UK crypto law inches closer to approval, Do Kwon sentenced, FTX legal costs exceed $120m

UK crypto law approved by Parliament’s upper house

The UK parliament’s upper house voted through a bill that could recognise crypto trading as a regulated activity in the country.

The House of Lords approved the Financial Services and Markets Bill on Monday, paving the way for the bill to be approved by the House of Commons.

The bill was introduced in July in an attempt by the UK government to take advantage of Brexit.

NOW READ: London loses crypto ‘mojo and momentum’ as Revolut hints at Paris move

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is a crypto advocate, pledging to transform the country into an innovative hotbed for digital assets in 2022.

However, that ambition has faced setbacks of late, with crypto giants OKX and Gemini both snubbing London for Paris and Dublin respectively when picking a spot for their European headquarters.

Do Kwon sentenced to prison

Disgraced former Terra CEO Do Kwon was convicted of using fake Costa Rica passports on Monday.

A Montenegrin court sentenced Down and his associate Han Chang-Joon to four months in jail, accusing them of having attempted to use bogus papers in March to leave the Balkan nation on a private jet.

Their arrest put an end to a six-month international manhunt that kicked off after Terra’s $60 billion collapse in 2022.

NOW READ: Do Kwon sentenced to four months in Montenegrin jail for using forged passport

Sentences will be served as US and South Korean authorities press extradition for fraud charges connected to the stablecoin network’s meltdown last year.

On Friday, Kwon pleaded not guilty and argued he bought the Costa Rican passport through an agency in Singapore. He said he believed that was a legitimate “golden passport” available to affluent applicants who fast track their way to citizenship in certain nations.

FTX legal costs run over $120m as executives, creditors weigh restructuring plan

Legal costs for beleaguered exchange FTX have topped $120 million since February, according to The Block.

FTX restructuring advisors submitted their expenses last Thursday, which highlight the immense cost of such a high-profile case.

NOW READ: Want to learn how to build an MEV bot? Don’t go to YouTube

Executives and creditors for the exchange, which collapsed in November 2022 and caused tens of billions in losses, now weigh the possibility of a reboot that could mitigate the mounting legal fees.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried currently awaits trial, facing money laundering, fraud, conspiracy and campaign finance charges. He has pleaded not guilty to federal charges.

Sui Foundation pays audit company CertiK $500,000 for vulnerability discovery

Sui Foundation, the governing body for layer one blockchain Sui Network, awarded $500,000 to auditing firm CertiK for finding a bug in its system.

The vulnerability would have enabled a hacker to compose a malicious smart contract called an infinite loop bug, which would have paralysed the network.

NOW READ: Sui blockchain dodged shutdown after CertiK discovered ‘Hamster Wheel Attack’

Sui developers raced to install “key measures” to address the issue. CertiK verified their efforts alongside plans to release a full report of the incident surrounding the bug, dubbed “the Hamster Wheel Attack.”

“The Hamster Wheel Attack, had it been executed, would have caused significant disruption to the Sui blockchain, resulting in what’s known as a ‘network shutdown.’” Kang Li, Chief Security Officer at CertiK, told DL News.

Etherscan announces AI-powered blockchain analytics feature

The leading blockchain exploring tool Etherscan announced a new AI-powered tool that will allow users to ask generalised questions about complex smart contracts.

Etherscan’s new “Codereader” feature utilises OpenAI’s language model to make smart contract analysis accessible for non-coders.

The company was quick to supplement its new service with a disclaimer, expressing limitations of the feature, which include the possibility that it may not always provide users with correct answers.

More web3 news from around the web…

Former SEC advisor: Legal doctrine could end Gensler’s crypto crackdown — The Block

Hinman documents release in SEC-Ripple case Is a boost to Ether: JPMorgan — CoinDesk

The ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ cast Is finally back together. You can thank NFTs — Decrypt