BITCOIN

The U.S. government has arrested and charged the creator of “Mutant Ape Planet” non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for allegedly defrauding crypto investors. “The purchasers were ‘rug pulled,'” the Department of Justice (DOJ) described, adding that millions of dollars in cryptocurrency were diverted for the NFT creator’s personal benefits. DOJ Takes Action Against NFT Rug Pull Scheme The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday that Aurelien Michel has been charged with “defrauding purchasers of ‘Mutant Ape Planet’ NFTs, a type of digital asset, of more than $2.9 million in cryptocurrency.” The defendant is a French national residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He was arrested Wednesday at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The Mutant Ape Planet (MAP) NFTs were marketed and sold with false promises of numerous rewards and benefits, including exclusive opportunities for additional investments, giveaways, merchandise, and other rewards, the DOJ detailed, elaboratin

The Tron-based stablecoin USDD fell below $1 parity again during the first week of 2023 and on Jan. 10. Four days ago, the stablecoin dropped to $0.972 per unit and on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023, USDD slipped to $0.977 per unit. At the time of writing, the Tron-issued stablecoin is trading at 98 cents per coin. USDD Stablecoin Dips Down to 97 Cents per Token There have been some slight fluctuations in USDD’s price at the start of the new year, as the stablecoin has dipped to the 97-cent range on a few occasions in 2023. After Terra’s stablecoin depegging event in May 2022, USDD started to slip slightly below the $1 peg , causing anxiety in the crypto industry. A number of other stablecoins saw similar deviations . On June 19, 2022, USDD reached a low of 92.8 cents per unit , but the stablecoin managed to regain the $1 peg, trading between 98 cents and 99 cents per unit. In mid-Dec. 2022, USDD deviated from the $1 parity, and Tron’s Justin Sun said that the team deployed more capital

Shiba inu moved to a five-week high during Tuesday’s session, despite cryptocurrency markets mostly consolidating. As of writing, the global crypto market cap is trading 0.20% lower, however the meme coin is up by nearly 5%. Apecoin also surged in today’s session, as it rose to its strongest point since November. Shiba Inu (SHIB) Shiba inu (SHIB) was one of Tuesday’s notable gainers, as prices of the token rose for a sixth straight session. SHIB/USD surged to an high of $0.000009593 earlier in the day, which comes less than 24 hours after trading at a low of $0.000008603. As a result of this latest surge in price, shiba inu climbed to its highest point since December 5. From the chart, it appears as though today’s rally came following an upwards crossover of the 10-day (red) and 25-day (blue) moving averages. In addition to this, the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) has risen above a recent ceiling at 65.50. Currently, the index is tracking at 67.50, with the next visible c

Cryptocurrencies rose in popularity in Chile, according to a survey from global consulting firm Bain & Company. The survey found that crypto is ranked as the third most popular investment asset among Chileans, only behind investment funds, which were the most popular investment option, and real estate, which ranked second. Popularity of Crypto Rises in Chile in 2022 Countries in Latam that have been affected by high devaluation and inflation rates are starting to turn to crypto as an investment option. In Chile, which is among the five countries with the worst inflation in the zone, crypto has risen to be among the most popular investment choices among all options available in the market. The findings are from a survey by Bain & Company, a global consulting firm headquartered in Boston, which inquired about the most interesting investment options in the country during 2022. 23% of the polled answered that crypto was the go-to choice for their investments in 2022, putting i