Here’s what happened in crypto today
Today in crypto, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has closed its investigation into Robinhood Crypto, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou says the exchange has replaced all Ether that was stolen in the $1.4 billion Lazarus-tied hack, and Michael Saylor teased another Bitcoin purchase on Sunday evening, with Strategy announcing another Bitcoin purchase on Monday, Feb. 24SEC Enforcement Division closes investigation into Robinhood CryptoThe United States Securities and Exchange Commission closed its investigation into Robinhood Crypto less than a year after issuing the online brokerage a Wells notice.The SEC’s Enforcement Division informed Robinhood on Feb. 21 that it had concluded its investigation and would not recommend any enforcement action. Robinhood disclosed this information in a Feb. 24 announcement. “[T]his investigation never should have been opened,” said Dan Gallagher, Robinhood Markets’ compliance and corporate affairs officer. “Robinhood Crypto always has and will always respect federal securities laws and never allowed transactions in securities.”Securities regulators had been investigating Robinhood’s cryptocurrency operations for the better part of a year. As Cointelegraph reported, Robinhood’s US-based crypto business was subject to an SEC Wells notice on May 4, 2024. At the time, the SEC made a “preliminary determination” to recommend enforcement actions tied to alleged securities violations.Last month, Robinhood reached a $45-million settlement with the SEC over accusations that it violated more than 10 securities laws. The Jan. 13 order concluded that Robinhood entities “admitted to certain findings” put forward by the SEC. Bybit has “fully closed the ETH gap” CEO says after $1.4 billion Lazarus hackBybit CEO Ben Zhou says his cryptocurrency exchange has fully replaced the $1.4 billion worth of Ether that was hacked on Feb. 21.A new audited proof-of-reserve report will be published very soon to show Bybit’s client assets are back at a 1:1 ratio through a Merkle tree, Zhou said in a Feb. 24 X post.The statement came in response to a X post from blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain wh,ich estimated that Bybit has acquired 446,870 Ether, worth around $1.23 billion from loans, whale deposits and purchases — making up nearly 88% of the $1.4 billion stolen from North Korean stated-back hacker organization Lazarus Group on Feb. 21.Saylor posts Sunday chart signaling more Bitcoin buyingStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor posted the chart that has typically come ahead of the firm buying more Bitcoin.The chart, which has become somewhat of a Sunday ritual for the executive, was not posted last week as the company took a one-week break from buying.“I don’t think this reflects what I got done last week,” the executive wrote in a Feb. 23 X post, in a nod to a recent move by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) instructing federal employees to submit a list of five things they got done last week.The company currently has 478,740 BTC, valued at roughly $45.8 billion, and is up over 47% on its investment. Strategy also issued $2 billion in convertible bonds on Feb. 20 to purchase more of the decentralized, supply-capped asset.