After hitting new highs for the year, Bitcoin is stuck in the red with prices falling day by day.
On Tuesday, April 23, Bitcoin hit a new annual high after it surpassed the $5,500 price resistance, but the coin is standing at $5,448 with more than 2 percent losses over the day.
The entire crypto market and almost all major coins are in the same position, despite the upward trends that were present during the last couple of days.
In the past several weeks, the market was in a bullish phase, and things are still looking promising for cryptocurrencies.
However, if this downward trend continues, they will rapidly return to their previous state that was far from satisfying.
New York's First Cryptocurrency Laundering Conviction
Mark Sanchez, 35, and Callaway Crain, 35, pleaded guilty in what appears to be the first cryptocurrency-related money laundering conviction for the State of New York.
Crain and Sanchez laundered more than $2 million in cryptocurrencies while they were running their illicit controlled substance and counterfeit steroids business through the dark web.
Authorities say they manufactured the products by themselves, sold them through their own darknet site called "NextDayGear" and shipped more than 10,000 packages across the United States.
Carin and Sanchez ran their illicit business for five years, between 2013 and 2018.
According to a news release by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, the two men will be sentenced in July 2019 and they are facing prison terms of up to 7.5 years for their crimes.
Cryptocurrency Entrepreneurs Facing Life Sentences for Selling Drugs
Sam Karagiozis and Steen McBeth, the co-founders of Australia-based cryptocurrency Auscoin, are facing life sentences for allegedly running a drug ring on the dark web.
They gained media attention after the prices of Bitcoin skyrocketed back in December 2017.
Karagiozis and McBeth also ran nationwide cryptocurrency ATMs and are known for launching their cryptocurrency, Auscoin.
The two millionaires were also allegedly collaborating with a third person, Jackson Li.
Li and McBeth were arrested back in October 2017, while the police were not able to track down Karagiozis until March of this year.
During the arrest of Li and McBeth, the police seized more than 30 kilograms of drugs.
The second arrest wasn't until 18 months later, when the police eventually managed to tie Karagiozis to the same drug group.
Allegedly, the cryptocurrency enthusiasts were the masterminds behind a drug ring that was trafficking illicit drugs, including cocaine and MDMA.
They purchased the drugs from dark web markets and then shipped them all across Australia. The buyers usually paid in Bitcoin.
The three men are facing life sentences if proven guilty.
Suspicion Rises over a Possible Exit Scam by Popular Dark Web Market
Reports from this week indicate rumors are spreading of a possible exit scam by a popular darknet marketplace, Wall Street Market (WSM).
The suspicion was raised after a post on Dread, a popular forum for dark web users, reveals WSM is allegedly running off with approximately $30 million worth of cryptocurrency belonging to users of the market.
The post goes on by saying that the administrators of WSM are warning about a possible exit scam, and urging users to stop depositing their cryptocurrencies.
Allegedly, the official moderator and manager of the website, has allegedly been blackmailing the customers.
Namely, some users received ransom emails asking for Bitcoins, otherwise, their names would be sent to the FBI and Europol.
There have been several indications that support this theory, although it remains yet to be officially proven.
Monero Celebrates Fifth Birthday
Privacy coin Monero celebrated its fifth birthday on April 18, as the crypto community marked the day by events and meetups to support the cryptocurrency.
The official statement was made by the Monero team, welcoming cryptocurrency enthusiasts to celebrate the success of the coin.
Ever since it appeared, Monero has gained the attention of crypto users around the world, due to the anonymity capabilities it offers.
However, the coin has received both positive and negative acclaim.
Due to its privacy-focused nature, it is often used in darknet markets and other platforms as it is less trackable compared to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies of choice.
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That's it for our summary of this week's major crypto news headlines. This is the 43rd post in our crypto news series. Catch up on the latest installments here:
