BTC falls below the $115500 mark

The US Department of Justice has seized $2.8 million in cryptocurrency related to extortion cases The US Department of Justice announced the seizure of over $2.8 million in cryptocurrency, $70000 in cash, and a luxury car in connection with a ransomware money laundering case. The suspect Anteropenko is accused of using Zeppelin ransomware to encrypt victim data and demand ransom, including individuals, businesses, and institutions. He laundered money through channels such as ChipMixer and exchanged cryptocurrency for cash, depositing it in batches into accounts to evade supervision. The case is currently under trial in the North District Court of Texas.

A bullish breakout during the 17:00 trading hour on August 18 pushed prices from $2.97 to $3.10, supported by heavy volume of 131 million—double the 24-hour average of 66.8 million.

The Governor of the Bank of Korea suggests gradually introducing Korean won stablecoins from banks Bank of Korea Governor Lee Chang yong stated that the Korean won stablecoin is necessary to achieve currency programming functionality, but it should be gradually introduced from banks. He pointed out in his speech in Congress that the issuance of stablecoins should be the responsibility of large enterprises with KYC and other systems to prevent money laundering risks, while also being vigilant about the potential impact of non bank enterprise issuance on existing financial structures. He emphasized the need to proceed cautiously to avoid negative impacts on bank deposits and profitability.

Renowned bears criticize Strategy for buying Bitcoin or reflecting weak demand for preferred stocks Renowned short seller James Chanos criticized Strategy for investing $51 million in Bitcoin recently, stating that this move indicates weak demand for its preferred stock. He also accused the company's chairman Michael Sellers of weakening shareholder protection measures. Strategy had previously promised to only issue stocks to pay debts or dividends when the market value to net asset value ratio is less than 2.5 times, rather than using them to purchase Bitcoin.

Hong Kong establishes a Digital Asset Anti Money Laundering Professional Committee, with participation from SlowMist, Yuan Coin, and others According to Hong Kong media Sing Tao Daily, the non-profit organization Hong Kong Digital Asset Anti Money Laundering Professional Committee (DAAMC) announced its establishment with the support of the Hong Kong Virtual Asset Industry Association, with participation from SlowMist, Yuan Coin, and others. The organization is committed to developing and promoting anti money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) standards and practices by promoting collaboration among regulated financial institutions. DAAMC will respond to the Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Guidelines (applicable to licensed stablecoin issuers) issued by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and explore and study industry compliance standards related to on chain identity verification that are emerging globally.