Here’s what happened in crypto today
Today in crypto, Czech police have reportedly arrested darknet founder Tomas Jirikovsky in a $45 million Bitcoin bribery case tied to former Justice Minister Pavel Blazek’s resignation, and US Treasury Scott Bessent has seemingly backtracked on an earlier statement suggesting his department wouldn’t execute budget-neutral strategies to fund the Bitcoin reserve, which at the time, caused Bitcoin to tumble by more than $2,000.Czech police arrest darknet founder in $45 million Bitcoin donation caseCzech police have reportedly arrested darknet marketplace founder Tomas Jirikovsky in connection with a $45 million Bitcoin donation that prompted the resignation of former Justice Minister Pavel Blazek earlier this year.Czech police intervened in the Bitcoin donation case that led to Blazek’s resignation on Thursday. According to Chief State Prosecutor Radim Dragoun, authorities were “securing people and things.” He added, “This is a criminal case that was recently separated by the police authority for independent proceedings from joint proceedings.”Although the statement did not mention any arrests, local reports suggested that police detained Tomas Jirikovsky, a convicted criminal who allegedly paid 468 BTC (worth around $45 million at the time) to the minister to avoid a new prison sentence.Jirikovsky reportedly tried to escape police by climbing onto the roof of his home during a raid on Thursday night, Deník N reported Friday.His ex-wife confirmed the intervention, saying a neighbor alerted her to the rooftop drama. The police then apprehended Jirikovsky and took him into custody, the report said.Jirikovsky is a Czech programmer and the architect of the illegal darknet marketplace Sheep Marketplace, which was linked to drug trafficking, weapons sales and counterfeit goods.US Treasury’s Scott Bessent says Bitcoin buying still possibleUS Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said his department is still exploring budget-neutral ways to buy Bitcoin for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve — contrasting with his recent comments suggesting the plan was off the table.“Treasury is committed to exploring budget-neutral pathways to acquire more Bitcoin to expand the reserve, and to execute on the President’s promise to make the United States the ‘Bitcoin superpower of the world,’” Bessent clarified in an X on Thursday.Around seven hours earlier, Bessent’s comments to FOX Business were widely interpreted to mean the Treasury isn’t looking to buy Bitcoin.“We’re not going to be buying that,” Bessent said, which sent Bitcoin’s price down from $121,073 to $118,886 within 40 minutes. Bitcoin tumbled further to a 24-hour bottom of $117,588, but has since recovered to $119,045, CoinGecko data shows.Bitcoin drops below $119,000 after US Treasury secretary rules out new BTC buysBitcoin dropped below a key support level Thursday after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the government had no plans to make additional purchases of Bitcoin for its Bitcoin and digital asset reserve.Bitcoin (BTC) fell below the $120,000 psychological support level and traded at $118,730 at the time of writing, hours after hitting an all-time high of $124,457 earlier on Thursday, Cointelegraph data showed.The decline followed Bessent’s comments in an interview with Fox Business, where he confirmed the government would not buy more Bitcoin.“We’ve also started to get into the 21st century, a Bitcoin reserve. We’re not going to be buying that, but we are going to use confiscated assets and continue to build that up,” Bessent said.The statement contrasted with President Donald Trump’s earlier executive order directing the government to develop “budget-neutral strategies” for increasing Bitcoin holdings.In April, Bo Hines, who at the time was a part of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, said the administration was exploring funding options for Bitcoin acquisitions, including tariff revenue and a reevaluation of the Treasury’s gold certificates.Thursday’s drop came just hours after Bitcoin briefly overtook Google’s $2.4 trillion market capitalization to become the fifth-largest global asset, before optimism faded on the Treasury’s stance.