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A US court has sentenced the CEO of Bitcoin trading firm, Praetorian Group International (PGI), to 20 years in prison after convicting him of operating a large-scale Ponzi scheme. The fraudulent investment platform, which falsely claimed to generate profits through cryptocurrency trading, misappropriated substantial capital from tens of thousands of investors globally.

Over 8,000 Bitcoin In Palafox Scam Operation – DOJ 

According to a recent release by the DOJ, Ramil Ventura Palafox, a 61-year-old dual citizen of the United States and the Philippines, orchestrated a sophisticated fraudulent operation through his registered trading company, PGI. The DOJ notes explain that, as chairman, chief executive officer, and lead promoter, Palafox marketed PGI as a Bitcoin trading firm capable of generating daily returns ranging from 0.5% to 3%. However, investigations revealed that the company was not conducting legitimate bitcoin trading at a scale that could support such profits.

The scheme reportedly operated between December 2019 and October 2021. During this period, PGI attracted at least 90,000 investors globally who collectively invested more than $201 million into the platform. This included over $30 million contributed in fiat currency and approximately 8,198 bitcoin valued at more than $171 million at the time of investment. Despite these significant inflows, authorities discovered that investor payouts were largely funded using money obtained from newer participants rather than genuine trading profits.

To sustain investor confidence, Palafox took another drastic step in establishing an online portal that displayed fabricated investment performance data. Between 2020 and 2021, the portal consistently showed increasing account balances, convincing investors that their funds were secure and generating reliable returns. 

Meanwhile, investigations also uncovered extensive misuse of investor funds for personal luxury expenditures. Palafox allegedly spent approximately $3 million purchasing 20 high-end vehicles, while splashing equal amounts on accessories such as jewelry, clothing, watches, etc., among other forms of misappropriation. The American-Filipino was found guilty of wire fraud and money laundering and is expected to spend the next two decades in prison.

FBI Explores Potential Restitution For PGI Victims

In other developments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington Field Office is currently working to identify individuals who suffered financial losses through investments in PGI between 2020 and 2021. 

Following an initial conviction of Palafox in September 2025, the federal law agents have encouraged individuals who believe they may be eligible for restitution payments or in need of victim services to reach out and fill the relevant form. Notably, total losses associated with the Bitcoin Ponzi scheme are presently estimated at $62.7 million. 

The price of Bitcoin has been under intense pressure so far in 2026, with the bear market wiping out the profits of several classes of investors. According to the latest on-chain data, this trend could have a broader ripple effect on the premier cryptocurrency in this bear market, especially as it affects an important cohort of the largest BTC investors.

Whales’ Realized Losses Could Put Further Pressure On Price

In a February 13th post on the social media platform X, pseudonymous crypto analyst Darkfost shared an insight into the current holdings of a relevant group of investors known as Bitcoin whales. According to the market pundit, the unrealized profits of this investor cohort are getting wiped out by the current market correction.

Specifically, this on-chain is based on the Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) metric of the “Big Whales,” which represents addresses holding more than 1,000 BTC. For context, the NUPL is a ratio of investors’ unrealized profits and losses; with a high (and often positive) ratio indicating the dominance of unrealized profits, while a negative value suggests otherwise.

According to the highlighted CryptoQuant data, the NUPL value for the largest Bitcoin whales currently stands at around 0.2. As shown in the chart below, this NUPL level (around the yellow region) has historically coincided with well-advanced stages of the bear market, meaning that this group of whales is nearing zero unrealized profits.

While this is yet to be the case, it is worth mentioning that these BTC whales have historically always held mostly unrealized losses at bear market bottoms. Hence, what’s important is what happens with their holdings between now and the end of the current corrective phase. 

According to Darkfost, whales’ holdings being under this much pressure could mean market capitulation, further dragging the Bitcoin price downward. Hints of this trend can already be seen in recent days, especially amongst the new whales.

These short-term Bitcoin whales are currently realizing significant losses at a rapid rate. Between February 3 and 7, more than $3 billion in losses were realized by this new group of whales. In essence, sustained capitulation by this investor cohort could be a fresh source of selling pressure for the BTC price.

Bitcoin Price At A Glance

As of this writing, the price of BTC stands at around $68,710, reflecting an over 5% jump in the past 24 hours. According to data from CoinGecko, the premier cryptocurrency is down by nearly 3% in the past week.

Patrick Witt, a senior White House crypto adviser, told reporters that banks should not see stablecoin yield programs as an existential threat.

He argued that banks and crypto firms can both offer similar products to customers and that the controversy over rewards is fixable through compromise.

Reports note he made the comments in a sit-down with Yahoo Finance as lawmakers and industry groups continue talks.

Banks Can Offer Similar Products

Big lenders have options, and some are already moving to use them. According to meetings and follow-ups, several banks are seeking OCC charters and exploring ways to provide stablecoin-style accounts to customers, which undercuts the idea that yield programs automatically steal deposits from traditional banks.

That dynamic helped bring both sides into a recent White House convening, but the talks did not settle the core dispute over whether platforms should be allowed to pay rewards to holders.

Stablecoin Yields Hold Up Legislation

At the center of the fight is the CLARITY Act, a bill meant to draw lines between the SEC and the CFTC while creating a basic asset taxonomy for cryptocurrencies.

Reports say the debate over rewards and interest has become a major hold-up, with senators and industry groups trading proposals and pushbacks as they try to hash out workable language. SEC and CFTC are both part of the tug-of-war over who gets to police different tokens and services.

A Race Against The Calendar

Pressure to finish a deal is rising because lawmakers face an election calendar that could change the political math. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that if Democrats win back the House the bipartisan coalition working on the bill could fracture, making rapid progress less likely.

That warning is echoed around Capitol Hill by lobbyists and some industry leaders, who say the current window to pass a compromise is dwindling.

A Narrow Window To Act

The White House has signaled it wants a solution before the fall slog of midterm politics takes hold. White House advisers have urged both sides to find middle ground, saying a functioning framework would unlock large pools of institutional capital now sitting on the sidelines.

Reports have disclosed that these investors are reluctant to deploy funds until the rules are clearer, which is one reason the administration is pressing for movement.

The debate is not only technical; it is political and strategic. Lawmakers will need to balance banks’ worries about deposits with crypto firms’ demand to preserve business models that rely on customer rewards.

For consumers, the immediate effect will depend on how any compromise treats protections, transparency and how rewards are funded.

For markets, the bigger prize is legal certainty — and that prize is getting harder to win as the calendar tightens.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Многие трейдеры считают, что сектор мемкоинов прекратил свое существование, однако эксперты платформы Santiment считают, что сейчас вокруг этого класса криптоактивов усиливается тренд «ностальгии».

Несколько сотрудников из комплаенс-команды крупнейшей криптовалютной биржи Binance были уволены после того, как провели внутреннее расследование в компании и выявили вероятные нарушения санкционного режима в отношении Ирана.

Инвестор и соучредитель компании Morgan Creek Digital Энтони Помплиано (Anthony Pompliano) рассказал, что держатели биткоинов должны набраться терпения, так как бычий тренд наступит позже, чем предполагалось.

Специалисты платформы аналитики блокчейна Arkham Intelligence сообщили, что правительство Бутана продает биткоины третью неделю подряд. Последняя продажа 100 BTC принесла почти $6,8 млн.

Российский брокер «Финам» зарегистрировал в Банке России фонд, ориентированный на добычу криптовалют, и планирует начать торги его паями в ближайшие дни. Об этом сообщил председатель правления компании Владислав Кочетков.

Держатель контрольного пакета крупнейшей по объемам торгов криптобиржи Binance Чанпэн Чжао (Changpeng Zhao) заявил, что доля владельцев криптовалют в мире составляет около 8–10%.

Председатель крупнейшего корпоративного держателя биткоина, компании Strategy Майкл Сейлор (Michael Saylor) заявил, что первая криптовалюта — самый производительный актив, поэтому всегда будет волатильной.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, is facing renewed scrutiny following an exclusive report published by Fortune on Friday that raises fresh questions about the exchange’s internal compliance controls and sanctions oversight.

Alleged Sanctions Breaches

According to multiple sources and internal documents reviewed by the publication, members of Binance’s compliance team identified transactions suggesting that entities linked to Iran received more than $1 billion through the platform between March 2024 and August 2025. 

The transfers were reportedly conducted using the stablecoin Tether (USDT) on the Tron blockchain. If confirmed, such activity could represent potential violations of US sanctions laws.

The report states that after internal investigators documented their findings and submitted reports through official channels, at least five members of the compliance team were dismissed beginning in late 2025. 

The individuals allegedly terminated included professionals with prior law enforcement experience in Europe and Asia. At least three of them had held senior roles within Binance, overseeing special investigations and global financial crime inquiries.

In addition to those firings, the report indicates that at least four other senior compliance officials have either resigned or been forced out over the past three months. The individuals cited by Fortune spoke anonymously, citing concerns about potential legal repercussions.

Robert Appleton, a partner at the law firm Olshan Frome Wolosky who previously led sanctions and Iran‑related cases at the US Department of Justice (DOJ), described the situation as surprising. 

“That’s rather shocking that that happened under a monitorship with [Binance] internal investigators,” Appleton told the magazine, referencing the government oversight imposed on the company following earlier enforcement actions.

Former Binance CEO Pushes Back On New Allegations

The latest controversy unfolds against the backdrop of Binance’s significant legal settlement in 2023. That year, the exchange pleaded guilty to violations of anti‑money laundering (AML) and know‑your‑customer (KYC) requirements.

As part of the resolution, the exchange’s co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) stepped down as CEO, and Binance accepted government‑imposed monitorships intended to strengthen its compliance framework and usher in what the company described at the time as a new era of “regulatory maturity.”

Zhao has publicly rejected the claims raised in the recent report. In remarks addressing the article, he stated that he does not have detailed knowledge of the situation but argued that the narrative appears inconsistent. 

The former executive suggested that, even if the allegations were accurate, an alternative interpretation could be that investigators were dismissed for failing to prevent the alleged transactions. 

Zhao also questioned whether third‑party anti‑money laundering tools—similar to those used by law enforcement agencies—had identified the transactions in question. Although he no longer runs Binance, Zhao said that during his tenure, every transaction was screened through multiple external AML monitoring systems.

He further criticized reliance on unnamed sources, suggesting that anonymous accounts can be used to construct negative narratives, particularly if the individuals involved are dissatisfied or have ulterior motives.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com