Alexander Vinnik, the jailed former operator of once mighty bitcoin exchange BTC-e, is being released from U.S. custody as part of a prisoner exchange with Russia.
Vinnik, 44, is being swapped with jailed American teacher Marc Fogel, who returned to the U.S. last night after negotiators struck a surprise breakthrough with the Kremlin. It had not immediately been clear who was on the other side of the deal.
But BTC-e was one of the early exchanges that popularized the buying and selling of the world’s most popular digital asset. It had over 1 million customers and moved over $9 billion of transactions between 2011 and 2017.
Its popularity also fostered a thriving criminal underground who relied on it to move in and out of ill-gotten bitcoin proceeds, according to U.S. prosecutors. They accused Vinnik of operating BTC-e “with the intent to promote” drug dealers, money launders and other cybercriminals, and caused the loss of $121 million.
Vinnik was arrested in Greece in 2017 and ultimately extradited to the U.S. He pled guilty to money laundering conspiracy in 2024 and faced a maximum of 20 years in prison.
His lawyers had previously lobbied unsuccessfully for his inclusion in other high-profile U.S.-Russia prisoner exchanges, like last year’s deal over formerly jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Read MoreCoinDesk: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Crypto News and Price Data[#item_full_content]
Many in the crypto space have echoed a familiar sentiment over recent months: “The four-year…
A stronger yen typically coincides with de-risking across macro portfolios, and that dynamic could tighten…
Bitcoin (BTC) is retesting a crucial support area after its price slid 5% from the…
Despite the Bitcoin price recovery above the crucial $90,000 threshold—a level that has historically served…
Fundstrat’s Tom Lee told attendees at Binance Blockchain Week that he believes the worst leg…
The Binance Blockchain Week event in Dubai became the center of a high-stakes showdown between…