Weekly Digest: FBI Seizes $3.6B Tied to Bitfinex Hack, Binance Puts $200M in Forbes

What happened to crypto market this week

On Tuesday, February 8, the FBI arrested Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife, Heather Morgan, 31, in Manhattan over charges related to laundering cryptocurrency stolen from Bitfinex in 2016, the US Department of Justice announced. As a result of the operation, the law enforcement seized over $3.6 billion in bitcoin.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance invested $200 million in Forbes, which plans to go public in SPAC merger in the first quarter under the ticker FRBS. According to reports, the deal would make the cryptocurrency exchange one of the top two biggest owners of Forbes.

KPMG, one of the Big Four largest auditors in the world, included bitcoin and ether in the corporate reserves of its Canadian unit. KPMG managing partner Benjie Thomas added the decision was made due to growing interest in crypto among investors such as hedge funds and family offices.

As follows from the announcement made by the Russian government, both government and the Bank of Russia intend to develop a draft law, which will define cryptocurrencies as an "analogue of currencies" and not as digital financial assets. Currently, bitcoin transactions and possession of cryptocurrencies are not prohibited in Russia, however, these must be conducted through a "digital currency exchange organizer" or peer-to-peer exchange licensed in the country.