $2 billion worth of the cryptocurrency.
According to an 11 November announcement, the business intelligence firm noted that it bought 27,200 Bitcoin for about $2.03 billion in cash.
According to Saylor Tracker, it bought these coins at around $74,463 per BTC, including fees and expenses, and is currently in profit.
New Bitcoin purchase from MicroStrategy
The company's latest purchase was made using proceeds from issuing and selling its shares.
It reportedly entered into sales agreements with various companies on 1 August and 30 October.
And as of 10 November, it had auctioned off around 7.8 million shares for about $2 billion.
Last week, an unbelievable 215 people were mass-arrested, according to South Korean news outlet Yonhap.
These arrests were connected to a financial influencer who set up a massive failed crypto scheme.
Said influencer, known only as Mr. A, is allegedly the middle-aged head of an investment advisory company who fled to Australia before his arrest.
Mr. A's story started in 2020 after he made a stock prediction that ultimately failed.
He then took to selling virtual assets as more and more dissatisfied customers asked for refunds.
The arrest of Mr A
The influencer in question then organized a network of scam entities.
Between December 2021 and March 2023, he and his associates received 325.6 billion Korean won ($232.7 million) from 15,304 individuals who invested in 28 of the coins he recommended.
Unknown to the investors, Mr A and the others issued six of the twenty-eight coins.
They are accused of manipulating the market to their advantage and making millions off the victims.
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz thinks it is "low probability" that a Bitcoin strategic reserve would be possible under Donald Trump's administration.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg TV, Novogratz stated that he doesn't expect nearly $36 trillion of the US national debt to disappear without devaluing the dollar.
However, if said Bitcoin reserve were to be established, it would likely trigger a BTC arms race between several governments.
"It's a whole different Paradigm because it forces every other country to buy," he said. "I think it would be very smart for the US to take the Bitcoin it has and add some to it."
"We can then say we want to show the world that we're going to be a technology-first country."
Novogratz also stated that he expects Bitcoin to hit $500,000 if this reserve bill is established.
Things quickly took a dark turn last week when the body of Kevin Mirshahi was discovered in a park in Montreal, Canada.
The story started as far back as 21 June of this year, when Mirshahi and three others were abducted from a Condo.
According to reports at the time, the other three abductees managed to escape.
Four months later, in late October, Mirshahi was discovered by a passerby at the Île-de-la-Visitation park.
Speculation from the local news outlets indicated that Mirshahi was being investigated for several alleged scams and was blocked from operating as a broker or investment advisor before his abduction.
The abduction likely came from a disgruntled investor who decided to take matters into their own hands.
Overall, the disturbing news of Mirshahi's murder highlights a growing trend of crypto influencer abductions, robberies, and murders in 2024, with Wonder-Fi's Dean Skurka being the last victim of a $1 million robbery from last week.
Remember earlier this year's $235 million hack on the WazirX exchange?
Delhi Police made a breakthrough last week when they arrested an unnamed man from the Bengal region, according to reports from the Times of India.
Initially, the hack was believed to have stemmed from vulnerabilities in the exchange’s internal systems.
However, the investigation showed that the hack came from the accused, SK Masud Alam, who allegedly created a fake Telegram account under Souvik Mondal.
Alam then sold the account to M Hasan, a hacker who allegedly used it to drain the exchange's multi-sig wallets.
In essence, WazirX's internal systems were intact, despite the attack the exchange suffered from critics.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information but will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.