Bitcoin and Ethereum registered a sudden surge in line with "Uptober" — a month observed to be positive for crypto prices in the past. Meanwhile, Three Arrow Capital's Su Zhu was arrested in Singapore where he'll serve a four-month sentence, and Hong Kong and Macau police have arrested several further individuals and seized over $2.8 million in their investigation into the JPEX fraud case.
Bitcoin, Ethereum surprises with sudden 15-minute price surge
More than $70 million in crypto shorts were suddenly liquidated after a surprise jump in the price of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
Bitcoin gained 3% in just 15 minutes to reach over $28,000, while the price of Ether also surged, gaining as much as 4.7% in a brief spike to $1,755.
The sudden jump has perplexed observers in the crypto community. Most have attributed it to “Uptober.”
the 200w and 200d MAs are right on top of each other providing resistance
— Alex Thorn (@intangiblecoins) October 1, 2023
would be great to see #bitcoin make a strong break above and flip to support this week pic.twitter.com/AY2tNKW47t
Uptober is crypto parlance for October typically being a bullish month for the price action of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. According to data from CoinGlass, October has only produced negative monthly returns twice since 2013.
In a Oct. 2 note, Matrixport head of research Markus Thielen said a rally breaking above $28,000 could lift prices to $30,000 in the short term.
3AC’s Su Zhu arrested in Singapore
Three Arrows Capital (3AC) co-founder Su Zhu was arrested on Sep. 29 while allegedly trying to flee Singapore, according to Teneo, 3AC’s appointed liquidator who released a statement saying:
“Su Zhu was apprehended at Changi Airport whilst attempting to travel out of Singapore following a committal order granted by the Singapore Courts against him.“
Despite the ongoing Sam Bankman-Fried trial and the latest arrest news, the cryptocurrency community appears to be taking the news in stride, with many users on X passing along the refrain that the supposed bad actors are being shaken from the crypto world just in time for a landmark bull run:
Few more convictions, then up only
— Tnut (@Teeznutz11) September 29, 2023
3AC’s other co-founder, Kyle Davies, has reportedly been issued with the same order as Su Zhu, which would indicate that authorities in Singapore are currently seeking his arrest.
Hong Kong and Macau police seize over $2.8M related to JPEX fraud case
Authorities in Hong Kong and Macau have recently revealed arrests connected to the JPEX crypto exchange fraud case and highlighted that they are currently tracking down several other suspected figures.
On Sept. 29, local media outlet Radio Television Hong Kong reported that two Hong Kong men involved in the JPEX case were arrested. According to the report, the two were responsible for creating accounts in casinos based in Macau to allegedly launder illegal funds. As the suspects were arrested, the police froze casino assets and seized cash worth over 14 million Hong Kong dollars ($1.7 million).
Another local publication, the South China Morning Post, has also reported that two additional people were arrested, with one suspect allegedly found destroying potential evidence with paper shredders and bleach in the bathtub of an apartment. This brings the total number of detained suspects to 18. Furthermore, cash and gold worth 8.7 million HKD ($1.1 million) were seized in three apartments in the latest police operation.
Token 2049 在 9 月 13日至14 日於新加坡舉辦,交易所JPEX 在開展首日吸引許多民眾。
— 灰度 (@huidu_io) September 20, 2023
不到一天的時間,香港證監會發出警告,指交易所JPEX謊稱在香港持有牌照。
消息一出,JPEX位於Token 2049的攤位人去樓空,展攤甚至還變成觀展民眾的休息空間。#jpex #token2049 pic.twitter.com/9ixRfu3wAo
According to the authorities, the JPEX scandal has become one of the largest fraud cases in Hong Kong, garnering over 2,300 complaints from victims and losses of around $178 million. Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security, Chris Tang Ping-keung, has pledged to bring justice to the victims and continue to pursue those responsible.
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