Celebrity Chef Opens Innovative Zero-Waste Restaurant 

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Ramil Palafox, a dual US-Philippine national, with orchestrating a $198 million crypto scam.

From January 2020 to October 2021, Palafox ran a Ponzi-style scheme through his company, PGI Global, defrauding many investors.

SEC Cracks Down on Massive Crypto Scam 

According to the press release, the regulator claims that Palafox raised about $198 million from investors globally. He promised them substantial returns from crypto and foreign exchange trading.

Nonetheless, the SEC alleges that Palafox misused over $57 million of the funds for personal purchases.

“As alleged in our complaint, Palafox attracted investors with the allure of guaranteed profits from sophisticated crypto asset and foreign exchange trading, but instead of trading, Palafox bought himself and his family cars, watches, and homes using millions of dollars of investor funds,” Associate Director of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office Scott Thompson stated.

Furthermore, the company operated with a multi-level marketing (MLM) structure. Palafox attracted investors by claiming expertise in the crypto sector and offering an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven trading platform. Yet, both of these claims proved to be fraudulent.

The scheme eventually collapsed in 2021, resulting in significant financial losses for investors.

“The SEC’s complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, charges Palafox with violating the anti-fraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws,” the press release detailed.

The SEC demands that Palafox return ill-gotten gains and pay civil penalties. The regulator has also asked for a permanent injunction to prevent Palafox from engaging in similar activities in the future. Additionally, the US Attorney’s Office has filed criminal charges.

Iranian National Charged for Running Dark Web Marketplace

Meanwhile, in a separate case, a federal jury indicted Iranian national Behrouz Parsarad for founding and operating a dark web marketplace. According to the US Office of Public Affairs, the Nemesis market facilitated the illegal sale of drugs, including fentanyl and other controlled substances. The marketplace was also involved in criminal activities like stealing financial data and distributing malware. 

Between 2021 and 2024, Nemesis processed over 400,000 orders. In addition to drug trafficking, Parsarad is also charged with money laundering for using crypto to conceal the proceeds of illegal activities.

“Nemesis users were not allowed to conduct transactions in official, government-backed currencies,” the press release read.

The accused now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, with a maximum penalty of life if convicted.

Previously, BeInCrypto highlighted that the FBI arrested Anurag Pramod Murarka for laundering over $24 million using the dark web. The cases highlight the US government’s intensified focus on regulating the cryptocurrency sector and combating cybercrime.

The post Crypto Scam Fallout: SEC Charges Ramil Palafox with $198 Million Fraud appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Bitcoin ETFs continued their inflow streak on Wednesday, raking in over $900 million in fresh capital. 

However, despite the bullish ETF demand, Bitcoin’s open interest has dipped, and its funding rates have flipped negative, a sign that short-term market sentiment may be shifting. 

Bitcoin ETFs Stay Hot

BTC spot ETFs continued to draw investor interest on Wednesday, extending their inflow streak with another $916.91 million in net inflows. 

This marked the fourth consecutive day of inflows, highlighting the growing institutional appetite for BTC exposure, especially as the coin’s price attempts to stabilize above the $90,000 level.

On Wednesday, BlackRock’s ETF IBIT recorded the largest daily net inflow, totaling $643.16 million, bringing its total cumulative net inflows to $40.63 billion.

Ark Invest and 21Shares’ ETF ARKB followed in second place with a net inflow of $129.50 million. The ETF’s total historical net inflows now stand at $3 billion.

Traders Exit Bitcoin Positions as Market Sentiment Turns Cautious

Trading activity across the crypto market has dipped over the past 24 hours, with the total market capitalization shedding $18 billion during the period. 

This pullback has contributed to a modest 1% decline in BTC’s price. The drop in momentum is evident in the coin’s falling futures open interest, which signals reduced trading participation. At press time, BTC’s futures open interest is at $64.54 billion, plunging by 5% in the past day.

When an asset’s price and open interest plummet like this, it signals that traders are closing out positions rather than opening new ones. This combination reflects weak conviction and a potential trend reversal or deeper correction in the BTC market.

Further, BTC’s funding rate has flipped negative once again, indicating that short traders have regained dominance and are now paying to maintain their positions. At press time, this is at -0.0053%. 

When BTC’s funding rate is negative, short sellers are paying long holders to keep their positions open. This indicates that bearish sentiment dominates the market and suggests that traders expect the coin’s price to decline soon.

Moreover, today’s high demand for puts in the BTC options market supports this bearish outlook. According to Deribit, BTC’s put-to-call ratio is currently at 1.36.

This indicates that more put options are traded than calls, suggesting a bearish bias among options traders. The ratio reflects growing expectations of downward price movement.

The post Institutional Inflows vs. Retail Retreat: Who’s Driving Bitcoin Now? | ETF News appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Backed by 300% user growth, Bitget Wallet unveils a new design and $1M campaign to bring crypto into everyday use worldwide

Bitget Wallet, the leading non-custodial crypto wallet, has unveiled a new brand identity to reflect its evolution into a full-service crypto wallet designed for everyday use. With over 80 million users, Bitget Wallet has strategically expanded its offerings beyond trading and earning to onchain discovery and global payments.

Alongside a new logo symbolizing simplicity and direction, the app has introduced a more streamlined, user-friendly interface to make crypto more intuitive for all. Bitget Wallet stands by the inclusive motto — Crypto for Everyone — now part of a broader initiative, the Crypto for Everyone Movement, aimed at onboarding the next billion users. Through this, it plans to incentivize the community with a pool of over $1 million as gratitude for support.

“The role of wallets is evolving — it’s moving from a niche tool to one with real-world utility for everyday needs,” said Alvin Kan, COO of Bitget Wallet. “This rebrand is part of a longer-term plan to make crypto accessible for everyone. We’re building towards a future where interacting with crypto feels as easy as using Uber or Paypal,” he added. Bitget Wallet’s growth has coincided with increased demand for self-custody and alternative financial access, particularly in regions where banking infrastructure is limited. The platform saw a 300% increase in users over the past year, with the fastest growth in Africa (+959%), Europe (+367%), and the Middle East (+350%), as more individuals turn to crypto to navigate inflation, limited banking access, and economic instability, gaining greater control over their finances.

Bitget Wallet’s rebrand focuses on making crypto easier to use and more practical for everyday needs. Built around four core features — Trade, Earn, Pay, and Discover — the wallet lets users track market trends, explore new tokens, and trade across over 130 blockchains with one click. In selected regions, a new Simple Mode will be launched to offer a streamlined experience for users who are new to crypto. To support secure usage, it includes protections like real-time risk monitoring and transaction screening, helping users navigate onchain finance more safely.

Bitget Wallet is among the first to launch an in-app shop and remains the only major self-custodial wallet offering full payment flexibility, including crypto cards, QR code scans, and direct purchases. The shop supports over 300 brands across gaming, mobile, travel, and e-commerce, enabling crypto payments at Amazon, Google Play, Shopee, and more. Regional integrations with national QR payment systems are also underway. Building on this everyday utility, the wallet offers yield features to help users earn passive income on their crypto balances and plans to support tokenized real-world assets like stocks and gold as it expands beyond digital assets.

“Bitget Wallet stands strong with the essence of crypto extending beyond our decentralized vision, serving as a critical access layer across trading, earning, and payments for onchain assets. Users now have an even more powerful tool — simple to use, accessible, and packed with capabilities — that connects people to opportunity, wherever they are, whenever they need,” said Gracy Chen, CEO at Bitget.

To mark the rebrand, Bitget Wallet is launching the Crypto for Everyone Movement in partnership with leading ecosystem projects, offering over $1 million in rewards and inviting users to explore the updated platform through interactive campaigns.

More details on the brand update and product roadmap are available on the Bitget Wallet blog. Watch the brand video on YouTube.

About Bitget Wallet

Bitget Wallet is a non-custodial crypto wallet designed to make crypto simple and secure for everyone. With over 80 million users, it brings together a full suite of crypto services, including swaps, market insights, staking, rewards, DApp exploration, and payment solutions. Supporting 130+ blockchains and millions of tokens, Bitget Wallet enables seamless multi-chain trading across hundreds of DEXs and cross-chain bridges. Backed by a $300+ million user protection fund, it ensures the highest level of security for users’ assets.

For more information, visit: X | Telegram | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn | TikTok | Discord | Facebook

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