The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned crypto wallets allegedly connected with the production of fentanyl.

Several China-based chemical manufacturers and their employees allegedly used crypto transactions as part of an illegal fentanyl precursor distribution scheme.

According to U.S. authorities, the companies used cryptocurrency transactions to hide their identities and the flow of funds.

At least three individuals were identified to hold crypto wallets for payments.

OFAC added wallets for Bitcoin, Ether, USD Coin, Tether, and Tron connected to Chinese nationals and Valerian Labs to its list of Specially Designated Nationals.

Jury selection continues for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's trial.

Many potential jurors have recused themselves due to bias.

Several lost money in crypto following the collapse of FTX last year.

Zal Dang, a juror, expressed negative sentiments about crypto.

Judge Lewis Kaplan asked jurors about their familiarity with FTX or its sister hedge fund Alameda Research.

Cybercriminals are increasingly turning to AI and deepfakes to defraud fans of celebrities.

YouTube star Mr. Beast has alerted his millions of followers to a deepfake scam he is a victim of.

Deepfake content reportedly grew by 87 percent in the last year.

The use of deepfakes, particularly involving high profile individuals, is raising questions of tech companies' readiness to combat this rising trend.

There is a level of concern about the impact of deepfakes on democracy.

For the first time in 234-year history, the US House of Representatives voted to remove its current Speaker, Kevin McCarthy.

The situation has led to a paralysis in the House until a majority agree on a new Speaker.

The situation may boost a number of notably pro-crypto politicians who appear well positioned to succeed McCarthy.

The Speaker position was formally vacated on Tuesday afternoon.

McCarthy has tapped Patrick McHenry, current leader of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, as a temporary House speaker.

Crypto-friendly Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) is set to temporarily replace Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

McHenry, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has been working on several cryptocurrency legislations.

The legislations include a bill for U.S. stablecoins regulations and another establishing crypto markets rules.

The bills passed his committee and are expected to be discussed in a vote next month.

A half victory for crypto sector with House approval but the resistant Senate may not approve.

FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried has extended the lock-up period for the company's employees' SRM tokens.

The move prevents staff from cashing in their now valuable tokens and ensures they remain motivated to work.

Crypto firms often use tokens as employee compensation, typically released according to a set schedule.

To maintain market integrity, those tokens are locked for a certain period to prevent immediate sales.

Locking tokens for a longer period gives the perception that the team is committed to the project for the long haul.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's trial has begun.

Bankman-Fried is charged with seven counts of conspiracy and fraud related to the collapse of FTX.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The case is presided over by Judge Lewis Kaplan.

Bankman-Fried was ordered to be jailed on Aug. 11 due to witness intimidation allegations.

FTX's former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried's trial began on October 3 with the selection of a jury.

Bankman-Fried is facing seven counts of conspiracy and fraud related to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, which he co-founded.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

He was jailed on August 11 after the presiding judge, Lewis Kaplan, concluded that his sharing of personal papers of Caroline Ellison, former Alameda Research CEO, amounted to witness intimidation.

Previously, Bankman-Fried was under house arrest in Stanford, California, on a $250 bond.

Coinbase is facing allegations from U.S. regulators for potentially violating securities law.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, stating that the company failed to register as a securities exchange.

Coinbase has tried unsuccessfully to get the case dismissed, arguing that crypto trades don't meet the definition of an investment contract.

However, the SEC disagrees with Coinbase's argument, asserting that customers on Coinbase's trading platform are entitled to federal securities law protections.

The case now revolves around whether Coinbase intermediated transactions in 'investment contracts' or not.

Artificial intelligence has overshadowed crypto in global investment community and financial press.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has drawn attention to AI's electricity consumption and environmental harm, which used to be a criticism of Bitcoin.

According to Hive Digital Technologies, such concerns are likely to be as overblown for AI as they were for Bitcoin.

HIVE Research Director Adam Sharp predicts that AI's energy use will not end up being as apocalyptic as predicted, citing an incorrect 2017 prediction that Bitcoin would consume all world's energy by 2020.

Both Bitcoin and AI require energy-intensive computer equipment to operate, but Sharp believes this technology is very new and efficiency will improve dramatically over the coming years.