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Here’s what happened in crypto today

Validated Media

On April 30, Bitcoin dropped to a two-weeks low following modest trading volumes from newly launched crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Hong Kong, contrary to market expectations. Meanwhile, in the United States, former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao received a four-month prison sentence, concluding a prolonged legal battle with local authorities.

In other news, the early crypto investor known as ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ faced charges of evading nearly $50 million in taxes. Moreover, Gary Gensler’s previous statements regarding Ether in Congress are being scrutinized. Here’s what happened in crypto today:

Bitcoin sub-$60K levels in focus after daily crypto liquidations near $300M

Bitcoin hit two-week lows on April 30 after new spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) disappointed. The already cautious mood turned firmly bearish as it emerged that the first day’s trading volumes for Hong Kong’s new Bitcoin ETFs had fallen considerably below expectations.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked a precipitous drop on BTC/USD after the Asia trading session, with the pair losing $61,000 support. Liquidations quickly mounted across crypto, totaling $275 million over 24 hours, per data from monitoring resource CoinGlass.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Ex-Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao sentenced to four months in prison

A federal judge has sentenced former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao to four months in prison for violating U.S. money laundering laws.

Although prosecutors had sought a three-year prison term for CZ’s failure to implement an effective Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program at the cryptocurrency exchange, his defense argued for probation. CZ had previously pleaded guilty to the charges in November.

Before being sentenced, CZ apologized for his actions and said he “had a lot of quiet time alone to think and reflect.” He added he accepted responsibility for Binance’s failure to implement an effective AML program. 

  Source: Changpeng Zhao

US Justice Dept charges Roger Ver with tax fraud

Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against early Bitcoin investor Roger Ver, known by many as ‘Bitcoin Jesus.’ 

In an April 30 notice, the Justice Department said authorities in Spain had arrested Ver based on criminal charges in the United States, including mail fraud, tax evasion and filing false tax returns. The U.S. government alleged Ver defrauded the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) out of roughly $48 million with his failure to report capital gains on his sale of Bitcoin and other assets.

Patrick McHenry accuses Gary Gensler of misleading US lawmakers over Ether

U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry has alleged Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler “knowingly misled Congress” over the regulator’s alleged attempts to classify Ether as a security.

Representative McHenry claimed in a post on X that Gensler intentionally misled lawmakers in testimony before the Committee, in a reference to claims made in a recent court filing by software firm Consensys, which filed a lawsuit against the SEC on April 25.

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