BITCOIN

While the second-largest crypto asset by market capitalization, ethereum, has risen 27% against the U.S. dollar in the last two weeks, the network’s average and median-sized gas fees have increased by more than 50%. On the first day of 2023, the average fee to spend ether was around $2.93 per transfer, but today the average cost is 54% higher at $4.52 per transfer. Rise in Ethereum Value Leads to Increased Onchain Transaction Costs Sending ethereum (ETH) is becoming more costly as the crypto asset’s value has risen greatly over the last 14 days. At the time of writing, ether is trading at $1,542 per unit, after reaching a high of $1,606 per unit during the same 24-hour period on Jan. 18, 2023. As ethereum’s value in U.S. dollars has increased, the cost to move ether and the myriad of ERC20 tokens has also risen. Data from bitinfocharts.com indicates that on Jan. 1, 2023, the average ether gas fee was $2.93 per transfer. 18 days later, the average fee to send ethereum is 54% highe

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, better known to the Russian-speaking segment of the market, has been taken down as part of an “international cryptocurrency enforcement action,” the U.S. Justice Department announced. The Russian owner of the platform has been arrested for his role in the alleged transmission of illicit money. Bitzlato claimed it was hacked. US, France Hit Cryptocurrency Exchange Bitzlato, Russian Co-founder Detained in Miami U.S. authorities have apprehended Anatoly Legkodymov, a resident of China, on charges that his Hong Kong-registered crypto trading platform, Bitzlato, processed illicit funds worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The Russian, a co-founder and majority owner of the exchange, was arrested by three e FBI in Miami on Tuesday, a high-ranking official from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed. Speaking during a press conference, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said that Justice Department agents and prosecutors, working with t