Raheim Hamilton, co-creator of the dark-web marketplace Empire Market, was sentenced to 40 years in prison and fined $5 million by a federal court in Chicago. He must also forfeit about 1,230 Bitcoin worth roughly $100 million, 24.4 Ether, and three properties in Virginia. Empire Market operated from 2018 to 2020, facilitating over four million transactions valued at more than $430 million, mostly from drug sales and other illegal activities. This case highlights ongoing U.S. efforts to crack down on dark-web marketplaces and their cryptocurrency transactions. Hamilton's co-runner, Thomas Pavey, is expected to be sentenced later this month after agreeing to forfeit significant assets.
The Empire Market co-creator's forfeiture of about 1,230 Bitcoin is notable context for readers following cryptocurrency developments. For readers following cryptocurrency markets, here is Pluang's market snapshot as of Oct 11, 2026 08:02 WIB: out of 50 major cryptocurrencies tradable on Pluang, 29 rose and 20 fell today. Among notable movers were SXP (Solar) down 46.27% at Rp37 with a typical hold time of 94 days, BAL (Balancer) up 11.14% at Rp16,297 with a typical hold time of 85 days, and EOS (EOS.IO) up 8.13% at Rp12,649 with a typical hold time of 87 days.
Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Opportunity Fund (PFO) faces pressure from rising U.S. Treasury rates and its high leverage, pushing its market discount to nearly 12%. While PFO offers an attractive 8% distribution yield, rising borrowing co...
Insteel Industries maintains a soft 'buy' rating driven by its attractive valuation and a strong net cash position of $22.9 million with no debt. The company's revenue is growing, supported by higher selling prices and demand from data center-related...
Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise Asset Management, predicts Bitcoin's market cap could grow from $2 trillion to $30 trillion, paralleling gold's rise after U.S. gold ETFs launched in 2004. The SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, enabling easie...
Aerodrome (AERO) and Velodrome (VELO) are merging into a single cross-chain decentralized exchange set to launch on October 21. Both tokens surged over 16% as the merger plan was announced, with AERO trading at $0.9422 and VELO at $0.04087. The merge...
Bitcoin's recent price correction has highlighted a potential support level around $74,500, representing a roughly 7.34% drop from the recent high of $87,027 on October 5. This level is based on historical average drawdowns during previous bull cycle...
