Today in crypto, a French couple was forced to transfer about $1 million in Bitcoin during a fake police home invasion, the US has sought to retry Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, and insurance broker Aon is testing stablecoins for paying insurance premiums.
French couple robbed of $1 million in Bitcoin by fake police
A French couple in their late 50s was forced to transfer over 900,000 euros ($1 million) in Bitcoin during a fake police raid at their home west of Paris in the latest violent attack targeting cryptocurrency holders in France, according to TF1 Info and Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Three suspects posing as police officers entered the couple’s home Monday morning in Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt, in the Yvelines department, and forced the husband to transfer the Bitcoin (BTC) while threatening the pair with a knife, according to TF1 Info and AFP. The attackers then tied up the man, injured both victims and fled in a white van, the reports said.
The woman later freed her husband and alerted neighbors at about 9:00 am local time, according to the reports. The Versailles prosecutor’s office said the case is being investigated by the Brigade for the Repression of Banditry on allegations including sequestration, armed robbery by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy. No arrests had been announced as of Tuesday.
US seeks Roman Storm retrial after mixed verdict
US prosecutors asked a Manhattan federal court on Monday for a retrial of crypto mixer Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on two charges at his trial last year.
US Attorney for Manhattan Jay Clayton requested a trial date in early October to retry Storm on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate sanctions.
In August, a jury convicted Storm of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, but was deadlocked on the money laundering and sanctions violation conspiracy charges, which has allowed prosecutors to retry those charges.
Storm had pleaded not guilty and asked the court in October to acquit him of the money transmitting charge, arguing prosecutors failed to prove he intended to help bad actors use Tornado Cash.
Storm posted on X that the retrial on the two counts could see him spend “up to 40 years in federal prison. For writing open-source code. For a protocol I don't control. For transactions I never touched” and accused prosecutors of trying him “with the hope of getting a different answer.”
Aon tests stablecoin payments for insurance premiums
Aon, one of the world’s largest insurance brokers, is testing the use of stablecoins to pay insurance premiums, highlighting the growing role of digital dollars in traditional financial infrastructure following the passage of the GENIUS bill last year.
In a Monday announcement, UK-based Aon said it completed a pilot that settled insurance premiums for clients, including Coinbase and Paxos, using USDC
USDC on Ethereum and PayPal USD PYUSD on Solana.
Tim Fletcher, CEO of Aon’s financial services division, said the pilot reflects the company’s effort to explore stablecoins as a payment rail, predicting that tokenized assets will become more widely used in financial transactions.
Aon said in August that its analysis showed 120 re-insurers wrote nearly $2 trillion of gross written premium in 2024.
