The Senator fears digital currencies may be susceptible to cyber attacks

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz has introduced a bill which would prohibit the U.S. Federal Reserve from moving ahead with a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

The government has been researching the possibility of a U.S. CBDC after President Joe Biden an executive order last year.

“The federal government has no authority to unilaterally establish a central bank currency,” Cruz said in announcing the bill’s introduction.

“The bill goes a long way in making sure big government doesn’t attempt to centralise or control cryptocurrency and instead, allows it to thrive in the United States.

“We should be empowering entrepreneurs, enabling innovation, and increasing individual freedom – not stifling it.”

Cruz added that unlike decentralised cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, digital currencies created by the government are centralised and could be more vulnerable to cyber attacks.

The liquidators argue they took on a more prominent role before the collapse

Crypto exchange FTX has sued the liquidators overseeing its wind-down in the Bahamas.

The exchange claims FTX Digital Markets are wrongly claiming ownership of certain assets.

CEO John Ray told a U.S. court that that the affiliate had no interest in FTX.com’s cryptocurrency, intellectual property and customer relationships.

The affiliate from the Bahamas was a corporate shell of former company founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who attempted to funnel customer deposits and property rights into the nation.

Liquidators have argued the affiliate took on a more prominent role when the company moved its headquarters from Hong Kong to the Bahamas.

More than $3 billion had been laundered through the platform since 2017

U.S. and European authorities have managed to shut down crypto platform ChipMixer, and charge its alleged operator of money laundering.

The platform has been accused of laundering more than $3 billion in criminal proceeds, including $700 million stolen by North Korean hackers.

Prosecutors say they also traced $17 million in bitcoin of ransomware proceeds, made between August 2017 and March 2023 to ChipMixer. 

The service became popular in the darknet, because it was able to take funds and co-mingle them, so you couldn’t tell who the owner previously was.

ChipMixer had been in existence since 2017.