At present in crypto, Czech police have reportedly arrested darknet founder Tomas Jirikovsky in a $45 million Bitcoin bribery case tied to former Justice Minister Pavel Blazek’s resignation, and US Treasury Scott Bessent has seemingly backtracked on an earlier assertion suggesting his division wouldn’t execute budget-neutral methods to fund the Bitcoin reserve, which on the time, precipitated Bitcoin to tumble by greater than $2,000.
Czech police arrest darknet founder in $45 million Bitcoin donation case
Czech police have reportedly arrested darknet market founder Tomas Jirikovsky in reference to a $45 million Bitcoin donation that prompted the resignation of former Justice Minister Pavel Blazek earlier this 12 months.
Czech police intervened within the Bitcoin (BTC) donation case that led to Blazek’s resignation on Thursday. In response to Chief State Prosecutor Radim Dragoun, authorities have been “securing individuals and issues.” He added, “This can be a prison case that was not too long ago separated by the police authority for impartial proceedings from joint proceedings.”
Though the assertion didn’t point out any arrests, native experiences advised that police detained Tomas Jirikovsky, a convicted prison who allegedly paid 468 BTC (price round $45 million on the time) to the minister to keep away from a brand new jail sentence.
Jirikovsky reportedly tried to flee police by climbing onto the roof of his dwelling throughout a raid on Thursday night time, Deník N reported Friday.
His ex-wife confirmed the intervention, saying a neighbor alerted her to the rooftop drama. The police then apprehended Jirikovsky and took him into custody, the report mentioned.
Jirikovsky is a Czech programmer and the architect of the unlawful darknet market Sheep Market, which was linked to drug trafficking, weapons gross sales and counterfeit items.
US Treasury’s Scott Bessent says Bitcoin shopping for nonetheless potential
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned his division continues to be exploring budget-neutral methods to purchase Bitcoin for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve — contrasting along with his latest feedback suggesting the plan was off the desk.
“Treasury is dedicated to exploring budget-neutral pathways to amass extra Bitcoin to develop the reserve, and to execute on the President’s promise to make america the ‘Bitcoin superpower of the world,’” Bessent clarified in an X on Thursday.
Round seven hours earlier, Bessent’s feedback to FOX Enterprise have been extensively interpreted to imply the Treasury isn’t seeking to purchase Bitcoin.
“We’re not going to be shopping for that,” Bessent mentioned, which despatched Bitcoin’s worth down from $121,073 to $118,886 inside 40 minutes. Bitcoin tumbled additional to a 24-hour backside of $117,588, however has since recovered to $119,045, CoinGecko information exhibits.
Bitcoin drops under $119,000 after US Treasury secretary guidelines out new BTC buys
Bitcoin dropped under a key help degree Thursday after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned the federal government had no plans to make extra purchases of Bitcoin for its Bitcoin and digital asset reserve.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell under the $120,000 psychological help degree and traded at $118,730 on the time of writing, hours after hitting an all-time excessive of $124,457 earlier on Thursday, Cointelegraph information confirmed.
The decline adopted Bessent’s feedback in an interview with Fox Enterprise, the place he confirmed the federal government wouldn’t purchase extra Bitcoin.
“We’ve additionally began to get into the twenty first century, a Bitcoin reserve. We’re not going to be shopping for that, however we’re going to use confiscated belongings and proceed to construct that up,” Bessent mentioned.
The assertion contrasted with President Donald Trump’s earlier government order directing the federal government to develop “budget-neutral methods” for growing Bitcoin holdings.
In April, Bo Hines, who on the time was part of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Property, mentioned the administration was exploring funding choices for Bitcoin acquisitions, together with tariff income and a reevaluation of the Treasury’s gold certificates.
Thursday’s drop got here simply hours after Bitcoin briefly overtook Google’s $2.4 trillion market capitalization to develop into the fifth-largest world asset, earlier than optimism light on the Treasury’s stance.
