According to reports, Andrey Zverev, a Russian smuggler, has been utilizing USDT to purchase high-tech equipment and parts for weapons, allowing regional companies to avoid Western sanctions.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the use of Tether for buying weapons parts and other equipment. Zverev used USDT to pay millions of dollars to an electronic distributor in Hong Kong.

In a telegram post, Zverev mentioned using USDT to convert rubles into crypto for international suppliers in countries like China and the Middle East.

Other Developments

TRM Labs reports that the Tron network is favored by hackers, especially those linked to North Korea, for exchanging stolen currency.

Tether (USDT) has emerged as the top cryptocurrency for terror funding, with $19 billion illicit funds operated using USDT in 2023. On the other hand, USDC saw $428.9 million illicit volume in the same year, deemed convenient for use and exchange.

FTX Digital's Joint Official Liquidators in the Bahamas revealed a roadmap to repay customers by the end of the year after the exchange's bankruptcy. The collapse of FTX raised concerns about management and resulted in estimated losses of $100 billion.

Crypto Market Update

The cryptocurrency market capitalization dropped by 1.57% in the last 24 hours, standing at $2.62 trillion. The intraday trading volume was recorded at $82.28 billion.

BTC's price increased by over 12.10% in the past month, attributed to the approved spot ETF. BTC's trading volume grew by 50.78% in the last 24 hours.

CORE prices soared by 196% in the past week, followed by WIF at 61.20%. CFX experienced a 10.36% decline, trading at $0.4265 during the writing.

The market shows immense greed according to CoinMarketCap's fear and greed index.

WIF's significant price growth in recent weeks has drawn attention, becoming the top memecoin with over 100% growth in the past year and moving from below $1.00 to over $4.50 in a short period.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this article are for informational purposes and do not constitute financial or investment advice.