Autor: Mary Murphy

• Four more members of the Bitzlato crypto exchange team were arrested in Europe.
• Europol suspects that nearly half of the funds processed through the platform were associated with criminal activities.
• The operation involved law enforcement and judicial authorities from multiple European countries, as well as the US and Hong Kong.

European law enforcement authorities have conducted an international operation against crypto exchange Bitzlato, resulting in the arrest of four more of its senior management. The operation was led by the US and France and included Belgium, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Bitzlato is a Hong Kong-registered coin trading platform, which is suspected of facilitating the laundering of large amounts of criminal proceeds. Last week, its co-founder and majority owner, Russian national Anatoly Legkodymov, was arrested in Miami. The France-based digital infrastructure of the exchange was also shut down.

In addition to Legkodymov, four more individuals have been detained in Europe, including the CEO, financial director, and marketing director of the exchange in Spain, and another person in Cyprus. Police have conducted eight home searches in multiple countries, including Spain, the US, Portugal, and Cyprus. Wallets with €18 million ($19.5 million) worth of cryptocurrency, vehicles, and other assets were seized during the raids.

According to Europol, nearly half of the funds processed through Bitzlato were associated with various criminal activities, including money laundering and drug trafficking. The agency is currently working to identify victims of the exchange’s activities and to recover their funds.

Investigations into Bitzlato are ongoing and further arrests are expected. The exchange’s infrastructure has been dismantled in order to prevent any further activities of this kind from taking place.

• Vueling, a low-cost Spanish airline, is exploring the use of blockchain and NFT technology to accept cryptocurrency as a means of payment.
• The company has enlisted the aid of Criptan, a registered Spanish cryptocurrency exchange, and aims to open this payment option for users by Q3 2023.
• This agreement will place Vueling at the forefront of new technologies and innovation, further reinforcing its commitment to its customers.

Spanish airline Vueling is making moves to become one of the first low-cost airlines in Europe to accept cryptocurrency as a means of payment. The company announced it was exploring the usage of blockchain and NFT technology in order to allow customers to acquire plane tickets with crypto.

Vueling has partnered with Criptan, a national exchange that has already registered with the Bank of Spain, to serve as a payments company, processing and completing customers‘ orders using crypto. Jesus Monzo, Vueling’s alliances and distribution manager, stated that this agreement places them at the forefront of new technologies and innovation, further reinforcing their commitment to their customers and offering the best and most advanced tools and solutions on their website.

Jorge Soriano, Criptan’s CEO, explained that the introduction of crypto payments could improve user experience by showing customers the potential there is behind the implementation of such solutions. The functionality is expected to be available on the website of the airline by Q3 2023 and it will be using UATP tech, the global payments network for airlines, although some other payment methods may be available in the future as well.

Vueling is taking a big step forward by introducing cryptocurrency as a payment option. This move will make the airline more accessible to customers who are interested in using digital currency and it will place Vueling at the forefront of new technologies and innovation. The company aims to have the payment option available by Q3 2023, providing customers with a seamless and secure way to pay for their tickets.

• Ethereum developers are preparing to deploy the Shanghai public testnet for the highly anticipated hard fork in February 2023, with the mainnet implementation tentatively scheduled for March.
• The main priority for the developers is staked withdrawals, and code related to EVM Object Format changes, or EOF, was removed from Shanghai to ensure that the focus remains on staked withdrawals.
• During the 152nd All Core Devs meeting on January 5, 2023, Devops programmer Barnabus Busa reported that the current developer test network for Shanghai has already progressed to block 4,000, with all EL and CL client combinations currently running.

The Ethereum development team is currently in the midst of preparation for the highly anticipated Shanghai hard fork, and in the most recent All Core Devs meeting, the team discussed the progress of the fork and what to focus on.

The public testnet for the Shanghai hard fork is scheduled to be deployed in February 2023, while the mainnet implementation is tentatively planned for March. The main priority of the team is staked withdrawals, and code related to EVM Object Format changes, or EOF, was removed from Shanghai to ensure that the focus remains on staked withdrawals.

During the 152nd All Core Devs meeting on January 5, 2023, Devops programmer Barnabus Busa reported that the current developer test network for Shanghai has already progressed to block 4,000, with all EL and CL client combinations currently running.

The team is further striving to ensure that the Shanghai hard fork is a success, focusing on a few key areas. For one, the team is ensuring that staked withdrawals are functioning correctly and securely. Additionally, the team is also working on minimizing any delays that might be caused by the hard fork.

Finally, the team is also focusing on optimizing the Shanghai hard fork. This includes reducing the size of the codebase of the Ethereum Virtual Machine and improving the security of the network.

Overall, the Ethereum development team is making steady progress towards the successful launch of the Shanghai hard fork. With the public testnet already underway, the team is confident that the hard fork will be a success.

• Crypto has risen in popularity in Chile and is now the third most popular investment asset, behind investment funds and real estate.
• The survey from Bain & Company found that 23% of those polled chose crypto as their first investment option for 2022.
• The trend is driven by investors who view crypto as a potentially lucrative investment despite the industry’s challenging year in 2022.

Cryptocurrency has seen a rise in popularity in Chile as an investment option, according to a survey conducted by global consulting firm Bain & Company. The survey found that crypto is ranked as the third most popular asset choice among Chilean investors, after investment funds and real estate. This trend is being driven by investors who are seeking alternative investments in light of volatile markets and the potential for high returns on crypto investments.

Chile, which has faced high devaluation and inflation rates in recent years, is among the five countries in Latin America with the worst inflation. This has caused investors to look for alternative investments, and crypto has become increasingly popular as a result. According to the survey results, 23% of those polled chose crypto as their first investment option for 2022, putting it in third place among all options. Investment funds took first place in the survey, with 36% of the polled having chosen this as their first investment option, while 24% of the people polled answered having invested in real estate.

Marcial Rapela, partner at Bain Chile, commented on the survey results by saying, “This figure coincides with the trend that we have seen in recent times, where digital currencies have become increasingly popular given their high levels of liquidity and the potential for rapid returns.” He went on to say that many investors view crypto as a more secure and reliable investment option than traditional investments, such as stocks and bonds.

The survey results are likely to be seen as a positive sign for the crypto industry, which has had a challenging year in 2022. This includes the bankruptcy of FTX and the demise of Terra, two major players in the industry. Despite these difficult events, investors’ trust in crypto has not been shaken, and many are still looking to it as a potentially lucrative investment option.

The rise in popularity of crypto in Chile is a sign that the industry is continuing to gain traction in the country and across Latin America. With the potential for high returns, investors are increasingly turning to crypto as a safe and reliable alternative. This trend is likely to continue in the years to come, as more investors look to crypto as a viable investment option.