Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, who has been residing in Montenegro since his arrest in March 2023, is set to be extradited to the United States to face fraud charges. The High Court in Podgorica has rejected a request to extradite Kwon to South Korea following an appeal by his legal team. They argued that the final decision on Kwon’s extradition should lie with Montenegro’s justice minister, but the high court dismissed this claim. The timing of Kwon’s travel to the United States remains uncertain.
In the meantime, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has asked a federal judge to impose additional travel restrictions on former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. The office has requested that Zhao remain within the continental U.S. until his sentencing hearing on April 30 and provide three days’ notice of any travel plans to allow the government to raise objections. Prosecutors have also asked for the surrender of Zhao’s Canadian passport and all other current and expired passports and travel documents to his legal team.
Another former cryptocurrency CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, has made a courtroom appearance to address potential conflicts of interest involving his lawyers. Bankman-Fried has waived his right to conflict-free legal representation with lawyers Marc Mukasey and Torrey Young. This appearance in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York is one of the first times Bankman-Fried has been seen outside of jail since being convicted of seven felony charges in November 2023.
Turkey has released an English translation of its report evaluating the first phase of its Central Bank Digital Turkish Lira Research and Development (R&D) Project. The project, which aims to develop a central bank digital currency, began its first phase in 2021. In 2022, the central bank conducted its first trial transactions with the digital lira. The digital lira is designed as an intermediated retail CBDC, with separate studies conducted for wholesale payments. The Turkish CBDC promises a high level of interoperability and complementarity.
In a joint effort, over 300 experts in technology, artificial intelligence, digital ethics, and child safety from around the world have signed an open letter urging governments to take immediate action against deepfakes. The letter, titled “Disrupting the Deepfake Supply Chain,” calls on governments, policymakers, and political leaders to impose obligations in the supply chain to prevent the spread of deepfakes. It proposes fully criminalizing deepfake child pornography, even with fictional children, as well as criminal penalties for those who knowingly create or facilitate the spread of harmful deepfakes. The letter also suggests requirements for software developers and distributors to ensure their media products do not create harmful deepfakes, with penalties for non-compliance.
Despite recent spot Bitcoin ETF approvals by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the European Central Bank (ECB) remains skeptical about Bitcoin. In a blog post, ECB executives Ulrich Bindseil and Jürgen Schaaf express their disagreement with the claim that the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. confirms the safety of BTC investments and the success of the preceding rally. According to the bankers, the fair value of Bitcoin is still zero. They refer back to their 2022 post, arguing that Bitcoin has failed to fulfill its original promise of becoming a global decentralized digital currency. They also state that Bitcoin is unsuitable as an investment, as it does not generate cash flow or dividends, cannot be used productively, and offers no social benefit or subjective appreciation based on outstanding abilities.